Day 29 15th June Streaky Bay to Crystal Brook
We’re in for a biggish ride today of around 600km. I’m up early b ut the town of Streaky Bay is shut except for the service station. I o down there and get an ordinary coffee. See Luke as he’s about to head out by himself. No sign of Huddo. I finally find a café about to open just up the road from where we’re staying. We have a reasonable breakfast but it takes time as we’re the first customers. We get talking to a caravanning couple from Deniliquin. The commonality of the road. They reckon we’re heroes!
John Laird and me head off before Spike and Georg and sit on a good pace. Again we’re rolling through sheep and wheat country and then the occasional national park area. We take core due to the ‘roos but I don’t see any road kill. It’s an uneventful ride and we stop after about 220km for a re-fule for the VStrom. Again it’s more of the same but as you cut across the railway line at Kimba there’s the big Galah! We don’t stop. One small town after another then the mine site and red earth of Iron knob dominates an otherwise flat landscape. We get to Port Augusta and coss over the bridge before re-fueling then going over the road to the golden arches for a quick feed. I hear from Huddo who is already at Crystal Brook and has bumped into some SA officers who are riding out to meet us. Spike and Georg come in just s we’re about to leave. No drama. Lairdy and me o down the highway but take the turn of to Wilmington to go through Horrocks pass. Some sharp corners at last! I wtch Lairdy throwing the bike into corners. He’s getting better at this. We enjoy the final run down Crystal Brook on the B road through Melrose. We find the Huddo and Luke in the main bar, get our rooms , change and go for a walk of the own in different directions. We meet up at another hotel and decide we’ll get the others to eat here because the crystal Brook Hotel is hosting the local football club and is expecting about 100 for dinner.
As we go back there. Matt Nairn and Mick Klose park their bikes out the front, SA boys who have come out to spend the night with us and have a bit of a ride. The pub is jumping and loud so it’s not long before we walk to the other hotel in town and have a nice feed where we can have a decent conversation without yelling. Despite Crystal Brook supposedly being the home of a coven of witches – we don’t find any!
Mick Klose is on a Yamaha Tenere and somehow lost the oil plug – which is in the frame in front of the petrol tank…. He’s got a thin mist of oil all over him! A quick visit to a boating store found a bung that would fit and get him home.
Matt Nairn is on a BMW RT1200, a late model bike.
Day 30 16th June Crystal Brook to Adelaide
A short 300 odd kilometres today. Despite this I’m up early, as is Spike Vipond and Matt Nairn. We wait out the front of the pub for the others, take the obligatory photo and head off for the short ride to Red Hill on the A1 highway. Coffee and a toasted sandwich and we head back into the hills away from the highway. Mick Klose leads us on a lot of beautiful back roads at a leisurely pace. I enjoy taking in the scenery and even the mangy old fox that scampers across the road in front of us.
We stop in the main street of Clare and meet up with other SApol members Jim Andrew, Steve Steele and Alby Quinn. Thanks boys for coming out to meet us!
Going through the Clare Valley past the wonderful vineyards and wineries on a beautiful sunny day is an absolute joy. We pull up outside the ‘Magpie hotel’ I just have to take a photo – ‘go pies’
Nest it’s into the Seppelt winery car park for a hot scone with jam and cream…. No wine for me or the others. But there’s more coffee consumed.
We’re happy to head into Adelaide by some roads through the Barossa valley and eventually get on highway A1 for the run into the city.
Coming into the CBD we ride into the Police depot and have a look at the special trailer that has been built by sponsors for the wall2Wall ride. It’s a covered in affair with plenty of room for bikes and even has a hatch that can double as a servery for food and even beer after a long days ride! Very civilised. Than it’s an inspection of the historical societies collection of old police bikes and cars. Everything from BSA’s to Suzuki sidecars to the latest and greatest BMW’s. then there’s the old cars including a Valiant charger pursuit car…. All in good working order. Thanks again boys for the escort and show and tell.
Only about 300km toady but that’s fine – we need an easy day for a change.