Day 12
Simmo: we were up at a sparrowâ€
s fart, after waking up the entire caravan park with our bikes, as you do. There was no coffee, so I raced off the petrol station (Bruce: in the wrong f*&^ing direction), where we had pathetic coffee but nice bacon and egg muffins. From there it was up the road heading east playing cat and mouse.
Heidi: I forgot to mention the chap that owned the caravan park. We rode in just on sunset, to find there were very few beds left in town. There was one cabin left in the entire caravan park, and nothing in the hotel. The cabin had two double beds, and that was it. I was a little unsure about sharing a cabin with Simmo and Bruce with only two double beds, attractive as they are, I would probably have trouble controlling myself, Iâ€
m only human. The owner was hysterical. He would not accept that none of us were sleeping together, he didnâ€
t care which two. I said we were all just mates and no-one was sleeping together, but he would have none of it. While the boys were outside smoking he said, ‘why donâ€
t you sleep with them, they look like nice guys, theyâ€
ll see you right. It will make the trip more interesting!â€
Eventually we agreed to make mad monkey love just to shut him up. Weâ€
re pretty sure there were cameras. We KNOW we pissed off the neighbours.
Bruce: We got on the bikes and rode, when we got tired we stopped. Nothing much happened except beautiful scenery and evidence of environmental vandalism by mining companies. Iron Knob, a beautiful mountain, letâ€
s dig it to the ground and sell it to the Chinese.
Simmo: Just after there (Heidi: actually a long way, but Iâ€
ll let Simmo tell it), we came across the site of the Australian Loch Ness Monster. Whilst in front I saw some movement in the water. Quick as a flash I pulled off the road and dragged my camera out, then I took a photo of it. The photo doesnâ€
t do justice to the brilliant purple water. After trying to catch up to the others at a bit over the limit, beyond and behold around the corner came a cop bike. I basically crapped myself and the best thing I could think of was to give him a wave and he just shook his head at me and left me alone, so I wandered on my merry way.
Heidi: I had my first shit day. I got an ear ache that steadily got worse as the day went on. It got to the stage where I couldnâ€
t turn my head or swallow, and every bump on the road was agony. Just as the pain hit its peak, we pulled over to meet the lovely GreenySA. Iâ€
M REALLY SORRY GREENY, I really was pleased to meet you, and the sign was one of the funniest things Iâ€
ve seen on the trip. Turns out three Neurophen and a Red Bull really does fix everything.
Bruce: As we turned into the street where we were meeting Greeny, we saw a huge sign saying ‘Bruce, Simmo, Heidiâ€
.
After a few minutes getting acquainted, we found out that he is a beer tap plumber. Simmo nearly had to be physically restrained and was begging to become his apprentice. From there Greeny guided us the quick way around Adelaide peak hour traffic which was again terrifying after being in the middle of nowhere for weeks.
Simmo: Today is the first day we havenâ€
t seen kangaroos! I didnâ€
t even see a dead one. Actually, we didnâ€
t see anything today. Except a guy in a blue wife beater who was crossing the road in the middle of nowhere.
Heidi: Iâ€
m moving to the desert where there is no scary traffic.
Bruce: We left Greeny on the outside of Adelaide, determined to get a bit further down the road. Made it a few hours south before I started nodding off at the wheel which was surprising I was on a bike.
Made it as far as Coonalpyn.