Up at 5.30am to beat the heat and headed off towards Port Gibbon at 7am with a brief stop for an egg and bacon sandwich at the Cowell road house.
I took the gravel back road to Port Gibbon but found the going tough in 30kph head winds coming from the south, howling across the somewhat barren plains and no shelter from the sun. Luckily the head wind was cool. One long black snake and a few sleepy lizards crossed the road in front of me. The road wasn't close enough to the coast to appreciate the views of Spencer Gulf but I knew once I got to Port Gibbon I would be on the coast so pushed on at about 7-8kph, taking me 4 hours to ride the 27kms. By the time I reached the free camping area I was pretty exhausted and had decided that it wasn't enjoyable in these conditions so I would try to find another way of getting to Port Lincoln with all my gear.
From what I could see Port Gibbon consisted only of a small collection of fishing shacks and the 'donation only' camping area. I asked around the camping area if anyone was heading to Port Lincoln but they were all going in the opposite direction, so I called Linda in Port Lincoln who could arrange for someone to pick me up by ute the next day. Still wanting to explore other possibilities, I headed off towards the only house that I could see and asked the owners, Len and Margaret if they knew of anyone who could give me a lift. They generously offered me a caravan at the back of their house for the night which I gratefully accepted as that seemed like a good solution coupled with the lift the next day. It was all sorted in less than an hour and before long I was feeling much better after a cuppa and shower.
Later that day Len and Margaret's son Stephen gave me a tour by 4WD along the beach (directly across the road) to take in the rugged coastline which I was unable to appreciate when I was cycling, and visit a sea lion colony.
After a home cooked meal I decided to take them up on their offer to rest up there for a few days until the weather was more conducive to cycling and try again to ride to Port Lincoln. This was my 8th day cycling without a break so a rest was in order.
