Day Two: Yunta
It’s a crazy country. After roasting yesterday, I woke at Hallett this morning to discover fog that gave bare 100 metres of visibility. And only 18 degrees! By Whyte Yarcowie the fog was burned off and temperatures climbed to 47.5 this afternoon. This was near the top of a long hill called Dead Man’s Hill, with a cross on top. I guess he got caught on a hot day too. You could perish out here.
I’ve stopped in a very comfortable old pub at Yunta; I needed a wash and the Manna Hill pub does not do accommodation. This will mean a long ride on to Broken Hill, and unless the temperatures drop I will probably sleep rough at Cockburn. I’ve only done 129km, 40 short of what was intended.
Continuing weirdness included being passed by a big red fire engine just south of Oodla Wirra, and the request to keep the back door shut at the pub because they’ve had two snakes inside in the last week. The snakes are coming in after the frogs- go figure. I thought I was in the dry country! There has been water three feet deep for miles around Terowie, with bitumen damaged in places, and the hills have been deep green in a few places. Just your average February. The final little twist was the Yunta Roadhouse being run by two very dapper Indian chaps in their twenties; a far cry from the very Aussie publican.
Goyder’s Line goes through Whyte Yarcowie, according to the sign, and the vegetation soon shows it. There are dozens of fallen down farm houses testament to the loss of the good years.
