8 Jan 2024
After all that talk about the highway, I actually only did 45kms to Paringa today. I went through the Murray National Park, it was really pretty and my favourite part of this trip so far. Once I got halfway it got very muddy in sections and had big puddles. After going through some of it, I considered turning around and just redoing the bit I'd already done that I knew was alright to ride instead of continuing into the unknown. But in the end I decided I wanted to see as much of the park and avoid as much of the highway as possible, so I committed to going through the park even if I had to walk a lot of it and just stay in Paringa tonight. The last bit of the road in the park was properly flooded, so I had to do some bushbashing to get to the end.
And towards the end of my tumultuous journey through the park, I started hearing gun shots! But I only had one route going forward so I just hoped they stayed shooting in the other direction. Soon I happened upon a private property and now the gunshots made more sense. This road was still unsealed but not flooded so there wasn't much left of side roads until I got back to the highway for the last few kms to Renmark.
I got some breakfast at a cute and serene dog cafe with really nice decor and then headed to Paringa. Renmark actually looks pretty interesting so I'd be keen to explore it some other time, but I was a bit tired today to do that. Maybe one day I'll do the Old Mail Route and see Renmark at the same time. Paringa is also a really adorable-looking town. I could have gone further energy-wise, but I started thinking about staying at one of the rest stops overnight and I realised just how much I really don't want to do that.
I got some snacks at the IGA, and a 1.5L bottle of water so I had some extra carrying capacity in case I didn't stop at a place with water tomorrow night. I cooled off in the pool and then spent a solid hour and a half washing my bike and shoes and taking off my cleats in preparation for the Sturt Highway tomorrow. That's NOT a place where I want to risk having unclipping issues.
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