I’ve entered Nullarbor. All night I was laid in tent and felt pain in legs and knees. Every turn brought me an uncomfortable feeling in my leg’s muscles.
In the morning I did not wait until some member of the Head of Bight staff would come up to me and left this beautiful place at 7 am. After 15 km I arrived at Nullarbor roadhouse and asked for soup in a cafe. They had chicken and vegies soup. I also wanted to buy a bottle of Cola, but only Diet Cola was available. It not my choice because it does not contain any sugar.
I met a motor-biker and he looks frozen. We shared few words and I advised to have some hot coffee inside. Then I asked a group of young travelers in a minibus to make pictures of me in front of a big whale. One guy Marek who was a driver was from Canada with a polish background and another one from Uzbekistan, was currently living in the Netherland. For me it meant I could speak a little Russian with him. They were heading East and advised me to use a turn closer to Nullabor for the pictures of cliffs.
On the next rest stop I found a fresh lemon on the table. Many people who travel from East to West start to get rid of fruit closer to Western Australia border. If you found a lemon make a lemonade. I cut it in slices and put piece of lemons in each of my bottles of water.
After 5 km I was reached by Bluey and Denise. I promised them to make a picture together. So we did it just on the road. I liked when people are proud of their country. Bluey was such kind of person, because he had an Australian flag attached on his car. I also made a picture with this flag.
I gave him my e-mail, so they dropped me pictures the next week.
All day I cycled through Nullabor national park, but I had not crossed it over. I didn’t expect to cover all 180 km in one day. I made two turns to cliff and found beautiful spots to make photos. This place is really breathtaking and looks like the edge of the world. Only Antarctic is beyond.
Unfortunately I couldn’t to make a camping on the cliff because closer to the sunset the wind has changed to strong western and my speed decreased to 8 km/hour. To make things worse it started to rain. I was tired to continue to ride another 12 km to another rest stop so I made a turn to the closest bushes and used a wildcamping for that night.
It was raining all night long. So I made a good decision to stop here. Only 95 km left to Western Australia.
I cycled 110 km that day.
26 April 2014.
I woke up at 4-30 and started to cycle after quick packing.
I had pains in the muscles of my right leg, so I tried to make kind of massage to relax it. And it really helped. I felt much better in the morning. The only thing was annoying me – my clothes were dirty and I needed a shower badly.
Driving in dark across Nullarbor is very easy. No cars till sunrise. Just two road trains passed me by.
At 10 am when there were only 50 km left to the Border village between Southern and Westerns Australia I found a rest stop with a water tank. I have used this opportunity for a wild shower. Just a few meters off the road I dropped all my clothes and washed myself in cold water. I felt so fresh and happy to be able to put on a new underwear and t-shirt.
As it often happens to the car owners it rains right after they have washed their car. I’ve returned on the road and it started raining. I put my jacket on and continued to cycle under the rain. The road there was very close to the cliff so I was trying to imagine that this road lead to nowhere -no other lands behind the horizon.
There are two types of drivers that wave you and give a friendly horn every time when they meet you on the highway. It’s hippie-travelers in small Volkswagen-like minivans and the owners of small rare cars. I guess they understand that there is someone freakier than they are.
I’m in the Border Village. It means that I crossed National park and finished my journey in Sothern Australia. Now it’s time to cycle in the West.
By the way there are some sightseeing spots closer to the Border Village and they have a special sign. But I found out that these spots are not extreme at all and are very safe. You can even walk to the water. So if you start your journey along Bunda Cliff try unmarked turns after 60-80 km to the East from Border Village.
I ordered a burger and a cup of tea in the roadhouse. Here you can find a lot of big grey butterflies. One woman explained to me that this kind of butterflies live only 24 hours before the die.
I finished all my tomatoes and grapes the night before, because you can’t bring vegetables and fruits to the Western Australia. On the border I had to show the food I had with me – the dried apricots and nuts, which was ok for entering the West. They asked me if I carry any honey. I never thought about honey for a bike trip and I actually didn’t have any. — No – I answered. — So where you get calories and sugar? — I like to drink Cola with sugar instead of simple water. — Ok. You can pass. Have a good trip.