29 July, was an enjoyable day. Waist high tumbleweed rolled out in front of me in slow dazed motion. It was an almost non-stop carpet of meshed and tangled twigs rolled on for three kilometres. Allied with a strong swirling cross-wind that stuttered me down route 64. Passing trucks and the wind blew my dusted hat off many times. I shuffled on in the intense sun, it was a 23C humid day. Despite the strong wind it was a warm day.
Starting the day I had about 56 kilometres to Renhard and about three litres of water. Not missing an opportunity when I came to a roadside rest area I spotted a truck driver adjusting the straps of his rig, so I asked him to refill two of my one and a half litre water bottles. He was a cheery man and would have given me more had I wanted it, but that would have been unnecessary, extra weight to push.
A little later a kangaroo hopped to safety across the road, less than one second in front of a truck. Kangaroos have the Australian self-drive design engineers scratching their heads about how to interpret their danger. It seems that the problem is their unpredictability for they can hop out of nowhere, out of a small gap in a hedge; and with varying stride patterns.
I was going to light a bush fire and cook my lunch but then decided against it because of the wind. A sign that warned against fools that ignore the rules, in my case I went by my instincts. In the end the issue was settled for me when Luke an employee at the Outback Corner Hotel stopped to give me a takeaway peppermint beef steak 'n chips dinner. He told me that the hotel gives away left over dinners to their staff. A little later two men stopped and gave me cool refreshments to wash down my meal. If that wasn't enough yet another couple gave me eleven dollars for my next meal, what lovely people.
Just as it got dark I turned left onto route 20 and walked three kilometres to Monash, 35k scraped out. I was expecting a small village but it was in fact a small town. A sign pointed me to Monash Club. It seemed to be a sports club. Men wore black t-shirts emblazoned with the insignia of their beloved Magpies Football club. One woman told me that there was indeed a game that day. A more important game than football; the players wives lost a netball game that afternoon. A catering company served cut-priced dinners, so when I showed myworldwalk.combusiness card to the manager she gave me the 24 dollar rump steak and chips, salad buffet and unlimited coffee dinner for half price!
The bar lady said that I could camp around the back of the club but it seemed a bit too busy for my liking. I decided on a patch of grass at the side of the towns adventure park. On the way out two lads with a case of beer offered me a bed for the night, but as they looked a bit two sheets to the wind I declined.
Starting the day I had about 56 kilometres to Renhard and about three litres of water. Not missing an opportunity when I came to a roadside rest area I spotted a truck driver adjusting the straps of his rig, so I asked him to refill two of my one and a half litre water bottles. He was a cheery man and would have given me more had I wanted it, but that would have been unnecessary, extra weight to push.
A little later a kangaroo hopped to safety across the road, less than one second in front of a truck. Kangaroos have the Australian self-drive design engineers scratching their heads about how to interpret their danger. It seems that the problem is their unpredictability for they can hop out of nowhere, out of a small gap in a hedge; and with varying stride patterns.
I was going to light a bush fire and cook my lunch but then decided against it because of the wind. A sign that warned against fools that ignore the rules, in my case I went by my instincts. In the end the issue was settled for me when Luke an employee at the Outback Corner Hotel stopped to give me a takeaway peppermint beef steak 'n chips dinner. He told me that the hotel gives away left over dinners to their staff. A little later two men stopped and gave me cool refreshments to wash down my meal. If that wasn't enough yet another couple gave me eleven dollars for my next meal, what lovely people.
Just as it got dark I turned left onto route 20 and walked three kilometres to Monash, 35k scraped out. I was expecting a small village but it was in fact a small town. A sign pointed me to Monash Club. It seemed to be a sports club. Men wore black t-shirts emblazoned with the insignia of their beloved Magpies Football club. One woman told me that there was indeed a game that day. A more important game than football; the players wives lost a netball game that afternoon. A catering company served cut-priced dinners, so when I showed myworldwalk.combusiness card to the manager she gave me the 24 dollar rump steak and chips, salad buffet and unlimited coffee dinner for half price!
The bar lady said that I could camp around the back of the club but it seemed a bit too busy for my liking. I decided on a patch of grass at the side of the towns adventure park. On the way out two lads with a case of beer offered me a bed for the night, but as they looked a bit two sheets to the wind I declined.
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