Narribri to West Wyalong
5 June 2014
Master Map
Although I grew up and lived much of my life in Tasmania, Australia's southern-most island state, I've lived in Queensland for the past 14 or so years and I have largely forgotten about cold. I made some preparations, but, when you come from a warm climate, they are never enough.
So I was a bit unprepared for the cold of the next morning and was very pleased I'd packed some thermals.
But it was a glorious day and I managed well enough on an uneventful trip along the Newell Highway to West Wyalong.
Pterodactyl and I were west of the Great Dividing Range, a mountain range just to the west of Australia's east coast. None of it is very high by the standards of mountains in other parts of the world, but it does divide coastal Australia from the vast inland, much of which is desert. The Newell runs through the eastern part of the interior and, while it is mostly flat and largely straight, there are some patches where long, sweeping corners are a pleasure to ride. It's a major truck route, but is still relatively traffic free; when there is traffic, it's easy to overtake. Ideal for fast cruising. Much of the land has been cleared for farming—cattle and sheep mostly—and there are some remnants of the bush that must have once grown abundantly.
Checking the load at a fuel stop
The route took us through Parkes where there's a large radio telescope which was the setting for a lovely Australian comedy movie called The Dish. I noticed as we rode past that the observatory has been renamed The Dish.
We found ourselves in West Wyalong by around 4.30. The hotel we thought looked promising turned out to have recently been restored as a restaurant with the accommodation still to come, but we found a motel close by so we could walk back to the restaurant for dinner. It was friendly, tastefully appointed and had a good selection of beer and wine, but the food was just OK, and a bit pricey.
