Day 5 - Eucla to Balledonia - 513 km!!

Big day, hey??  I felt a bit guilty for having the hotel treat, that I wanted an early start and accomplish some k's.

The landscape changed so much during that ride.. however, it rained most of the day!  See, I knew I had it lucky Nullabor day!!

It was a new test of what Sherri Jo can do.  Haven't ridden much in the rain before, and now that I am, I have a bike packed up with heaps of gear... and no windshield to soften the blow.

I was up for the challenge though, wasn't bad at all really.  I do love my Rukka gear, and it literally kept me completely dry.  Really impressed with that.  And my handwarmers, did an excellent job keeping my hands warm.. not sure if I would cope riding in cold rain without those heated hand grips.  Also much credit to Innotesco and Rukka again for the gloves they sponsored me with.  Completely dry hands as well!

A really good little test.  My waterproof bag is actually waterproof - I was wondering!  Now I know!  (Can't say the same for my waterproof tent however!, but that's okay, the spray water protectant is on my list of little fix ups to do in Perth..)

I again had trouble getting photos, so I hope I can paint a little mental picture of a beautiful mystical magical day on the land.  Rainbows, big bad clouds of all shades of colors.. watching them roll in from so far away and how that makes the barren land and sparce trees stand out amongst those colors.  So many little forests of dead trees.. what would come to mind when I passed them is that they must be the "ghosts of Christmas past"...  Or another way to put in comparison, it was like I was walking down an aisle in a Cathedral, and all the elders since time began where watching me pass by.

To unshamefully prove how the mind plays when riding along all day.. here is an even worse example of how I entertained myself.

I know this is a mental thing, but I noticed myself singing Christmas songs in my head several times along the trip.. why???  No idea!!! might be related to my other mental glitch of singing Zippity Do Da - a lot!  To entertain myself!??  This is a real worry!  Especially when I then started singing Zippity Do Da, but changed the first letter (except for vowels)  For instance, start with "B"  Bippity Boo Ba, Bippity Bay! My Oh My what a wonderful Day!!.... Dippity Do Da... Gippity Goo Ga... Tippity Too Ta...  Rippity Roo Ra.. etc

Okay, that' enough.. I finally made it to Balledonia, just in time as it was starting to get dark, and the kanga's were out.

Here is a little skippy I met at the Roadhouse, who has a Joey in her pouch.. Joey was cute as a button!  But when I went to it's picture, Joey popped back inside, and it was Mum who is sucking the thumb!!!  Glad to find after a long day that I'm not the only crazy one out there!  ;-)

Day 4 - Nundroo to Eucla 342 km

A hyped up day across the Nullabor... I have heard so much about this Nullabor place.. It's flat, dry, no trees for days on end.. people die out there..  Make sure you take plenty of spare fuel and water.

Out of that amazing Roadhouse dirt patch I camped on at Nundroo and nervously headed into the Nullabor zone..  I noticed while riding through Yalata Aboriginal land that it didn't take long for those trees to disappear, but had not yet gone in to the "Nullabor".   Along came the Nullabor Hotel/Motel, a last chance to top up the fuel, and I better have my lunch early, because God only knows when I might have a meal again.. there's NOTHING out there!!

Well I have to say, once I left the Roadhouse, it just got better.  I could look at it as a scary lonely long road, or I can look at how amazing and uniquely beautiful it was.. and off I went!  I was really really lucky I think.. being June and winter, I would have expected wind and rain.. But what I got was a beautiful sunny day without wind - absolutely perfect for me to ride across this day!!!

I was worried about doing this ever since I knew I was going to Perth on my bike.. and it was so wonderful I can't wait to do it again...

The one little gripe I have is still my bike and the side stand.  So many times I wanted to stop and take photos, but the soft grade on the road is steep enough not to take the bike off the pavement, and there is no stopping on the pavement with a possibility of a road train passing me up and knocking me over.

(The boys here in Perth are hopefully going to sort that stand out for me tomorrow... but not being able to stop when I wanted kept me from many photo opportunities along the way)

Finally found this side of road park, and after many attempts to get the side stand down, I found the right angle in a patch of dirt and succeeded...  sheweee!  I needed that break for more reasons than one!  ;-)

Of which I also took the opportunity to see if the whales are here yet..

Nope, didn't see any... kind of glad I didn't.  After a couple seasons of swimming with the whales in Tonga, it would be hard just to watch them swim past without the urge to jump in the water and swim with them! (not legal in Australia.. which is a good thing)

Anyway!!  I treated myself to the hotel once I got to Eucla.  No tent tonight!  I had a bed, a shower and MY OWN bathroom!

Ordered a good meal, snapper chips and fresh salad they grow there at the hotel.  Still no phone reception, but I didn't care, I was proud of my first few days and it was time for a reward...