Day 119: Goanna Creek to October Creek - A happy ride around Australia (second attempt) - CycleBlaze

June 9, 2021

Day 119: Goanna Creek to October Creek

Start: 7:50am
Distance: 62kms
Ride time: 3:17hrs
Average: 19km/hr
Max: 32km/hr 
Finish: 11:40am

This is one of the many locusts from yesterday.
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Morning road pic.
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Today's tree pic.
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I saw this bird take off from the ground with a small lizard in its claws.
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Bill ShaneyfeltMight be a peregrine falcon.

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/peregrinefalcons.html
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2 years ago
Vince McCarthyThank you Bill. I can't tell the difference between the two birds. I've added you link. Cheers.
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2 years ago

I think it is a red goshawk. Wiki says it is Australia's rarest bird of prey.

Bill thinks it could be a peregrine falcon. My photo isn't very detailed and I can't tell the difference.

This grevillea had nice white and green shades in the flower.
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Unfortunately my fat tongue couldn't access the nectar on this flower.

I had a tailwind. The road was mostly flat with some gentle ups and downs crossing the Favenc Range.

There were some road trains today and about 10 trucks without any trailers heading east.  

Without too much effort I arrived at the October Creek Rest Area. 

It is the same set up as last night's camp. There is a shelter with a table, a water tank and some bins.

I couldn't find any recent information on if there was water in the tank so this morning I left camp with 2 days water supply.

There is water in the tank and it meant I could give myself and my clothes a good wash.

There were a few little birds hanging around the tank.
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Kerrie McCarthyPop used to have these birds
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2 years ago
Bill ShaneyfeltIf my image matching skills are correct:
On the left looks like a long-tailed finch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-tailed_finch

Top center looks like a Gouldian finch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouldian_finch

On the right looks like a double-barred finch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-barred_finch
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2 years ago
Bill ShaneyfeltTo Bill ShaneyfeltOops.. I see you have ID'd them below! Gives me more confidence in my image matching...
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2 years ago
marilyn swettTo Vince, I wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying following you on our journey and how beautiful your photos are! We used to raise Gouldian finches in our home. They are so colorful but not great parents so we gave the babies to Society finches to foster. The finch on the right sure looks like what we always called an Owl finch.
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2 years ago
Vince McCarthyThank you very much for your diligent efforts Bill. ⭐⭐⭐
Sometimes I wrote the name of the thing under the photo because then I cam add a hyperlink. CB won't let me add the links in the photo captions.
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2 years ago
Vince McCarthyHi Marilyn,
Thank you for taking the time to say hi. Hopefully my photos will improve if I can get my phone fixed in Darwin.
How interesting that you had to foster out the finches.
Yes owl finches is also a common name for the double barred finch.
It's another good reason for me to add the reference links to flora and fauna because there are often many common names for the one species.
Thank you.
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2 years ago

These are birds we've seen before. A long tailed finch, Gouldian finch and a double barred finch. 

A peaceful dove and yellow-plumed honeyeaters.
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I set up my tent in the shade next to the tank. It meant I could relax in my tent while watching and listening to the birds.

I also enjoyed a quick nap. Luxury.

It was good to have an easy day after yesterday's big ride.

Free!
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The shelter has a sign saying who maintains the facilities. It is the same as yesterday and tomorrow. There is a phone number 0456618367. 

Perhaps you could phone ahead to confirm there is water in the tanks if you are cycling through.

I'm close to the road. I'm sure there won't be any traffic after dark.
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There is no one else camping here tonight. It's just me and the brilliant lit star sky.

Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 5,682 km (3,529 miles)

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