Day 36, Port Augusta to Heywood

Saturday 3rd September, 2011 Day 36…

Odo start, 19,160 K's

Odo end,  20,055 K's

Distance Travelled.  895 K's

Accommodation, Heywood Motel, $75 for one of the best budget motel rooms i have had…

The day started with a lovely cup of coffee, catching up with friends before hitting the road. Home didn't seem to far away. 

Last night my friend asked which way i was riding home, i said through Adelaide then down to Mt Gambier. He and his wife suggested a scenic ride through Laura and the Clare Valley, initially i discounted this as an option as i had seen enough "Wine Country", but this morning i re considered, Jeff is a Driver and knows good roads, so we sat down and ran through a good run into Adelaide.

With the days ride planned, i hit the road at 8:15am. Last year when i rode to the Flinders Ranges i didn't realise that the ranges ran as far South as Port Augusta. The view from here was as good if not better than most of the sights i saw further North, i don't understand why This part of the Flinders Ranges is not promoted more.

Checkout the scenery, oohh and the roads are great!!

After a couple hours of riding on stunning roads, it was time to refuel at Clare. At 10:40am i refuelled, the bike took 10.53 L @ $1.43.9/L $15.15 for 200 K's

It was now time to get through Adelaide, the day was warming up and the traffic was pretty heavy. I was looking forward to the ride through the Adelaide hills, and my final stretch back into Melbourne. 

At Tailem Bend, i turned South heading along the Coast. I refuelled at Meningie, the bike took 14.1 L (PULP) @ $1.53.9/L $21.70 for 296 K's

My first sighting of the Coorong, my GPS showed an altitude of -2M to a maximum of -5M below sea level.

I skirted The Coorong, looking out on Encounter Bay, until i reached Kingston. It was here i turned onto Adeleaide Road (B1) and took the quick way to Millicent. From here it was a short run to Mt Gambier. 

I rolled into Mt Gambier for fuel at 5:00pm, the bike took 17.02 L (PULP) @ $1.56.9/L $26.70 for 306 K's It was time to decide whether to stay here, or get back into Victoria. I decided i sitll had over an hour of reasonable light, so i hit the road heading for the border.

My goal was Portland, and the light was fading. Once i crossed the Border i lost 10kph because of our draconian ideas on speeding and another 30 minutes as i re entered eastern standard time, but i was home, it was a thought i always had when i was driving Semi's Interstate, whenever i crossed back into Vic i was HOME. 

My night ended sooner than planned at Heywood, the bugs were unbelievable, i simply couldn't see through my visor. My GPS gave me 2 options for accommodation, The Pub or caravan park, i headed for the Pub. Unfortunately the pub had no rooms! But they suggested the Motel, It appears Sensis is not very good when it comes to POI's on the GPS. 

I headed out to the Motel and was confronted with a note on the door, saying the office was unattended and gave me a number to ring. I duly rang the number, was told the price $75 and where the key was hidden and could i leave the money in the room! It is great to see that trust is alive and well in thew bush. I was surprised to find one of the best budget motel rooms i had been in, a 32" LCD TV was the icing on the cake, i could sit and watch qualifying for the Misano MotoGP race. A great way to end a big day.

My Visor looked like this..