We have successfully crossed Australia, coast-to-coast! Late this afternoon we arrived in Port Augusta, an important milestone in our trip. It was an achievement that we had to work for – today was our longest day, of about 530km, and we faced strong head- and cross-winds, and innumerable cattle-grids.

We got through the day with 6 riders. It was Lucas and Alistair’s turn for a long ride and they kicked off today’s leg, completing 145km and 113km respectively. Later in the day, Justin, Ryan, Clancy and Aleece rode as far as their batteries would permit, around 90km each. Throughout the morning we rode through the flattest and most featureless stretch of desert we have seen so far, which gave way to some rolling hills in the afternoon. Chief hill-climber Ryan had occasion to put his skills to good use, and Aleece and Clancy were lucky enough to encounter a couple of exhilarating down-hills during their rides, which were duly paid for with some serious up-hill stretches as well.

With the monkeys still in charge, several team members took on new responsibilities today. Chloe took on the demanding job of managing road-side stops and rider change-overs, while Liam (our quiet achiever) joined Lucas and Clancy (our not-so-quiet achievers) to form a new cattle grid team, as well preparing our meals for the day.

After almost 12 hours on the road, we are spending the night in comfortable cabins at Port Augusta Big 4 Caravan Park, another of our generous sponsors. Just a few moments ago, we were celebrating our successful north-south crossing of the continent over dinner and a team meeting, when fireworks started exploding over the horizon. Co-incidence? We think not.

View photos here.

GG