Not very inviting for a camp in the bush. The further South I went, the more often I came across official camping sites, e.g. at roadhouses.
The next day all records were broken with three roadhouses in one day! Though I only got drinking water at the last one. Very annoying, luckily I hadn’t packed my water bag away and had enough water anyway.
That didn’t stop me from making the best distance record ever, at 170km thanks to a supporting tailwind. Actually I wanted to make a quick visit to Shark Bay, as it is such a world heritage area and should have been really beautiful, but the unsettled weather and the dark clouds to the West prevented me. Instead I preferred to enjoy the tailwind for a little while longer.
At this time of year and above all with the weather the area is not gloriously colourful. Painted thoroughly in bright colours though was an old refrigerator decaying at the entrance of a station.
I couldn’t determine if it had a special function. It would have been nice if it had stored cool drinks for cyclists, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
The rest area that I had my eye on was 10km further than I thought. But it didn’t matter to me that day despite the frequent hills and the drizzle that kept coming back. Shortly before dark I arrived at a really big rest area with campers settled already who had made a communal fire. That was good for me, as it was quite cold in the evening and I spent a nice evening at the fire enjoying the very pleasant company.
What was most changeable in this area was the wind. Yesterday nicely in the back, today really strongly from one side. What the hell, you have to deal with it. For the first few kilometres everything was as before, until all at once it got greener and cultivated areas began. It was really strange suddenly to see grain farming again. This meant that fences began to appear left and right of the street making it not so easy to pitch a tent behind a bush.
After the left turn West to Kalbarri the fun really started with hills and the strongest headwind that I’d had since I’d been in Australia.
Unfortunately I couldn’t enjoy Kalbarri fully as the weather ruled it out. After the Kalbarri National Park began the fences stopped, thank goodness. In return there were plants.
and animals that I had never seen before
(This animal was just on a sign.)There were more and more signs with camera that showed lay-bys for photographers. But I couldn’t see what you would want to photograph as everything was just green-blue bush. Then it came to me that it was a wild flower area which would look completely different in a couple of weeks. Once again something that I wasn’t going to see.What I would have found most interesting in the national park were the gorges. But the way there was blocked due to the heavy rain and it didn’t look like the roads would be passable in the next few days.
In the town I met Graeme again, he was with Ashley and Tracy, two cyclists from Cycling Western Australia. Due to the glorious weather forecast, we’d decided to go on the next day. Actually I’d planned to spend a few days here, it is really a pretty area, but with this weather you can’t really do anything. Sitting around for half a day is enough for me. A really spectacular day awaited us. Again there was a strong wind that came from different directions, the landscape was fantastic.
The mix of sunshine and storms with showers of rain lead to a wonderful display of Nature. The light over the hills was quite exceptional.
In fact the rain showers were more storm than rain, you got wet quickly but were blown dry again right away. Except just before Northampton where it was really heavy, driving horizontal, whipping rain into my ears until my skin was dripping wet, and no chance to be dry any more.
Northampton is a small, historic, Catholic place, with a camping site no less, but so cold and wet had I become that I really didn’t want to stay in a tent. In a supermarket I asked after other budget possibilities to spend the night and happened to meet a woman who ran the “Old Convent”, a big brick building right next to the church, where you could stay cheaply. That was a gift from God. We were the only guests as the woman lived elsewhere so we had the whole house for us alone with a fully equipped kitchen for a bargain price and sat in the warm and dry.
The next day it was clear to me that I wanted to go only as far as Geraldton. At last another big town again where I could take care of a few things, in addition I was still chilly and felt a cold coming on. Graeme had decided to ride on, it was only lunchtime too. After a parting meal sheltered from the wind we went our different ways again.
As all the camp sites were located outside the town, I decided to go first to a book-shop where I could get on the Internet for free. It was nice and warm and dry there and I stayed much longer than I thought again.
As I came out, stood next to my bicycle another one, with same brand of frame, gears, brakes as mine, all German makes that you really don’t see around here. I was astonished and had to find out who owned this bike, so I went back in the book-shop and thought it was surely the woman who also was sitting at a PC. But I was followed by another woman who was the owner of the other bicycle. She’d been waiting outside for me, as she also wanted to know who the owner of my bicycle was. She, Ulla, immediately invited me into a neighbouring café.
We found out quickly that we had other things in common as well as our bicycles. She also grew up in the South of Germany, but is now an Australian citizen. Actually although she is usually travelling with her bicycle and lives in a tent, at that time she was doing house-sitting and could invite me back to her place.
In contrast to me she is an excellent cook and we spent a wonderful evening with wonderful food and wonderful wine.
Really I would have liked to have stayed longer but I didn’t want to cause any trouble for her, as it wasn’t her house, she was just looking after it. So the next day I moved on again, but not in a hurry. It was only 1st July, and I wanted to be in Perth on the 20th, but I needed a week at the most to be there.
On this part of the route I had a headwind that surprised me a lot, as the wind here is predominantly from the South wind and even brings trees down.
So I went leisurely on, allowed myself to be invited for coffee and cakes by an old-aged couple in a caravan and decided already after 75 km to pitch my tent.
In the evening I rang Ulla to thank her and mentioned in passing that I would have liked to have stayed longer whereupon she immediately resolved that I should come back. I let myself be persuaded, and the next day packed my things and rode with a tailwind back, so much so that I was in Geraldton by lunch-time again.
We spent a wonderful 2½ days together and once again I let myself be spoiled by the excellent food. On Saturday, Chris and Dee came over from Carnavon and we did a wonderful, if short, cycling tour by the sea, and afterwards Ulla made a tasty dinner once again for the four of us.
I was certain however that on Sunday I’d be moving on, actually back again. A big part of the route lay on Highway 1, which normally had many Roadtrains. I hoped that on Sunday there would be fewer of them, which turned out to be true.
The weather was excellent the whole time I was in Geraldton, which also was the case on Sunday, and even with a North wind. Thanks to this wind and thanks to Ulla’s very good and healthy diet I could ride a very long stretch back. My thoughts lay quite elsewhere, and because of this it was nothing to me to ride the route to Port Denison for the third time. Today I went straight on though, until Leeman, I was pedalling like mad and felt full of energy once again, it was just good fun.
It was the end of the nice weather the next day as it rained almost continuously. In return I had again the “backblast” that blew me directly to Cervantes. It was very handy to be there before mid-day already, so I could pitch a tent quickly in a break from the rain and carry on to the Pinnacles, one of the most popular areas on the West coast. I had also seen nice photographs of it and because of this wanted to go there without fail. The advantage of the bad weather was that not too many people came - only two bus-loads of Japanese and Chinese. The limestone boulders in the yellow sand are spectacular.
In Cervantes the coast road stops and you have to go back to Highway 1, for 50 km and over at least as many hills but with a wonderful light cast over the landscape.
There was absolutely no traffic so I could let my thoughts wander and make plans, and my legs took care of the bicycling by themselves
The last night before reaching the big city of Perth I could once again camp unofficially in a national park, and enjoy the peace and the fresh air, watch the Kangaroos in the dusk and eavesdrop on the birds, all very idyllic.
It’s really quite odd after being a long time away from civilisation to then come back and see all the people going to work in their cars past countless shopping centres where they spend the money they have earned on things that they don’t actually need.
Towards Perth, in Perth and around Perth there are wonderful cycling paths laid out but they have to be shared with pedestrians. It seems these were designed by motorists and not by cyclists. As a cyclist you often have to stop and every other road user has priority. What really shocked me was that many motorists didn’t tolerate cyclists on the streets. You were honked at and had your way cut up. Despite this I did finally make it into the city centre.
The most important thing I had to take care of in Perth was to have my bicycle repaired. So I went straight away to see Aldo and Sats in the Quantum Bicycle Shop. It is “the” bicycle repair shop in Perth, probably everyone who cycles round the world comes here. Apparently I am the third woman to do it among the countless men. Thanks to the e-mail from Chris, they were both expecting me already and dedicated the whole afternoon for me. Everything was thoroughly checked and a list was made of what needed to be repaired and replaced.As some things needed to be ordered, I could take my bicycle away for the time being.
For the first 3 nights I could stay near to the centre. But the weather was so bad that on the first day I wasn’t in the inner city at all.Here in Western Australia you have free Wi-Fi in McDonalds and you can go on the Internet with your laptop for nothing, it is very practical and you don’t have to eat or drink anything. I spent most of my time there.
After 1 year and 5 months it seemed that everything I owned was broken. As I can’t buy everything new again nor want to, I mainly get in touch with the manufacturers, also with Garmin again, this time Garmin Australia, who at last made it clear they were ready to check my device.
I could my Therm-a-rest too and it would also be replaced. But not my tent and my cooker. The people from Brooks Saddle had not got in touch. Perhaps I would find another sponsor.
It is winter here which is shown chiefly by rain, it is cold only after the sun went down. On one hand I wanted to go on as soon as possible, on the other it would be better to wait until the weather improved.
To calm myself down I go running almost every morning, and have seldom felt so fit. Apart from that I wasn’t bored as I had to plan the next stage. From Perth in the southerly direction there is a cycle path, through forest mainly, 500km long, the Munda Biddi Trek. Fortunately the weather was a bit better and I could get some information about it in the town.
Here I was surrounded by skyscrapers for the first time since I don’t when.
There were a few old houses too and naturally more culture than up until then in Australia, I grant you.
On Sunday the 12th July I could move into suburb of Perth to Heathridge, not far from the most beautiful beach in the area, not that it meant much to me. Ron, the owner and friend of a friend is on a tour for 5 weeks and I can care for his house. Actually no bad thing but first you have to get used to being alone in a house. When you are travelling you meet people time and again, but not always in this situation. Not that I would always sit at home, quite the contrary. To keep moving I made a plan for a daily routine that actually I never kept as something always came up. But a run to the beach in the morning felt really good. Only when there was a strong wind or heavy shower of rain did I prefer to let that slide too.
What‘s good here is that there is no Internet i.e. I must go out every time I want to get my e-mails. The next McDonalds is 4km away, really I should run there but I take my bicycle.
As I once again got lost in my thoughts, there stood an ancient car in front of the door with the inscription “Spark your dream” and Argentina. Naturally that interested me and so I spoke to the young woman who was walking to the car. That’s how I met Herman und Candelaria Zapp complete with children and their Graham car (www.sparkyourdream.net). Even though the conversation was very short it pleased me to meet kindred spirits once more.
Next to McDonalds is a huge shopping centre, called “Shopping city“ where you can get really lost. The supermarkets, Coles, Woolworths and IGA that in the North west are hundreds of kilometers apart are all here under one roof, not more than 100m from the next.
Meanwhile I have got used to house sitting, can really enjoy it, do and live as I like, and have a shower, kitchen, and the best washing machine I’ve seen since Germany. With that even my clothes were clean again.
My bicycle was cleaned again as well thanks to Aldo and Satsthat who cleaned and repaired its innards completely and fixed it completely that it runs like silk again, I can hardly wait until I can go on again at last. There are only a couple of parts missing that I should get during the week. Next week-end I want to meet a couple of cyclists but then the beginning of next week it should be time. Up until then the weather should be better. Up until then I an enjoying a solid roof over my head
