The CrossingToward Tailem Bend
The Green Frog And The Narrow Bridge
A green frog made from tyres was the harmless oddity of the day. The narrow Swanport Bridge supplied the adrenaline, and donated lamb korma made the finish at Westbrook Park much better.
The day started with the sky doing its best to show off.
The Adelaide Hills were still fresh in my legs, but we were already pushing towards Tailem Bend. Looking back, that transition feels longer than it was. In reality, the hills had taken one day and now we were marching on.
There was more civilisation around us now. More towns. More signs. More properties. More chances for random little encounters. That was nice in some ways, but I was also aware of missing the peace and quiet of the Eyre Highway. After weeks of huge empty stretches, ordinary rural South Australia felt busy by comparison.
It also had a Green Frog made of tyres, so obviously the day was going to be all right.
Old Swanport Road gave us a quiet stretch I could enjoy. I stopped to photograph a ten-acre property, because random pictures had become part of my job description. Scott wondered why a stranger in hi-vis was photographing his place, so I explained HAA and had a roadside chat with him and Dan.
Scott was camera shy. Dan was not camera shy. The plan was to have the house up and ready by Christmas, depending on the usual approvals and all the other things that sit between a plan and a finished house.
I loved those moments. They were not grand or planned. Someone saw the hi-vis, the walking, the campervan, or the photo-taking and asked a question. Then, for a few minutes, HAA folded another person into the day.
Later, I thought I had made a proper navigation mistake.
I had taken the most direct route, avoiding the actual town of Murray Bridge, but as I got closer it started to look like crossing Swanport Bridge was going to be impossible. That would have been awkward, to put it mildly.
Then I found the emergency footpath.
I decided my situation qualified as an emergency. The path was narrow, the traffic was very close, and the amount of adrenaline being pumped around my body was not insignificant. Naturally, I still managed to take photos.
After that, Highway One was back in the story. Tailem Bend was appearing on the signs. Adelaide was no longer the big thing behind us. The next line was opening up in front of us.
By the end of the day I had walked another 53.2 kilometres, taking the running total to 2952.8 kilometres. More importantly for the next morning, I walked into Westbrook Park, which meant we could start from there without a drive-back shuffle.
That was always a good feeling.
Dinner helped too. Karly and the team at The Fleurieu Pantry had donated lamb korma and rice for all three of us, organised through Michelle’s Race for Miracles. After a hard day’s work, it was very, very, very delicious, as well as nutritious.
Day 67 had sunrise, a tyre frog, a quiet road, another roadside chat, a narrow bridge, and curry.
That is a pretty good HAA day, really.
Videos From The Day
firing up the daily video again as we say farewell to adelaide and switch focus to melbourne :)
HAA vlog as the crossing left Adelaide and shifted focus toward Melbourne.
Open on YouTubeImages From The Day
