January 3rd.
We left the pub today to head back down to Crescent Head for the night. The plan was to take the dirt road across country from Burrapine to Bellbrook, but that proved to be too difficult.
The dirt roads here are clearly marked, just as sealed roads are anywhere else, because they are actually part of the highway system. But then there are the rural tracks, which are still roads but are much harder to find as often - and as we discovered today - they look just like cart tracks and are frequently overgrown by Lantana. Lantana is an introduced plant that looks pretty but has become a bit of a bugger, taking over everything.
Anyway, after about 40 minutes on a marked dirt road and then up and down a track that petered out into nothing, Nadine spotted two wheel tracks disappearing into the bush, up a steep hill. And this was of course the track we were looking for. It was blazing hot too and shade was a bit on the stingy side, so it was a bit of an ordeal. But up the track we went and got quite a way into the bush before it got very steep. And then things got difficult.
All the bikes were laden, and Nadine’s and mine were coping, albeit only just. But Gordon’s clutch was slipping badly, and it just wasnt working out. There was no way he could go on, so we had to turn around and retrace our steps. All of them, right back to Taylors Arm and then onto Kempsey via the track we had come in on.
But its funny how your brain accommodates things. Having struggled a fair way up the bush track, which was gravel, dust, fallen trees, weeds, and bits of bark and branch, and difficult to ride on, the main dirt road which we had struggled up to get there in the first place, seemed almost luxurious by comparison, deep ruts, gravel dumps and dodgy bends included.
So it took us most of the day to do just 60 kms, so we stopped at the pub in Willawarrin for lunch, much to the amusement of a gang of blokes sitting in the shade. It was exceptionally hot - they reckoned 40ยบ - and we’d been riding on dirt for most of the day, sweating.....and our faces were a bit dirty. Ok, very dirty. But at least it gave them all a laugh.
We continued on to Kempsey, stocked up on some food, then rode on to Crescent Head to the wild camp we’d used before Christmas. Then we jumped in the Ocean, lots of lovely fresh, cool and clear water to wash the dust and sweat off. But there was a bit of a rip going on down there, a strong undercurrent that drags you out to sea. The rips around Australia’s coast were recently declared number one natural danger, ahead of snakes and bushfires as people get so easily caught out by them. But we spotted it and were careful and we’re all still here, so it was ok.
We also managed to wash our filthy riding gear by standing in the shower with it on. Being an outside shower meant for washing salt water off, this amused nearby campers, but it worked, and our stuff was passable afterwards, if not pristine.
One of the blokes camping at the same site warned us about dingoes in the adjacent bush, so were were careful to bag all our food up and stash it where they couldn’t get it. They’re not dangerous like bears, but will have a go if they can as they’re wild dogs. And after the dog incident the day before, I wasn’t too keen on a repetition with real wild ones. I hoped my tent would be dingo proof but slept with a large knife next to me, just incase.
It was very hot during the night, even with the tent windows and doors open ( but mesh closed; gotta make it hard for dingoes) How different from just a few weeks ago in Tasmania when it was bloody freezing and I wore every bit of clothing I had to bed, to last night, when I was hot in a silk liner with the tent open to the elements. I know which I prefer....
January 4th
We were up and out early this morning, thanks to the sun heating things up very quickly. We had a few jobs to do in Port MacQuarie which needed to be done before midday, and it was a 30 kms trek along another dirt road and a hop across the Hastings River on a ferry to get there.
And being a Saturday, and the last weekend of the Christmas break, we wanted to get along the dirt bit before much other traffic joined us and recovered us with dirt.
We have a few things to do in Sydney over the weekend, so hired a car to get there as its a six hour drive down the main highway, and of course the same back. And that would be a real old fag on the bikes. So we’re currently in Wahroonga, having just eaten curry and are watching TV - something we rarely do these days ( I never did very much anyway) I had a haircut too - Nadine and her Swiss army knife scissors. but its OK as it was oly trimming the back so i cant see it.
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