Walgett

April 10, 2024

The weather was miserable last night with winds gusting up to fifty kilometers per hour. We made sure we had cooked and eaten supper before the sun set, at which point we dived into the tent for shelter.

Karen, the lady of the farm at Nakadoo, collects old junk, generally known in Australia as "collectibles". What isn't good enough to be displayed in the barn simply lies around the farmyard.

I was up before the sun, making our first hot beverages of the day. It was sunny and windless. A beautiful and start contrast to last night. With a tailwind forecast and less than seventy kilometers to the wildcamp site at the Castlereagh River bridge, we enjoyed the first couple of hours of the morning and only got away after eight thirty.

We encountered a small flock of Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) just a few kilometers into the ride.

Once on the road it didn't take long for us to realize that we would reach the wildcamp location far too early in the day if the wind played ball. The only real option was to push on to Walgett, hoping we would get there before dark. We put our heads down and reached the halfway point after just three hours of cycling. A mid afternoon arrival was now more likely and we could relax a bit.

Except that we couldn't because as the day wore on the flies descended upon us in their droves and the only way to diminish the number settling on us was to cycle faster.

Road conditions varied from excellent to pretty bad but most of the way we had a usable albeit narrow shoulder. Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic on the road and it was all very considerate of us.

One of the many quaint place names. George and William Colless purchased a sheep station in the area south east of Walgett in 1862, naming it "Come by Chance" to reflect their surprise at being able to make such a purchase.

The wildcamp spot on the Castlereagh River where we had first planned to spend tonight.

We cruised in to Walgett before three o'clock and settled in at the primitive but free campground provided by the town. It has nice toilets and showers as well as a supply of drinking water. There are also some informative display boards describing the struggles of the local first people and the discrimination they faced in the past and continue to face today.

Today was our first three figure day of the trip and, as is so often the case with long days on the road, it wasn't planned to be. It is another eighty kilometers to Lightning Ridge, our target for tomorrow, and we won't have a nice tailwind to help us like today but options are limited so we will just have to tough it out.

Today's ride: 110 km (68 miles)
Total: 1,417 km (880 miles)

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Ian WallisEnjoy the Ridge - far less touristy than Coober Pedy, and a lovely time of year. I'd recommend an evening in the baths. Ian
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