Day 9: Wilcannia to Tamworth (836 km. Total now 6,437 km)

I woke up today with an acid reflux. I guess half a plate of chips for yesterday's brunch and two mouthfuls of instant maggi mee for dinner would not make up for a proper set of daily meal. I did not eat much along the journey. I was just not hungry. Perhaps my body actually went into energy-conservation mode. I couldn’t quite tell whether I also lose weight or not but I do notice that my jeans is a bit loose at the waist… heheh…

The sun is not as bright today and the temperature is just as cold. Multi-layered clothing for me again… During the quick fill-up at the pump station in Wilcannia I saw that they have a little shop open with a big sign that says “COFFEE AND BREKKIE”. I’m much wiser now from past experiences during the trip so I asked first; what kind of coffee do you have? “Instant”, replied the shop assistant pointing to a large stainless steel heating pot with coffee jar and other stuffs next to the counter. I politely declined and hit the road. Am I spoilt? I mean, instant coffee used to be good…

Anyway, it was a nice ride apart from the cold. I kinda missed my SatNav. I don’t really need the specific instruction for directions. Road signs are more than sufficient along these long stretches of country roads anyway, but perhaps I just missed knowing how far I am to the next destination and how much longer it will take me to get there. I also got the creepy feeling that I might actually missed the female voice from the SatNav – my only talking companion for most parts of the day!

The one above is a typical rest area in this part of NSW. Compare it to this one that I took earlier in the Outback!

When I stopped at the above rest area I was close to shivering from the cold. I have learnt to make a habit of stretching after I had a terrible cramp in my leg a few days before due to the cold and sitting still for hours. An elderly guy, who was also taking a break, arrived in a nice motorhome with his wife. We struck a conversation (we all just love to chat with our fellow travellers on the road!) and shared our travel stories. He was pleasantly surprised to find a Malaysian on a bike by himself exploring Australia. He was from Perth and every year, he and his wife explored Australia in their motorhome. We discovered that we share the same creepy feeling about Coober Pedy! After the nice conversation we wish each other well and he said, “I’m gonna go make myself a cuppa – take care, mate!” and off he went to his wife in the motorhome to enjoy his nice “cuppa” in the warmth of his motorhome – and I was left there, literally shivering by now… I really need to get one of those, I said to myself…

This is Cobar – it won my vote for best town sign!

I took this pic just after Cobar. Look at the torture that I put my tyres through! I most definitely need a new set of tyres when I get home!

I stopped for a nice lunch in Nyngan and also managed to solve the riddle my wife and I had during the planning of this trip – how do we pronounce this town’s name. As it turns out, it’s pronounced “Nean-gurn” rather than “Nyee-ngan” as I thought! (I must have been thinking of “Kacang Nganyin”).

Here’s the nice little café. It has a sign upfront promoting its famous Angus Burger as “How a burger should be – before McDonald’s stuffed them up!”

After that, I found this little town - and here’s my vote for the best town name!

Judging by the way the weather has been behaving today so far (I stressed here; SO FAR) I was expecting a smooth ride all the way to Armidale. It was still a nice breezy afternoon all the way passed Gilgandra and to Coonabarabran when it starts raining again! I really didn’t say anything this time. Bad or worse or anything I just have to ride through. My aim was just to cover as much distance as I could so that the ride for the last day tomorrow will be as short as it can be. The last stretch from Gunnedah to Tamworth was really one of the worst. It was getting dark very rapidly and visibility is poor in the late afternoon rain. I couldn’t stop otherwise it would be too dark to continue later on. I was almost literally using the light from the car in front of me as a guide. I think he must have known so he maintained his speed that was comfortable enough for me to follow (whoever you are; thanks, mate!). I also saw a roo by the roadside for the first time – then I remembered hearing a little clunk just a few miles before that – I took a peek on the front mudguard and true enough; my shoo-roo is gone!

It rained and it rained and it rained all the way into Tamworth where I decided that I could not push any further. I just can’t take it anymore. I was tired, I was drenched and I was hungry. If this had not been the penultimate day, I’m very sure I would have taken an extra day just to recover! I checked in to the first decent motel I saw on the way out of town – it turned out to be the second most expensive stay (after Uluru of course) but a very nice and cosy cottage-like suite…

…with some very nice facilities…

I went to bed that night with mixed feelings - happy that I will finally get to see my family again tomorrow but sad that this will be the end of this very exciting journey...