Day 337 | Chilton Hills Station: out on my lonesome

79 km | zzOz total: 8,820 km

A day smashing into the wind, the land out here has been completely cleared, just some scrub in the creek beds remain, not much respite at all.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, up hill as well and I’ve loaded up with water from the bore last night, all 21 litres or thereabouts.

If I’d been continuing on the Min Min Highway much of that liquid would have been redundant, but I’m giving myself the option of Lark Quarry.

A few Brolgas, they’re not such a novelty any more, an emu, some roos, a fair level of roadkill, mostly roos. Suddenly I recognise something different, that’s a wild pig, then another and later a third. That’s a bit wild but fortunately they are filed under the roadkill department.

Later on in the day there’s mirages on the horizon, 2 strange looking protrusions, floating free from the landscape, looking like the result of some weird mastectomy, except as I ride closer it seems as if they have been smeared with some cheap self tanning lotion, as they rejoin the ground they’ve turned bright orange.

There’s a thin line of hills, all flat topped mess style and eventually I’m in the middle of them, biking up hill of course, the wind hasn’t let up.

At the top of the lowest pass I’ve ridden over is a lookout, Cawnpore, which really has the most surprising 360ยบ views I’ve had for a while. Strange flat top features at all quarters, colours from red, orange, ochres, mauve in the distance, just one of those magical places.

Badlands.

It all looks extraordinary. Looking over the other side the road drops in a valley between more mesa formations.

A few k on my turnoff appears, 153 km to Lark Quarry on the dirt then 110 on to Winton, or Winton direct on the seal all the way, 220 km.

I scarcely glance at the road, if it deteriorates in the first k I’ll come back, otherwise I’ll plunge on.

She’s a bit soft but it doesn’t get much traffic this end and I pedal off, smack into the wind.