Days 25, 26, 27 Cunnamulla, Wyandra, Charleville

 Day 25 Rest Day in Cunnamulla 

It is a strange feeling not having to pack up and get on the bike. I already feel well rested after a short ride into Cunnamulla yesterday. 

I walk into town around 8:30 am. Lots of grey nomads arriving. There isn’t much open, a couple of cafes, the grocery store and the servo. There is a queue to get into the servo and only 1 pump for diesel. 

Queuing for fuel 

In the grocery store I hear a couple of locals chatting “a little bit of rain and town is crawling with them like ants”. I do wonder what the locals think of the grey nomads. There doesn’t appear to be much money around, housing here is basic and there are very few services available. The nomads arrive in town in  $80k 4WDs towing $150 k caravans. 

There isn’t much for me to do here. It starts to rain as I walk back to the motel. It is going to be a quiet day. 

Day 26 Cunnamulla to Wyandra 97 km

At 4:00 am I wake to the sound of rain pounding on the roof of the motel, I go back to sleep thinking “I do not want to do Groundhog Day in Cunnamulla”. At 6:00 am the rain has eased.  I get up and have breakfast and pack up. When I wheel the bike out of the motel it is raining steadily. What to do?

I decide to ignore the rain. Worst case I have 3 or 4 hours of riding in the rain and then I get to Wyandra and find shelter to dry out.

Cunnamulla Railway Station 

I ring Lisa and we chat while I push into the north easterly wind. I am going 15 kph  and it is still raining but I am reconciled to getting wet. 

After Lisa hangs up I am passed by an Oversized Load. It is the biggest I have seen. The truck which has a police escort and fills the entire road. Oncoming traffic is forced to get off the road ahead of it. Not ideal when the roadsides are so wet. Later I hear that a vehicle towing a van was bogged after getting off the road.

About 11:00 am I am running low on energy so I stop and make some coffee and get out the motivational Scotch Fingers. It does the trick.

I am already more than half way to my destination and the wind has dropped. Riding becomes easy and the sun almost breaks through. I can see myself arriving in Wyandra by 2:30 pm.

Rain returns intermittently but I am seeing signs advertising Devonshire Tea, accommodation  at the pub, steak sandwiches etc. Arriving in town I am disappointed to find the pub has closed.  The caravan park looks interesting but there is a sign saying the office is closed until 5:00 pm. It is already crowded there so I decide to go to the free camping area behind the State School.

John and Tom

There are already a dozen grey nomad rigs there. There is a great kitchen shelter. I put my bike in the shelter. Good thing about the grey nomads is they do all their cooking in their vans. I will have the kitchen shelter to myself tonight. Once everyone goes to bed I will put my tent up in the shelter.

Tom from Tamworth and John from Bribie Island come over and chat. More vans arrive, more people come over. I have pasta for dinner following by some dark chocolate Tim Tams. The Crusties are all in the vans as soon as it get dark. A quiet night reading in the shelter.

Day 27 Wyandra to Charleville 100 km

There was a little rain overnight but my tent was nice and dry thanks to the kitchen shelter. I’m out of bed just after 6:00 am. I pack up while the water is heating for coffee. I have breakfast and finish packing and am ready to go at 7:15 am. There are a couple of people wandering around the campground but everyone else is still in their van.

Out on the road there is no wind. The Umbrella Grass is so loaded with moisture it is lying down. It is a bright sunny morning. It is pleasure to be riding in these conditions. 

I ring Lisa and chat. I am impressed that I have had continuous mobile coverage since before Cunnamulla.

Another Oversized Load comes towards me and I have to get right off the road. It looks exactly like the one that overtook me yesterday going the other way.

Chris and Judy from Glasshouse Mountains

After 50 km I see a Rest Stop and think this is a good time for a break. Chris and Judy are sitting in the shelter having tea. They offer me some hot water for coffee and Judy makes me some crackers with tomato. They are from the Glasshouse Mountains and have been travelling for 3 days without any plan for where they are going. 

While we are chatting Haikou Wang arrives. We met days ago near Bourke. He is surprised to see how much progress I have made. We have a good chat. Originally from China he engages with Chris and Judy on their travel there. Time slips by but eventually he has to get going on his way back to Canberra. More photos. We say goodbye to Chris and Judy and go our separate ways.

About 10 km further on I come to a memorial for Australia’s biggest truck explosion at Angellala Bridge. I have never heard of it so I was a surprised to read the detail. 

I am only 27 km from Charleville at 12:30 pm. I think I will be there by 2:00 pm which suits me as I want to find a caravan park so I can do my washing. I have been hearing that all the sites in Charleville are booked out. I only need a a patch of grass so I think I will be alright.

Right on 2:00 pm I roll into town and immediately locate the bakery. A sandwich, a beef curry pie and a can of elixir go down pretty quick. The Cobb & Co caravan park is 1 km from town. No problem as there is space for me. 

Tent set up, a shower and laundry organised I head back to town to the IGA. I struggle to focus on my needs for the rest of the week and end up buying dinner. I will need to reassess my requirements before I leave tomorrow.

The IGA has some packaged hot meals. I choose a lasagna and some scalloped potatoes. Carbohydrate heaven! My weight has been dropping over the last 4 weeks which I am happy about but I do need to keep feeding the engine. I calculate that currently it takes 1 kg of human fat to power me 500 km.

When I get back to camp the campfire has been lit and there is a bloke playing a guitar and singing. Crusties are sitting around drinks in hand. I go over and join them and chat with a bloke from Kilcoy. He tells me Flo Bjelke-Peterson is still alive but doesn’t make pumpkin scones anymore.

When the guitar player finishes most of the Crusties drift off. I sit in my chair and have my dinner. My washing is clean and dry, my tummy is full, life is good.