To Cocklebiddy

Another great tailwind day today, and we flew along with the throttle only half open but still hitting 80kph. It rained a bit early on but cleared up before I got going. It's still dark until about 0700 in SA which makes it a bit difficult to get sorted as I cant really see what I’m doing. Not that there’s much chance of me getting going that early anyway.But finally...

Before I left, I got Jim and Joan and the camper gang to pose for me. (l-r Bev, Gladys, Lorraine, Yvonne,Lexy the dog, Joan, Cha Cha the dog, Jim)

I stopped just down the road at a lookout, and rode Gerty right up to the viewpoint. It was pretty grey but this is a main breeding ground for Right whales - Right literally being the 'right sort' to catch. None about today though as its the wrong season.

As I got back on, I accidentally kicked one of the rocket launchers, which then came lose, so I had to fix it. There was nobody about, but as soon as that happened, the world and his wife came by in waves, all asking me the same questions. I met a nurse on her way to a new job south of Perth, a German couple who were travelling around Oz in a rented camper, two surfy blokes who gave me a running commentary on the state of the waves, and then a lovely lady called Del who offered me some cable ties and a cup of coffee.

By the time I’d ridden back up the path, her husband Arthur, had found the ties and was waiting for me. I spent about 45 minutes chatting to them and drinking their coffee which was lovely. They’re both in their 70s but are travelling in a small caravan, complete with kayaks. Arthur had been a ten pound Pom back in the day, and originally from West Ham. More very nice people, and they invited me to stay with them in Melbourne when I next go that way.

From there, it was about 35 kms to the SA/WA border where there was a compulsory stop and fruit/veg search. I didn’t have anything at all and the people there were more interested in Gerty, where we’d been and where we were going than finding contraband food. 

My guess about the fuel was right as well, the border bowsers were far more expensive than the bowsers 12kms further on in Eucla. I wanted to go there to check out the old telegraph line. Its outdated now of course but in the late 1870s to the late 1920s, it was the  main link for southern and western Australia with the west of the world. The line went east to west and linked with the main telegraph line that Charles Todd oversaw, Adelaide to Darwin and then undersea cables to London. When you think about it, it must have been something astonishing, the ability to ‘talk’ real time from the bottom of the world to everywhere else, finally a link to about as far away as you can get geographically. But now that seems incredible with the instant communication via FaceBook, email, text or phone that we all take for granted.

So I checked out the telegraph place which was quite interesting. It seems that the office was at the top of the cliff near the servo, but the main building was nearer the beach but now swamped by sand. Evidence of the old cable poles are still there however, pointing the way to the ocean bed and the developed world. The Eyre memorial is there too. Edward John Eyre, after whom much is named; Lake Eyre, the Eyre Peninsula, Eyre Highway and various schools and stuff. He also became governor of New Zealand and Jamaica. His time in Jamaica was not great after he  suppressed and uprising and had many people flogged, and was actually charged with murder but the cases never went ahead. But in Australia he just stuck to exploring and that's what he is remembered for.

I rode on for most of the day, along the coastline, mostly through saltbush or mallee scrub. When you look at the map, townships are marked but they invariably consist of just a roadhouse and maybe a couple of accompanying buildings. There really is very little out here although there vehicles pass every five minutes or so. The Western Australia roads are noticeably wider and better kept than those in SA too, and they go on forever. Straight along the coast and over the horizon. There really is nothing much to do other than ride, so thats what I’ve done, with the help of my ipod and a few tunes.

There are two time zones in WA which very confusing. From the border with SA to just past Cocklebiddy, its 45 minutes behind Perth, which is 2 1/2 hours behind Sydney. But just past Cocklebiddy, everything runs on Perth time, which is 3 hours behind, so I’m not actually sure what time it will really be here when I get going in the morning. Why cant they just change it at the border , make it a full hour or two or three, and be done with it? Bloody hell.

I’ve seen more roadkill today than I’ve seen before, probably because its a main road train route. Dead roos everywhere, but with them, some interesting scavengers, big raptors either pecking at them or waiting in trees for the smaller birds to finish. They’re really big and cast a bit of a scary shadow over the road when they approach. But they’re a bit camera shy and as soon as I stop, clear off. However, I did manage to get a few distant pictures. I think their Wedgies but I might be wrong. Really stunning birds, brown, black and white.

I also saw snakes today, some dead on the side of the road, others slithering away into the scrub. They lie on the road and soak up the warmth but feel the vibrations of vehicles and so move away quickly. However, my little bike sneaks up and they hang around a bit longer  than with bigger vehicles. But these emu carried on strutting about in the road when I came along, taking their sweet old time to saunter off the the side. They really are the most stupid things.

I reached Cocklebiddy tonight, another roadhouse, but this one with a shop and a bar. These road houses are a bit cheeky because their unpowered sites are usually just a patch of grass, and they're not that much cheaper than the powered versions. Had I known, I could have camped across the road for free, then wandered over and paid $4.00 for a shower.

But it gives me a chance to sort my pictures, write the blog ( even though there is no signal to upload it) and catch up on showers,washing and that sort of thing. I might aim for Norseman tomorrow, which is the official end of the Nullarbor, and then head down to Esperence. But that;s a lot of kilometers on a small bike, so we shall see. It also depends on what there is to see on the way.