Lake Cargelligo to Tullibigeal

Lake Cargelligo to Tullibigeal = 46km
Cummulative total = 1147km

It was just a small day to Tullibigeal - we had a choice early in the morning whether or not to make the 90km ride straight to Condobolin or take the longer way via Tullibigeal ... basically it was the wind that dictated which way we went and since there was a very very strong north north east wind we opted to go to Tullibigeal with a severe cross wind. I said to Neil for the past 2 weeks we have been cycling in this area and the wind each day has been virtually non existent and what do you know we get this day which has 30km per hour winds! it was just like cycling in Victoria!
The road was nice and quiet and we didn't get much traffic. So not alot happened to us only that a group of Kangaroos decided to follow us alongside the road. At first I saw one in the middle of the road and I got really excited as we hadn't really seen any wild kangas this trip (only the ones crossing the campground but that is because it is near a state forest and to me that basically counts as something similar to a zoo!!!). Well it quickly bounded off as a car was coming and Neil didn't manage to see it and since he didn't see it he decides that I must have been seeing things! Next thing you know the same one is about to cross the road again as we pass it and it quickly decides not too and joins a group in the bushes which then begin to bound along and cross the road in front of us for at leas a km or 2!
Then not long after that we pass cattle grazing on the side of the road and I was worried as we passed that they would bolt and bowl us over! But they just stopped in the middle of eating and looked up at us as we passed. Not even Kouta was interested in them! But he was very excited when the Kangas were bounding around us!
So the turn off to Tullibigeal was around the 43km mark and it is a small town with no campground but they do have a Pioneer park and the Showgrounds which they open up to tourists so that they stop and I suppose maybe buy something in the 2 shops and this way it sort of keeps the town alive. So we pulled up to the Pioneer park and there are 3 caravans already there and 1 has been there for at least 2 weeks! It is free and there is a shower and toilets. There is also a kids playground so we set up our tent in the corner of it.

As you can see our bright yellow tent blended in quite nicely with the red, blue and yellow playground!!!
So late in the afternoon we bought a drink and 2L icecream from the co -op store and unlike when we were cycling in America 13 years ago we couldn't finish the icecream. So we let it melt and poured it over our fruit cake for dessert!!! yummy!
We went for a walk to see what the showgrounds was like and in hindsight I think that would have been a better option for us in the tent. It had a fabulous view!

This is the view if we decided to camp in the showgrounds!
Tomorrow we head for Condobolin.

Rankin Springs to Lake Cargelligo

Rankin Springs to Lake Cargelligo = 71km
Cummulative total = 1101km

The morning we rode this was somewhat cold - it didn't feel cold at night but as we were moving about our toes were cold and I did contemplate putting socks on under my sandles (we both don't have covered shoes but sandals and jandals!). I think there was a very slight frost as my cycling shorts that were out drying (or trying to dry) over night had a very thin layer of frost on them. However it was warm in the sun and once we got cycling the toes soon thawed out!
Again we continued on a quiet road and since it was a Saturday the majority of traffic was going opposite to us and heading towards Griffith and maybe 5-6 cars over took us throughtout the entire ride! For the first 30mins of cycling we climbed over a gap and then the road ran between 2 ranges. We both thought the scenery was absolutely beautiful. I really love this sort of country - extremely blue sky, bright red dirt and green trees and since the rains late last year it has really made this area lush and I mean LUSH! Even under the trees there is a green cover of grass so it must have had alot of rain (maybe from the St George floods?).
The road is no longer absolutely flat and it is more undulating but not hard to ride. Below is our view while we had lunch on the side of the road about 34km south of lake Cargelligo.

Beautiful isn't it!
Not long after our lunch break, about 3km up the road, we were stopped by a local farmer who wanted to have a chat to us and like most people around here he was absolutely gobsmacked that we were cycling around here! He himself is a cyclist and had not long come back from a guided tour in Sri Lanka and had done alot of guided tours throughout Asia. He also said that this time last year this area had nothing and things were looking very sick and dry (due to the drought) as we commented as to how green it was around here.
From there the road ran through a State Forest so ideal camping spots along the way.
We got to Lake Cargelligo around 1.40pm.

And listen to this! ... the town was closed! Nothing was opened which sort of stumped us for a while! Even the 2 grocers were closed and what made matters harder was they were both closed the next day! (Sunday). Crikey, after living in a city where everything is open 7 days a week and we were warned that small towns will shut down Saturday afternoon and Sunday ... it still was a shock to us!

The Bakery was still open so we got bread and it was also a takeaway so we thought we could get our Sunday dinner there and make do on Saturday with what was in the pannier bags - Noodles and curry tuna which we made into a soup and it was absolutely lovely it just needed a few veges!

We found the campground which is a council one and I have to tell you this is a BRILLIANT caravan park and more people need to get out this way to appreciate a clean and tidy caravan park! It costs us $13 to camps unpowered ($16 for power) and it has a camp kitchen that has tea, coffee, sugar, detergent, free bbq, toaster, microwave etc. And that is not all - the toilets are beautiful and clean! and believe it or not (and this is in both male and female toilets) they have shampoo, hand cleaner, body wash and cotton buds for you to use! Now that is an excellent campground! We both rank this campground as the best we have EVER been in (and we have been in alot!).

So I am writing this on Monday and we will move on tomorrow towards Parkes. We decided to stay an extra day here since it is an ideal spot especially since Kouta can move about better and doesn't have to be chained up (which he hates!) like he has to be in alot of the council parks we have come across.

The weather has been good for us - it is currently in the mid 20's and a beautiful bright sunny day and even the nights are not cold (around 10).
Here is a photo of our campspot.

The lake itself was empty last year (like alot of lakes!) and is not quite full at the moment and you can see where grass and shrubs have grown when it was empty and it is not all that big.

At sunset the lake looks nice and if I could get up before the sun I would to get a photo of the lake at sunrise!
But otherwise here is the lake taken at sunset!

Griffith to Rankin Springs

Griffith to Rankin Springs = 67km
Cummulative total = 1030km

I know I haven't posted for a few days but we got to lake Cargelligo and we couldn't get reception the first day, dial up the second day and now we have a connection that can cope with the up loading of photos so I will begin from where we left off ...
Back in Griffith we met a lovely couple from a town in Victoria called Colac and they came up to Griffith and were staying in a lovely cabin at the same caravan park as us. Here is a photo of them.

It was lovely with this couple they let Neil drive their car around Griffith and Leeton looking at the sights, they bought our dinner for the 2 nights we were there and even let us hang out in their cabin and they didn't mind little Kouta!!!
So we bid a farewell to Neils parents around 9am and began cycling north towards Rankin Springs. It was a quiet back road with hardly any traffic and it followed the Ural ranges which I think is part of the Cocoparra national park. There were still orange groves and vineyards just north of Griffith.

I would say that the orange groves weren't huge like some of the vineyards. Basically this is all we saw for at least the first half of the ride and then once the channels ran out (or the irrigation stopped) you basically entered wheat country.

Above is the typical view that we had after the irrigation finished. I like this sort of country I suppose it is because of the colours - blue sky, red dirt and army green trees!

Along the way neil saw quite a few lizards which I kept missing but as per usual there is one form of legless lizard that I always seem to see ... you guessed it a snake ... but listen to this! ... riding along on a quiet road basically like the photo above and I am riding about one meter from the shoulder and Neil is riding in the middle of the road and I always look to my left between me and the verge on the shoulder and ahead and I happen to look at the very front of my wheel and what did I see ... a very thin (about the width of a pencil) 25cm snake to the right of my wheel! As I rode past it I thought I ran over the very end of it but it recoiled and my first reaction and instinct was to gasp and to lift my feet and I began too and then I realised my feet are locked in and can't move so all this is happening in a split second and Neil is a little back from me and says that the snake wriggled away after the wheel of the trailer had gone by.

By now my heart was pumping that these little ones are just as poisonous as the adult ones and then I thought OMG I am a baby snake killer! For the next 5km I had the guilts that I killed a baby snake and then I got angry and thought what kind of mother lets her young on the middle of the road! Neil informs me that once the baby snake is born ... that is it ... it is on its own and has to fend for itself ... and then I really got the guilts, but Neil reassures me that is wriggled away and it was fine! But I tell you I looked ahead (and Neil does too) and you just couldn't see it, it was really camouflaged and we both didn't see it until we were on it!

Neil reckons it was a red belly black snake so it blended well into the road.

So at the end of our quiet road we joined up with the Mid Western Highway and had to go along it for around 15km. Which meant that we had to climb over the ranges. The road meandered through Sims Gap and although the hill wasn't big it was a gentle reminder that we have had absolutely flat country for the past 2-3 weeks!
The photo below is looking east at the top of Sims Gap.

This is facing east at the top of Sims Gap.

So after that it was a nice roll into Rankin Springs. This is a very small town with a population of around 250 and even then I think they have embellished and increased the population by including all the cats and dogs! We saw 2 people and that was the campground manager and his wife or mother - we couldn't quite figure that one out.

Rankin Springs does have a small walk which includes a few historical facts about the place and we did manage to take a photo of the old water tower that was used for the Steam Engines that would cart the wheat and grain along the railway line.

The campground is small and has no facilities except for showers and toilets. Even the drinking water has to come from a rain water tank and the tap water is not suited to drinking, with the lack of facilities I thought the price for unpowered camping was very expensive $14 a night and I get the feeling that he "fiddled" us since it is a council one. But you get places like that along the way!

Coleambally to Griffith

Coleambally to Griffith = 65km
Cummulative total = 963km

Oops it has been a few days since my last posting! We are here at Griffith and Ray and Flo are up here with us.
But first a bit about our cycling day yesterday. We woke up early and to a fog which soon lifted once the sun came up. Coleambally is a small and quiet town so we had a great rest day the day before - we did nothing but read and Neil spoke to everyone on the phone/skype!
We continued along the Kidman way and there is definitely a marked increase in traffic throughout the day especially trucks.
We have begun to notice alot of melons on the side of the road. These grow proliferically in the outback, not too sure what the official name of them are but I like to call them paddy melons and I remember when I first cycled in the outback I was warned not to eat them - although they contain liquid the melons only make you more thirsty. So I have never put that to the test and trust that whoever told me that is correct!

They vary in size but don't get much bigger than grapefruit size.

Also something else that is in this area is the dreaded 3 thorn jack and we decided to take a photo of one so you know what we are talking about!

They are absolutely lethal and even thorn proof tubes don't protect you from them.
We had a cuppa break at Darlington Point which is about half way and just before town we found Kouta some friends.

I didn't threaten kouta with replacing him with the absolutely adorable even littler pony that is with this group! But I think the little pony would grow heavier than what Kouta actually is. Also are Darlington Point is the Murrumbidgee river.

Like the Murray this river is just as spectacular and if anything I think it is more beautiful than the Murray and also the name is nicer and just rolls of the tongue!

From Darlington point the Kidman way road became worse - the condition of the road deteriated and there was a marked increase in traffic especially trucks.

The whole area around Griffith is part of the MIA - Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and also part of the Riverina food bowl. Basically alot of Australias food is grown here!

There are numerous vineyards - De Bortelli is one I can think off and alot of them use the grapes to make dessert wines like madeiras, ports etc. Also there are heaps of Orange tree farms - both Valencia and Navel.

There are also heaps of Kiwis in Griffith I suppose to do the seasonal work and even here at the campground (although it is currently out of season I think) which is geared for seasonal workers in one part and tourists in the other.

We did drive down to Leeton today but unfortunately there was nothing really to photograph. Maybe tomorrow as we cycle north to Rankin Springs I might be able to get photos of farms.

But little did I know what Griffith is famous for ... listen to this! ... bribery and drugs!

Back in the 80's (I think) this town had a corrupt police force that was ignoring the growing of marijuana! Alot of illegal wheeling and dealing in drugs. Not that I saw the 2nd series of Underbelly but I think that was based on what was going on in Griffith. Nevertheless it is a nice town now and has a big Italian population in it.

Tomorrow we head north towards Lake Cargelligo which we should be there in 2 days. We stop at Rankin Springs overnight tomorrow and I don't think we will get internet reception there so I will post from Lake Cargelligo.

Jerilderie to Coleambally

Jerilderie to Coleambally = 71km

Cummulative total = 898km

I sure am glad today is over ... I thought the end of the 70km would never come! We woke nice and early this morning and the legs were a little stiff after yesterday but once we got cycling it wasn't all that bad. We had to travel the first 15km along the Newell highway which didn't really have that much traffic but the road surface itself was very bumpy and large pieces of gravel was used to reseal the road instead of small pieces of gravel which makes the road a little smoother for us to ride on. So we were both happy to turnoff onto the Kidman highway. Neil says this highway (Kidman) was named after the famous actress Nicole Kidman ... at least that is what he tried to tell me, but does he think after 13 years that I don't know when he is "bull crapping"!!!

He wanted to take a photo of the 2 types of surfaces on the roads that we have been encountering.

The top part of the photo has the large chunky gravel embedded in tar and the old part of the road has the smaller gravel embedded in tar which is alot nicer to ride on.

By 30km my legs began to feel heavy from yesterdays ride and I thought that I might not make it to Coleambally! But at 40km we had our cuppa break and a bite to eat and unfortunately there are not too many rest areas on this kidman highway so we have to make do with any driveway we can find and for lunch today we had to stop off at a sort of stock yard. And that meant lots of flies!

Doesn't Neil look scary with his fly net on!

After lunch the legs felt a little better after a rest. Basically the road is flat and has long straight stretches. In fact before lunch it was alot of "big sky" country which is best described as when you look straight ahead there is 3/4's of your vision is taken up by sky and the rest is the land and the trees in the distant. After lunch the trees are alot closer to you and you will find you only see 1/4 of the sky ... bizarre really as I never really thought about it that way and it was only when neil said "big sky" country that I began to think about it ... since there was nothing else to do during the 70km!

We did see quite a few hawks (we think they are) circling at one point in fact all 5 were sitting on the fence close together and when Neil stopped to take the photo they flew off and started to hunt and circle.

Neil managed to get 4 in the photo!

Not long after lunch at around 30km south of Coleambally we started to encounter rice fields! yes they grow rice up here. We did see a "sunrise" brand bill board and then we started to see the fields and I suppose they are dry grown and not wet grown like they would be in China!

Some of the fields are huge and are at various stages of growing. Since it was a public holiday today there was no one in the fields cutting although we did see the machines in the fields but they weren't working.
So it was a long ride to get to Coleambally and it was a relief when we saw the town sign.

Just before we got into town we started to see vineyards but we don't think they are grapes grown for wine as we saw no place for making or storing so we assume they are table grapes and the sheds are for packing. We got to Coleambally around 2pm and while setting up the tent we began to listen to the Geelong vs Carlton game and unfortunately we did not do too well and lost!

For dinner tonight we decided to get takeaways as everything was closed by the time we got here as Coleambally is a small town with a popn of 658 people. We are staying here tomorrow and will rest our weary legs. We have covered 160km in 2 days!

the campground is small and quiet. And kouta has plenty of room to move.

Deniliquin to Jerilderie

Deniliquin to Jerilderie = 90km

Cummulative total = 827km

Whew what a day! We covered alot of kms today and thanks to a tailwind for at least 3/4 of it!

But first let me tell you about yesterday. We initially were umming and ahhhing about whether or not to head off yesterday morning despite the forecasted rain. Well lucky we decided to stay put as it absolutely poured down yesterday afternoon! But it had cleared up by 3pm and so we went for a walk. And unknown to us Deniliquin is actually the Ute capital of Australia if not the world! I was watching the cars while waiting for Neil in the IGA and I reckon every second car is a ute! On our walks around the town we came across this!

It's a mans world in Deniliquin and on our way out of town this morning we came across where the hold the Ute Muster every year around October!

There were even a few "supped" (spelling?) Utes in and around town. Also on our walk around the town yesterday afternoon we came across the court house building. It is a very imposing but impressive building.

and below is a close up of the emblem and columns

Anyway onto todays cycling. We took the quiet road from Deniliquin to Jerilderie via Conargo. And I think being a Sunday and Anzac day there wasn't alot of traffic but towards the afternoon I reckon at least 5 double trailer trucks passed us so they must be moving due to less traffic! It was a flat ride and a tailwind to Conargo, from there the road swings east and we either had a side or tail wind depends on which way the road angled!

It is a very different landscape compared to south of Deniliquin - there was less dairy fields and more open field country. Not too sure what it is used for but we did see sheep and cattle. After Conargo it is very shrubbery and of course 3 thorn jack country! Once we left the rest area at Conargo we checked the tires and Neil picked on out of Koutas rear trailer and said he thought he heard a psssss when he pulled it out. But he thought it would be a slow leak so eventually we may have to change the tube ... well it did go down but the tyre is really strong and to look at the wheel it didn't look flat until you felt it.

So here I was riding along and I thought that it was hard going but I thought it was due to the cross winds. So we took a break on someones looooooooooooong driveway.

Here I am all smiles for the camera but something told me to feel the trailer tyre ... and what do you know it was flat! I even asked Neil as we were riding along if it looked flat but he said it was okay but since the trailer wheel doesn't take alot of weight it is very deceiving and doesn't appear flat!

So we change (actually more Neil ... I tend to get in the way!) changed the tube over and cleared the tyre of any 3 thorn jacks!

I think we always knew that the trailer wheels are more likely to pick up the thorny burrs rather than the bike wheels as the bike wheels are really strong tyres.

Anyway as you can see by the km's done we have probably just done our biggest day yet since September last year! By the 80km mark I think I was beginning to feel it in the legs and the muscles began to get a little tired but we are both feeling okay and think we will head off tomorrow to Colembally which is 70km away ... mind you they are forecasting northerlies which will mean a headwind but I don't think they will be strong.

The campground here is nice, flat and quite big. There are 4 men in the other corner and they are all in their utes and swags ... now I have to say this ... the most USELESS CAMPING ITEM EVER IS THE SWAG!!! ... how very unAustralian is that! They leak in the rain! so why don't they make them more waterproof? ... or is that not "manly" enough! well it is not very "manly" when you run to the nearest laundry and use the drier to dry out all your clothes!!! Yep swags are about as useful as "tits on a bull"!!!

Mathoura to Deniliquin

Mathoura to Deniliquin = 36km
Cummulative total = 737km

Just a small day today! Unfortunately there is forecasted rain for the Riverina area and if we continued on to Conargo our camping was only in the local sportsground and we didn't want to get stuck there tomorrow. So we decided to stay here in Deniliquin and if it is raining tomorrow we just stay put and wait out the rain, if it doesn't rain tomorrow then we will move on to Jerilderie hopefully with a good tail wind!
I had psyched myself up for todays ride as I new it was going to be a headwind the whole way but once we got to Deniliquin Neil was a little tired in the legs and with the threat of rain we decided to stay here.
It is a nice size town (popn 8000) and the campground is good and we are way out in the unpowered section so Kouta has room to move and doesn't have to be tied up all the time!
One thing we are struggling with is the forecasting of the weather. We listen to the radio (ABC) but we seem to be getting a dominance of news and forecasts for Mildura across to Horsham and Swanhill so we are not too sure if it is relevant to this area.
We have started to look up Elders and the Bureau of Meteorology more to get a more accurate forecast. I think they are right with the approaching rain as it is starting to cool a bit and cloud over and looking at the radar Melbourne has rain I think!
It is still warm at the moment, todays top is 30 degrees and in a few days I think it will be only 16 degrees so a few cold days coming up.
But you are not going to believe this ... but listen to this ... just before we got into Deniliquin we pulled up into an information bay that had a map of the town and Neil pipes up "oh $10" and I think he is joking but he quickly got of his bike (it is a very windy day and he would hate for it to blow away!!!) and viola!

Is that not the most 'cheesiest' smile that you have seen from Neil? Man he was grinning all the way to the campground! ... and he is still smiling! Man what a winner! I just rode right past it as per usual ... I only see snakes!
We are camped beside the Edward River and it is really quite full and alarmingly enough all the permanent tourist caravans are on stilts! ... are they trying to say something? ... like does the river flood all the time! There doesn't look like any flood damage!
Well hopefully we can push on tomorrow to Jerilderie if not we will stay here at Deniliquin.