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The CrossingMoonera Tank rest area

Back Out With A Clearer Head

The half-day rest had cleared my head, so I stepped back onto the Eyre Highway and split the distance to Madura over two days. Winter skies and dead roos made sure the beauty didn't get too romantic.

Date16 June 2015
Journey dayDay 32
Gary in hi-vis walking gear moving through roadside grass on the Eyre Highway east of Cocklebiddy
Back out after the Cocklebiddy rest, refreshed and ready for another day of huge skies, open country, and unexpected wonder.

The half-day rest at Cocklebiddy had done what it needed to do. It hadn’t given me a new body, but it had taken some pressure out of the day and let me step back onto the highway with a clearer head.

I’d hit a mental low in Cocklebiddy. The shirt and social-media email had landed hard, but I’d replied, explained what daily life looked like out there and then stopped carrying it quite so tightly for a few hours.

Madura was the next roadhouse, about 89 kilometres away. Too far for one sensible day. We split it in half, with Moonera Tank rest area as the first stopping point.

The morning had a bruised grey-purple winter sky, the kind of light that makes the highway look longer before the day has properly begun. Move for a while. Check in. Eat. Adjust the layers. Look up. Keep going.

The country held two truths at once. It was a joy and a privilege to be there. The sky was spectacular, the light kept changing and a bird in a dead tree could suddenly look enormous because there was so much space around it.

My body still hurt. The doubts were still there. I could switch from “why am I doing this??” to “this is exactly why I am doing this!!” within the same kilometre.

Then there were the kangaroos. Seeing huge mobs alive in the scrub was wonderful. The roadside was grim. Dead roos were everywhere and the smell grew stronger as I approached each one. It was like the kangaroo version of the Somme: beautiful country and live animals bounding through it, followed by the stink of the ones that hadn’t made it across the highway.

Ben got so sick of the smell that he swore he’d never eat kangaroo. I don’t know whether he kept the vow, but I understood it.

I stopped after 44.4 kilometres with the accumulated activity total at 1,324.8. Moonera Tank wasn’t a town or a roadhouse. It was a free unpowered rest area, somewhere to eat, sleep and leave the second half of Madura for tomorrow.

Images From The Day

The Eyre Highway stretching east under a heavy winter sky near Cocklebiddy
The day began under a low, winter-heavy sky east of Cocklebiddy.
Sun breaking through cloud over the Eyre Highway on Day 32
Dry weather felt worth appreciating while it lasted.
Roadside sign pointing to the Eyre Bird Observatory and Eyre Telegraph Station
A small signpost to the Eyre Bird Observatory and Eyre Telegraph Station, one of the markers that broke up the highway.
Black birds perched in a bare tree beside the Eyre Highway
The wildlife was beautiful to see out there, even when the highway version of it could be grim.
The Hearts Across Australia support campervan parked beside the Eyre Highway
The campervan was check-in point, kitchen, shelter, and moving home.
Nuytsland Nature Reserve sign beside the Eyre Highway
Nuytsland Nature Reserve: another reminder that the huge, empty-looking country still had names and layers.
Dark cloud over open Nullarbor country beside the Eyre Highway
The sky kept changing, and that changed the feel of the kilometres.
Late afternoon light over the Eyre Highway near the Moonera Tank stretch
Late light near the Moonera Tank stretch, with Madura still waiting for the next day.

View the full day gallery