A much easier ride today as the road was more trafficked and therefore more packed down and smoother, generally.

The locals here practice being hard to surprise – a couple out checking their stock passed me mid-morning with just a  small friendlysmile and a look that maybe city folk have too much time on their hands. “Are you having fun?” “Yeah, its great”. And they kept on driving.

Todays highlight was meeting the Morella – Muttaburra Road at Kensington Downs Station. This homestead is backed up against the Kensington Hill which is a pretty red rocky hill standing 30-40 m above the surrounding blacksoil plain.

Kensington Downs Station in the 1800’s was owned by the partnership of which my great-grandfather and his brothers were part. His obituary is here – http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/crombie-william-266

After this it was a relatively fast blurt down the gravelled road to the bitumen for the run into Muttaburra.

I suffered a spectacular over-the-handlebars horizontal dismount on this section as a fast wheel caught in an unnoticed wheel rut. Luckily no damages to me or the bike.

Muttaburra  used to be a busy support centre for properties and a base for station hands, shearers and the like. Now, the better roads and declining population as a result of mechanisation mean that it has largely been bypassed.

Still, the town was tidy and well looked after.

A lanky local lad was lying across the doorway of the local lolly shop (now the museum) fullfilling his work requirement for the unemployment benefit by working as the museum guide. If anyone visited the museum.

The local shop was friendly, had a supply of Black&Gold Fruit Cake (essential travel lunch food) and some homemade biscuits and a hamburger for lunch today.

A local 34 year old fencing contractor saw my bike and wondered if I reckoned he could ride the National Trail from Cooktown to Melbourne. (Although I hadn’t known it then, I was to ride about a 100 km of the National Trail a few days out of finishing).

Maaaatee! If you are fit enough to build fences in 40oC heat you will have no worries  riding that. Just take it easy.

Then out past the statue of the local dinosaur, the Muttaburrasaurus, crafted from barbed wire and on the bitumen towards Aramac.