Day 17: homeward-bound.

Route taken: Bordertown-Keith-Tailem Bend-Wellington-Langhorne Creek-Strathalbyn-Kangarilla-Blackwood-Adelaide

Distance covered: TBC

So, that's it. I am back. The end of the scootering odyssey to Wilson's Promontory and back.

The day started on an interesting note, almost as soon as the previous day concluded. Just before 1:30 I was woken by a woman screaming abuse and banging on metal - a caravan or roller door. This carried on for some time, until the police arrived to settle things down.

In the morning I learnt that the poor woman had been beaten up by her husband, who then drove off in their campervan, leaving his wife and child standing in the caravan park. She ended up in hospital for the night, blood streaming, and in the morning her charming husband turned a couple of times at the campsite, circling around, and even being decent enough to pay the site fees (yeah, that's sarcasm).

Still undecided as to where to head for the day, this horrible event helped me decide. My life is generally pretty good, and spending another day riding around seemed like a futile attempt to avoid dealing with whatever was awaiting me upon my return home.

As I approached the turning for Pinaroo, I paused to take a photo but my resolve remained: homeward-bound.

Carrying on, I carried on towards Keith, passing the Andy Cauldecott Park. Andy Caldecott was a Keith resident, who was killed in an accident during the 2006 Paris-Dakar Rally, having won his first stage a few days beforehand.

I stopped in Keith for breakfast, where what I presume to be a mother and son from Tasmania, who were touring on a large motorcycle, had chosen to do likewise. The teenage son shot me a few dirty glances and looked generally surly, as any decent teenager ought to.

Keith - home of the jeep-on-a-stick memorial

The traffic wasn't as heavy as it had been the previous day, but there were still numerous road trains passing me in both directions. When I stopped to refuel in Coonalpyn, I learnt from a truck driver that I had been the morning's topic of conversation on the CB radio.

Pushing onwards towards Tailem Bend, six cyclists riding in the opposite direction from me went by. And people think that I've been crazy by riding a 50cc scooter...

On the outskirts I came across an unexpected surprise - the Big Olive, the fourth 'big' object of the trip:

The Big Olive left me with a dilemma - should I abandon my plan to return through Wellington and Langhorne Creek, stopping off for wine, and head northwards towards the Giant Rocking Horse in Gumeracha, thereby adding a fifth such sight to my trip? I quickly saw sense - wine it was to be.

The Murray, just outside Tailem Bend

Waiting for the ferry at Wellington

Squeezing onto the ferry: there is always space for a scooter

Crossing across the same ferry that I took only a couple of hours into my adventure some 2 1/2 weeks ago, I headed towards Langhorne Creek. Stopping at a couple of wineries provided for a relaxing break. With space for three bottles (one of which somehow fitted under the seat), I was armed for the final stint home.

Bremerton Winery - well worth the visit

After stopping in Strathalbyn for a quick bite, I was suddenly confronted with another weather condition that I had not expected: fog!

As I carried on northwards through Paris Creek, visibility continued to decrease, with the headlights of passing cars and trucks suddenly appearing out of the gloom.

 

I've heard rumours that it is currently the middle of an Australian summer

I personally do not believe those rumours

As I entered Meadows, the fog dissipated. Quickly knocking off the last stretch of the ride through Kangarilla, Clarendon and Blackwood, I descended onto the Adelaide plain, heading home.

I'd done it. I'd completed my 2 1/2-week scootering odyssey.

Just because this is the end of the daily reports, don't think that this is the end of the blog posts. I shall continue to post in the coming days and weeks. There's a lot that I haven't had the time or opportunity to share so far.

I hope that you've enjoyed the journey.