Day 7 – Rest Day – Mt Gambier

There was a fine mist falling last evening as we walked from the Nelson Pub restaurant to our room. I awoke briefly sometime this morning to what sounded like torrential rain hitting the roof and walls outside. I turned over and went back to sleep. We had decided last night that we would make it a rest day. Mt. Gambier 25K away was more suitable for R&R so we had discussed strategies for getting there. David was leaning toward riding despite the weather forecast. Joe and I felt the road was hazardous enough without doing it in a rainstorm. David opted and hit the road around 8 AM. Joe and I headed up to the roadhouse on the C192 to see if we could find a ride. We were pleased with our decision as rain, sometimes blowing horizontally, came wave after wave. It was just after noon and a couple hours of waiting before we came across Wayne, a 75 year old local retiree.

As we were loading our gear into Wayne’s small pickup truck for the short ride into Mt Gambier, we got a call from David. He had made it and had booked rooms at the local Comfort Inn. On our ride, Wayne diverted from the C192 at the Victoria,/South Australia State line and took his favorite back-road into Mt. Gambier. He told us that this would have been his choice for cycling. We agreed. The lack of detail on our maps does not provide many clues as to optional routes. The Donovan Road that Wayne took had a few climbs, it also had very little traffic. It would have been an ideal alternative.

When we arrived in Mt Gambier, Wayne took us to the feature that made Mt Gambier a Mount. Right in the middle of Mt. Gambier are volcanic craters, one is the city’s natural reservoir.

So we got a 15-mile pass today. After yesterday both Joe and I feel it was worth the rest, today was for taking care of us. David seemed to have regretted his choice when we met up in Mt. Gambier, he was exhausted and having trouble getting warm after having had a thorough soaking. In Mt. Gambier Joe and I walked to a nearby Pharmacy to pick up a few things to ease our pains. We stopped by a grocery to stock up for food for the road tomorrow.

We will continue west, hopefully on some roads with less traffic.

…and now in South Australia the time zone is ½ hour off from Australia’s eastern time zone putting us 14 ½ hours ahead of the U.S. Central Time Zone.