After a short drive we launched the boat (made from the same heavy plastic material as water tanks) at a 'secret fishing spot' and soon had our lines in for a great morning catching King George Whiting, Tommys, Trevally and Garfish.
The scenery was spectacular with the cliffs of Gallipoli Bay (where the beach landing for the movie was filmed) and Coffin Bay National Park in the distance, and a pod of dolphins nearby. Yummy fresh sandwiches topped off a great morning.
At about 1.30pm I packed my bike, bid my farewell and set off for the 45km ride back to Port Lincoln in time for a rehearsal for the Christmas gig this coming Thursday at the Hilton Hotel for the Nursing Home clientele. Despite a north tail wind, I was struggling with the heat and had to keep stopping in the shade for breaks. My iphone said the local temperature was 26 degrees but it felt more like 36. I promised myself a long rest at the halfway mark at Big Swamp with its great bird life. Luckily I had plenty of water.
Just before Big Swamp I stopped at the gate of a wheat farm to take a photo of a field bin which was being towed along the road. These pointy cylindrical bins on wheels are for temporary grain storage during harvest while waiting for transportation to the silos, and get moved from field to field along the road.
Wayne, a farmer, beckoned me over and I couldn't believe my good fortune when he invited me to climb up into the huge wheat header and sit alongside him in the cabin to do some harvesting!
Needing no second invitation, I quickly parked my bike and climbed up the ladder into the fully airconditioned cabin and we set off.
After two weeks of cycling through not much other than wheat fields I couldn't believe that I was getting to see it all first hand! As we drove along Wayne explained the process performed by his 'factory on wheels' and I learned how the header is programmed via GPS to drive itself on a straight course through the fields, the wheat is thrashed and harvested 'silo ready' and the stalks are basically chewed up and spat out directly onto the ground to serve as compost for next years planting. I found it fascinating!
While we harvested the wheat, Wayne's son Damian drove the tractor and chaser bin alongside us so that we could empty the grain from the header while continuing harvesting and he went back and forth emptying it into the field bins.
Before long, with some instructions from Wayne, I was in the driver seat doing a spot of harvesting myself! It was a fantastic experience and one I will always remember.
This generous family, so willing and happy to educate me about their farming world, even gave me a lift with my bicycle in the farm ute back to Port Lincoln in time for my rehearsal, with an offer to ride in the grain truck to the silos the next day! (When I learned that they didn't finish their day's work until 11pm I felt even more grateful for the time they spent with me and the lift back to town).
