At last the rains subsided late yesterday but the damage to the camp site was extraordinary! It took me 2.5 hours to move everything from my pitch to the camp kitchen where I could wash everything and pack it away on a dry-ish surface! Everything was caked in red sticky mud! My rear rack turned itself in to a bloody great air dryer on the way to Katherine today – I had bits of clothing precariously dangled off every clip and hook in order to get some things dry! It worked – after 100+ k of warm winds much of the main things were drying out 😊. The ride was great -legs felt good and bike was rolling really well. I’m struggling with knees and Achilles pain so trying to be soft on the pedals. Got to Katherine….,every place booked out….whhhaaattt! No room in the inn for a tent? Did I miss the memo that Katherine had become ‘destination desireable’? It took a number of calls and cycling between different sites before I was able to be well abs truly ripped off -$60 for a site!! I wanted evening meal and cooked breakfast and a massage for that but alas….none of that was on the menu. Just a small patch of brown grass.
What intrigued me as I tried to get somewhere was how much i already missed the ‘bush camping’ experience as I rode past McDonald’s and Mitre10 and all the other big standard ‘must haves’ (?) in a town, the traffic (it was my very first traffic lights since Alice ….had to read the manual to remember what to do!). So I’m heading straight out of dodge tomorrow and hitting Pine Creek for a few days of warm weather R and R – seeing as the last attempt got washed out!!
Thanks for reading – I hope you’re all well in your own journeys.
Took a short detour…,but it was closed due to…,the rain!
Loved this optimistic sign….never never has it rained like that before!!
Katherine….paying homage to the great man himself!
Hi Tony, I’ve just finished reading all your posts and comments to date.
Ultra impressive and awe inspiring Mate! You’re certainly one of the ‘Hard Men’, I couldn’t hold a candle to your physical and mental efforts of endurance and issues thrown your way.
So happy to see your safe progress while maintaining your wonderful humour and resilience, and your careful planning and equipment seem to be serving you well.
The road is pretty good from Katherine to Darwin and you’ll have a huge sense of achievement when you get to Darwin.
Cheers, G
Pine Creek a good spot, we liked it……you impress us all every day dear friend xx
You amaze me… have the inner and outer strength and resilience to deal with anything… 🙏🤗🏆