Posts Tagged ‘Belah Campsite’

Day 12. 125km. Belah campsite – Pooncarie

Posted: October 23, 2020 in Australia, Cycling, NSW
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Early to rise and early to shine – to get to the visitor’s centre by 9:30 for the Great Wall of China tour. Today was a slog to get to Pooncarie, leaving Mungo at 1:30pm. I did it, as I am now sitting in Pooncarie.

Pooncarie

Pooncarie


The 70km tourist loop of Mungo – also recommended for cyclists – continued its corrugated way, throwing in short sand for good measure. It was very peaceful and beautiful, though, passing along it in the early morning light.

Morning corrugations

Morning corrugations


Morning corrugations

Morning corrugations


When I heard the Great Wall of China tour was actually at 11, I raced off to the Mungo Lodge to feed. I caught the tail-end of the breakfast buffet. In the half an hour I had, I consumed most of the calories I needed for the day. `The buffet and… a caramel milkshake.

Walking onto the sandhills that make up the ‘Great Wall of China’, under the guidance of a local aboriginal, you see a lot more. The dunes are alive with animal tracks – painted lizards, snakes, magpies, kangaroos, goats.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China


The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China


Leaving Mungo at the hottest part of the day, I made my way along 50km of bumpy, corrugated, sandy road. The start was fine, with a tailwind and better road surface. The last part was awful, and I was counting the kilometres to the main road.

The road to Pooncarie

The road to Pooncarie


When the road did come, it was heaven. Perfect bitumen, flat and a strong tailwind. I made it to Pooncarie in time for a big chicken schnitzel. 🙂

Day 11. 138km. Manfred – Belah Campsite

Posted: October 22, 2020 in Australia, Cycling, NSW
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A beautiful cycle through a barren moon landscape. Malley scrub, massive flat saltpans, sand formations and corrugations. Oh, and a caramel milkshake.
On the way to Lake Mungo

On the way to Lake Mungo


The morning was still so time to take out the drone.

The view from above

The view from above


The World Heritage Area began with a climb over a little ridge to see a huge expanse of flatness with a dead straight white line bisecting it to the horizon.

The vast saltpans

The vast saltpans


On the horizon were blobs of shimmering white. They looked like wheat silos from a distance, but as I approached, I saw they were sandhills.

The sandhills before Lake Mungo

The sandhills before Lake Mungo


As I proceeded, I climbed lines of sandhills to descend to the next salt pan.

When I arrived at the main loop around Mungo, where all the tourists go, I hit the corrugations. Sometimes they were ok, and other times they pummeled me to a standstill. The road to the campsite was a bit bumpy in the evening light.

The road to Belah Campsite

The road to Belah Campsite


The east side of Lake Mungo is flanked by a range of sandhills. Blown there by the prevailing westerly wind, they form a range of odd sculptures.

Sand sculptures

Sand sculptures

Sand sculptures

Sand sculptures

Belah campsite is busy. Not the solitary experience I expected. Still, a nice bench to cook dinner on, and a chorus of mozzies and flies to keep me company.