Chapter 18: The Red Centre (Darwin to Leigh Creek, Australia)
Only a very high risk of wildfires today thenMy first of many wild camps out in the remote Australian bushThe long, straight, lonely road into the middle of the OutbackThe interior of the pink panther pub in Larrimah. These remote outback pubs were always filled with character.The ever present three-trailer road trains, rumbling their way across the outbackThe golden hour before sunset always made for some beautiful cycling on the empty plains of the OutbackOccasionally I would take a break from wild camping in the Australian bush, and sleep on rest stop picnic benches insteadEven on the main road through Australia’s centre, the Stuart Highway, the gap between food sources could be surprisingly largeThe sun dropping beneath the horizon in the remote Outback as I pedal onwards into the nightSprinting across the dusty plains south of Tennant Creek as a tailwind finally materialises and helps me push out a 186-kilometre dayReaching an unexpected sight in the middle of this vast desert: Devils Marbles or Karlu Karlu in the language of the Warumungu peopleTaking a break from my dash through the Outback to explore this small National ParkTwo of the most eye-catching boulders in the middle of the National ParkCycling into the seemingly endless Outback during golden hourA rare overnight rain shower turning the fine red sand which had surrounded my wild camp into a deep, sticky red mudA gloomy, overcast day as I pedal towards the Aileron roadhouseReaching the (relatively) large town of Alice Springs, halfway between Darwin and Adelaide, bang in the centre of AustraliaMy bicycle loaded up with food and water, ready for the Oodnadatta Track. It weighed more than me here due to some rapid weight-loss caused by having to ration food on a few occasions between Darwin and Marla (Thanks to Anthony for the photo)Being greeted by a sign with some rather scary distances between water/food sources as I turn onto the dirt of the Oodnadatta TrackCrossing a mostly dried up creek as I pedal out into the wildernessThe red dirt of the track combined with the deep blue sky made for some beautiful cyclingCruising alone through this stunning landscape with 160 kilometres still to go before the next settlementAlthough the track made for some gorgeous cycling, rough washboard like this made it quite challenging in placesUsually the landscape here would be parched, red earth but due to recent rains I was treated to the unusual sight of wild flowersReaching the famous Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta, where I could stock up on food and water after 2.5 days in the wildernessThe huge amount of food and water required for the next section (5 days of food and just over 3 days of water)Chasing my shadow eastwards, further into the wilderness as the sun begins to set over the OutbackThe beauty, purity and simplicity of cycling this remote track would live long in my memoryThe Oodnadatta Track continuing ever onwardsI had several close calls with wild emus on my last day into Leigh Creek, and even managed to briefly race alongside one of them, a fitting end to my time in the Outback
My bowels are crying out in agony while looking at your food options . Not a piece of fresh fruit or vegetables in site! Lol! Lots of sugar though to fuel you onward. I enjoyed the book and look forward to part two
Haha, yeah, not a big fan of most fruit. I do like vegetables, but it was always a lot of hassle to chop them up after a long day of cycling, hence the pile of sugar and carbs in the above photo! Many thanks! Delighted to hear you enjoyed it. Part Two should hopefully be out for Christmas this year, fingers crossed 🙂
Irregular Adventures 
My bowels are crying out in agony while looking at your food options . Not a piece of fresh fruit or vegetables in site! Lol! Lots of sugar though to fuel you onward. I enjoyed the book and look forward to part two
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Haha, yeah, not a big fan of most fruit. I do like vegetables, but it was always a lot of hassle to chop them up after a long day of cycling, hence the pile of sugar and carbs in the above photo! Many thanks! Delighted to hear you enjoyed it. Part Two should hopefully be out for Christmas this year, fingers crossed 🙂
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