We have traveled a long way today and are quite worn out!
"That will be $20 for a campsite, $10 per person. You can camp anywhere after the green bin, and the grass is nice under the old mango trees! There are croc's in the river so be careful. There are hot showers and toilets on your left and the gennys go off at 9:30pm"…explained the gal! These spells are becoming very familiar as we pull into each camp site.
It was a bitch of a day, I would have to say the worst yet! I did not remember these areas being as challenging on the way up! I guess with the increased traffic to the area the roads have become more chewed up, broken down, or maybe that is just how it is now on the other side of the road returning? One section I traveled through was just unreal, I may have well been riding a bucking bull. It was full on super intense and I was certain that I was doing down! I really don't know how I kept upright, but I was gasping for air after that one! They say to accelerate through the soft stuff..I did, but only by the sheer fact that I was trying to hold on, and my right grip throttled up…Bloody Hell!!
There was a lot of traffic on the road today, more than I had seen since our journey up! Some people are just so inconsiderate. They travel along comfy in their air-conditioned vehicles, dust free, listening to their tunes, and don't stop to think for a single moment that passing you at 120 km's per hour could spray you with gravel, sand and dust! The international bird of flight sign is required at these times!! They may not see it, but it sure makes you feel better? Now, the other extreme is vehicles moving too slow. The loaded bikes do not handle well in sand moving under 20 km's per hour….and you know that there is a story coming!!!
We were moving along in a fairly deep dry sandy area, and Kev was quickly moving up on a small Subaru just crawling along! Kev radioed me he was passing, he didn't pass, he radioed again he was passing, and hesitated…by this time I was directly behind him and decided to pass both of them, or just accept that I was going down! I shifted into 1st, way too slow, and proceeded to pass Kev and the car! Kev decided to also pass at the same time. I saw Kev coming out of the corner of my eye, sped up rounded him and the car safely, but Kev was not behind me now…he was up against a tree on the side of the road! This sounds all pretty dramatic, and it happened in a split second, and scared the pants off the 70 year old driving the car! I stopped jumped off my bike, heart pounding and ran back to Kev. He was O.K., a little banged up but it could have been a lot worst. The traffic following close behind us stopped and help us right Kev's bike. Nothing broken, a little bruised and defeated we continued on deciding to get as far as we could today away from the inconsistent drivers and unusually heavy traffic. Yes a bitch of a day!
Oh I almost forgot!…There is always something good to reflect on in a day no matter how little! Today it was the sighting of a pair of brilliant Palm Cockatoos in a huge old gum tree. They are stunning birds with charcoal black feathers, red cheeks, red splash in their tail, black crest, and large hook beak…Wow!