{"id":1149,"date":"2011-06-14T11:14:17","date_gmt":"2011-06-14T03:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/melvynyap.com\/blog\/?p=1149"},"modified":"2022-04-24T22:18:42","modified_gmt":"2022-04-24T12:18:42","slug":"day-70-no-whales-no-worries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melvynyap.com\/blog\/day-70-no-whales-no-worries\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 70: No Whales? No Worries!"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 24th, 2011<\/em><\/p>\n

Nullarbor to 60km east of WA border
\nDistance: 132km
\nTotal distance: 3824km<\/strong><\/p>\n

Took off from the Nullarbor Roadhouse with the hope of seeing some whales today and a strawberry milkshake on my left hand. Milkshake was crap, I didn’t get to see any whales, and it drizzled this morning. But not all was bad. I had an awesome smooth and flat road beneath my wheels the entire day. The treeless plain continues for about a couple of hours before a few trees emerged but it was still largely scrubs. I can never understand why drivers think that Nullarbor is all dull and nothing much to see. I found the exact opposite. The landscape changes significantly in my day to day ride and the view just gets better and better as I progressed deeper into the Nullarbor.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The backpackers where I stayed at the Nullarbor roadhouse. Basically just a small room with a bed and a light switch, not even an AC outlet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Loaded all 10 litres of water onto my trike, this is truly an ultimate touring machine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
The only whale I saw today<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Upping my energy level for another 100km+ day ride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Forget about the whales, watching these beasts was equally just as exciting!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Whoa... truly an amazing piece of engineering<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Took off my shoe cover as it interfered with my fresh wound. All prepared for some funky tan lines afterwards<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
In a vast open plain stood a lonesome tree<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Oh, hello again!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
This flock of birds were behaving strangely. They stood\/sat on the road while facing south and kept moving forward whenever I came close to them. This went on for about 500m. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
These water tanks can be found at a few rest stops, but it says there drink at your own risk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Due to rain in the recent months, Nullarbor was all lush green, not quite the arid land I imagined<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Royal Flying Doctor Service emergency landing area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
I'm 99% sure that the camel sign was stolen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About 60km of riding, the road brought me to about 500m from the edge of the flat plain. Where the land meets the Great Australian Bight was a 200km long stretch of 100m high limestone cliff. If you think the cliffs at GOR is great, this will instantly kill you. I know my jaw dropped as I walked towards the edge of one of the several lookouts. The 100m drop from the flat plain to the sea was just mind blowing.<\/p>\n

\"\"
One of the turn off to view the Great Australia Bight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Where the open plain meets the Great Australian Bight, an awesomely jaw-dropping view!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Keeping a safe distance from the edge, note the strong wind<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
More awesome views!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
I put off the thought of camping here. I could easily end up like the guy there when I come out from my tent to take a loo in the darkness<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the rest of the day, I plugged in my iPod and happily rode along the highway knowing the fact that I was riding about 500-1000m from the awesome cliff. I had crosswind from the ocean (southerly) almost the entire ride and an overcast sky that gave me a good shade throughout.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Singing out loud makes riding even more enjoyable!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Sunset today \ud83d\ude42<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I wasn’t trying to make it to the border today, so I found myself a nice camping spot about 200m off the highway and 60km before the border and settled down. Built a campfire and had a nice hot meal of noodle and canned veggies. The sunset today was beautiful! Overall, I had a very enjoyable day. Cycle touring as how it should be. Looking forward to more great riding and bush camping in my remaining ride here in Nullarbor.<\/p>\n

\"\"
About 250m off the highway lies a great campsite, complete with campfire pit and hidden from the highway traffic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Success in building a campfire! With a little blessing from methylated spirit that is!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Errr.. perhaps a little too successful? Not only I was at risk of causing a bushfire and put in jail but also at risk of turning my worldly possessions into ashes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Added a second layer of rocks around the fire to block out the wind. Problem solved!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Instant noodle cooked in canned meal? Ingenius!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Made a honey drink from the remaining honey I had, otherwise it'll be confiscated by the border guards tomorrow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Most of my 10 litres of water stored in this container, feels awesome to solve problems all on my own XD<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 24th, 2011 Nullarbor to 60km east of WA border Distance: 132km Total distance: 3824km Took off from the Nullarbor Roadhouse with the hope of seeing some whales today and a strawberry milkshake on my left hand. Milkshake was crap, I didn’t get to see any whales, and it drizzled this morning. But not all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sydney-to-perth-tour","category-trike-touring"],"yoast_head":"\nDay 70: No Whales? 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