The CrossingToward Port Wakefield
Less Than One Hundred From Adelaide
Cold wind and rain followed me past Lochiel's pink lake and its own Nessie. Jitter Bean pies helped, and by night Adelaide was less than 100 kilometres away.
I started Day 61 an hour later than usual, which was not ideal, because late finishes and late starts could very quickly become a little spiral of their own.
That morning the calculation was simple enough. Port Wakefield was the target. I did not want the day to drift, and we still had a few kilometres spare in the plan for Friday. Adelaide was close enough to be real now, but not close enough to coast.
The weather made sure of that.
It was bitingly cold, with a strong headwind, piercing rain showers, and a lot of gravel under shoes that were ready to be replaced. That combination was exactly the sort of thing that could make a number on paper look misleading. There is 41.6 kilometres, and then there is 41.6 kilometres into cold wind, cold rain, gravel, and worn Hokas.
Still, we got it done.
Lochiel gave the walking some colour. I’d been told to look out for Nessie, and there it was: Lochiel’s own lake monster sitting in the pink lake beside the highway. A South Australian Loch Ness monster made complete sense.
The place names were still amusing me too. At one point I posted a sign and reduced the geography to a very simple choice: northern England straight ahead, Ukraine left. Wakefield and Balaklava appearing together in rural South Australia was exactly the sort of thing my brain was happy to play with while my feet were getting battered.
And the country itself kept confusing the issue. South Australia, or England’s green and pleasant land? Even the weather was doing its best impression. I remember being surprised by how beautiful this part of South Australia was. I had not known what to expect, but whatever unknown expectation I had brought with me, the place was exceeding it.
Lochiel also gave us Jitter Bean Oasis. I had a morning coffee and pie there, and the pie was awesome.
The lads bought pies from the same place for dinner, which meant Jitter Bean made a second appearance with boiled spuds, veg and gravy. Food didn’t have to be complicated. It had to be hot, substantial and waiting after the last few kilometres.
Adelaide kept getting closer in ways that were starting to feel emotional rather than theoretical. A sign showed Port Wakefield 31 kilometres away and Adelaide 127. Later, another sign showed Port Wakefield 2 and Adelaide 98.
Less than 100 kilometres.
Less than 20 parkruns.
That was a ridiculous and very useful way to measure the distance. Adelaide was our first capital city, the point we were treating as the halfway marker, and the start of a busier second half of the crossing. I had walked something like 2700 kilometres by then. Not bad for an ex-fat bloke.
While I was out in the cold, Ols posted an update from inside the campervan. It is one of the useful reminders that HAA was not only physically hard for the person doing the walking.
Hi everybody, Ols here. Just a little follow on to what Ben posted. We are now day 61 of the 126 day trip across Australia so very close to the halfway mark, which will be Adelaide on Friday! It is a massive milestone for us as a team, as it is the first city we arrive in, and like i just said, THE HALFWAY POINT!!!
Much to Gary’s disappointment I have started smoking again, although it has not stopped me from walking over 400 kilometres with him, keeping him company and motivated at times when I feel he really needs it.
The trip has been very challenging, and has been a lot tougher at times than I first thought it would be. Its not just physically, but mentally challenging too, trying to cope with serious amounts of boredom, nothingness, the occasional 18 hour day here or there, and not to mention some of the homesickness I have had previously where I have been unoccupied. I’m currently sitting in a nice warm camper van writing this whilst Gary is out walking in the strong gusts of wind and pissing rain lol, fair play to him, he’s doing an awesome job nevertheless!
Golden boy Ben has been following a running program recently and is doing very well with it, where as I am not. This weekend I am really looking forward to a night in the city on Friday with my good friend Anthony who is over from Perth, and also Saturday and Sunday evening at my relatives before being back on the road early Monday morning.
The walking was the visible bit. It wasn’t the only hard part.
That behind-the-scenes support mattered every day. Clothes had to be cleaned or dried. Shoes and equipment had to be kept in order. The van had to be managed. Food had to appear. The mobile support platform had to keep functioning.
There was a chance conversation at a local servo with Peter, who was involved with community radio station 89.3 Gulf FM and said he would give HAA a plug. Those little moments still mattered. Someone saw what we were doing, asked about it, and found a way to help it travel a little further.
By the time I stopped, we had reached Port Wakefield at a reasonable hour, which felt like a win in itself. The day had been challenging, but the attitude and team spirit had carried it.
Then the work kept going.
There is a photo from that night of Ols cleaning muddy Hoka Stinson Lites. Most backpackers from the UK probably don’t end up on a floor in South Australia cleaning somebody else’s shoes after a day like that.
Ols and Ben were abso-bloody-lutely fantastic support crew.
I couldn’t have done it without them.
Images From The Day
