Weather: 40+ degrees
This morning before I left I was fortunate enough to talk with a native land manager from a tribe starting with A, possibly Anmatjara, but was difficult to understand so am only speculating. He was a very nice man and we managed to click straight away. I quizzed him about the work he did but then also got into the topic of his tribes culture. He explained to me that the young people, both male and female have to go through initiation processes. I could tell he didn't want to let too much of his cultural traditions out, so readily to a stranger, so I didn't push it any further. He did however mention some past history of his family, in particular how his father was stolen. He explained his father was half Irish descent and half Aboriginal. His father grew up on country so was still practicing culture. He explained that when the Europeans took him from his family they put a chain around his neck and connected him to ten or so other young men. He said that when they'd stop for a rest the white fellas would tie them around a tree with the chain. This made me so angry and annoyed, and when asking the man his view I could see it was very deep for him. We both acknowledged that many white Australians don't know this past. We spoke about these factors contributing to the disparity that still exists today.
As I left for the ride it was gruelling. I had to ride 70km straight before I could get some shade. The place I stopped at was an old mining town called Iron Knob. I thought at this particular place I could get a cold drink in a shop, but it turned out this town is no longer active. I was spewing, I was so buggered and desperately needed a drink. I also needed to fill up my water as I was critically low.
As I was clutching straws I started searching for a water tank, or tap in someone's garden. There was nothing around. It is as if nuclear weapons have been tested here and the whole town has had to evacuate. Surrounding the town the landscape is desolate. It is obvious its human inflicted and from what I've gathered from the signs around town, it has been around 100 years of iron ore mining.
I saw a garage half open and a sign on it saying Christian Sunday school. As much as I have no interest in these people I knocked on the door to load up on water. They took me in and sat me down. It was an older couple, man and women. I must admit they were very welcoming. The room freaked me out a little as it was covered in Jesus memorabilia and typical Christian messages scattered around the room. A lot of the messages were about god creating man, and having quotes linked to chapters out of the bible. I explained that I was keen to get going, yet the lady offered me a cold cordial drink and to also put my drink bottles in the freezer. I thought this was a good idea so I decided to have a breather. The whole conversation was about Jesus and other god related issues. I tried to steer it away yet the man kept bringing it back. I realised the lady was less talkative on this so I started directing conversation towards her. She knew a lot about nutrition and I found out these two actually met on the Internet. The lady only converted to Christianity in the last few years after she met him.
They started trying to tell me about the importance of missionaries. I became tired and was half asleep. I didn't want to let them know my opinions as I wanted to keep peace and get out of there. It got to a point where I had to say something, as I have a lot of angst towards missionaries, or any person who feels the need to manipulate other cultures. I wanted to steer clear of discussing Aboriginal cultures as I didn't want to give these people any ideas for further missionary work. I snuck it in discreetly and asked what they thought of indigenous cultures continuing traditions whilst still following Christianity. Unfortunately the majority of indigenous people, in Australia and the rest of the world, are heavily religious namely due to missionaries and other preachers. A lot of culture is being lost as a result, and along with it community identity. In every corner of the globe this is happening. The man responded by saying that the Aboriginal people have to chose, between their culture or god. He explained it is one or the other and it essentially means going to heaven or hell. Sitting in their house, having refreshing drinks, homemade biscuits and a comfortable chair I can see how so many indigenous people have been converted in the past. Traditionally these luxuries would have been very foreign, and on a day like this they are very enticing. When thinking about how discriminated Aboriginal people and other indigenous people have been historically, converting must have been a relief to the constant cultural struggles they would of had to face daily.
I ended up forcing my self out as I noticed the man was about to put on a video. As I left they asked me to sign a piece of paper with my details so they could send me some information. I had to think quick, as I already introduced my self. I wrote my name as James Andrews and put down a fake address back in Melbourne. It would have been to cruel to play a joke on any friends so I made sure it was fake. These people really act like a bunch of flies, consistently pestering you and not giving up. They also loaded me up with a bunch of books to take on the bike, explaining anybody who puts gods message in the bin will go to hell and that these need to be passed on.
As I left the lady also gave me a bag of pure rock salt as she explained the health benefits associated with it. They both actually had a salt breather, which was meant to fill your body with minerals every time you breathe it in. This place was getting weirder and weirder, although a salt breather made more sense then the religious sentiment they were providing. I took the salt with gratitude, as I knew my body would be low on salt from all the sweating in this heat. The lady also filled a bottle up with salt water and it tasted horrific.
I left with a couple of homemade Anzac cookies, water, a bag of salt, two books and a bunch of other religious items in a small bag, sort of like a small show bag. I was keen on ditching the books due to weight, but for two reasons held onto them. Firstly I would have felt bad for the couple if they found them on the side of the road and secondly I wanted to recycle the paper.
I pushed on for a further 95 km. This was a tough ride. Today has been the longest distance of riding I've done in this trip, and the km's feel somewhat multiplied by the heat. I ran low on water, literally having nothing as I pulled into town. I would've been in big trouble if I had any longer to go. About 10 km before Kimba, my final stop, a person stopped their car and waived me down for a bottle of water. I yelled out that I was very appreciative but kept going. I had good speed and was about to hit a hill. Being 10km off I wanted to keep going and also knew I was capable of getting in with the low water supply I had. It's good to know there's kind people out there though!
When I pulled into town I met some locals at the front of their house. This is a very small country town and the majority of its occupants have something to do in the agricultural sector. These people were cattle and wheat farmers and were very nice to me. They offered some water but I kindly declined as I thought I'd fill up from a tap in the roadhouse. After realising I had to pay for the tap water in the road house I went back and took the locals up on their offer. I managed to suss out where a free camp site was as well.
I pulled into the camp site and thought I'd be the only one here. It's stinking hot and I was covered in sweat so I found a hose in the park to give my self a good wash. After this I've gotten my dinner ready, only to have a bloke from W.A walk over and offered me a beer. He's also camping here. I was wrapped for the beer as it was nice and cold. I would've drank anything cold in this particular moment. Not long after this a four wheel drive with two good looking French girls pulled in. I almost thought I was dreaming, a free cold beer and then two good looking French girls!!
Time to enjoy my meal and get ready for another 110km tomorrow.
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