Nick Sanders, here on the Nullabor, Really?

With the recent clock change we were up even earlier than normal - The Roadhouse was not even open! The rise of the soft dawn light and the chorus of birds in this oasis ushered in the new day and the Roadhouse opened its doors and turned on the fuel pumps. We were eagerly waiting to get on our way making the most of the cooler morning temperatures.

While we were filling up with fuel a smiling character on an electric bike rode up to us and asked if we were from Wales, having seen the Welsh flag and UK number plate on Lobo and Linda's bike. "Sure, yes, we are riding back home to Wales from Sydney" Turns out it was none other than Nick Sanders, the famous Motorcycle and cycle adventurer who has circumnavigated the globe a number of times breaking various world records. Really? Here on the Nullabor, miles from anywhere? Nick is on his latest round the world adventure on his electric bike. He looked remarkably chipper considering where he has come from and where he is heading. Nick lives within an hour from Lobo and Linda so it was great to meet him.

We said our goodbyes to Nick and continued on the road west towards Perth on the 90 mile straight, Australia's straightest section of road, dead straight for an hour and a half. Again the temperature climbed and the wind felt as hot as a hair dryer, burning the nostrils.

Our original plan was to camp just south of Norseman but the prospect of camping in that heat was not something we looked forward to especially as just a few hours south, in Esperance, the temperatures were nearly 20c less! So we filled up with fuel and water in Norseman and turned south towards the coast adding an extra couple of hours to our day's ride. We phoned ahead to book a camp site but we were told that we would be lucky to find anywhere and that we should go to the "overflow" campground at the Esperance Showground.

Gibson Soak Pub was a stop over point on our way to Esperance where we stretched to legs and purchased some drinks for our arrival in Esperance. It was a great pub and we would have liked to have stayed there and camped but it was also fully booked.
 
We arrived in Esperance in the late afternoon, booked in at the temporary office cabin, along with a quite a few other people, and gladly pitched our tents. John, the ex Brit site manager suggested a Chinese restaurant that was well worth the visit, possibly the best Chinese in the world we were told, so once the tents were set and we washed we walked the 15 mins to meet Judy the restaurant owner. We were all ravenous and the food went down in double quick time. Judy, the bubbly and enthusiastic restaurant owner came to see us and gave us some suggestions as to places to visit: Lucky Bay!! Must Visit Lucky Bay!     

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