Round Australia by bike - Day 020 & Half of 021 - Victoria River to Warmun

Day:	020 & Half of 021
Date:	Wednesday & Thursday, 8 & 9 August 2007
Accommodation	Motel in Warmun (Turkey Creek)
Summary	Riding from Victoria River Roadhouse to Warmun
Start Time:	5:00am on Wednesday
Finish Time:	7:30am (WA Time) on Thursday
Daily Map Kms:	515
Total Map Kms:	5,666
Map Kms To Go:	8,745
Map Kms ahead (+)/ behind (-) schedule:
Daily Odometer Kms:	518.4
Daily Average Speed:	23.81kph
Weather:	Cool to cold mornings and very warm and sunny days.  Negligible wind.
Nutrition:	Big Brekky for breakfast.  Sandwiches for lunch.  Pizza and ice-cream for dinner.  Big Brekky for second breakfast.
Encounters:	Saw quite a few kangaroos.  Had a couple from Singleton who stopped their campervan near where I had stopped for a break on the side of the road to tell me that this was the third time they had seen me since Camooweal and did I have a double?  Met a Japanese guy with a broken bike hitching on the road near Kununurra who was riding round Australia in the opposite direction to me, but much more slowly.
Highlights:	Fabulous scenery in the Kimberley.
Lowlights:	Bad chafing from hot weather during day meant that I rode the entire night standing on the pedals to avoid incurring further pain and to let the chafing repair itself.
Daily Pictures:
Daily Podcasts:	Here and here and here and here
Journal:	I set out a little later from Victoria River Roadhouse than planned and immediately began to climb in the cold morning air.  However, as the sun rose the day rapidly warmed and I was soon stripped down to my T-shirt. I stopped in at the Roadhouse in Timber Creek and ordered a big breakfast which seemed a very long time being prepared.  It later turned out that my order had been given to someone else who arrived later.  I sat at a bench outside the Roadhouse and sent off my diary, etc., while waiting for my meal, given that I had wireless reception.  I also chatted with a NZ couple who were travelling the world for a few years. I didn’t leave Timber Creek until 10:30am, which was much later than planned with 225km to ride to Kununurra, the next habitation.  The road passed close to the big Victoria River which must house more than a few crocodiles before it travelled across a vast flood plain in what had become a very hot day.  There were long straight stretches and the road was very exposed.  I got very warm and sweaty and was drinking lots.  It was not until late afternoon that the road climbed away from the floodplain and into the hills to the west.  The scenery became more interesting with brown/orange rocky crags and bluffs overlooking desert like valleys populated with scrub, eucalypts and distinctive baobab trees with huge white bloated trunks and “bad hair day”-like branches on top. The higher I climbed the more pasture-like became the countryside and soon plenty of well-fed cattle were in evidence.  As the sun set, I reached the Western Australian border and was interrogated by the WA Quarantine officer who wanted to know if I was carrying any live animals (they were looking for cane toads)!  From there it was 43km to Kununurra which I reached at 7:00pm, local time, having gained 90 minutes by crossing into the WA time zone.  I found a huge roadhouse/supermarket and had a pizza for dinner while watching the cross-section of life that visits such establishments at night. Having failed to fine a room when I telephoned a few places two nights ago, I resolved to keep riding given it was 359km to my next target town, Hall’s Creek.  By this time, my backside was badly chafed from the hot sweaty ride earlier in the day and no amount of Vaseline would relieve the pain.  It became obvious that if I wanted to continue riding I would not be able to sit down on the saddle, so I spent pretty much the whole night cimbing into the Kimberleys without sitting down on the saddle.  It was hard work and my knees became sore, but by daybreak the chafing pain was more tolerable. Dawn broke over fabulous mountain and valley scenery in the Kimberleys but the prospect of another hot day and a still-sensitive backside, decided me to stop at Warmun (Turkey Creek) and book into the motel there for the day with the intention of beginning riding again at night and continuing all the way through to Fitzroy Crossing, 450km away by tomorrow night, which would leave me on schedule.  I had breakfast at the roadhouse, did some washing and had a sleep.