Day 17 Fortescue River to Cane River Conservation Area Rest Stop 120 km

I was up at 5.00 am packing up. The Amenities block nearby had lights with movement sensors so they were going on and off all night triggered by the wind. Decided to start the day with another shower even though I had only 10 hours earlier.

Packed up and headed into the Roadhouse to get my free coffee and buy some sandwiches. Wally came out to see me off. He is a lovely guy but I think he is lonely and a bit stressed about his marriage. He and his wife have had issues since he retired.

Peter Creek – would have been a nice place to stop

Out the gate at 6.30 am. As always the landscape is at its best in the early morning light so I kept stopping to take pictures.

Lots more Desert Pea flowering in this region also.

The wind picked up and I was powering along. I stopped at the Pannawonica turnoff for a break. There were lots of horse floats coming from the Pannawonica Rodea. A couple of cowgirls stopped to get a photo of themselves in front of the Pannawonica sign so I offered to take the picture for them.

One of the girls was an absolute stunner! I reckon even the cattle would take a second look! Just as they hopped back in the car they grabbed some Coronas from the an esky in the boot. I thought it was a bit early but I think they were just continuing from the night before.

Bike in front of a big mining excavator bucket. I took a picture with me in it but it offends public decency so I haven’t published it.

After the break the wind picked up and I was rocking along in the mid 20s and some of the time at 30 kph. At 11.00 am I had covered 80 km and it was getting quite hot so I stopped under some trees for 90 minutes and had a nap and some lunch. The shade was a bit thin due the spiny leafed trees and the ground was rocky so I was happy to get back on the bike even though it 35 degrees.

After lunch the wind dropped a little although I still covered 40 km more by 3.00 pm when I reached the rest stop. It has free wifi so I decided to use to make Facebook post to let everyone know where I am. There is no phone coverage though.

I could have gone all the way to Nanutarra but couldn’t see the point as I am already well ahead of schedule. As I was trying to make up my mind, a car and caravan pulled incontaining Mark and Carol who had been at Indee Station when we were there. They have been travelling with John and Ivy who arrived later. They were all at the Happy Hour we attended at Indee.

David offered me a beer which I enjoyed and then John and Carol invited me to dinner.
We had a lovely evening of chat over sausages in bread followed by a cup of tea and fruitcake. Carol also gave me some fresh fruit and 2 hard boiled eggs for the road.

So my record of not having to eat Pasta and Sardines continues on this trip. This is quite helpful because supermarkets are few and far between here. I think my next resupply will be at Exmouth 4 days away. I have been eating well but started to get hungry this afternoon. Hopefully I can get some snacks at Nanutarra.