 As mentioned previously we are supporting a couple of excellent and worthwhile causes on our journey and today we had the absolute pleasure and privilege to ride with some of the folks from Black Dog Ride, South Australia. We met Craig Field, a Black Dog Ride coordinator and Mental Health First aid Instructor in Strathalbyn, SA, along with David Poole, another BDR veteran, on his beautiful Indian and Tony and Heather, each riding their own bikes. We filled up with fuel and coffee and we set off for our destination of Port Augusta via the scenic route of the Adelaide Hills and wine country. The twisting and winding tree lined roads led us to the town of Handoff, passing vineyards and farms selling local home grown produce. The weather was perfect. 14c and partly clouded. We stopped for a sandwich lunch at a servo before continuing on to Port Augusta. Heather and Tony peeled off and headed home. It was a pleasure to meet them and hear about their wonderful motorcycle experiences around the world. As we headed west the temperature climbed, the landscape flatted and became more arid and the greens turned to brown and the road began to straighten. This would be the start of the long track across to Western Australia. We stopped off at the historic town of Melrose, one of the oldest towns in SA, established 1840, for a leg stretch and water stop before finishing up at Port Augusta. We said our goodbyes to David who went to stay with friends in PA and Craig turned around and rode back home to Adelaide! During the day we had a good opportunity to speak with Craig and hear his amazing and inspirational story. He imparted his experiences of the fantastic work Black Dog Ride do and all the support they have given people. He helped us understand the need to build awareness of the issues of Mental Health and inspired us to try and support this wonderful cause and many people involved. For more information check to their web site here We said our goodbyes and rode on into the centre to Port Augusta to buy some food and refreshments for the evening. We found the caravan park, phoned the after-hours number and checked in and pitched our tents on the small piece of astro turf near the children's playground. Although the caravan park was surrounded by high barbed wire fences, giving an indication as to the towns prosperity, the facilities were excellent: great kitchen and clean showers and toilets.
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