Rest Day Norseman

May 21, 2021

Quality Time with a Washing Machine

Today (Day 34) has been a rare day (on this tour) of absolutely zero pedalling. It’s only our third rest day.

It was a day of total doing nothing much in Norseman. It’s an easy town to do nothing much in.

The bicycle is safely locked up in the Norseman Pub accommodation, and is having a well earned rest while its owner spent some quality time with the first washing machine sighted in the 1200 kms cycled from Ceduna in Sth Australia. The clothes are now sparkling with new, albeit temporary, cleanliness.

My last visit to Norseman was almost exactly 31 years ago when I helped bring a travelling interactive science exhibition (The Science Circus) here from Questacon and ANU.

The one big improvement in Norseman during the intervening three decades is that there is now the Full Moon Thai Cafe and Restaurant. There’s wonderful food and coffee here. It’s been an eating oasis after crossing the sparsely inhabited Nullarbor Plain.

Today I did do a bit of ‘work’ for the “Against the Wind” fundraising goal of this tour. I arranged two media interviews. One with The Kalgoorlie Miner Newspaper, and one with the ABC Kalgoorlie radio station. Else Silberberg will do a phone interview with me at 6 am tomorrow morning.

Talking with Else today to prepare for the interview has alerted me that the issue of cycle touring on The Eyre Highway is currently a hot button issue because a young South Australian cycle tourist was recently tragically killed near Caiguna in a collision with a truck. The truck driver has been charged and his trial will be in Kalgoorlie. Hence I can expect some questions in the radio interview tomorrow about cycle touring and safety.

Keen observers will note from the photos below that I took the rest day seriously and did not venture far. In fact I only went to the IGA supermarket and the Full Moon cafe. It wasn’t an adventurous day.

My favourite room in the pub accommodation. I haven’t seen or used a washing machine for the past 1200 km.

Main Street Norseman. I was last here almost exactly 31 years ago.

The Norseman Pub. Single room only $50. Did I mention it has a laundry?

One of the feature walls in the lovely Full Moon Cafe.

Where else but a Thai cafe / restaurant in Norseman would there be a detailed tree identification chart under a portrait of the Thai King?

Counter decoration of the Thai cafe where we had breakfast, lunch and dinner just to enjoy the change of not being in Nullarbor Roadhouses.

Probably the most aesthetically pleasing interior of any Norseman Main Street business.

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