Border Ride History
After leaving home at just after midday on Friday the 4th August we aimed for our first fuel stop at Puma Port Augusta truck stop (127 km from home) and a late lunch at Barnacle Bills since we had to go past the place.
Our next port of call was the Big Galah at Kimba (286 km from Home) to stretch our legs and take on fluids as we have not got into the camelbak thing of drinking on the move.
After we left Kimba for our fuel stop at Wudinna (388km from home) we not only had the wind but we also had some rain showers added into the mix and it would continue until we arrived at our overnight accommodation at about 7:30pm at Ceduna (597 km from home).
Saturday 5th August.
Heather declined to go any further as she slipped off the bike while getting off at Wudinna and spent the day resting in our room. We found out later that some tendon damage had occurred.
For me though it was an early morning rise and on the road before 6am for the completion of the final leg to the SA/WA border. No towing the trailer for this part of the trip so I can travel at the state limit and use less fuel and at 7am I stop for fuel at Penong (670 km from home) at 7am.
A brief rest stop across the road from the Nundroo roadhouse (749km from home) at 8 am. From here on the clouds gave way to sunshine but I still had the wind to contend with.
Another visitor in the rest stop
And some green from the growing grain crops which soon gives way to the natural bushland.
This is the where the Eyre Hwy begins to cross the actual Nullarbor (No Trees) Plain (875 km from home)
Looking North
And along the road towards the West
A little further down the road I pulled into the first of the rest stops beside the Southern Ocean. I've never stopped at this one before.
Looking East along cliffs of The Great Australian Bight
Just as well I had our zoom lens for the camera though its only a 75 - 200 mm it's good enough for us.
And we have whales. Only two
Next stop is Border Village (1079 km from Home) where I arrived at 11:50 am and is the end of the ride and the start of the next one home. After filling the bike tank in readiness for the return trip back to Ceduna I had some lunch.
I saw this parked on the other side of the road; it's a B triple
While I was having lunch I saw two of our SA Ozstoc members arrive on their red Honda ST1300s and they parked next to mine. When they organised there overnight accommodation we all headed over for a coffee.
I did mention that I'd seen one of our members that came from WA and by the time I had to leave at 2 pm I hadn't seen anymore ST riders though I did see a parked red ST1100 as I was leaving.
I completed the requirements for a FarRide of at least 1000 km within 24 hours on my way there and could have a more leisurely trip back to Ceduna and eventually home but with Heather being in Ceduna I aimed to get back as soon I could.
The route from Home to Border Village with all the stops included.
The Return Trip
While going to the border I noticed the view in the picture and made a mental note to stop and take some pics on the return trip (13km from Border Village). This time I had a tail wind.
This is looking west towards Western Australia.
Close ups of above.
The sandy beach and coastline beyond the cliff face is all in WA
My next stop for a photo was at Nullarbor Roadhouse (184 km from Border Village) for a photo with the bike in front of a whale. I missed the sign showing the Western end of the Nullarbor Plain as I didn't think it was so close to the roadhouse but I've marked the point on the next map
I parked behind a B double which I would later overtake which I would again see stop for fuel at Penong as I was refuelling the bike.
I saw this remains of old wooden wagon at the roadhouse as well.
That was the last of the pictures I took until Sunday morning though I did have a couple rest stops between here, Penong and Ceduna.
I rang Heather at 7:30 pm after I passed through the quarantine station at Ceduna and no need to stop at the roadhouse so I went straight to our room (481 km from Border Village) making a total of at least 960 km for the day.
Before leaving for home on Sunday morning I took some pictures in the caravan park.
Bike and trailer in front of the unit. It's a fairly basic unit but has all the essentials at a budget price. I first stopped in this place July 2008 and the cost hadn't changed since then.
Some higher priced units in the back ground with some empty caravan sites in the foreground.
As we were travelling East we began to catch up some of the rain that had been falling all that weekend so I stopped to put our wet weather gear on. Luckily we missed it but got wet from the oncoming trucks.
At Wirrulla (572 km from Border Village) we stopped off for some breakfast
The local store
There was also a small caravan park behind the rest area
After Wirrulla I planned to stop at Wudinna for fuel with the tail wind I could easily make Kimba though if needed I did have 10 litres at hand. At the Kimba roadhouse (791 km from Border Village) we also had lunch since it was 1 pm.
We rode the rest of the way home with a brief rest stop after we went through Port Augusta.
https://goo.gl/maps/yAaZNFwTBAo
Total distance for the trip was 2145 km (1333 miles) according to the bike's odometer and used 132 litres (29 gallons UK or 35 US) of fuel at an average of 16.24 k/l (46 mpg UK (38 mpg US))
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