Day 344, Monday, 8 March, 2010

Distance travelled – 113.0 km
Avg speed – 16.5 kph
Max speed – 52.4 kph

Cann River to Eden

It rained through most of the night and was still raining as we packed to leave this morning. Luckily it stopped just before we left but the northerly winds remained.

For us today was going to be a long day so mentally we broke it down into two parts - Cann River to Genoa and then Genoa to Eden. Normally in this hilly country we would not try to go so far in single day but staying overnight in Genoa did not appeal. The alternative was to ride to Mallacoota but we decided this was too much of a side trip and we have been there a number of times in the recent past.

We left Cann River on wet roads and with thick threatening grey clouds overhead. From time to time the sun would make a very small but brief appearance. As we passed the turn off to Wingan Inlet the sun became more persistent and the clouds began to break. Closer to Mt Drummer the reflections of light, as the sun shone on the wet road and the tree trunks and wet leaves, were quite spectacular. As a backdrop to all this the low cloud shrouding Mt Drummer began to break and drift away. To add to this picture the bellbirds were chiming in massive crescendo making the ride most enjoyable.

We reached Genoa at noon and stopped at the café for morning tea number two, (Genoa only has a pub and a café). There was not much stock so we both selected a cool drink and sat on the veranda. Within five minutes of arriving the sky blackened and then opened up with the biggest downpour we have seen on our journey. It lasted 50 minutes before stopping as quickly as it started.  Luckily the owner of the café was more than happy for us to sit it out under her veranda, telling us to move the bikes undercover as well. Although we were not keen to see the rain she was pleased with the thought that more water was going into her rainwater tanks.

We left Genoa fully expecting further downpours throughout the afternoon but luckily the rain gods were looking after us today and we had a dry run into Eden.

By the time we reached Eden we were both exhausted, me in particular. On reflection we both agree today was the hardest we have had so far on our journey. We both have very tight and sore thighs which surprises us given the distance and the hills we have already covered in the last 11 months. Until two days ago we had thought we were reasonably fit. These last three weeks back along the coast look like they are not going to be as easy as we had first thought.

Zoom into the map and use the 'Satellite' layer to see our new location.

At morning tea we watched this ant swim across a puddle dragging an insect larvae. When it could not go over an obstacle it dived underneath still dragging the larvae!!!!. I didn't know ants could swim.

View from Princes Highway between Cann River and Genoa

Torrential rain at Genoa. It did this for 50 minutes.

The New South Wales/Victoria border. The blue sign indicates Eden is 46km the green sign says its 48km.

Attending to starvation. One hour from Eden we both began to fade so we stopped for a top up of pasta and vegatables. Dessert was a packet of The Natural's Party Mix.

Previous Report

Next Report

Top