Days 39, 40 & 41 Hughenden, Torrens Creek , Homestead & Charters Towers

Day 39 Hughenden to Torrens Creek 84 km

A later start from Hughenden. I had a leisurely breakfast in the camp kitchen while my iPad was charging. I was watching football in my tent last night and ran the battery down. 

My solar panel is very effective at charging up the rechargeable batteries I use to recharge my phones, Spot device, the iPad and my rechargeable light. I do have to prioritise the which devices get power first and the iPad is the slowest to recharge so using the power points in the kitchen was a bonus.

I also refilled my water canisters in the kitchen after I tipped out the foul tasting bore water I have been drinking since Winton.

Last night I tossed and turned thinking about my choice of route. Another look at the map confirmed my choice to head towards Charters Towers. It does mean I will be covering some ground I have been over before but at this stage of the trip I am looking for some easier days.

Winton and Muffy

While I was in the kitchen I chatted with Muffy and Winton who were my neighbours last night. They are from South Coast NSW and are returning from Katherine NT where they were visiting their son. Previously they have flown to Darwin and then driven to Katherine. This process being a nuisance they had decided to drive this time but going to do that again. 

I should add that yesterday afternoon I was sitting in my chair outside my tent dealing with some work emails when they arrived. Winton gave me a can of beer which helped cool me down.

I left the caravan park and did a lap of town discovering the main street that I somehow missed yesterday. The town layout made more sense with this discovery. I bypassed the bakery deciding that I would make lunch from the food bag that I restocked yesterday.

Heading out of town the scenery was immediately different to the last 400 km. The grassy plains were replaced by hills with trees, a mix of eucalyptus and acacia. It was a welcome change.

Prairie Hotel

It was very pleasant riding and I kept a good pace. I arrived at Prairie after 40 km. I bought an elixir in the pub which was eclectically decorated with saddles, and other chattel industry memorabilia.

Bill the barman came outside to chat with me when I was getting ready to move on. I was surprised to see he had bare feet in contrast to his akubra, shirt and jeans.

Exchange Hotel Torrens Creek

The remaining 45 km to Torrens Creek seemed to go slowly. It was the warmest day I have had on this trip. Previously I have plenty of sunshine but the temperature was always moderated by the wind. Today was mostly wind less. I had to have a couple of short breaks and consumed more water that I have been on previous days.

The Exchange Hotel at Torrens Creek has camping out the back. I went into the bar and bought a beer and paid the camping fee. The publican was a gruff, foul mouthed gent with one eye. He looked a little intimidating but he became quite chatty. 

He told me about a Japanese cyclist who had ridden through here had ridden at night which was insane given the road trains. I suspect the cyclist may have ridden out at night but probably only only went as far a quiet spot to camp. When you see the amount of fresh roadkill each day you would not consider riding these roads at night.

There were half a dozen grey nomads vans in the park by nightfall but they were not close to my tent. 

I had dinner in the pub and was surprised how chilly it had become when I went back to my tent. I wasn’t expecting to pull out the thermals again on this trip. It did get down to zero overnight.

Day 40 Torrens Creek to Homestead 81 km

It was very cold outside my tent when I emerged at 6:30 am. I had my down jacket and tracksuit pants over my cycling clothes. I put the kettle on the stove while I was packing up the tent. By the time the tent was in its bag the kettle was sending steam into the air.

Muesli and coffee sitting watching the sunrise. A lady from one of the vans came over to chat and asked if the was anything I needed. I couldn’t think of anything but it was nice that she asked.

It was still cool enough when I got on the bike that I had my cycling jacket and gloves on. The tracksuit pants had been packed away. I knew within in a very short time I would be putting the jacket away.

Sean a truck driver with QLD Rail came over for chat. He was very encouraging and would like to do something like this trip too.

The first 2 hours I was very slow and sluggish. It was partly the wind but also I was going  uphill. I didn’t quite realise how uphill it was until I started to descend the other side of the hill and had the longest freewheel descent of the trip so far.

On the downhill I saw some plants in flower and thought that I would like to get some pictures. There was no way I was stopping during this most enjoyable descent and then of course I didn’t see any of these plants again.

I did see lots of a particular mushroom mostly in the shoulder of the road. There was nothing particularly special about these mushrooms except there was some good “puhpowee”.  

Puhpowee is the force that a mushroom exerts to breakthrough the surface when it emerges. It is a word from the Potawatomi branch of the Algonquin Native American tribe.

Roscoe from Geelong

At the top of the hill there was a lookout towards the White Mountains. When I stopped there a camper van pulled in at the same time. Roscoe from Geelong and his wife and son stepped out to check out the view. 

Roscoe offered me water for my water bottles which I accepted. My front pannier water canisters were full but my bidons were close to empty. 

He mentioned that they were relocating the camper van for the hire company from Cairns to Darwin. They had been given $250 petrol money and were to be in Darwin in week. That is a lot of driving.

Pentland Art Gallery Cafe

At lunchtime I was in Pentland, a small hamlet with an art gallery cafe. The cafe owner was surprised when I ordered 2 corn beef and pickle sandwiches with a pot of tea. I had intended to take the 2nd sandwich away but it went down the hatch pretty quickly after the 1st sandwich.

Leaving Pentland the roadside was blackened from fuel reduction burns. This extended the next 30 km and was still active in a number of places. Fortunately it stopped short of Homestead, a little village that seemed like a good place to stop.

I bought an elixir and an ice cream at the only commercial premises. There was an open area with toilets that seemed ideal for camping. There was no sign forbidding camping so I felt comfortable setting up my tent. Only the neighbour’s dogs objected to my presence. They went quiet at dusk.

Moon rising at Homestead

Day 41 Homestead to Charters Towers 82 km

It was a chilly start to the day. I had my jacket and tracksuit pants on as I ate breakfast but the sun banished the chill before I got on the bike.

Homestead camp site sunset

I was feeling good about a shorter day into Charters Towers. The first 40 km went by quickly but then the road was uphill and the crosswind/headwind slowed me down. My energy level dropped but I stubbornly kept pushing. I should have stopped and got something to eat from the food bag. 

5 years ago I went towards Belyando Crossing

Eventually I arrived at Charters Towers. It is bigger than I recalled from my visit 5 years ago. Then I was heading South to Melbourne down the Inland Way.

I was ready for lunch so I headed for the Stock Exchange cafe. 5 years ago I wanted to eat here but it was closed. Today I had a BLT and a smoothie.

After lunch I rode out the Dalrymple Caravan Park and got a cabin for the night. I am still annoyed at the way I was treated at the Big 4 Caravan Park 5 years ago so there was no chance I would go there again.

A quiet afternoon in the cabin getting ready for the final push towards Cairns now  less than 500 km away