So ends the history of a good clean carefull affectionate wife
Our mission is successful. Accompanied by a couple of additional Friends – Garry and Lindsay – we embark on the last part of our journey which is a short 10km ride along bush trails to the Ninnes gravesite.
We have an arrival party!
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Busy roads and a Bills Trough
Our journey is still going well as we cycle out of Avoca. We stop by the Avoca Railway Station, now an art gallery, but it is too early for us to do anything but roam around outside and peer into the windows. We get back on the bikes and ride out of Avoca to Lower Homebush, once a thriving gold mining settlement, but now quiet farmland.
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Sydney vs Melbourne
They say that Sydney is a city for tourists – flashy, plenty of attractions – where Melbourne is a city to live, with plenty going on, plenty to do, but not so much happening tourist-wise.
The ride from Campbells Bridge (a short drive out of Stawell) to Moonambel is a bit like Melbourne. There’s not a lot to see, but the riding is great.
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Peleton!
Today we are a machine! We are a fully-functioning, fast-moving, whirry-sounding peleton of six, and we whizz through the countryside from Horsham as one. We fly!
Maybe we fly because we are full up of fine bakery goods, taken after a drive from Edenhope to Horsham to get us back on track (and off highways). Nevertheless we fly, and reach our lunch spot near Taylors Lake in record time.
There’s only one problem.
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Back to Victoria, the state of the roads
I am driving today, so no bike stories from me. Instead, most of this post is a collage of photos from my day on the road, driving from Naracoorte to Edenhope and supporting the cyclists.
Before we hit the road, Greg has another go at speaking with Macca (Ian MacNamara, ABC, Australia All Over program.) Macca pretends a little more interest in Greg’s story, but the difference between his attitude to Greg compared with Caroline from Kalgoorlie who came before Greg and openly sucked up to Macca (“Oh I listen to you every week, Macca”) is stark. Take a listen …
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Lest we forget …
We backtrack from Robe to Reedy Creek, where an Australian flag on a fence gives us a starting point for the day (it was even embedded in our detailed driving directions to the starting point). The flag is a reminder that today is ANZAC day, and we honour those who have served and those who have fallen. Two of our hardy team attended the ANZAC day service in Robe before setting out today.
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We spend a leisurely day in Robe. Some laundry, some touristing, some lunching, some ice cream, some leg resting.
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The Ninnes family continued their journey south travelling, I presume, close by the banks of the Murray River. There are a number of entries from the Thomas Ninnes diaries that describe the Ninnes party’s journey along the Murray and down the coast and I’ve included some extracts in this story.
We jump on our mini bus, drive over the bridge and take the road south to Wellington, tracking the Ninnes’ likely path. I feel that the Ninnes group had significantly more adventures on their trek, whether good or not.
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We reach the Mighty Murray
I awake to a miracle. With the log out of my eye I seem to have made an almost complete recovery and so I can ride today!
We need to back track to Palmer this morning, to complete the ride from there to Murray Bridge. It’s going to be a warm one, with the forecast saying 30 degrees. What the? In April? Imagine doing this in the summer! I feel like everybody here must just hide inside their beautiful stone houses to wait out the heat in summer.
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You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:5)
The Ninnes group travelled from Kapunda through Angaston and Collingrove, so that’s where we turn our bikes this morning. The route out of Kapunda initially follows the Mawson Trail, past views of the open cut mine at Kapunda and then onto the familiar red-dirt, undulating roads of the area. Today John is driving and the rest of of enjoy riding as the scenery changes from the dry, barren surrounds of Kapunda to the slightly more lush vineyards near Nuriootpa.
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