Day 12 - Renmark to Melbourne via Wentworth

How good was that heater? A little bit of a sleep in today. We had a big day but most of it would be done in the car. We'd managed to dry our gloves and most of our riding gear but there was still dampness when they were put on. Today would have us riding to Mildura to pick up the ute, out to Wentworth to see my Mum and have lunch with some family members before heading back to Melbourne and the end of the trip.

The ride from Renmark to Mildura was mostly uneventful. There was an awfully thick fog for about 40k's. It was freezing. Much colder than yesterday. And to top it off all the Grey Nomads were sitting on 40kph. Once safely past these mobile retirement homes we made good time.

A car seat has never felt so comfortable.

The drive back to Melbourne felt like it took forever. As comfortable as the car was, god it was boring. We got back to Melbourne, ate Kebabs and pizza, drank beer and unloaded all of my stuff. Trent had to head home early the next morning.

I had an amazing time on this trip and the company was great. I hope we get away again but I think we'll have less of a commute to the main attraction...

Thanks to everyone that helped with this trip and an even bigger thanks to Bec and Theresa for letting us chase this dream. Your time will come.

Day 11 - Woomera to Renmark

Shouldn't of had those last 3 beers... Bit dusty this morning and to make matters worse the weather had turned on us. We'd had a good run but it was over. It had rained over night and my gear was wet through, the wind was blowing a gale and the cloud cover meant it wasn't going to get warm any time soon. Oh well, off we go.

We got to Port Augusta around 10:30 and decided it was time to eat. Good old Hungry Jacks filled us up. As we sat and ate the rain began to come down... Bugger... And it didn't stop. We pushed ourselves pretty hard today. The rain was cold and neither of us had waterproof gloves. We pulled up every hour to try and thaw out a little bit. There was a couple of picnic areas with barbeques that did a good job of heating us up. And the hand dryers in the public toilets were great. We rolled into Renmark finally and looked for a place to stay. With the rain not letting up and our gear already wet we headed straight for the first Motel we found.

They let the water in, but not out...

Absolute bliss, heater, beds, TV, showers, and places to hang our riding gear. Copious amounts of coffee and then dinner before an earlyish night. The heater was awesome.

Day 10 - Marla to Woomera

Up early for an uneventful ride into Woomera. The morning started cold but still. Eggs and beans for breakfast and a coffee or two.

Lake Hart

By the time we arrived at Woomera the wind was blowing and the temp was dropping, and it was only 3pm. We setup camp, got a load of washing on and conveniently the bar opened. A "couple" of beers later we headed over to cook up some dinner and then back to the bar. Had a good laugh that night, even scored a free round. Into bed at 9pm, which is, thankfully, when the bar closes.

Day 9 - Oodnadatta to Marla

It was a welcome shorter day today. Not crossing the Simpson had taken the wind out of our sails a little and we had decided to fast track it back home retracing our path from Marla. We slept in a little and were awoken by a local dog relieving itself on Trent's swag. Time for breakfast, coffee, and some souvenirs. Bid farewell To Kyle, packed our gear and headed for Marla. The road from Oodnadatta o Marla was great. It was quite refreshing to be able to up the pace a bit and not have to dodge rocks and sink holes all day. We last filled our tanks at Mt Dare and we decided to see how far we would get before topping up with the fuel from the Rotopax. In the end we finished 20k's short of Marla which put us in the 600k range. Not too bad at all. Just goes to show how much these little bikes don't like sitting on 110 all day.

 "There ain't nothin' to hit but the heights"

Marla as the best showers ever. Hot and plenty of pressure. Marla also has great food, happy hour, and everyone we have spoken to there was nice. There were 2 lady's from Gipsland headed to the Kimberly's in their Landcruiser towing a pop up camper van. They were having some trouble with things falling apart. Picture this, a Landcruiser with a trailer full of stuff and we had to give them some zip ties... They were very grateful and returned the favour with some fresh eggs, yum!. Another coupe had been in Oodnadatta the previous night and camped near us. We didn't see them but we did recognise their car. The came to join in frivolities and we all caught up later for dinner and happy hour. The second couple were nurses and were travelling all over, working where they could. They were on their dream trip. Good on them.

Spoke with Bec for the first time since Ayres Rock. Was really good to hear her voice. Wasn't so nice to find out our girls had been sick for the past week and they may not be able to fly home when planned. Getting back early would be a good thing. Bec sounded very tired and at least I could help with the girls and let her get some rest before I had to return to CENSORED.

Into bed reasonably early. We were both very sore from the previous days on the rough roads.