https://www.landy-2-xplore.com/. They gave us chilled Coca Cola and a bar of chocolate. A dream for every cyclist.
After 3 days we reached Carnarvon. Michael writes a few articles on the West Coast on behalf of WA Tourism and had to travel to Geraldton for a few days of research. I was once again invited by Margrit and Rolf to eat spaghetti. Thank you very much for your hospitality.
The next day I was finally able to go to the dentist. After an X-ray, the case was clear: A root canal treatment with temporary filling was on the program to obtain the broken tooth. The procedure lasted almost 2 hours.
With this filling, I should now be able to reach Perth. A big thank you to Doctor Anshika Nigam and her team for the great work.
A little bit I used the remaining time to discover Carnarvon. Among other things, I visited the Space Museum. The satellite observation station "The Big Dish" was built in 1964 and used in the Gemini and in the Apollo program.
The station also played an important role in the Apollo 11 mission. Due to Carnarvon's unique geographical location, it was used to uplink the Translivar Injection (TLI) command to the Apollo spaceship and was the primary link for the final hours of reentry to Earth. The former site of NASA was closed in 1974.
Again it continued for me after a few days of rest with a strong headwind. Michael traveled by bus from Geraldton to the Wooramel Station to meet me there. There, Rachel, the owner, showed us the surroundings and invited us to dinner.
Due to the long-lasting drought many stations had to drastically reduce their livestock here in the outback. The Wooramel Station had 65,000 sheeps at peak times and none at the moment.
We cycled further south along the North West Coastal Highway. Although it is not that hot anymore, the flies are still annoying. So we started every day at 6:00 in the morning.
Slowly the area became ever greener. Shortly before the Billabong Roadhouse a spoke broke on Michael's front wheel. I always carry an Emergency spoke of Kevlar thread with me and put it in his front wheel.
Optimistic, we headed for the 140km section between the Billabong Roadhouse and the small town of Binnu. Exactly 11km from the finish, at the turnoff to the Kalbarri National Park broke a second spoke.
Since Michael has no spare spokes for his wheels, the only option left for him was hitchhiking to Carnarvon to the next bike shop. He showed me what a real Australian does when he has a problem.
First he goes to a pub and drinks a beer. He did so and actually found someone to take him to Geraldton. I was greeted by several rainstorms during the last 100km. I was impressed by the huge green fields, which appeared more and more on the roadside.
In Northampton I was able to move into a room in the old convent and spend the night protected from the storm. The arrival in Geraldton was another milestone for me.
Now it’s only 420km to Perth and the distances between the villages are getting smaller and smaller. So we finally do not have to carry endless quantities of water and food anymore.
A few days we will recover here before heading south. The last big stage to the capital of Western Australia.