Distance: 451km
Dep: 11:30am
Arr: 5:30pm
Temperature: 5°C - 22°C
Total distance to date: 13,489km
Route:
- Coober Pedy
- Glendambo
- Roxby Downs
Caption: An iconic sign with a very fitting sheep-filled roadtrain as the backdrop to our first major town in South Australia.
My friend Kim is a self-proclaimed Outback Grandma, though she is far from the stereotype of what many assume a grandma to be. She is also a nurse who works in the local mines, rides motorbikes (of course), and has not only done several Simpson Desert crossings herself, but she's also organised and supported several crossings for others as well. We met during the first Simpson Desert crossing (where I also met Kate). I had a lot of anxiety about being in a 4WD at the time, but Kim made everything so comfortable after learning about the things that made me nervous. After that Simpson crossing, she also let me stay at her home in Roxby Downs, SA for three days while I waited for Kate to return from Birdsville.
She and her husband Mark have a heart of gold, and you couldn't pick two more solid people to have by your side in times of need.
---
We took advantage of the shorter ride day to get some work done under a little gazebo at our hotel. Ultimately, we wanted to wait for the sun to warm up the air that we were to ride in, but as it turns out, the rays simply weren't strong enough and the air had zero moisture - Coober Pedy is one of the driest parts of Australia in terms of rainfall. The air was just as cold at 11am as it was at 7am. Nevertheless, it was a nice mental cleanse to clear my inbox that had been piling up for days.
Caption: Steph not only does accounts for Peak Moto, but she's the ultimate project manager to get stock ordered and customer orders followed up. The Peak Moto team has been amazing at holding down the fort during our entire trip.
Leaving Coober Pedy felt as though we were on an entirely different planet. BMW have managed to engineer such a deliberately smooth machine that seems to hover over the spotless, perfectly manicured roads of South Australia. Not dissimilar to the shinkansen (bullet train) in Japan. Riding Nena was akin to riding a low-flying airplane just above the surface of Mars. Red rock covered the plains as far as the eye could see, only interrupted by the occasional caravan or work ute coming in the other direction. No trees to be seen for most of it, either. Small shrubs are able to take hold in the tough, rocky terrain, but trees don't stand a chance against the high winds, little moisture, and solid ground in this region.
Caption: The sweetest little sausage, Macie, came out to greet us before we left our accoms at Coober Pedy. Her parents are working and travelling Australia.
The first stop was Glendambo is 254km away, so we rolled into the entrance of one of the many massive mines in the area. The winds were still at the extreme end of the spectrum and with no plant life more than half a metre tall, we made do with hiding behind our bikes for a much needed bush wee.
Caption: A typical scene in this part of South Australia. Zero spots for a private bush wee.
About 100km out from Glendambo, I spotted a large mass lying in the middle of the road. We had been swerving around roadkill for most of the morning, so this one didn't flag as any different. I realised far too late that two massive eagles were enjoying a late lunch right behind the carcass, and due to their size and weight, they took a bit longer to take flight. There was I felt the wing of one of them gently graze my pinky finger - close call! I checked the rear view mirror and saw it flying away unscathed, so we continued on.
Caption: This photo looks like it should be hot, but we are actually wearing 7 layers and an edition of Tractor House magazine tucked in our jackets.
There was a bit of roadworks leading into Glendambo Travelstop, so traffic slowed to a crawl for the first time since Katherine. When we finally reached Glendambo, I flicked my indicator to turn left and saw the green light on my dash blinking at about 3x the speed as normal. What on earth?
Caption: Left Coober Pedy with 4 indicators, arrived in Glendambo with 3.
That could only mean one thing - I'm missing an indicator. I looked down while rolling at walking pace, and saw a plastic nub where my indicator once stood. I parked the bike at the bowser and examined it closer. A tiny piece of white feather reminded me of what I thought was a near miss earlier in the leg. I suppose an outback eagle somewhere out there is showing off a new leg bruise to his mates.
Caption: the Stuart Highway runs all the way from Darwin to Port Augusta, essentially making a huge shortcut through the middle of Australia rather than making people take the long way around.
We enjoyed a surprisingly good burger and hot chocolate before very slowly making our way toward Roxby Downs. The sun was on its way down, but we had a generous amount of daylight by the time we turned left at Spuds Roadhouse in Pimba.
Caption: It's that way to Roxby Downs (at Spuds Roadhouse in Pimba SA). It's an 84km detour off the main highway.
A friendly face greeted us at the driveway - it was my dear friend KimiK! We parked our bikes on the driveway and were reassured of its safety. It can be hard to flick a mental switch in your brain when you've just spent 4 weeks being overly cautious with theft deterrents. I have been to Roxby Downs before and knew it was a pretty safe community.
Roxby Downs is a purpose-built town that was created to service the nearby mining site at Olympic Dam (aptly named as it was created during the Olympics in the 50's). Kim and Mark both work at the mines, and they walked us through the extensive process to extract various metals from the ground on a grand scale. They help raise 4 grandkids to their twin daughters, and you could tell that there is so much love in every corner of their home. We spent the evening swapping stories, catching up on years of events, and cuddling the new puppies they welcomed into the family.
Caption: Charlie (the poodle), Amanda, Kim, Steph, and Mark, after a delicious home cooked meal from Kimi.
Tomorrow, we officially leave the outback for the last time, and head over to world-famous wine region of the Barossa Valley.
