Day  36                                  Moreton Telegraph Station to side of the Southern Bypass Road (130m)

Distance:                             124.11km

Av speed:                            11.2 km/h

Total Elevation:                   590m

Calories:                              3886 per person

Weather:                             Warm 30*c

Having enjoyed an amazing meal courtesy of our very friendly and supportive hosts, Brett and Kathy, we woke at 5.30am with the intention of getting an early start.

As the sun rose around 6.15am, we prepared to set off, only to find that Jon’s yak wheel had deflated over the night. Making the necessary change, we were soon heading off towards the front gate... when the spare tube also deflated. Reviewing the tyre we diagnosed a split and made use of the spare kiddy bike tyre which Chris had carried in the bottom of his trailer for the last 36 days... it was kind of rewarding to actually use it in the end!

We then headed off on more undulating red gravel roads for the Bramwell Junction and the start of the Old Telegraph Track. About 5km from the Junction we passed more wildfires by the side of the road and ascending a large hill we could see a significant bushfire up ahead.

We stopped briefly at the Bramwell Junction Roadhouse to stock up on sandwiches for lunch and Chris took the chance to ask the lady behind the counter as to whether the bushfire would impact on the Old Telegraph Track. “Nah itwould have went through the OTT last night” was the response. So Chris pointed behind the fire and asked if that was the direction the OTT took. “Nah it goes that way (pointing in front of the fire)”. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... slightly concerning!!

We took off to see how it looked and managed to complete the first 5km in a little under 45 minutes... this included two amazing river crosses which boggled the mind as to how a 4x4 drive would get down and then up the banks! At this point we were passed by some motorists who said that the OTT was awash with flame and smoke further up and it would be unwise to continue. We quickly discussed it and made the difficult (but correct) decision to turn back. We made sure we warned some dirt bikers as they sped past us. Interestingly, as we rode the 5km back to the Junction, huge amounts of track had been burned in the previous 45 minutes since we’d first past!

After again refuelling, we set off from the Roadhouse on the Southern Bypass Road. The Bypass Roads are much longer and less direct, designed to avoid all the obstacles which the OTT provides... in other words, a nice route for all the grey nomads and their caravans! Ironically, the Bypass Roads (over 230km) have a terrible reputation for corrugation and sand, meaning that for us it wouldn’t really be any easier than the OTT... and also longer.

We set ourselves the target of knocking over 70km before dark (a great result given the 2 hours we’d earlier lost) and found a place to camp by the side of the road. The wind howled and there was steady rain throughout the night.