Day 105: Normanton to bush camp - A happy ride around Australia (second attempt) - CycleBlaze

May 26, 2021

Day 105: Normanton to bush camp

Start: 6:20am
Distance: 87kms
Ride time: 4:47hrs
Average: 18km/hr
Max: 34km/hr 
Finish: 12:05pm

I woke up before my alarm went off. Maybe because the garbage truck was driving down the street.

I was on the road a little before sunrise. I have my lights going all the time even during the day. The headlight is very bright and it helps make me a little more visible.

In the first 7kms from Normanton I was passed by 8 road trains with 4 trailers each.

They all turned off the main road just out of town. After that I didn't see another vehicle for 3 hours. 

I like having these type of roads. There's more wildlife to see when cars aren't around.

I saw lots of wallabies or wallaroos. I saw lots of galahs, red-tailed black cockatoos, a few small parrots and lots of tiny wrens.

Some big distances with not much in between.
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Most vehicles heading to Darwin from Normanton won't take this road because there is a lot of dirt and some of it is in poor condition. 

So for the next two weeks I will have a lot less traffic to worry about. Yippee!

Long shadow this morning.
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I saw this pretty flower on a tree. I didn't see any more of these trees.
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Bill ShaneyfeltPossibly Australian kapok
http://anpsa.org.au/c-gil.html
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3 years ago
Vince McCarthyThank you Bill. You're spot on with the ID. I tried to ID but the best I got was a Mexican tree. Thanks so much.
Cheers
Vince
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3 years ago

Bill later identified this as an Australian kapok.

Unknown river.
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I crossed three rivers today and none of them had name signs.

Black-necked stork or jabiru.
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Annie O'SheaThat's a Jabiru stork. I always think they're strange looking birds
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3 years ago
Vince McCarthyThank you Mum. It's the same bird with two different names. It's weird that it's commonly known here as a jabiru.
Jabiru is a Brazilian word and not an aboriginal word.
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3 years ago

Black-necked stork.

The dirt road began after 45kms.
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I think these are brolgas. I didn't get close enough to be definitive.
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Annie O'SheaYou got that in one,brolgas
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3 years ago

Brolga.

I had done my planned 75kms for the day and wanted to stop.

But there weren't any trees for shade.
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I continued on for another 12kms until I saw an okay spot.

It was next to a dam.

In the dam was a big piggy lying down enjoying the water.
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He was facing away from me and was upwind so he didn't hear me sneak up on him.

I yelled out and he scampered off quick smart.
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I hope I see some other animals come to the dam.

There is no phone reception here.

Other than the road trains early this morning, I only saw 12 more cars for the rest of my ride.

The dirt road was in good condition and flat and straight. It was dusty which made it easy to see cars coming from a big distance.

My gear shifter continued to work great.

In the arvo I listened to an audio book and I fell asleep for a short time.

I enjoyed watching the animals come to the dam. I had to sit very still as they were all flighty.

Here are my dam pics:

Pretty faced wallabies. At one time there were 6 of them drinking together.
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Lots of apostle birds.
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Willy wagtail.
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Red-tailed black cockatoos.
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Magpie larks
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Wallaby.
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It was very entertaining. Just like watching a live documentary. 

Today's ride: 87 km (54 miles)
Total: 4,783 km (2,970 miles)

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Comment on this entry Comment 2
Annie O'SheaYou were lucky to find that dam and see all the wild life, it must tell you that water is very far and few between
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3 years ago
Vince McCarthyYes it was a special spot.
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3 years ago