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BELTANA BIKE RIDE

The sky had been clear blue all day and the forecast was for that to continue. We camped at the town of Beltana, a heritage town, in the northern Flinders Ranges of South Australia and settled back to watch the sunset light up the sky as a few clouds streaked across.

Our plan was to ride two roads that join Beltana to the Outback Highway, both of which are recommended for 4WD vehicles only. This would be out and back style rides unless we decided on using the highway and sealed road into Beltana to turn it into a loop ride.

Beltana is a Heritage town with a small permanent population which increases slightly in the cooler winter months. New houses can be built in the town but they must comply with heritage style. The local hall displays an amazing art collection of Flinders Ranges landscapes with around 100 on display.  It welcomes self sufficient campers such as us and it is well worth a walk or ride around the town.

One of the newer cottage style residences
An original residence but what a view from the front verandah

Our first ride was on the Old Beltana Road which is a rocky, red dirt road that heads north for 20km, emerging through the Puttapa Gap, before joining the highway. Recently, Cyclone Ilsa pushed a rain band south from the tropics giving the area a good drink. We saw only a small amount of surface water in the creeks and the red clay roads were dry and hard.

The railway line is on the mound in the foreground

This is not an area to be taken lightly. Carry plenty of water and safety gear as few vehicles pass this way. It’s rocky, corrugated, washed out, sandy, bone shaking and stunning. Admiring the rock formations and the distant views as well as keeping the bike upright would be a challenge for anything other than a suspension mountain bike.

Yes it’s rugged and a little harsh on the equipment

Following the Old Ghan Railway line and we came across ruins of the bridges and culverts as well as sidings that would have been flourishing 100 years ago.

Great views from the old siding
These culverts were built to last

I’m not sure what the name of this siding was but now it’s just a ruin with only partial walls still standing.

Built from the local stone
Like a totem pole

At the 20km mark we joined the Outback Highway and headed north for around 6km towards the town of Leigh Creek. Looking to your left you can see a communication tower high on a bluff and that was our destination. Again, don’t try riding this area when there has been rain. You won’t get far in the red clay. The turnoff is near a cattle grid on an unmarked track. Stop here and strap on a new set of climbing legs, or in our case shift the Ebike power up a notch. This is a long, rocky, rutted climb but with spectacular views from the top.

Beware of the gates, especially on the way down. It seems someone had a sudden stop.

Sudden stop

It seems that mangled gates are a feature on this ascent.

2 sudden stops !

Sorry I didn’t get any photos until towards the top and they don’t do justice to the view. Still, I tried with these shots!

Now for the descent. Take it slow and easy going back down. You may be only a few kilometers out of Leigh Creek but few people pass this way and bike spares are impossible to find in this region.  A blown tyre could mean a very long walk. Of course, I would disregard that advice and have a great time bombing down the track.

You can follow the red track in the photo to the lowest point in the valley, which is where you started the climb. The photo was taken about 1/3rd of the way down from the tower.

The Highway is far in the distance

Now it’s only a matter of retracing your route to return to Beltana.

There are other “wildlife obstacles” to avoid along the track. Charging around a corner we surprised a herd of feral goats who dived in all directions. Luckily, they high tailed it up a steep embankment.

A mob of ferals

Emus are also numerous in this area. It’s not unusual to have a gaggle of Emus spear out from the bush and cross the road just in front of you. Nothing like seeing 200kg of flightless bird with long clawed legs, a sharp beak and beady eyes charging through the bush towards you.

This guy ran for a while then turned and stared; daring me to pass

The other wildlife encounter I had was with a female kangaroo with Joey in the pouch. She has bounding flat out along the track near me, with the Joey hanging out of the pouch screaming “faster Mum faster, we can beat this sucker”. No time for photos of that one; full power as I hate being beaten by kids.

We had previously tried to follow the Highway to Trebilcock Creek where maps showed a short cut to Beltana, but when we reached the turnoff the track was actually following a creek bed and strangely enough it had water in it. This gave us a less than enjoyable 20km on the Outback Highway and then 12km of sealed road to Beltana.

Back at camp the clear blue skies disappeared, and clouds gathered above us; and then it rained. The second 34km (return) ride on the southern 4WD track would have to wait.

The rains are coming and we will be going

Beltana, a town with history. Robyn and I stood at the front of the hall, me knowing my father was here as he travelled north with the troop trains of WW2, and Robyn knowing her family lived and worked here on the overland telegraph over 100 years ago.

Beltana, a great place to visit in the cooler months and when it’s not raining!

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Time and Tide

The phrase “Time and Tide wait for no man”, or more correctly man or women, is a common phrase  but what does it really mean. The common conception is that it’s a call to action, to do it now, with urgency.

That phrase came to mind prompting action stations as my kayak plunged into the short sharp wave in front at exactly the same time as another hit me beam on and the one behind broke on my rear deck. Oh what fun, buried up to my armpits in a low volume skeg kayak, in a following sea, in 3 metres of water driven by wind gusting over 20 knots.

But back to the beginning. I had been invited to join 2 distinguished gentleman paddlers on a 20+km sea kayak paddle in the northern reaches of Spencer Gulf where we would visit Cockle Spit. Aptly named because it’s a bar that is formed of cockle shells and is dry at lower tides. Steve and Greg are locals to this area.

We arrived earlier so that we could ride the nearby mountain bike tracks at Willowie forest, with Steve as our guide. Riding in 36 degree heat (C not F) is certainly taxing but fun. Settled in the beachside park we watched the sunset and Robyn chased a few photo opportunities.

The Jetty is an old wooden affair that was around 1.5km in length
Sunset on the high tide
The fading sunset
There are old storage sheds and railway lines from earlier days that have been restored

Back to the present. The day had started calm, with the knowledge of increasing wind, as we left the Port Pirie harbour making our way past large ships docked in the channel.

We followed the channel markers as they weaved their way into open water, leaving the Mangrove trees behind.

The last mangrove tree in the channel
The wind gently rising with more to come

The wind increased, as predicted, making for a slightly bumpy, but not unpleasant, 16km paddle until we had Cockle Spit in sight. Actually, you can’t see the Spit until your almost on it but you can use line of sight from various markers to navigate. Steve led Greg and myself to the calm inside of the Spit for a well earned break.

The wind increased again, adding another layer of complexity to the paddle. Steve and Greg decided to push the boundaries of their Mirage kayaks by hoisting their kayak sails. That put my ego under serious pressure, so I engaged warp drive to keep up. Luckily, they soon decided that sailing was a little precarious in these conditions and reverted to paddle power alone.

We made reasonable headway considering the conditions and soon had the Port Germein jetty in sight. I noticed a change in water color at the end of the jetty which is 1.2 km long. Then I realised why Steve had insisted we all had a kayak trolley with us. The tide goes out over 1.5 km in the bay and that sand colored water was indeed sand. So when we ran out of water we simply hooked up the trolley and walked making it more of a biathlon than simple paddle. Steve insisted that we should have made it a triathlon by all going for a swim but Greg and I declined.

Back on dry land with a long drag ahead. You can see the choppy conditions in the distance.
The happy bunch

Cockle Spit had previously had a tide clock erected in the channel telling ship captains what the tide was at the time. Ships would enter the harbor and anchor whilst being loaded with wheat and other produce by smaller vessels called Lighters.

The Tide Clock has been salvaged and is now housed at the beginning of the jetty as a reminder of an era when navigation was a tricky affair.

The Jetty previously had a lighthouse at the end of the jetty and that has also been restored and placed on land.

Complete with sculptures the Jetty precinct is a nice place to wander, especially the nearby coffee shop.

An interesting paddle in an unusual location with a fair bit of wind and wave thrown in for good measure. We learned later that winds had been strong near our home in Adelaide resulting in downed trees and power lines.

Robyn and I are heading into the Southern Flinders Ranges for gravel road and mtb track riding and some serious Bakery visiting. Time and Tide wait for no man or women. Do it now !

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Not Always Paddling

I’m not always paddling a kayak, or surfing a kayak, or travelling somewhere to launch a kayak, or finding a new place to launch a kayak . Sometimes I do other things, like eating and sleeping; especially the sleeping.

Other than Paddling you will often find us riding a mountain bike track or exploring gravel backroads. Mountain biking has been with us since the 1990’s when we started on non suspension steel frame bikes and have now progressed, or regressed, to full suspension E-bikes.

But that’s not the only things I do. I carry the tripod for Robyn because she has one of those damn heavy (non carbon fibre) tripods for her camera. I was in camel mode recently with tripod, camera and heavy lens when a guy walks up to me and starts asking about focal lengths and full frame or cropped sensors. I told him I had no idea and was only carrying the thing around to look important and impress the ladies. He looked at me, said nothing and left.

We like finding beaches to explore. This beach is around 5 kilometres of sand between two rocky headlands and we enjoyed the sunset view from the top of the sand dune.

We thought we were the only people for miles around, until a couple and dog sauntered along the beach. Oh well, that made 4 of us on the 5 km of beach.

Sometimes our interest is finding a different view of the everyday things we see.

The boat that is anchored in the bay …

The abstracts of nature. A night walk in the forest.

As well as a different view of a prominent marker.

When we are home there are experiments with “still life”. Is this the beginning of Armageddon where the Daleks conquer Earth or Robyn playing silly buggers with my salt and pepper shakers encased in ice ?

Time to move on to the next adventure. Leaving the Limestone Coast of Southern Australia and heading north to paddle on Spencer Gulf followed by a visit to the Willowie Forest Mountain Bike Park.

Cheers
Ian and Robyn

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Local Appreciation

There was a lot to Appreciate today. I was that lucky guy who was given a large dose of Covid for Xmas meaning I didn’t see Xmas or New Years eve festivities. I had been instructed to return to activity carefully and not stress my system. Yes of course I will do exactly that, although I neglected to mention that I had a short session in my playboat least week which resulted in a bit of regression.

It was a great day. I found a space in the beachside carpark, even though there was a school holidays (or school Horror Days) sailing class underway with a gaggle of parents milling about.

The weather was as forecast with the temperature around 30 degrees (C not F) and the sea calm. I launched quickly with the promise of a little over an hour on the local coastline. The first kilometre was great with breathing easy and heart rate under control. The second kilometre not so good as I could feel a distinct lack of fitness. I slowed somewhat and decided on a very gentle pace for the next 5 kilomteres so that I could enjoy the surroundings.

Cirrus clouds were sweeping across the sky, filtering the sun, the sea and horizon blending together.

The water was crystal clear as I nudged the kayak bow close to the rocks along the shore.

You can see the coastal walk which is steep in places. I have never counted the steps but there are a lot of them. Luckily the walk links coffee shops at Merino Rocks and Hallett Cove where one can recuperate for the return journey.

I had time to say hello to the Cormorants and Seagulls who had been resting on the shoreline after fishing for breakfast.

The professional fisherman were working hard casting for squid. This guy is almost a permanent fixture on the coast. If the wind is under 25 knots you will see him plying his trade.

I plodded along Appreciating the coastline and how lucky I was to have it as my local paddling spot. In future I will make a point of slowing down and taking in the view instead of focusing on my smart watch vibrating my time per kilometre. I was not the only one enjoying the morning, although some seemed a little hesitant to jump in.

My day of Local Appreciation left me feeling happy to be alive, however, my body was telling me it needed a nice coffee and a long nap. Luckily Robyn was able to steer me to a beachside coffee spot for a 3 shot latte and thick raisin toast. I would take care of the nap later.

Hope you have a great week.
Ian

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Back to Work in 2023

Go on, get back to work you mob. Stop clogging up the cafes and bars during the day and creating traffic chaos at the local beaches. Get back to your office, or more likely your home work station, if you are trying to avoid Covid 19. Stop scaring the dolphins and us older generation with your stinky, noisy jet skis and fishing boats. Free the beaches from your gaggle of kids, dogs and sand castles.

Leave it for us retired folk to enjoy, and enjoy it we did today with a little bit of surf play.

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A small window

I never saw Spring. Maybe it had more pressing engagements elsewhere. None of those lovely Spring days with the sun shining and the temperature starting to show signs of what’s to come. No watching warm red sunsets with a favourite beverage. No sunburnt nose from forgotten sunscreen. No need to check your kayak for spiders lurking under the seat. No need to have a hat for every occasion.

None of that.
We had water. Not the type you paddle on, but the type that comes in bucket loads, drenching everything and everyone. The type that causes massive flooding river systems, inundates whole towns and livelihoods. With the rain comes the wind; howling, screaming, terrorising wind that wipes out all in it’s path.

Gum trees snapped at the trunk
The road was passable as the level dropped

Luck was on our side as we sheltered from flooding rains in the Australian “outback”. We reached a bitumen road that headed south towards home, our path flooded in many places. I had the kayak on the car roof but fortunately the creek systems fell just as quickly as they rose.

Summer was closing fast and finally a small Spring weather window opened. Not enough time to get in any substantial sea kayaking journeys but long enough to fit in a little surf play.

Summer will come, the waves will be clean and uncrowded, the sea kayaking perfect with pods of dolphins, the water crystal clear for snorkeling and the mountain bike tracks dry, running smooth and fast.

Dreams are free. In reality I take every FUN I wave I can and here’s a few I took today before the wind reappeared

Steve gets last minute instructions from Philip’s labrador.
You have to earn your wave FUN
Steve gets a small FUN wave
This could get a bit crowded
Fast and Clean