Day 19 151 days to go. Distance: today 77km total 1682km. It’s 6.30pm Wednesday 25/7/2012 Winton. It just keeps getting better as I get more into the country west with all its folk, flora and fauna. It’s another world out here that I have never appreciated before and its so cool to be experiencing it the way we are. I think last night I had the best sleep I have had for yonks. It’s totally bazar as we were camped on the highway at a rest stop well used by the road trains. I woke for a wee walk during the night and there were two parked at the stop and I didn’t even hear them. Bliss!!! There’s brolgas calling out in the fields behind the caravan park how cool is that!!! It’s just after sunset and the twilights fading with a sea of stars coming out to say hi. The sunset again was that burnt orange horizon and a deepening blue sky. By all accounts its a typical sunset in the west and I hope to see plenty more as they’re stunning. The weather continues to be totally clear days with chilly nights. Today there was a westerly heading to Winton but we just broke the kms up into lots of stops as there was lots of beautiful things to see along the way. The morning started chatting again with Helen and Russell. They have invited me to stay if we pass their property on the road home. apparently the Highway 1 goes through part of their land near Sydney, where there’s a gate to allow the rural brigade access as needed. These folk are awesome and if it works it’d be great to see them again and share more stories. The brolgas are calling again. They have a real distant call like a chatty guttural cry. Ive been given a handful of donations from folk at the caravan park we’re staying at Winton. Bev and Bruce were one couple and Bev has just popped over again and said, ‘Ive just been on your blog…who’s Ruby?’ I explained our special relationship and she said…’I totally get it but I thought initially you must have had a ferret or something traveling with you.’ Rube’s still laughing!! Bev said she has a granddaughter called Ruby and she had to pop over to find out what the go was. By the way….. she doesn’t think I’m nuts!!! Thankyou Bev and Bruce ($10), Barry ($5) and Val and Keith ($10) for your donations and chats this arv x Our spirit is continuing to ride on the wonderful experiences and generosity of folk we met. This morning I met Peter, a Truckee from Wodonga taking a 3 trailer road train of cattle through to Darwin. It was so interesting talking to him with Helen who has sons who are truckees and with her cattle farming incite. Peter is a hard core truckee and was explaing some of the challenges they have on the road particularly so with the increasing number of vanners. They have such multi layer responsibilities looking after their cattle and truck and maintaining their log book ensuring they have the required stops. Obviously they have a huge responsibility keeping themselves and other road users safe and all the while on a schedule to transport their load on time. They spend so much time away from their families and all the lads Ive spoken to have mentioned the hardship of this particularly with young kids. Allot of the facilities for them are so packed with vanners it makes their stopping a real challenge at times maneuvering their rig to rest somewhere suitable. He said that many vanners don’t appreciate their challenges and this makes their 12-15 hour days pretty tough sometimes. I certainly didn’t appreciate the amount of industry that gets transported on our roads and the Truckies make this happen. They’re such a necessary asset and deserve our awareness and respect. I can’t speak highly enough of the consideration we’re given on the road. Peter was happy to call ahead to let his counterparts know we’re also on the road to darwin. Thanks Mate!!
In our travels today we stopped alongside a patch of yellow and purple wild flowers. They were like a garden feature amongst the brown grass tuffs that cover the pastures. There are marshy lowlands in the fields and we spotted heaps of brolgas. We also stopped alongside a bunch of emus who were so interested in us they came to check us out and were about 20 meters away seeing who these odd socks were googling at them. Once they were satisfied with their investigation they moseyed back across the field. It was awesome to watch and be part of. We passed over lots of creek crossings again and they’re straight out of a Bush Ballad. I’m loving how the empty land is so filled with amazing things to see. We arrived at Winton pretty happy to get off the road and out of the westerly. I found the Pelican Van Park owned by Steve and Narelle. Narelle graciously gave us an overnight site to pitch our tent. They join the growing list of fine fine folk supporting us in Theaussiechallenge. Once again Rube and I are part of shecyclesolo being supported every peddle of the way. Aussie folk are kind and cool and unique characters. It’s a gift to experience this first hand yayayaya. So that’s $304.25 cash donations and 22 oaths in 19 days. Before I go…. I popped into the library today and only had time to check emails before it closed. In my inbox was an email from Kerrie from Balcadine. I thought I’d share it with you as it touched me and was very special to receive. Thx Kerrie xxxxxx Time for dinner and bed. Talk soon x
“hi it was such an honor to chat to you at the ‘Arty’ Sunday night, you are an inspiration. It was also lovely to see you at the supermarket the next day and to be able to five you a hug and wish you on your way. I will be following your travels and wishing you love, health and a tail wind along the way. I hope you travel Australia’s roads with the same beauty given to you as you describe in the words of your blog. Hugs. Kerrie. Xx”
shecyclesolo 