August 22, 2022
Day 35: Barn Hill to Bidyadanga
I woke up early in the morning cause I hadn’t really secured my tent and a strong wind had got up. I’m really going to have to make more of an effort with tent pegs.
With a fairly short day, for the west coast, ahead, I decided to walk up Barn Hill and have a coffee from the cafe before heading off. After a slight detour, the map was wrong I swear, I found the path up the hill. I’m bad at distance estimation but it’s not very high, maybe 15m.
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When I got back down there was a line for coffee at 8am opening, and they had run out of ice cream for iced coffees. But they were very quick making me an iced latte and I got a piece of carrot cake. There were about 15 people having a yoga class on the lawn. Between the line and the inevitable sunscreen/water /bike shorts faff I didn’t leave until nearly 9am.
The wind was still strong. I couldn’t go fast enough to have any sliding problems today, just got bogged sometimes. Lots of not off road caravans and motorhomes were also coming out going very slowly. But I think I took the longest at an hour. I didn’t have to open any gates again, thanks, caravanning minions.
It got significantly easier once I turned onto the highway. Although often I find if I think I have a short day, I am not in the right mindset and am looking for the end right from the start. I made it to Goldwire Rest Area before the carrot cake and iced latte just really weren’t cutting it. The rest area is pretty big and a bit set off the road, same green picnic tables and dunny block as every other WA one so far.
After eating a wrap, it really wasn’t far to the Bidyadanga turn off. It was a very quick ride in with a tailwind! Mum and Dad decided to come in too and they overtook me just before the community.
We found Ingrid at the arts/women’s centre and laundry. It’s a compound with two long rooms separated by a breezeway, with a trailer of washing machines down the back. There were a couple of women doing amazingly intricate paintings for the Shinju festival in Broome, and several more using the washing machines, which were donated by Orange Sky. Despite being very busy there, Ingrid very kindly took us back to her place for a cup of tea.
The story is that my sister Jen and Ingrid met on a camel walking trip in the Simpson Desert at least ten years ago. I think it was a tourist one and Jen was resident botanist and Ingrid was a Cameleer.
Now Ingrid’s got two kids, 5 & 7, and is running the women’s centre/arts centre/laundry in Bidyadanga and Jen’s juggling her botany with her 3 year old in Charleville. I think they both feel bad about not keeping in better touch but Ingrid didn’t hesitate to let me stay when Jen emailed her.
Ingrid was in Broome until she met Francis, who was a teacher in Bidgy and then moved out during covid lockdown in Broome (such as it was). Francis is now running a family centre as part of an early years initiative. They have a lovely three bedroom house and have done a heap of work in the garden, bought chooks and have a big dog, called Amigo or just Big Dog.
Once Francis got home from work we went out to the beach on La Grange bay. It was low tide so we walked through and around some mangroves. Kiki looked for crabs, with Big Dog in tow helping and Kai just danced around.
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Ingrid had made a mung bean dhal with mashed potatoes in the Thermomix! The dhal was delicious but I also agreed with Kai that the best bit was the mash.
It was super interesting to get an insight into life in these communities that I otherwise just pass on the road. Bidgy is apparently the biggest community in WA at about 600 people. It’s got problems with overcrowding and unemployment & school attendance but generally pretty functional. Certainly the women’s centre was a real little community, I suspect in large part due to Ingrid but we went back to swap loads of washing after Ingrid had finished work and one of the ladies had stopped doing her amazing artwork to already do someone else’s laundry.
Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 2,214 km (1,375 miles)
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