29 December 2010

Day 4: Steady as she goes... sort of.

Route: Port MacDonnell-Nelson-Portland-Bridgewater Point-Port Fairy-Warrnambool
Distance covered: 240km (approx.)

Another night, another period of stupidly cold temperature. When I awoke at 6:30, I could see my own breath - and I thought that this was meant to be the middle of summer! There was also condensation on the tent, so anything that had been leaning against it was damp. Which meant most things as I'd positioned them around the edges to help insulate me from draughts. Not that it made any difference - I relented and went for the thermal top last night.

Having sworn to make an earlier start, departing at 8:50 was a marginal improvement. I was still tired and back my back was still stiff, having only partially loosened up under the hot shower at the campsite.


Good progress was made to the border a few kilometres to the east of my starting point for the day. Visitors coming into South Australia are greeted with this:


In my direction, however, the welcome is friendlier:


I continued on, reaching Nelson, the first town over the border. It was considerably smaller than anticipated:


As there was only a BP, I elected to not refuel, but to instead continue onwards to Portland. The road is a beautiful stretch for riding along: sweeping curves, changes in elevation and forest along much of it. I imagine that on a faster scooter, it would be even nicer.

As the more observant readers will have already noticed, today's distance is only an estimate. About 40km out of Portland I looked down at my instruments (not that there are too many on a Hyosung Rally) and saw that my speedometer and odometer had ceased to operate. Perhaps the tumble last night had caused some damage, after all (even if it had taken maybe 80km to kick in).


I pulled over and had a quick look to see if there was anything obviously wrong that I may be able to fix. Removing the windscreen (small as it is), I checked the cabling, but with my limited toolkit and even more limited knowledge of what I could do to fix it, there was little else to do but to screw the windscreen back on and to continue onwards.

And it still reads this!

No more exact records of the distance that I've covered each day. Damn. Having said this, it's one less thing to detract (small as it as) from the journey. I'll just need to be careful to remain below the speed limit in towns. Even so, I am still annoyed about it.

Reaching Portland, I was faced with an awkward decision: BP or Shell? I opted for the former. Stopping in a cafe for some terrible lunch, I had a quick look around the town.


I then continued on to Bridgewater Point to the west of Portland to see the blowholes (that weren't blowing today) and the petrified forest (that has nothing to do with trees).


Heading eastwards, I retraced my path to the outskirts of Portland, then bypassed the town, heading for Warrnambool, some 90km. Other than for a detour to Port Fairy, the attraction of which I have failed to grasp at all, I arrived in Warrnambool, but not before discovering another reason to recommend traversing Australia on a 50cc scooter:


Stopping off for supplies at a Coles - and discovering that the IGA in Meningie was far, far cheaper (and the big supermarket chains would never price gouge, would they?) - I found a campsite with space and settled down for the night. I'd intended to go a little further, but the interrupted nights of sleep are beginning to catch up with me.


Today's picture is dedicated to Neal, whose house is only marginally more structurally sound than this one:

3 comments:

  1. Hey Cap'n, as you seem not like BP or Shell very much, I'm interested to know what fuel you prefer? I'll refuel anywhere except places that have only ethanol fuel.

    By the way, is your speedo operated by a cable or is it all electronic? If it's a cable, maybe it's not seating properly in the drive at the wheel end. Just a thought...

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  2. Cap'n......so far you have made no mention of how you - and your spud-mobile - find the traffic.
    Is it substantial or sparse? Are the drivers courteous or otherwise? Trucks? Do you feel comfortable or intimidated?

    Also on the fuel point mentioned by Sharon......why the distaste for Shell & BP?

    Anyway....you are halfway to Melbourne! All power to you and your scooter.

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  3. SharonVespaGirl: it's a cable, so I'm going to have a look at it now, whilst there is still some light, thanks to a tip on Scooter Community (thanks, pyrah!)

    Bruce: on the whole, the traffic hasn't been an issue. The trucks are fine, as the drivers are professionals. Most tourists aren't too bad either. The only time I felt intimidated was today with a police car on my tail going uphill!

    Both of you: I'll go into my objections with BP and Shell more on another occasion, but essentially it's political. Having said this, the place I bought my scooter from advised me to avoid Shell because of its additives.

    Done over 1000km now :)

    Off to look at the speedo cable!

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