Day 176 | Jim Jim Billabong & pest attacks: bitten twice on the same day
76 km | Heading west total: 7,704 km
As David Foster Wallace has noted it can be the incidental things that you remember from a trip.
There’s been 2 things that are quite memorable about Jim Jim Billabong. When I first arrived I was surprised to find there was a spare picnic table available in the far corner of the campsite so I put the tent up right next to the table. Hooray, by now you will know how great I think it is when I find one of those.
It was what happened next that was quite memorable: I changed from my bike shorts to my long pants which I hadn’t noticed had acquired a large number of (biting) green ants in the groin area. That really gave me ants in the pants.
I was itchy and scratchy for an (in)decent while after that.
When the sun goes down (6 45pm) the mozzies really come out when you camp at a billabong so its usually into the tent by 7pm and snoozing by 8 30.
Tonight at 10pm a couple of 4WDs made a beeline for my table and dumped some Italian gals with chainsaw voices out and after 15 minutes of revving their engines with their lights directed on high beam at my tent took off again. The gals wanted to sit at the table but I told them to piss off: my tent was about 3 feet away and they could obviously see my bike leaning against the seat. Much disgruntlement from them and the whole campsite knew about it. Then after about half an hour the diesel engines roared back and dumped a huge load of wood just on the other side of the table and there were soon flames 4 metres in the air and six people intent on continuing on from their drinking at the local pub. I admitted defeat and retreated 250m away.
More ants in the pants, but I got over it quicker than the green species.
The funny thing was that the previous night a group of latecomers, 16 adventure tourists in a 4WD truck, had come to share my (large) site at Maguk again after dark. Despite the more than adequate area one newly acquainted couple decided to put their swag uncomfortably close to my tent: their heads were closer to me than my feet.
Obviously it was the last night of the 3 night tour and the sexual tension had proved too much: they were bent on consummating their built up passions away from their fellow travellers. Man! Ever resourceful I plugged in my headphones until I finally dozed off to sleep.
Why do I have such great attraction to my fellow travellers?