Paddle steamer Rothbury, Murray River |
River Camp #1 Mildura Murray Darling Confluence |
The desert does not share it’s warmth between day and night.
But there is hope in the desert sun as the day warms up quickly. While we are
riding along at 110km per hour, we have the sure knowledge that, by the end of
the 1st hour of riding, we'll be standing in the sun and the frosty
morning will no longer seem like a possibility.
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South Hay Hotel |
The vastness of the Hay Plains, the flattest plain in the
Southern Hemisphere, took my breath away and reminded me of The Nullarbor Plain
far away. Hay is home to a Shearers Hall of Fame, and a pub, with a resident
bearded dragon, to entertain visitors and locals alike.
River Camp #2 Hay Murrumbidgee River |
We continued eastwards along the plains where we came across
a large herd of cattle who had been set free and were grazing on the Mid
Western Highway road verge. We approached with hazard lights on and reduced
speed, still one young steer decided to cross the road as I was approaching.
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River Camp #3 Forbes Lachlan River |
Forbes Town Hall |
We stayed in Forbes awhile, wandering amongst the historic buildings in town and entertaining ourselves at The CSIRO Observatory. The observatory played a key role in the communication with the Apollo 11 Astronauts and the live TV coverage of the first moon landing in 1969. The Australian movie, The Dish, about the observatory's role in the moon landing was the top grossing Australian movie in 2000. Anyone considering building a “big thing” needs to visit the observatory before starting the engineering.
The Dish |
Our ride northwards from Coonabarabran was a non starter. Only thirty kilometers down the road, in Parkes, my ABS warning light came on, then all the instruments went blank. I pulled over, stopped the bike; there was not enough battery to start the bike again. Roadside assistance (NRMA) to the rescue. NRMA, and Rocky, a knowledgeable local, thought it was a faulty battery. NRMA found a new battery for us at a bike shop in Parkes, jump started my bike and sent us on our way.
River Camp #4 Wellington Macquarie River |
Steve installed the new battery, we rescheduled our overnight stop to Wellington, and rode out of town in the early afternoon. We were encouraged by a couple of motorcycle racing dudes who were also camped on the banks of the Macquarie River that night.
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River Camp #5 Coonabarabran Castlereagh River |
Steve navigated a scenic route from Wellington, through Gulgong, to Coonabarabran. As the miles ticked away we became more confident that my new battery had fixed the problem.
Warrumbungle National Park |
Warrumbungle National Park |
The beautiful Warrumbungle National Park took our minds away from motorcycle troubles for a day. Then we were back on the road again, Queensland in our sights at the end of the day.
River Camp #6 Moree Mehi River |
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Very sad |
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