Distance: 494km + 50min Ferry Ride
Dep: 7:00am
Arr: 6:20pm
Temperature: 27°C - 31°C (felt much hotter)
Total distance to date: 2179km
Route:
- Kingscote
- Penneshaw
- Spirit of Kangaroo Island (Ferry)
- Cape Jarvis
- Aldinga Beach
- Adelaide
- Port Augusta
After tossing around in bed for a whole 5 hours, we were up at the crack of down to pack our clothes. We ended up losing the battle with the laundry machine and all of our clothes were still mildly damp from last night. There was only an hour to contain the explosion of clothing that were draped over every surface of the hotel in an attempt to dry them. Socks on lamps, singlets hung on every chair, and so on.
Now experts at packing our bikes with gear, we set off 10 minutes before our planned departure to make our way over to the ferry. Dawn is a great time for animals to come out and find breakfast, so we were courteous to what furry resident may crawl or hop into our general direction.
Caption: That ain't goin nowhere. On the ferry back onto the mainland.
None to be seen though, I think they had all slept in, and I wish I had as well. We entertained ourselves at the ferry terminal by watching fully loaded livestock trucks reverse into the ferry with expert precision. We made it back on, and an hour of meditating to deep house music made the trip back to the mainland much easier than the one a couple days ago.
Breakfast was on the mind, so we took a quick pitstop at Normanville for what I now know as the world's saltiest meat pie. Google reviews said so, but I chose to disregard them. Kindly noted for next time - believe the Google reviews.
Caption: Steph was in the queue to get Lady Gaga tickets. Unfortunately, this failed, so we continued on our way to Adelaide.
We could gauge our proximity to Adelaide by the amount of congestion that had started settling in. It was a weekday afterall, and we've managed to join what seems like every resident of suburban Adelaide on their morning commute into the city. Traffic slowed to a halt, several times, and crawled at a pace I normally walk my bike. Speaking of, I should've done this, it would have been faster. The temperature rose to an uncomfortable level and we were fully surrounded by other vehicles. I quietly hoped for someone to open their windows next to us so I could feel their air con.
Past experience from Sheba Rides Australia, along with our impromptu chain adjustment back in Robe, compelled us to find a breaker bar and a 34mm socket for the BMW. The Yamaha chain was brand new, but mine has seen better days and I thought it better to be safe than sorry. It was only 31°C but it felt like I turned a gas stove on and gently leaned forward toward the flame. I felt like a sweaty Frodo, squeaking around in SMX-6 boots looking for a socket big enough to fit the rear axle nut of an s1000rr.
Caption: Finally, a bike I can flatfoot.
With the goods obtained, we made our way up to AMX Blair Athol where our friend Beckz is the manager. You could tell the shop was run by a woman - every item was perfectly aligned, the jackets were in size order, the helmets were facing the same direction, and the customer service was on point. We walked in needing a new visor to replace Steph's beaten up one, and walked out with several supplies, a wireless Quadlock, and a new Insta 360 camera.
Caption: Meeting up with Beckz, manager of AMX Blair Athol in Adelaide - and a longtime friend.
We bid our farewells to Beckz and continued our trek up north. Traffic eased up considerably north of Adelaide. My soul was yearning so badly for the outback that my heart shuddered every time we had to stop at a traffic light. The future ahead has no traffic lights, and is where my heart belongs.
Caption: Loving the Flying Solo Gear Co Tully Tailbag and Octane Leg Bag!
The scenery slowly transitioned from sandy white and green, to a golden hue, to a rusty red in a couple of hours as Adelaide left our rear view mirrors. The sun was falling toward our left and the natural bends of the road straightened out enough to easily allow us to pass the road trains that started to appear. The weather was still quite warm, but much less like the devil's armpit.
Caption: Oh what a feeling to leave traffic in the rear view mirrors.
We made one last fuel stop just outside of Port Pirie and began a final sprint north while the sky changed its wardrobe from blue to gradients of gold and purple. We rolled into Port Augusta just in time to smell the BBQ coming off the grill of a solo elderly traveller who offered to take our photos. A friendly chap who seemed to be having the time of his life. I thanked him for the photos and had a chat with him before starting work on installing Steph's new wireless Quadlock.
Caption: We made it to Port Augusta!
A hefty steak and salmon dinner at the local pub will certainly give us enough energy to tackle our entry into the South Australian Outback tomorrow.
