Sept 5th till Oct 13th 2015,
Broome - Roebuck Roadhouse - Sandfire Roadhouse - Pardoo Roadhouse - Port Hedland - Whim Creek Hotel - Karratha - Nanutarra Roadhouse - Exmouth (detour by bus) - Carnarvan (by bus) -Wooramel - Overlander RH - Billabong RH (headwind 45km/h)- Dongara (by bus) - Leeman - Cervantes - Lancelin - Yanchep - Perth. Perth to Adelaide and Melbourne by campervan. (Oct 17th till Nov 4th, over 4000km)
Bikedays: 18
km by bike: 1.743
average distance: 97km/day
bus:
Nanutarra RH - Exmouth (detour) : 276km, adjusted:110km (covering the main road)
Exmouth - Carnavon: 360km, adjusted: 146km
Billabong RH - Dongara: 301km
overall statistics:
total distance of the loop: 15.066 km (14.509+557)
being lazy on the main road in total (by bus) : 557km (3,7%) :-)
longest distance in one day: 194km (Mount Isa to Camooweal)
bikedays in total: 157
average km/day: 92
Well, I had a great time in Broome with awesome hosts, and I met nice people, but it was time to hit the road again.
Due to the fact, that at the West coast, the wind will become more and more unpleasant, I began to cycle during nighttime. headwinds are my biggest enemy.
At Roebuck Roadhouse, I got up at midnight and started at 1:30am. yes, I know, I am slow, but I take my time to depart.. packing, some food... and I am not on a race.
It was insane foggy, big waterdrops in the air. I hardly couldn´t not see anything, because my glasses had been so wet. and I had to get used to cycle in the dark. it is not only a physical but also a mental challenge. after 2hours I became more and more tired. I stopped my bike, and, while standing, I had a short power nap on the handlebars.... ate a mueslibar, cycling, powernap, muesli bar.... was quite a hard job, but I enjoy the silence and the 1000 stars so much... sometime you hear a roo or a wallabie jumping next to me and once, a wallabie stopped in front of my bike. I was really lucky that I was able to stop the bike right in time. I have pedals with a toe clip, means, that I can not leave the pedals very fast. I already saw myself falling of the bike, trapped in the pedals, not able to get up, waiting for hours for help....... yes, if you sit for such a long time on the bike you can have so many crazy thoughts ;-)
At 9am, after 117km and many bloody "floodways", I arrived at a rest area. "floodways are pain in the a.... : first it goes a little bit downhill, and then for 100 till 300m slightly uphill. and this every 1km...so exhausting. I occupied one of the shaddy seating accommodations, a table with a bench and had a rest. I was very exhausted. there already were some grey nomads and one the couple invited me for some biscuits and coffee. A nice couple from South Tyrol (North Italy) invited me for lunch, and Ken, a Aussie with his self built truck offered me fresh water. in the evening, invitation for dinner... my best day at a rest area at all :-)
next morning, only 60km to the next rest area. too windy, so no risk. and due to the fact , that this bloody wind in combination with my saddle, which does not like my bottom (every day saddle sore) and exhausted me so much, I took three times the bus.
more stories with the following pics.
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| I hate this sign ;-) |
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| John from Perth, heading north |
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| Hannes and Norena from South Tyrol |
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| it is still a long way....... |
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| different termite mount |
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| one of the worst roadhouses I have ever been.. bad service, bad rooms, bad food..... and the owner want to sell it. no good reputation. |
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| 50km to Port Hedland and so much headwind, from the trucks as well.my speed : 9km / h. |
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| the very very long roadtrains from the iron ore mine sites..., if they are oncoming, they give you their headwind as well..... |
some impressions of Port Hedland and here:
http://www.visitporthedland.com/
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| huge bulk ships. |
I had the possibility to stay at the masonic lodge . very interesting.
http://freemasonswa.org.au/grand-lodge-2/freemasonry/
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| leaving Port Hedland at midnight. |
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| good to have a rest . |
Coming to Karratha
http://www.australiasnorthwest.com/Destinations/The_Pilbara/Karratha_and_Dampier
here is the story:
http://www.reddogwa.com/the_red_dog_story
more information about this project:
http://www.nwsg.com.au/
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| memorial for the workes with an accident. |
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| a thirsty roo in the backyard of my hosts in Karratha |
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| my awesome hosts in Karratha, Rose and John with their fluffy friends :-) thank you so much ! big pleasure to know you :-) |
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| usually my hosts are not only friendly, they are insane friendly and let me use their car. this small one is a Toyota Landcruiser, 200 series ;-) |
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| one of the best caravans. slide up, and to the side....next time in Australia :-) |
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| vegetation in the outback. |
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| perfect place for my bike and luggage :-) |
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| some regular visitors on the caravan park |
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| coming from an awesome dive trip :-) |
the "S.S. Mildura".
http://www.wildernessisland.com.au/the-exmouth-tip/attractions/wreck-of-ss-mildura/
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| my new friend :-) |
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| outback-dunny ("dunny" is typical Australian/New Zealand slang expression for toilet) |
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| "touchdown" Perth !! |
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| Peter Stotzer, my awesome host, whom I already met at Balladonia Roadhouse. at this time he was cycling from Perth to Sydney. thank you so much !!! |
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| well deserved :-) | | | | | | |
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my campervan from Perth to Adelaide and Melbourne... lost four days, because so many defects and fianlly a breakdown, but happened all in Perth: lock, exhaust, battery, alternator.... the worst rental car/campervan I ever had. but customer service was OK, rental car for free during time of repair, and refund..... and finally it brought me to Melbourne.
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| unfortunetly I did not meet this guy , but he was on TV. |
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| Susie, a fellow cyclist. we only know each other from Facebook and finally met each other in Port Augusta. | and she did the Nullarbor ! big congrats. |
next blog: Tasmania !
