Total Distance – 431.6km
A Heysen Trail Story
No music last night! Lots of trains blasting their horns. But there’s not much to be done about that. I left this morning with mixed feelings regarding the accommodation. On the one hand, the food was absolutely fantastic. Really yummy. The staff were friendly and they let me do my washing in their machines for free.
But it was also a little bit….lacking. In the cleanliness department really. Both the bathroom and the lounge area. Nothing major, but enough to put a bit of a tarnish on it.
Now, I’ve really taken it up a notch. Camped as I am outside the toilet block in the Georgetown park. Not caravan park. Just…park. There’s kids here now, playing on the swing sets. It feels a bit odd. Sure. But apparently it’s allowed and the toilet block is immaculate. One buck for a sweet 2 minutes of steaming hot water in the shower, and I’m feeling warm and snug sitting in the central rotunda. Can’t ask for more than that!
Nature was not with me today. The wind, viciously against me in fact. The battle to move forward was intense. The walking consisted primarily of road walking as well as a small, grassy section following a pipeline.
Nice views, but nothing spectacular. It was kind of hard to see anyway. What with my head bent so far forward in an effort to try and keep my hat on.
And then disaster. Somehow, in my usual uncoordinated way, my walking pole got caught up under a wooden stile as I tried to get over a fence. Snapped a section clean off. I think it says something that I didn’t even swear. Didn’t throw the bits in disgust and curse my luck. I just stoically picked up the pieces and stashed them in my bag. I must be getting immune to my gear issues. That, and I knew I had a shit tonne of tape I could try and “fix” it with. I tell you. That stuff is the most used thing in my pack.
I stopped in at Hiskey’s Hut briefly to have a look around. Fairly big hut with multiple rooms and a large fireplace. Significant effort has gone into trying to revegetate the land surrounding the hut which is excellent to see.
I had already decided I would move on though. Drown the sorrows of my stuffed stick in the generous warmth of the shower. Also, it looks to be a rather mountainous day tomorrow. Perhaps with some rain. So, this just gets me a little inch closer…
Good to know the staff were friendlier after your rather frosty first contact! Glad you enjoyed pub food yet again…
Not sure about Spalding pub coming up re accommodation. Looks like twin beds only?? But there’s plenty of barbed wire to admire!!
Aaah duct tape – the wonder product. Hope it fixed your walking stick. And good on you for showing restraint after the break – you were either numbed with fatigue or showed much more self control than many of your relatives would have! xxxxxxx