Having enjoyed my trip by mountain bike from Sydney to Melbourne in 2004, I decided to tackle a longer trip in 2005 and the idea of riding from south to north through the centre of Australia had a lot of appeal. I love the vastness and isolation of the Australian outback and this seemed a good opportunity to enjoy both.

Adelaide to Darwin MTB - Dunmarra to Mataranka

Day: 016
Date: Thursday, 8 September 2005
Start: Dunmarra
Finish: Mataranka
Daily Kilometres: 212
Total Kilometres: 2629

Journal:
Got up at 4am after a good night's sleep (went to be at 7:30pm!) and on the road at 4:45am.  Another beautiful starlit night followed by a great dawn.  Very pleasant riding.  I reached Daly Waters Roadhouse at 7am and ordered a cooked breakfast which I ate on the verandah.....also very pleasant.  I then continued on at a good pace in rapidly warming conditions.  Mostly lightly forested grazing country with dry grass.  Definitely a more tropical feel.  I made good time to Larrimah where I got a home-made pie and sausage roll and milkshake for lunch.  A very sleepy town on a very hot day.  I then set off for the final 75km in very hot conditions but managed OK with a break at a rest stop mid-way.  I reached Mataranka at 4:15pm and checked into the Mataranka Hotel/Motel.  The hotel looked a bit of a dive, but the room was OK.  I've decided not to try and fix the bike at Katherine and to try and get to Darwin on Saturday night.  I bought a burger and chips from a nearby roadhouse for dinner after deciding against the pub.  I started watching the cricket but, in the end, went to bed about 8:30am.
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