Trip Odometer: 7593km
Daily total: 479km

The start to day was a bit later, the brief scheduled for 8:00am. Departure was a bit late, but eventually we got moving. Compared to the last 2 days, it was a relatively short run to Port Augusta, however we had a few engagements along the way so it still took a full day.

It was a fairly brisk morning, 5 degrees to start with, but it soon warmed up. In preparation, I decided to suit up in my wet weather gear in attempt to stop the wind chill. It was only a short hop to the first fuel stop, a ‘splash and dash’ in Wirrulla for the cruisers since the Poochera Roadhouse has shut down in the last few weeks.

From there it was off to the Wudinna and Districts Men’s Shed for a lunch and chinwag.

They put an an awesome barbeque with enough food for double the amount of riders we had! In return for the generosity, there were presented with a Winston.

After a quick refuel at Wudinna we headed for Kimba. After the crusiers refueled, we headed off to the Kimba Hotel for a free coffee. Kimba is my normal stop over point when doing Nullabor crossings. I typically camp at the free camp (which is currently being upgraded) out the back of Kimba and then head into the pub for a feed. The pub even offers a courtesy bus from the free camp. I was happy to see them support the Black Dog Ride, and there was also quite a few local supporters as well.

The coffee was hot, and the company was good, but all my camping gear was wet. I was keen to get into Port Augusta whilst there was still some sun in the sky so I could dry off my gear. After a quick hello and goodbye, a couple of us took off for the Port August camp. We arrived with a good amount of sun still shining and promptly unpacked and rolled everything out to dry.

Whilst there was not enough time in the day to fully dry everything, it was certainly a lot better than when I packed it all up this morning. Tomorrow is a ‘rest’ day, so the gear will get a full day in the sun to dry.

Tonight’s Dinner was hosted by the Lions Club at the West Augusta Football Club. Once again, the locals did a great job at feeding us, and then proceeded to make a $200 donation.

Even though tomorrow is a rest day, we have things to do, including a ride and lunch organised by the local Black Dog riders in South Australia. It will be a short day though, which is good given the last few days of riding in the rain whilst being sick.

Trip Odometer: 6437km
Daily total: 731km

I have not been feeling 100% the last few days, and today I got struck down by a head cold that has also developed into a chest infection. Probably the worst day for it also, as its the longest distance on on the Southern leg of the ride. Just to add insult to injury, it rained overnight, and continued to rain on and off for most of the day. All of a sudden this ride has gone from what should have been a walk in the park for me, to a solid challenge.

I dragged my self out of bed after an ordinary nights sleep. Thankfully the overnight rain started pretty light, so I had time to get the fly sheet set up over the swag. Its not needed, the swag is waterproof but its a light easier to dry a nylon sheet than it is to dry out a canvas swag.

After the departure, it was time to eat up some miles. Not much time to stop and take photos. First stop was at Noreseman for fuel and a quick bite to eat. It was here that all but one of the WA 3 day riders left our company. They managed to introduce us to some wonderful WA roads.

I decided to depart before the main pack with a couple of the slower bikes. Being sick, I just wanted to get going and the day’s ride over and done with. The next fuel stop was Balladonia, where we had a quick lunch. Thankfully the rain departed for a while and we were able to dry off. That wasn’t to last though.

Next stop was Caiguna for a quick top up of fuel. Of course it was raining here as well, so the stop was brief and off we went again. We rolled into Madura Pass for the last fuel stop. A group of us had decided to free camp that night, but the $15 price to camp at the Madura Pass Oasis Caravan park was too good to pass up. After a cold wet day, the hot shower was welcoming.

It was dark by the time I set up camp. There was no rain forecast, but I set up the fly sheet to dry it out. I had a couple of shots of rum which made me feel a lot better.

Once camp was set up, we hit the road house bar for dinner and a couple of beers, the went back and started up a fire.

One of the goals of doing this ride is to get out, talk to people and start a conversation. The was a bloke camped out by himself, so I called him over to have a yarn over the fire. Bob was heading for retirement and had a couple of months off so was heading off the Queensland. Turns out Bob was also mates with one of our WA riders brother-in-law. After a few hours of chewing the fat, and I had to head to bed.