It was a 7 am start and the boys were
up early – they had to go to school too. It was difficult to take leave of them
and Emi and Honey. They had been wonderful hosts and I had felt completely at
home.
Planning research had thrown up
challenges of travelling from Adelaide to Perth and from Darwin to Cairns. Prime
among the challenges is the availability of fuel. Suggestions had come that I
should get extra tanks fitted in the car, or, at the very least, carry gasoline
containers to cater to any eventuality. Some even said that I had, maybe, chosen
the wrong vehicle – a diesel one would have been more appropriate. Last night I
was doing last minute research on the Adelaide-Ceduna leg and came up with
interesting information about fuel stations all along the way. On this leg, I
was satisfied, I would not face any problem. Moreover, much to my astonishment,
I was getting nearly 800 km on a full tank of petrol, which should see me
through even the long sections, if I fuel up whenever I find a fueling station.
Armed with this piece of vital
information I decided to make the first stop at Kimba. It had been 5 hours and
460 km after starting off from Adelaide, travelling via Port Wakefield, Port Pirie
and Port Augusta. The drive was smooth and without any disruptions. I had been
warned many times over about road trains. I did come across a few, nearly 120
feet, road monsters. The surprising thing is that they were swift, gleaming
machines that moved at over 100 kph. I made sure that I use the overtaking
lanes alone to get ahead of them. The landscape was bare and dry without anything
remarkable. But, it wasn’t bone dry. The shrubs and the few trees were green.
I fueled at the roadhouse in Kimba.
When I went in to pay for the fuel the smell of Indian curries hung heavy in the
air and many were eating in the restaurant attached to the roadhouse. Then I learnt
that the roadhouse is run by a Rajasthani family and hence, the curries. I
feasted on a large portion of rice and mutton rogan josh before hitting the
rest of the route to Ceduna. At the roadhouse I gathered further information about the availability of fuel till Perth. In fact, a board was hung up there for the
information of long distance travelers where they could find fuel next in the
direction of their travel. The 300 odd km to Ceduna was another unremarkable
drive.
I reached the Ceduna Motor Inn, bang
on the highway, a little after 3.30 pm in bright sunshine. Brad, co-owner of
the Motel, suggested a drive to Thevanard and dinner at the Oyster Barn. After
resting a while in the budget accommodation that cost AUD 100 per night, if one
can call it budget, I made my way to Thevanard. I was merely told that it is a
working port. But what I saw there was another world. Yes, it is a working
jetty with gypsum, grain, salt, mineral sand and fish (in bound) as its main
cargo. Massive silos are used for storage. Two large islands off Thevanard were
charted, presumably, in the early 1600s by a Dutch explorer. They, St Francis
and St Peter, are also said to have inspired the 18th century
classic, Gulliver’s Travels. There is, many say, substance to believe that
Jonathan Swift had placed his story in the context of the two islands and the
account of one of the sailors who was a team member of the charting of the two
islands. The Pinky Point walkway at the edge of the Thevanard is a fascinating
one. Some distance away from the port is a stone jetty with a ramp to launch
and haul in boats.
Back in the motel room I opened a can
of Canadian Club and started updating the expense account and the actual
itinerary. When I was close to finishing the can I gravitated to the restaurant
for a meal. I chose a fillet meal with salad and fries. When the meal arrived I
sat in quiet contemplation for some time strategizing on how to finish the meal
without wasting any bit of it. Food portion in Australia is too large for even
a disproportionate Indian like me. I must have taken at least two ‘intervals’
before I got through the meal! I felt happy for the task done!
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