Category Archives: Opals, Missiles, and Vino

Sixth section from Alice Springs to Adelaide

Opals, Missiles, and Vino, Photos, Sections, Trans-Oceania

South Australia

I am on my way through South Australia. More deserted than the Northern Territory.  First telefon signal since 3 days, thus a quick update from the road.

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After a night in the desert we are heading for another road house with pool and cold drinks. The night under clear skies was great. Moon and shooting stars completed the picture.

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Now 135km through desert with littke change, like these small table mountain.

Opals, Missiles, and Vino, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 63: South Australia

Kulgera Roadhouse to  Tarcoonyinna Rest Area
Date: 11-11-2014 Time: 04:55 h Σ Time: 355:18 h
Distance: 126 km Σ km: 7484 km Temp: 16/40°C
Up: 132 m Σ Up: 71949 m Down: 238 m
Calories: 2137 kcal Σ kcal: 162289 kcal  
Conditions: Cool morning, heat turned on as usual. Wind was more to our favor accelerating the ride to the next camp.

Today was the crossing over into another state. We are leaving the Northern Territory to South Australia on our way to Adelaide. Before I started onto the official track I turned into a dirt road at camp for some sunrise photos. The wind seemed to be good to us today, as we turned a bit more to south out of the ever blowing south-east wind. It was a quick 20 km ride to the ‘border’ to South Australia. Not a real border, but huge signs warn from carrying uncertified fruit, veggies and livestock from NT to SA. They want to keep fruit flies and other parasites out of their state. The landscape turned flatter and flatter with occasional small hills. The trees and bushes grow smaller and do not offer any shade at all. We are entering a deserted territory. The distances between roadhouses increases, such that we are forced to camp in the ‘middle of nowhere’. No more cold drinks, no cell phone reception. Just us and occasional trucks and caravans that stop at our rest area. I was riding at the very end of the group. Only Henry and Chelsea were behind me. Good time for photos, as the ride will be not exhausting today. Lunch at 70 km was well placed with lots of food. The 56 km thereafter a bit more into the wind, but not as bad as the previous days. I arrived at the desert camp at 12:30. Brutal heat, no shade, but hot soup and tea. Everyone was hiding in the little shade the van and the canopies offered. Some fellow riders obviously don’t like camping, or the desert and continued on their own to the next town, which is another 51 km further south. However not before they emptied a substantial part of the cold drinks in our cooler box. I think the desert camp and camping at all is the flair of such an expedition trip and not the run for AC cabins in every campsite. However some like it different. Tonight is another cinema night, the only goody we have in the desert besides a cooler box with cold drinks for a while, since Gerald bought the LCD projector.

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Opals, Missiles, and Vino, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 62: Australia / NT

Desert Oaks Rest Area to  Kulgera Roadhouse
Date: 11-10-2014 Time: 05:00 h Σ Time: 350:22 h
Distance: 108 km Σ km: 7358 km Temp: 15/39°C
Up: 266 m Σ Up: 71817 m Down: 172 m
Calories: 2362 kcal Σ kcal: 160152 kcal  
Conditions: Again a windy ride with constant head- or crosswind.

Who thought it would be an easy, short day after yesterday’s 169km, was told different. The wind was constant against us, keeping us cool but substantially slowing us down. I was riding on my own this day. 108 km is a short distance and even with headwind not much of a torture. Keeping it at a moderate pace will make it early enough to camp to enjoy the pool, cold drinks and food.  The Erldunda Roadhouse at 33 km was to goal in the morning to get cold drinks and snacks after the night in the desert. Thereafter keeping nose to the tar and rolling down the kilometers in an environment that does not offer much of a change. The Kulgera Roadhouse is the most expensive place in Australia so far. All prices for food and drinks are astronomic. This guy knows how to make money with the monopoly he has here in ‘The middle of Nowhere’. However the pool was a real refresher. The water was cool as ice. Don’t know how he get this done. He probably manages to keep it cool from the night temperatures, which are as low as 10°C. Halfway into the night it is time to crawl into the sleeping bag. After dinner we had a few games in the pub. Pool billiard, darts and kicker and the music box playing songs of the good old 60th and 70th.

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Opals, Missiles, and Vino, Sections, Trans-Oceania

Erldunda Breakfast Stop

After a night in the desert camp – the first of 4 we will have south of Alice Springs – the Roadhouse at Erldunda, just 33 km south of our last camp eas a welcome Coke stop.

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With only 77km more to go today time is not an issue, spending time with the emus in the gardens …

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Opals, Missiles, and Vino, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 61: Australia / NT

Alice Springs to  Desert Oaks Rest Area
Date: 11-09-2014 Time: 06:54 h Σ Time: 345:22 h
Distance: 169 km Σ km: 7250 km Temp: 20/39°C
Up: 324 m Σ Up: 71551 m Down: 490 m
Calories: 2827 kcal Σ kcal: 157790 kcal  
Conditions: The first of 4 desert camps of the tour.

After 3 days without cycling, except for grocery shopping in town, it felt good to be back in the saddle again. We were quickly out of town into a crosswind. Dana, Charles and I formed a peloton for the rest of the day, helping each other to break the wind. It were long 93 km to the Stuarts Well roadhouse to have a cold drink and stack up with food and beverages for the desert camp. Not much time and opportunities for photos on the road, as that would mean to leave the little group and struggle through the day on you own.

Gerald bought a battery powered LCD projector and a sound bar during our rest days in Alice Springs. A well made purchase to have desert camp entertainment when nothing else is around or to do. The movie of the night was ‘Mad Max’ filmed in locations in the outback and on the Stuart Highway, perfect to fill in the things we did not see on the highway. There are more movie treasures in our box for the forthcoming desert night in Southern Australia.

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Opals, Missiles, and Vino, Photos

6. Opals, Missiles, and Vino

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Alice Springs to Adelaide  -  November 9 to November 23

Photos of this section will appear here:

south-australia
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Continuing south from Alice through Australia’s desolate “red heart”, with road trains and kangaroos as our companions, we’ll eventually arrive in the opal mining center of Coober Pedy, which has been the base for “end of the world’ movies including Mad Max. Then it’s across the government-owned Woomera Prohibited Area, the western world’s largest ground and airspace weapons testing range, to the eerie village of Woomera, home to rocket scientists and a Missile Park. Our tran-Outback “rideabout” ends at Port Augusta, the “Crossroads of Australia,” at the top of Spencer Gulf. From there it’s a 3 day spin through South Australia’s fabled wine country to the sophisticated city of Adelaide, which is renowned for its many festivals and culinary delights. After our month long journey down the Stuart Highway, Adelaide may feel like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Here you can spend your rest day visiting the superb central market, wandering through botanical gardens and art galleries, or imbibing Shiraz and Riesling at the National Wine Center.

Bike the Outback, Great Ocean Road, Info, Java Jive, Opals, Missiles, and Vino, Spice Island Hopping, Sumatra Sutra, Trans-Oceania, Volcanoes & Temples, Wizards of Oz

Itinerary

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Proposed day-by-day trip breakdown: Aug. 18 – Dec. 19, 2014

  • 8 Sections
  • 124 tour days
  • 93 cycling days
  • 71 metric centuries
  • total distance 11042 km
Day Date 2014 Stage Depart Arrive Dist (km)
Section 1: Sumatra Sutra – Medan to Carita
1 Mon, Aug 18 1 Medan Berastagi 57
2 Tue, Aug 19 2 Berastagi Tuk Tuk (Lake Toba) 121
3 Wed, Aug 20 Rest Day – Lake Toba  
4 Thu, Aug 21 3 Tuk Tuk (Lake Toba) Tarutung 158
5 Fri, Aug 22 4 Tarutung Padang Sidempuan 110
6 Sat, Aug 23 5 Padang Sidempuan Kota Nopan 111
7 Sun, Aug 24 6 Kota Nopan Bukittinggi 183
8 Mon, Aug 25 Rest Day – Bukittinggi  
9 Tue, Aug 26 7 Bukittinggi Padang (Bungus Beach) 122
10 Wed, Aug 27 8 Padang (Beach 20k S) Pesisir Selatan 119
11 Thu, Aug 28 9 Pesisir Selatan Mukomuko 141
12 Fri, Aug 29 10 Mukomuko Seblat 143
13 Sat, Aug 30 11 Seblat Bengkulu 127
14 Sun, Aug 31 Rest Day – Benkulu  
15 Mon, Sep 1 12 Bengkulu Manna 141
16 Tue, Sep 2 13 Manna Bintuhan 75
17 Wed, Sep 3 14 Bintuhan Krui 141
18 Thu, Sep 4 15 Krui Gisting 150
19 Fri, Sep 5 16 Gisting Kalianda 142
20 Sat, Sep 6 17 Kalianda Carita 112
21 Sun, Sep 7 Rest Day – Carita  
Section 2: Java Jive – Carita to Yogyakarta
22 Mon, Sep 8 18 Carita Malingping (Bagedur Beach) 90
23 Tue, Sep 9 19 Bagedur Beach Cimaja 85
24 Wed, Sep 10 20 Cimaja Ujung Genteng 79
25 Thu, Sep 11 21 Ujung Genteng Cidaun 118
26 Fri, Sep 12 22 Cidaun Ciwidey 71
27 Sat, Sep 13 23 Ciwidey Cipanas 116
28 Sun, Sep 14 Rest Day – Cipanas  
29 Mon, Sep 15 24 Cipanas Kota Banjar 155
30 Tue, Sep 16 25 Kota Banjar Baturaden 150
31 Wed, Sep 17 26 Baturaden Wonosobo 105
32 Thu, Sep 18 27 Wonosobo Yogyakarta 101
33 Fri, Sep 19 Rest Day – Yogyakarta  
34 Sat, Sep 20 Rest Day – Yogyakarta  
Section 3: Volcanoes & Temples – Yogyakarta to Ubud
35 Sun, Sep 21 28 Yogyakarta Solo 142
36 Mon, Sep 22 29 Solo Sarangan 62
37 Tue, Sep 23 30 Sarangan Tulungagung 126
38 Wed, Sep 24 31 Tulungagung Batu 117
39 Thu, Sep 25 32 Batu Bromo 80
40 Fri, Sep 26 Rest Day – Bromo Tengger Semeru Park  
41 Sat, Sep 27 33 Bromo Bondowoso 157
42 Sun, Sep 28 34 Bondowoso Ketapang 107
43 Mon, Sep 29 35 Ketapang Lovina 82
44 Tue, Sep 30 36 Lovina Ubud 94
45 Wed, Oct 1 Rest Day – Ubud  
Section 4: Spice Island Hopping – Ubud to Dili
46 Thu, Oct 2 37 Ubud Senggigi 69
47 Fri, Oct 3 Rest Day – Senggigi  
48 Sat, Oct 4 38 Senggigi Labuhan Lombok 126
49 Sun, Oct 5 39 Labuhan Lombok Sumbawa Besar 109
50 Mon, Oct 6 40 Sumbawa Besar Soriutu 172
51 Tue, Oct 7 41 Soriutu Sape 128
52 Wed, Oct 8 Travel Sape Labuanbajo 4
53 Thu, Oct 9 Rest Day – Labuanbajo  
54 Fri, Oct 10 42 Labuanbajo Ruteng 126
55 Sat, Oct 11 43 Ruteng Bajawa 135
56 Sun, Oct 12 44 Bajawa Ende 126
57 Mon, Oct 13 Rest Day – Ende / Ferry leaves at 21:00  
58 Tue, Oct 14 Ferry Ende to Kupang  
59 Wed, Oct 15 Rest Day – Kupang  
60 Thu, Oct 16 45 Kupang Soe 108
61 Fri, Oct 17 46 Soe Kefamenanu 85
62 Sat, Oct 18 47 Kefamenanu Atambua 112
63 Sun, Oct 19 48 Atambua Dili 115
64 Mon, Oct 20 Flight from Dili to Darwin  
Section 5: Bike the Outback – Darwin to Alice Springs
65 Tue, Oct 21 Rest Day – Darwin  
66 Wed, Oct 22 Rest Day – Darwin  
67 Thu, Oct 23 49 Darwin Adelaide River 108
68 Fri, Oct 24 50 Adelaide River Pine Creek 115
69 Sat, Oct 25 51 Pine Creek Katherine 94
70 Sun, Oct 26 Rest Day – Katherine  
71 Mon, Oct 27 52 Katherine Mataranka 103
72 Tue, Oct 28 53 Mataranka Daly Waters 169
73 Wed, Oct 29 54 Daly Waters Elliott 153
74 Thu, Oct 30 55 Elliott Renner Springs 93
75 Fri, Oct 31 56 Renner Springs Tennant Creek 160
76 Sat, Nov 1 Rest Day – Tennant Creek  
77 Sun, Nov 2 57 Tennant Creek Wauchope 116
78 Mon, Nov 3 58 Wauchope Barrow Creek 100
79 Tue, Nov 4 59 Barrow Creek Aileron 149
80 Wed, Nov 5 60 Aileron Alice Springs 132
81 Thu, Nov 6 Rest Day – Alice Springs  
82 Fri, Nov 7 Rest Day – Alice Springs  
83 Sat, Nov 8 Rest Day – Alice Springs  
Section 6: Opals, Missiles, and Vino – Alice Springs to Adelaide
84 Sun, Nov 9 61 Alice Springs Desert Oaks Rest Area 169
85 Mon, Nov 10 62 Desert Oaks Rest Area Kulgera 108
86 Tue, Nov 11 63 Kulgera Tarcoonyinna Rest Area 126
87 Wed, Nov 12 64 Tarcoonyinna Rest Area Cadney Homestead 135
88 Thu, Nov 13 65 Cadney Homestead Coober Pedy 158
89 Fri, Nov 14 Rest Day – Coober Pedy  
90 Sat, Nov 15 66 Coober Pedy The Twins Rest Area 125
91 Sun, Nov 16 67 The Twins Rest Area Glendambo 125
92 Mon, Nov 17 68 Glendambo Woomera 120
93 Tue, Nov 18 69 Woomera Bookalo Rest Area 117
94 Wed, Nov 19 70 Bookalo Rest Area Port Augusta 62
95 Thu, Nov 20 Rest Day – Port Augusta  
96 Fri, Nov 21 71 Port Augusta Jamestown 128
97 Sat, Nov 22 72 Jamestown Riverton 127
98 Sun, Nov 23 73 Riverton Adelaide 124
99 Mon, Nov 24 Rest Day – Adelaide  
Section 7: Great Ocean Road – Adelaide to Melbourne
100 Tue, Nov 25 74 Adelaide Lake Albert 159
101 Wed, Nov 26 75 Lake Albert Kingston 148
102 Thu, Nov 27 76 Kingston Beachport 89
103 Fri, Nov 28 77 Beachport Nelson 122
104 Sat, Nov 29 78 Nelson Port Fairy 133
105 Sun, Nov 30 Rest Day – Port Fairy  
106 Mon, Dec 1 79 Port Fairy Port Campbell 91
107 Tue, Dec 2 80 Port Campbell Apollo Bay 96
108 Wed, Dec 3 Rest Day – Apollo Bay  
109 Thu, Dec 4 81 Apollo Bay Torquay 92
110 Fri, Dec 5 82 Torquay Melbourne 146
111 Sat, Dec 6 Rest Day – Melbourne  
Section 8: Wizards of Oz – Melbourne to Sydney
112 Sun, Dec 7 83 Melbourne Cowes 90
113 Mon, Dec 8 84 Cowes Inverloch 55
114 Tue, Dec 9 85 Inverloch Yarram 103
115 Wed, Dec 10 86 Yarram Bairnsdale 142
116 Thu, Dec 11 Rest Day – Bairnsdale  
117 Fri, Dec 12 87 Bairnsdale Orbost 95
118 Sat, Dec 13 88 Orbost Delegate 123
119 Sun, Dec 14 89 Delegate Cooma 134
120 Mon, Dec 15 90 Cooma Canberra 110
121 Tue, Dec 16 Rest Day – Canberra  
122 Wed, Dec 17 91 Canberra Nerringa 118
123 Thu, Dec 18 92 Nerringa Bulli Beach 160
124 Fri, Dec 19 93 Bulli Beach Sydney Opera House 115
Finish Sydney  
11042