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.
