Day 259, Sunday, 13 December, 2009

Distance travelled –  95.7 km
Avg speed –  17.4 kph
Max speed –  34.2 kph

Elliston to Lock

A very pleasant day of riding today through some very open grazing country. Most of the paddocks are very rocky and there are a lot of rock walls being used as fences. As we rode by we wondered how much labour was required and how long it took to clear the paddocks of rocks and build these walls. With the cost of labour being so high today we can’t imagine that sort of work happening now.

As we sit and write this update we are watching a train being loaded with grain from the silos just across the road. As we were putting up the tent we could hear the train sounding its horn as it approached the town and a level crossing just across the road from us. To our amusement, after the cars had stopped to let it pass, the first of the three locomotives stopped in the middle of the crossing. A fellow hopped off the train and proceeded along the tracks to change the points. After a while the train slowly moved forward and it took what appeared to be 15 minutes to clear the level crossing after which the cars could pass through. We hope none of the cars were in a rush. Being a Sunday we thought that the train would be loaded in the morning but over the last two hours nearly all the 46 carriages have been filled and it looks like the whole process will be completed within the hour. For us very unusual but interesting entertainment as we prepare dinner.

Zoom into the map and use the 'Satellite' layer to see our new location.

We have been passing many of these watering points in the last couple of days. A small open tank made from local stone is filled from the bore and a long stone trough provides the stock with access to the water.

The grain is sucked from the bottom of the silo into a waiting train.

Preparing dinner.

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