Uncategorised

Yesterday's drive was red, hot and dry.

Most of the dugouts I passed are empty; those that aren't are getting close. Some of the fields have dried out and died completely, have become nothing but sand (or is that salt?) and small brush...

I'm just packing up camp at the Pink Lakes (they really ARE pink! some strange micro-organism that inhabits these salty waters). It was the perfect place to camp; not a soul around so no need for modesty in the form of clothing (a relief in this heat) and the scenery is incredible. The only downfall is the flies: it seems that neither flies nor ants here seem to care that I've doused myself in OFF Deep Woods. Today I'm glad I decided to keep the tent!

And off I go into South Australia...

After a cold, restless sleep I awoke at 4:30am and hiked up to a nearby peak to watch the sunrise. I made soup for breakfast and curled up in my sleeping bag as the sun created pink zebra patterns in the forest fire smoke, and then emerged in it's full, burning red glory.

I hiked back down and was on the road again by noon. Through the high mountain ranges (ugh... bike struggling... thought I might have to adjust the carbs but made it out OK) into smaller mountains on the edge of Kosciuszko NP where the curvy road was cut into the red, red hills... Look out for debris!!!

From here the landscape started changing drastically. The start of the Murray River Valley was full of charred, dead, yet massive trees; black ghosts emerging from a river which had half dried up.

Somewhere between Tintaldra and Granya I stopped for a drink at a hotel/winery. Two friendly country men were the only other patrons, and they played pool as the jukebox sang out a country song about a man in love with his UTE (as opposed to his pick-up truck)! How classic!

This is where it started to get hot... I suppose one of my reasons for coming this way was curiosity about the vast expanses containing little but the heat. I've been in heat in India, but that was a crowded, smelly heat. This is different. Here it's neither smelly nor crowded; it's just hot!

From Wodonga to where I turned off the main road (~30km past Cobram) was quite straight, with continuous farms on either side, separated from the road by rows of huge gum trees. To my suprise, the landscape became quite lush and many of these farms were fruit farms!

I felt the fatigue coming on at about 6:30pm so turned off towards Bearii to try to find a place to camp along the river in Barmah State Park. 4 wrong turns on sketchy dirt roads later, I'm camped 20m from a gorgeous, slow-moving section of the Murray River.

I don't think Gael Garcia likes these bumps and dust, but I'm quite glad we came out here.

“We gotta love each other again.”