Total Trip:
Vic to Adelaide:
Today was very tough. It was extremely hot and also very very windy at times. The best part about today was being able to jump into the Murray river for a swim.
I woke up nice and early after a peaceful sleep to the lake. As I woke up I had a swim and then saw the girls who camped nearby. They offered me some food, although half was stuff I wouldn't eat. Children's lollies, cartons of dairy milk, packaged chips etc. I did take some fruit sticks and also a pack of cocopops. I was curious as to why they had all this random food and they explained to me that they've been dumpster diving throughout the trip. It made me annoyed as I thought about all the free food I've missed out on. This is something I often do back home, yet was the first time to enter my mind on this trip. For some reason I haven't thought about it. The reason why I'd love to dumpster dive even more so now, is because I'm more inclined to eat rubbish junk foods as I crave anything after long hours on the bike. In addition my biggest expense on this trip has been food. I'll definitely be looking out now, only thing many of the country towns would not have to much wastage.
After this I left to head up to Strathlbyn. This is around 102km trip. As I left I rode into heavy head winds. 5 minutes into my ride my pannier rack also snapped off the bike. As it snapped it made a loud crack and also massive clunk every time my wheel span. I stopped straight away and realised the rack has entered into the spokes and the top of the rack is no longer connected to the forks. Fortunately I had some Elastoplast tape that I wrapped around the rack and the fork. This did the job temporarily and later on it required more adjustment. I was fairly worried as I was riding into heavy wind, in what felt like 40degrees, and thought I was in for an extremely difficult challenge.
I bumped into a few British cyclist going the opposite direction. They started in Adelaide so were still fresh into their trip. The two were very nice guys and one of them showed full enthusiasm about where I've been, stayed etc. It was the first time I felt that I had good knowledge of touring, as I was able to pass on valuable information to them. I provided advice on touring in Tasmania. This was something they were unsure about, but after talking about it they definitely looked enthused. This made me realise that the advice I am now giving is shaping the trip for others, and ultimately their life experiences. So far on my trip I have not had any plans, just a direction I would like to go and everything in between has been a result of talking with different people.
After a chat with these boys I headed to the Murray river where I had to catch a free ferry to the other side. I was surprised to see, this small ferry actually runs 24hours a day pretty much every day of the year. It had a young fella operating it, sitting down listening to the sport radio. It made me think about how little stress he would have, but also that it would become quite monotonous.
As the heat was unbearable I made good use of the river and found a nice spot a few hundred metres away from the ferry. This was very refreshing. As I hopped out I had received a great gift from above as at least 500+ cockatoo's went flying above my head to a tree along the Murray. There were so many yet due to the direction the birds were flying and the clear Skye's above, it made for a very picturesque scene. It was even more delightful as at the end of the large pack were a dozen baby cockatoos struggling to keep up. The sound of them, coupled with the sun on my body, the freshwater swim and the country bush land made for a very beautiful setting. This was one of those moments I didn't want to spoil by messing around with a camera, to take a photo that would give it a fraction of the justice. It was very gratifying to stand there in peace and enjoy the fresh air while observing it above.
I kept pushing to towards Strathlbyn until I saw a free camp area in some bushes about 15km before the town. I thought I need to save money now as I know I won't be able to find cheap sleeps around Adelaide. In addition to this I now have to get my bike fixed and I also need to get my knee checked out as I've been having sharp pains every time I pedal with my right leg. I am not sure what it is but I certainly need to get it checked as the pain is very sharp and becoming difficult to climb hills. I think it may possibly be the ITB injury I had from long distance walking/running events earlier on in the year.
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