Distance today: Rest day Laverton
TOTALS: Distance 4153km Donations $6712.09. Days remaining 77. Deserts: Sturt Stony, Strzelecki, Tirari, Gibson, Great Victorian. Tracks: Birdsville, Oodnadatta, Red Centre Way, Great Central Road.
Note to new readers: I am travelling with my bike who’s name is Banjo. I often refer to ‘we’ meaning Banjo and I. ‘We’ have an amazing support team of family, friends, sponsors and folk we meet each day. But it’s still up to ‘us’ to face the challenge and tackle each day one peddle at a time.
It’s 730pm on Friday the 2 July 2021.
It’s brrrrr this evening in Laverton. The temperature range is 4-17 degrees. This means the day starts and ends in the down jacket and thermals with a T-shirt and shorts over midday. It’s a real contrast. But the skies are clear blue and fresh for our 125km to Leonora tomorrow.
We’re fully ready to head off now after a couple of days of getting our ‘to dos’ all done ✔️ The only thing I haven’t been able to manage is uploading media files for the last series of posts. That’ll have to wait until the internet is a bit more gutsy. Hopefully Leonora has better access tomorrow.
Today started with an phone chat with Nick Crawford from the Moreton Daily/Dolphin News back home. Nick continues to be such a support for our challenge and this will be his fourth article to promote our cause. I love how our contact has evolved from early April when we were still in the planning stage. Now we’re 2 months into our adventure and able to share actual stories that are every bit and more than we hoped for. Thank you Nick for your continued enthusiasm and genuine care. You are very much a part of the 10desertchallenge community. I particularly appreciate the leap of faith you took supporting the challenge as a concept and it’s very special for me to share the reality of our adventure as it continues.
Banjo had a make over this morning and now has shiny components and better tread on his front and rear tyres. We’ll need every bit of it for the next two stages to Halls Creek. It’s 2350kms in total. Stage 6 is Laverton to Wiluna (435kms/5 days) via the Laverton-Leonora Road and the Goldfields Highway. Stage 7 is Wiluna to Halls Creek (1925km/29 days) via the Wiluna North Road, Marble Bar Road and the Great Northern Highway. Lots of kms for lots of stories. I can’t wait to share every moment with you.
After lunch we headed out to try and find some better internet connection. The town has a resource centre with wifi but unfortunately the speed just isn’t there to upload any photos let alone video. We tried. In the process I met some really cool folk at the local cafe, pub and resource centre who were wanting so much to hear our story and lend a hand.
I was keen to get to the post office to send home some things and managed that before it closed at 3.30pm. Then it was to the general store for some last minute supplies to top up dinners and fuel canisters. Back at the campgrounds I caught up with my neighbours, John and Sandy from
Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. We’ve had lots of contact over the last days and they’re very caring folk. I have learnt a lot from John. He runs a truck business with his son and is very knowledgeable about machinery in general. He and Sandy went to Leonora today and came back with two different tyre sealants for vehicles in the hope we could use it. Unfortunately it’s not compatible but what a darling and generous gesture. He’s also given me his set of CO2 canisters and device to use if we need to get some quick air into banjos tyres. He didn’t accept any money and said it was their contribution to help the cause. Thank you to you both for your support and good company over the last days 🙏 Safe travels.
While I was finishing the last bit of packing for the day, Phyllis came over to make a donation. She and her husband have been prospecting for gold and head home tomorrow to Albany. Thx Phyllis. It was really lovely to meet you. Thank you for opening your heart about the impact of mental health in your life and I wish you and your family lots of unconditional love and closeness. I really appreciate your words of encouragement and generous donation.
Time for some dinner and bed. Talk soon xx
The 10 desert challenge 