August 2008 Tuesday 26th - Monday 1st September
Aug 29th, 2008 by steve
Left Esperance late Tuesday morning -easy cycle 35kms to Dalyup, undulating countryside through wheat and sheep country. Wheat looks like its had a good start and is about 300mm high. Warmish day with some sunshine. Camped at Dalyup tennis courts - no sign of any habitation near the road but one hell of an impressive set of tennis courts- brand new with club house and barbie area out the back.
Wednesday gave rise to a solid tail wind that I sailed about 75kms into Minglinup - a one roadhouse village but paved and curbed streets and another extensive sports complex including tennis, football, cricket, lawn bowls and an impressive club house. Slept in a shed at the back of the old club house.
Thursday - a hard day into the wind across dry, scrubby and quite hilly country - Nickle country. Camped just past a huge nickle mine about 35kms out from Ravensthorpe. The mine worked all night and lit up the sky like it was a full-moon night.
Saturday - last hilly 30kms into Ravensthorpe - a leaden grey sky with heavy rain squalls -one that gave me the most complete soaking of the trip so far. Ravensthorpe probably has the steepest street of any town in WA. Apparently even the trucks have trouble getting up in both winter and summer. The experienced drivers stop at the bottom of the hill, change into low gear and take it all in that gear. Unaware drivers make the mistake of trying to shift down through their gears and find they can’t get into first when they need it. According to the two ladies in the Op shop who have a view onto the main road some really big trucks have got stuck including B triples and once a load of 300 sheep. The urine tipping off the back edge of the lorry was not a pleasant experience.
The road from Esperance is a pot-holed, two-lane, shoulder less road. Seems only a forgotten back-country road.
