Day 29 - through Elliott to a camp at "Termite Downs" - Unfinished Business

May 29, 2023

Day 29 - through Elliott to a camp at "Termite Downs"

Talk about blustery! The wind was up in the night and blew hard all day, coming diagonally over my right shoulder. It gave me slight benefit but I would have been much happier had it been calm. The landscape too was a bit tedious - low Acacia scrub that offered no protection against the wind. Birds, too, were in hiding. I did 62 km without stopping - no photos, food or drink. I then hid from the wind and gorged.

Conditions have been very good as these roadside blooms show. There's a lot of flood-damaged road

I did the next 30 km to Elliott easily. As I entered town there was a nice rest area - the site of the Elliott Staging Camp. It's all named after Lieutenant Elliott, who established the camp during WW2. I grabbed a drink at a PO/Caravan Park/decent shop.

Elliott is a nice looking place - has a lovely park

Don't try making a phone call in the presence of apostlebirds

A noticeboard had a range of health advice. Embarrassingly, I broke the rules with 1.25 L of soft drink and a large bag of chips - fuel for the afternoon.

The country changed for the better just before Elliott and it was a lovely afternoon's ride. The area around Newcastle Waters, apart from a poor road surface, was very nice.

Newcastle Creek - I could have spent a day here with binoculars. Good numbers of rainbow bee-eaters

The small rest area nearby was not so good. Put in dunnies and they will come.

Poor photo but I'm sure you get the point. There must have been 15 caravans and any number of purple bins. Why bins in the middle of nowhere? Discuss

I didn't go much further. I stopped to photograph the spectacular bark on eucalypts and when I reached 150 km called it a day.

Spectacular bark on this eucalypt. Apologies, I'm unsure of the species.

150 km in the saddle, hammered by the wind all day and this is what I get at "Termite Downs"

Today's ride: 150 km (93 miles)
Total: 3,539 km (2,198 miles)

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John GrantGood evening Ian
I'm really enjoying reading of your day's progress. You've got the "blogging" thing down pat.
Great to see you're travelling well. You'll be out of the country before you know it !
Grunter
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10 months ago

Ian WallisTo John GrantJohn
Much appreciate your involvement. Cora is meeting me in Darwin where we will be for a week. Looking forward to it although there will be a bit of prep for the road ahead. Ian
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10 months ago