Ceduna

3^rd November, 2011

We have been very fortunate for the last week as the wind has been with us, such a change from earlier in the trip and makes such a difference to the time and effort it takes to move along.  From Port Augusta we rode to Iron Knob, now a ghost town, but was the first place in Australia to mine iron ore.  No proper camping ground but a community run site where we stayed and the only other place operating but the pub, where we had dinner because there was nowhere to buy food.  The scenery was typical outback, low scrubby bushes and dry red paddocks.  It stayed this way until 20 kms out of Kimba when all of a suddenly there were wheat fields.  Kimba was a nice little town with proper shops and a large wheat silo which obviously keeps the town alive. The roads are much quieter, most people wave or toot and the dreaded road trains have been great, giving up plenty of room as they pass.  On our next leg to Windunna we met three cyclists going the other way, the first we had seen since Nelson about three weeks ago.  From Windurra we rode to Poochera, stopping at Minnipa for lunch. Minnipa is off the highway so we went into the town centre which consisted of a general store cum post office and you wonder how people survive living out there.  When we got to Poochera, same thing, turned off the highway to the town centre only to find a pub which is closed on a Monday, and it was Monday with a camping ground at the rear, a rather dismal place and no one to book us in or unlock the toilets and shower.  We decided to take a look at the local oval as on previous occasions we had been offered the local oval to camp on.  The sports ground was a magnificent, manicured oval with clean toilets and running water so we decided this was a better option to stay.  We had just set up tent when  a local pulled up to see what we were doing, he was president of the association and was happy for us to stay, but warned there was a meeting to be held that night.  About twenty cars turned up for the meeting. The next day we stopped for lunch at Wirralla, this time the town had a pub, a very nice and busy general store and a campsite, we had a very nice lunch and a chat with some locals, it was Melbourne Cup day and the pub were putting on a lunch and people dressed up as it they were going to the races.  We had to push on and we rode another 30 kms before stopping, it was another 60 kms to Ceduna so a bush camp had to be, we found a place off the road on the edge of a wheat field which did he job.  Next morning the wind was behind us a few roller coaster hills, a great day for riding and we were in Ceduna by noon.   Ceduna is a nice town by the sea with good shopping.  A rest day here, the last proper town until Norseman so we did some shopping, went to see the local wild life rescue where they had a white baby wombat and a cute baby kangaroo and a young emu..