Day 418 | Nifold Plain: back here in Lakefield National Park

7 August 2012 | 89 km | zzOz total: 12,342 km

Almost 4pm, a national park campsite, Saltwater, well, 4 actually, present themselves, I’ve already done 76 km.

What to do?

Bike on.

The road, it’s still dirt for the next few days, has been reasonable, improving once I left the Development Road at Musgrave roadhouse back before I munched my lunch. I’m heading back over a day or two of familiar territory from almost 2 months ago, much less traffic and no roadtrains as I’m rolling on to Lakefield.

At least 2 groups have told me that they booked, ie, paid for, sites here at Saltwater but when they arrived they decided to keep moving. I’m struggling to find a reason for them to bail, could be it’s just too wild for people more accustomed to the conveniences offered at the roadhouses, showers and flushing toilets, maybe someone told them that the park supplied toilet paper has been discontinued as a cost cutting exercise by the new conservative government. Then again it might be the lack of facilities of any kind in this instance other than a cleared patch to park your rig. Or, I suspect, more importantly for city dwellers the required close proximity, ie, noise, of other like minded people, humans seem to be a species that enjoy their grouping, we’re a gregarious lot.

I depart Saltwater for other reasons, there’s still an hour of cycling time, the last hour seems to be my favourite, I want to get over to Nifold Plain which is distinguished by a congested termite population, well cathedralled. Trees don’t make it out here although the magnetic type with their tombstone type mounds prefer eating grass I believe.

Immediately the road becomes in turn sandy, bumpy then lumpy, the wind which has been up in a major way all day unencumbered by sheltering trees blows away cobwebs as I smash straight into it.

I did recall a side track from my first traverse of this somewhat barren territory so when I finally reached it, a slow procedure at the end of the day, it was a huge surprise when it led to another Lakefield, err, lake, billabong, a rich little ecosystem both in birds and vegetation, complete with blue flowered water lilies.

No other humans in evidence.