Before I tell you about my day, I have to have a whinge. Rubbish, loads of it. People just chuck it out the window up here, its disgusting. The campers are shocking too, toilet paper everywhere, these same people probably pick up their doggie doo, but leave their own poo uncovered and just throw the toilet paper on the ground. Is it too much trouble to dig a little hole? Shame on them!
Back to nicer things, a very slow start for me this morning. I'm 3/4's of the way through the girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so I headed to the coffee bar and sat for an hour reading. A reporter from the ABC spotted Quiver with all her gear and wanted to do an interview. When we were finished I said my goodbyes and hit the road.
Just outside of Mt Isa, I saw a ute on the railway track, I looked again and the ute had some sort of contraption that lowers train wheels down on to the track which allows the vehicle to use the track.
This isn't the vehicle I saw, but it gives you an idea of how it looks.
I stopped at Camooweal, which is just before the border to refuel. I met this guy who is one of the elders of the Wunara people who have a community 200k up the road. He was bringing his mum back home. She had been living in Brisbane with him for 2 years as she was ill. She was very excited to be going back home.
I also met a couple of blokes who were on their way to the Katherine Show for the Cattle Dog Trials. As a child I loved watching the sheepdog trials on TV, apparently the finals are on next Saturday so I plan on being in Katherine for the finals.
This is me at the border.
The further north I get the redder the earth is. It's basically red sand and gets into everything.
The speed limit in the NT is 130 thankfully. I pulled into a rest stop a little way up the road and it is already chockablock full of vans setup to camp for the night. I’m constantly amazed at the number of grey nomads out there. It is rare to see a car that isn’t towing something.
I decide to end my day reasonably early and pull into the Soudan Bore to camp for the night. There were already 3 or 4 people there and they were all over 60 so I figured it was reasonably safe.
Note to self: Do a drive through and check out the people before you pick a camping spot. I pulled up near two other campers, close enough for them to hear if I am murdered in the night but far enough away so as not to be an intrusion. I put the side stand down and down and down it went. Didn't matter where I moved to, the bike would sink into the red dusty earth. The bike is loaded to the gunnels so I can't really get off and hold it up at the same time. Then I remember my trusty diary which has a hard cover. I threw that down on the ground and manoeuvred the side stand onto it. I must remember to keep a crushed can in my pocket for such emergencies.
As I was setting up my tent for the night, my two neighbours who were a pair of old geysers came rushing up with hammers, extra tent pegs etc. I told them I was fine, but they insisted and I didn't want to be rude. I must really learn to be rude! They were desperate for company and very obviously lived on the road. I think one in particular; Merv was a permanent resident at the Soudan bore. Merv had a long grizzly beard and told me his nickname was Yowie because he could make yowie noises and would I like a demonstration? I politely refused the demonstration assuring him that I believed he was capable of sounding like a Yowie. Not to be put off he started telling me stories as I was putting up my tent, then his mate next door, not wanting to be outdone, starting interrupting him and telling his stories. I tried doing the Greg long face and grunt but it didn't work. They had adopted me and I was stuck with them. What was I having for dinner, where was I going, was I married, was I coming back this way. I'm sure they thought they would luck out one day and a future bride would just pass on through the Soudan and they would live happily ever after.
I did feel sorry for them and put up with them for a while longer and then went and hid in my tent. After a while it all went quiet and I snuck back out and built a fire only for them to arrive one by one for more of a chat. I apologised and said that I really had to do some work (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and they went back inside. After I finished dinner Merv showed up with a billy of hot water for me to wash my dishes. So of course I felt really mean.
The camp site was fairly windy so my tent was full of red dust the next morning. The old curmudgeons just talked and talked whilst I packed the bike, it really didn't require much input from me other than the odd uhhuh and yes.
I met a lovely lady Jeannie at the campsite who told me she was much older than she looked, she was somewhere in her 70's. Her husband had died 8 years earlier and had never wanted to travel. So of course she bought a Winnebago and off she went with the dog. As far as she was concerned these old blokes were a pain in the butt and I should just be rude, as she had been.
This is Merv
And Jeannie
Kilometres travelled - 300
Lessons learned - Do the drive thru first.
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