6th December, 2011
We spent three days in Esperance sightseeing, eating good food and enjoying the cooler weather. Esperance is a very windy place and while the beach is beautiful sand blowing around prevented us from enjoying a walk along the sand. There are many island just off the coast making the scenery very picturesque. There was a good museum and Mike had to be dragged out at closing time.
As we rode out of Esperance we passed small hobby farms and then we were in the wheat bellt. It was a hot day but we had the wind behind us which helped us manage the large hills. We got to Munglinup to find just a roadhouse and a community camp site, the money we paid for a shower went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
The next day was hot, in the 30’s and more large hills. We passed through mainly wheat farms and some mines. It is still very isolated here, no houses except for the occasional farm house set well back from the road. When we got to Ravensthorpe it was after 12 oclock and as it was the weekend all the shops were shut, the pub of course was open, the only place to get a cold drink. The pubs in these small towns are the hub of the community and people go for drink and take their children with them.
The caravan park had a lot of permanents, people who have come to work in the mines or for the wheat harvest.
It was still hot the next day but we are so close to Perth we were keen to push on to Lake King 80 ks away. Many hills but not big ones, just up and down like a roller coaster. The road was very narrow and the surface was not good, the trucks were not considerate either, mining trucks we found do not give much room for anyone. Just as we pulled into Lake King when we had the first puncture. Heather’s bike picked up some copper wire from a retread on the road. We bought some supplies from the general store when we were approached by Gaye who was supporting a group of bike riders from Esperance to Perth raising money for charity. We were invited to join them at the local sports pavilion where they had been given accommodation for the night. Mike fixed the puncture and it was good to have the company of other bike riders.
The next morning it was threatening to rain, but the wind was behind us and we had turned off the main road to a minor road and saw very little traffic all day. Lots of hills except for the last 10kg. We rode 122ks to Hyden, visiting Wave Rock just outside of Hyden along the way. Just as we arrived in the town the heavens opened. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning had us sheltering under the shop awnings. The ladies in the opp shop offered us a cuppa which we gladly accepted but the power went off. We were told we should have stayed at Wave Rock to camp as the next camp site was 16 ks away, this left us in a dilemma as there was too much lightning to consider riding anywhere. In the end we bought something for dinner and set up our tent in a rotunda in the town park.
No comments:
Post a Comment