Broken Hill and Beyond

Broken Hill

Left Flinders Ranges early this morning with a smile on my face. I slept well, saw a huntsman, and heard a mob (herd) of cockatoos screeching. What a beautiful country.

I snapped a few pictures from the road today. Let’s face it. I was left turn dominate in the states. I can pull a u turn to the left on a motorcycle with no issue. Since I have been driving on the left-hand side of the road now, my right-hand U-turns have significantly improved since I am constantly turning around for pictures of the things I spot along the road.

I took this one as I was leaving Flinders Ranges.

Yes, that is a camel. I am adding a quote from my friend Graeme so you can understand the hilarity of this photo.

Alayna you start your big days today. Take it easy, watch out for animals of all sorts. Rabbits to camels and everything inbetween. Take care around road trains. I suspect your’ve already encounted osme. Get petrol at every oppurtunity and always ask about conditions up ahead. Your not going waaay out in the outback, however you need to be aware. Esspecially watch out for big weather events. Thunderstorms and the like. I don’t think that there is too much in the outlook, but you never know. ride safe and we’ll speak soon.

Of course I sent this photo to my friend and he replies:

Largest population of wild camels in the world…….Australia!

Now I had a big thing happen today, unfortunately, I am having problems getting all my pictures from the road today to upload to my blog. I am going to be youtubing very soon to try and fix this problem. I am also aware that people cannot access more than four blog post at a time. Trust me, I hear you and am trying to fix it.

So back to the big thing. I was stopped at a small town to get petrol, because Graeme told me too, and there was another BMW adventure bike at the pump next to me. I walk inside the store to pay, and see the rider and say, he man, nice bike! It was a 2018 BMW 750 GS. He had the big panniers on it and was loaded up for travel. He smiles at me and says thanks! It gets the job done. Hearing his voice I did an about face. He didn’t sound like everyone else, he sounded like me…We strike up a general conversation of where we had been and he asks where I am from, I instantly say Texas and he replies, “What part?” I come back with “Fort Worth” and he points to himself and says “San Angelo”. I WAS WITH MY PEOPLE! The rider’s name is Paul and guess what? He works for a Harley Dealership in Sydney. I looked at him and asked, “Are you a graduate from MMI?” He looks at me as says yes and I shout back, “ME TOO!” I WAS REALLY WITH MY PEOPLE! Paul moved to Sydney to work on bikes some time ago and has truly fallen in love with the country. He told me I would love working here. It is a great place to live! I wish I could post the picture of us together, him bald and me with helmet hair, but I didn’t care! We chatted as he finished his meal and turned out, we were heading in the same direction with different stopping points so we parted ways after exchanging numbers.

Rain had been hit and miss all day. The dark clouds behind the mountains provided cooler temperatures and wet roads.

The weather has been a big part of my slower, safer travel and what I noticed today there were A LOT more roadkill on the sides of the road. My head was on a swivel today looking for roos. It is a different type of stress than the hogs and deer back home.’

I made it through the roos and rain and got to Broken Hill in one piece. These small towns in the outback roll up their sidewalks at 330 or so, so I was unable to visit the art museums and chocolate factory that I saw in town. I would have made one museum at least if I hadn’t locked my key in the room and have to wait for someone who looked official to walk by and open the door for me.

I got frustrated even at the pub. The kitchen wasn’t serving real food yet, just bar food. My “dinner” consisted of chicken wings and a charcutier board with an assortment of cheeses and crackers. The beer was flowing though so there was that.

Back to the room I went to take a nap and shower.