Sunday, November 23, 2008

Day 2 - Tumbling Waters to Darwin

Day 2 - Tumbling Waters - Mandorah - Darwin
82km, 5 hrs riding
The plan was to leave at 6:30 like yesterday but upon hearing the weather forecast of NNW winds of 10-15kts later in the morning, we decided an early start was best as they would be head winds so we left at 6am. Later the heat made us think 4am would have been a better choice.

Anyway I'm getting ahead of myself..........

Yesterday I mentioned a little bar at the resort/park. Sandy and I cruise down and ring the buzzer for service. The owner comes down and tells us it's $3 per beer and help yourself and then he trots off leaving the fridge and till open.....I love trusting people, it gives me confidence in the world.

So picture the two of us, ridden 58km in searing heat, haven't had dinner yet and we knock-off four heavys each.........had a great time and staggered back to the cabin to cook our dinner. Frozen spag bog sauce and some pasta.


Took the first photo of the day....didnt come out too good. Had a look at the lens and it was fogged up from being in the aircon all night and then taken out in the humidity.........








Came across these termite mounds with caps on????











Careful Sandy, don't hit a horse. We keep an eye out.












This sweaty thing is very cleansing.













Stopped by a creek to have a snack and rest.











Very nice lilies on the same creek











These signs might be OK in a car but to see them every 10km is just depressing on a bike.









As close as we got to hitting a horse.











The road......lots of this.










Crested the hill and saw the harbour. You can see Darwin on the other side so all that remains is to catch the ferry and then ride 17km home.











There is something very special about a cold Coke after 4 hours of riding is high heat and humidity. The Mandorah Pub has a great view of the harbour and the Darwin skyline 4 miles across the harbour but 140 by road.
The publican felt sorry for us and gave us some free Gatorade.






The view










At the end of every adventure we take a self portrait. We think they capture the true Gary and Sandy. In this case we didnt have much time to take the shot as we both stank :)






Now probably through heat affected brain I forgot to take any photos of the ferry ride or the ride from the ferry terminal at Cullen Bay to home.....nevermind you've all seen a ferry and some of you have seen Darwin. Due to waiting for the ferry we did the final leg at lunch time by which time it was the hotest I've ever ridden in. We got home, turned on the aircon and then went to the pub for a burger and a shandy.....bloody beautiful.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Awesome work guys, lucky some of the road was dirt because bitumen probably just would have melted your tyres anyhow :o) Was that your world famous spag bol you were dining on?
- Phoebe

Gary and Sandy Perkins said...

Yes, the spag bog comes out for all adventures.