Distance covered: 164.1km
The shortest day so far began perfectly and ended almost disastrously.
Awaking after an uncomfortable night of freezing, sleeping on hard ground and hearing animals around the tent, I started the day by heading to the private beach of the nudist camp where I'd somehow ended up the night previously. I saw nobody either on the way or on it. A pristine beach, just after sunrise, all to myself. The day couldn't have begun better.
Having departed Sunland for Beachport, I was quickly reminded of the benefit of going the slow way - the average driver would never see such evidence of the local wildlife:
The road was, fortunately, much better than the one on which I had approached my previous night's accommodation, but it was a lesson in traction, managing slides and balance. Hard work, lots of learning, but ultimately good fun.
I reached Beachport, a small holiday port town on the coast, as the name suggests. On days like today, the town's population of 400 must swell by several times.
I sat down to blog the previous day's events, before heading out onto the jetty to look at the people fishing and similarly enjoying the weather the manner that I was.
Leaving Beachport, I headed towards Millicent. Whilst riding through the town, encountering the first traffic lights for some time, my scooter celebrated an auspicious occasion:
Stopping for lunch shortly after Millicent, I continued on towards Mont Gambier, but took a detour to see Glencoe Woolshed, which was signposted prominently on the main road. Being in no rush, I've been stopping at most tourist sites. On this particular occasion, however, the journey to it was better than the destination.
Sweeping, undulating roads, but at the end of a substantial detour, a somewhat underwhelming sight. Not sure what else I'd been expecting.
I passed through the town centre of Mount Gambier without stopping, instead heading for the town's main tourist attraction: Blue Lake. For non-locals reading this blog, the photo below isn't doctored: the water is really this colour, hence the lake's name.
The lake is in an extinct volcano, and chemicals in the water turn it this colour during the spring and summer.
It's Shaun the Sheep!
Final destination for the day: Port MacDonnell, some 25km south of Mount Gambier. The firest caravan park was full; the second (and final) fortunately still had a little room remaining. I pitched my tent in windy conditions and then prepared to take a quick look at the beach.
Disaster struck - my poor scooter, already working hard, fell onto my tent! A combination of wind and unsteady ground brought its collapse. Having stood in the same spot for at least half an hour, it chose to have a lie down.
Shortly before the collapse...
No photo of the incident was taken, rushed as I was to separate scooter and tent. No obvious damage to either one. Only when I set off to purchase takeaway for dinner (no supermarket was open when I arrived in the town) did I discover that the right mirror was unusable. Fortunately, a spanner and readjustment was all that was required. Upon my return I stood the scooter on more solid footings - a 4x2 that was lying around in the caravan park and a rock under the back wheel.
The new parking spot, well away from the tent...
With the lack of foodstuffs for breakfast, I hope to get underway a little earlier tomorrow than I have to date. Time will tell. Either way, I'll be leaving South Australia and entering Victoria.
With a rear tyre with a name like this, what could go wrong? It's made for me!
Finally, today's picture dedication goes to Alison. Enjoy, Alison :)
The trip looks great, Captain! You're certainly making progress anddoing a good blog - with whizzo pics too. Do you plug your netbook into a cigarette socket on the scoot?
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about cold nights within tent. Do you spread your jacket over the top for an extra layer? You could do with getting a cheap duvet, but it may be too much to tie on and carry!
I now use a thick mummy sleeping bag all year round - it just about squeezes in my topbox, and my tiny tent (about ten dollars, from Tesco) and stove, etc go under the seat.
Your plans to get an LML eventually sound good. I went to the Milan bike show in November, and thought the LML range really stood out. Great-looking scoots!I know a couple of people who ride 'em. I also liked the Sym/Bolwell Fiddle II and Mio!
Good luck with the next leg! Guess what, last night I watched a programme about how they made the Skippy series!
Johnny, England
Cheers for your comments, Johnny. I just plug it in wherever I'm camping for the night (usually at a standard caravan park as it's easiest), as it means I can keep my camera charged as well.
ReplyDeleteThe jacket's been used regularly as a blanket. It's hard to believe it's meant to be the middle of summer!
My LML has actually already arrived and is waiting for my return, so it's not too long until I get on it.
I've seen enough Skippies on the trip, just dead....