Day 127 | end of the Tanami Road: we finally end up in the pub

79 km | Heading west total: 5,701 km

Occasionally there’s a day when everything goes wrong but it doesn’t really seem to matter.

The morning started at 4°C and for some reason despite stripping the stove I couldn’t get it started for my breakfast and wasted at least half an hour.

Next, 15km down the road I broke another rear spoke, only when I stopped to fix it it wasn’t a spoke: it was the main structural frame to the bike: the chain stay near the dropout.

Serious? It looked almost terminal.

Seb turned up and was amazed that shortly afterwards I had 3 vehicles stopped from Ruby Downs Station and was getting a ride with Sarah to get it expertly welded, while I drank a cup of tea, all in less than an hour. Seb always breaks something in the middle of a desert: when I break something a beautiful woman appears out of nowhere as an angel.

Seb waited some distance down the road so we could finish the tuf, tuf, tuf Tanami Track together. Finally back on the sealed road my trailer tyre blew with only one kilometre to go into Halls Creek. Somehow the Slime sealed it up and we kept going.

Then we tried to find the pub. None of the locals seemed to know the location.

Huh?

When we found it the gates are all locked up and there appears no way in. We left for the other pub. Oh, there isn’t one. Bottleshop only had light beer but couldn’t sell it if we were going to drink outside.

Eventually after putting up our tents we walked over to the original pub and wound our way through the complex to the only bar in town. Too easy. After a few jugs Seb buys the next round and then immediately gets asked to leave due to the strict Halls Creek dress code. Hey! We’re supposed to be in the Sports Bar. It’s just turned 6pm and he now his dress doesn’t comply. Well, there’s no doubt he looks a trifle rough still in his biking clobber. Eventually he reappeared looking only slightly less grotty, but nevertheless ready for some more pool.

Yes, it was quite the up and down style day.