8th February
The ride across Australia has started and the journey could not be more exciting. I just wish I was more organised but clearly this aspect of adventure is not part of my character. The bush track from Brookton to Norseman is 300 kms and I misread it as 200kms. It left me short of water and the heat was to rise considerably.
The mural depicting how Kondinin looked like only 50 years ago
I didn’t actually make it to Hyden but pitched up on the edge of a cropped wheat field 39kms before what was to be a typically small wheat belt town. I slept well, my dreams broken by a rising wind catching the sleeves of a loosely erected tent and whilst too warm to be comfortable, by the early hours the night air cooled to something more perfect. Everything was on a slightly deteriorating schedule. So fragile was its timing that conditions out of my control could expand or contract how long it took me to get to Sydney. And things were changing.
Bit of Information
Let's look at this 'Wheatbelt' ... covering an area of 154,862 square kilometres, the Wheatbelt has diverse landscapes that stretch from the clear waters of the Central Coast to the highly productive lands of the Central Midlands and Wheatbelt South, the gentle hills and streams of the Avon Valley and the spectacular terrain in the Central East.
The area, once a diverse ecosystem, reduced when clearing began in the 1890s with the removal of plant species such as eucalypt woodlands and mallee, is now home to around 11% of Australia's critically endangered plants. A number of nationally threatened birds reside in the Wheatbelt, including the endangered Carnaby's black cockatoo and the vulnerable mallee fowl.
It was becoming clear to me that the wind was conforming to the forecast, a sea breeze from the southern bight, southerly but turning across my face changing as the air warmed to meet me head on. I hadn’t had a headwind on the whole trip and what a difference it made. The forecast predicted the temperature would rise significantly and I hadn't taken a heat wave into account.
The Dog Cemetary at Corrigin
I came across this little 'erm delight, a dog cemetary. I'm sure there are many around the world and what a fun idea but it's the first I've seen.
And another thing I haven't seen, the 'Blue Tree of the Shires' on the shire road to Corrigin,
And finally at Corrigin itself. The 'Dog in a Ute' is an annual event in Corrigin, Western Australia, the first Corrigin 'Dog in a Ute' was held in 1998 and smashed the world record by attracting 699 dogs in utes, by the end of the day over 3,000 people had poured into Corrigin and they raised over $20,000 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Corrigin has held the current world record since 2002.
Map of the Day
(correction: this should read 30kms east of CORRIGIN)