Stage 77: South Australia / Victoria

Beachport to  Nelson
Date: 11-28-2014 Time: 06:30 h Σ Time: 435:07 h
Distance: 122 km
(129km)
Σ km: 9254 km Temp: 7/34°C
Up: 587 m Σ Up: 78698 m Down: 550 m
Calories: 2735 kcal Σ kcal: 197890 kcal  
Conditions: Wind, wind, wind.

Everybody was happy to leave the ‘storm center’ of Australia and headed eastwards into the wind. In the morning I cycled with John and we shared the work to break the wind for the other. I warmed up myself with a nice breakfast stop in Millicent, with banana bread and a pot of tea. In the afternoon I cycled with Lydia, who joined us in Adelaide for the final stages to Sydney. In Mt. Gambier we decided to detour to the Blue Lake, a crater lake which changes its color, twice a year. We were told at the information center, that it is a huge climb up to the crater and lake. Well, huge in connection with elevation gain has a different meaning for Australians. It was only 60m up within a few kilometers; nothing for an Indonesian ‘certified’ rider. The circumvention of the lake on the rim was stunning. I’ve never seen a lake as blue as this one. Definitely worth the extra 7 kilometer, even on an already long and wind battered day. The camp ground in Nelson is away from the sea and sheltered from wind. We got kangaroo/wallaby visits at dawn. Some of them seemed to be used to humans and stayed right between us.

stage-77