Belladonia-10 656kms in the bank
Dearest Intrepid reader,
We awoke to rain!
It was expected, so we had only left out minimal gear and were able to pack up quickly. It helped that we were just accross from the laundry so we could put all our sundry items in there while we packed up the camper. I had my wet weather gear on straight away. The MOTH, just had on a tshirt. Apparently it was not cold. He did at least put on a dry shirt before we left.
Jenny and I, in our wet weather gear at Salmon Gums, our first quick stop of the day. 106 kms out of Esperance. We have been on the road 34 days, and today is the first time we have donned the wet weather gear. So we are pretty stoked about that actually.
The name of the town comes from a prominent stretch of Eucalyptus Salmonpholia trees which formed a landmark in the towns early years.
There was only 91 fuel available, however the MOTH topped up as the Harley is only getting 7.9 litres/ 100kms towing and the wind factor.
Harley
About 19kms out of Norseman the Harley trip metre clicked over to 9999.9kms, we wondered what would happen next. The MOTH refused the opportunity for a photo.
Well, she did not keep counting! The trip meter just went back to 1 and started again.
I guess you are wondering about the 480km difference of when the Lovliness made 10000kms compared to the Harley.
The MOTHs theory is that the Harley’s Speedo runs off the gear box and the Lovliness measures off the front tyre. So after 10000kms there is a 480km discrepancy. Anyway since my ride is the only one still counting, my trip metre is the offical kilometre record.
We are still learning about our rides!
Norseman
Norseman is the start of the Eyre Highway and the last major town in Western Australia, before the South Australian border 720 kms to the east.
We were all able to take our wet weather gear off at Norseman, after fuelling up for the last leg of the day.
Belladonia
The name is an Aboriginal word, meaning, “ big rock by itself”.
From 1897 - 1929, Belladonia was a Telegraph Station on the telegraph line running from Perth to Adelaide.
In July 1979, Belladonia received world wide attention, when the re entry of the Skylab space station left a trail of debris accross the nearby country side.
There is a museum in the road house with several of the smaller pieces of Skylab that were found. The photo below is of a replica of one of the larger pieces.
Our camp, it’s not palatial but we do appreciate the 15 mostly multinational people, that work hard to provide beautiful food drink and overnight stay accommodation so we can have somewhere safe to stay, riding around this huge vast country.
We were here before 2 o’clock, it was mostly empty, but then filled up really quickly!
I am relieved to report I did not shower with a snake.
We are still forcing ourselves to drink the Western Australian wines. We do recommend this one from dinner tonight!
Very light! Was, light on the palate and not to red ! Very complimentary to pasta and a fire on a cold night.
We will experience a couple of time changes in the next couple of days. When we reach the South Australian border tomorrow I think we will go back another 45 minutes.
These clocks in the road house are supposed to be helpful. However I am really just more confused than ever.
From whatever time zone we are in tomorrow, we will be in touch!
When you ride out to find the way, the way will appear.
Until next time
MOTH and LOL
