The landscapes in the third section of the Outback Odyssey are, I think, the jewels in the crown of the entire trip. That said, some of the cycling can be a little more challenging as far as time in the saddle and some of the roads are less than ideal. On the flip side, there's a bunch of really awesome single track to enjoy. Full steam ahead to Blinman!
Day 11 - Melrose to Quorn
The downside to having down a few Outback Odysseys is that you know where, and how bad some things can get, particularly after some rain. With that, thoughts overnight were turning to the potential state of the clay roads outside of Melrose. We had travelled on them in 2015 after some rain and we were keen to avoid them completely if they were likely to be muddy. We were assured that they were in good riding condition, and so with that we decided that we'd give them a shot, rather than the rail trail alternative.
And what a decision that turned out to be. The roads were in perfect condition. Even better, there was an ever helpful tail wind for much of the ride into Wilmington where we had our morning tea.
 |
| Miss V enjoying the perfect conditions. |
After morning tea it was a relatively straight, but undulating, ride to lunch. Once again, a tail wind guided us the the entire journey to lunch. The amount of good fortune on this stretch, while much appreciated, was somewhat amusing. It's been said that there's always at least one bad day on the Mawson Trail, and we hadn't had one yet. So I couldn't help wonder what might be in store later.
Leaving lunch, we headed towards Richmans Gap. This stretch of road is where things start getting quite spectacular as far as getting views of wide, expansive landscapes. At some points we would crest a small hill and the landscape would appear to 'open up', providing views well off into the distance.
The climb up and through Richmans gap is relatively steep and a bit rocky in sections. It's a nice challenge late in the day. At the top of the gap I waited for V to arrive, while watching the small parade of bikes go past.
 |
| Bike-porn alert! Irene rolls past at the top of Richmans Gap on a very sweet machine |
Waiting for a small gap in the bike traffic, V and I descended from the top of Richmans Gap at nearly 50km/h on the upper steep section, before settling into a more sensible speed for the remaining downhill run into Quorn.
Overall, this was just a magic day on the bikes. Trails were in fantastic condition and we had we had a tail wind pretty much the entire day. I'm not sure we could have asked for better.
Day 12 - Quorn to Hawker
Our longest day of the tour had arrived. Prior to starting this Outback Odyssey, V and I had all but decided that we'd take the short cut into Hawker via the highway (and probably spending some time at the fantastic Kanyaka ruins). During most of the morning, there was the occasional comment from both V and myself suggesting that *maybe* we could think about doing the full distance and visit the Cradock Hotel. Could we? Should we? We decided to leave that decision until we reached the lunch stop. In the meanwhile we had a lot of riding to do, including the first (and certainly most boring) corrugated section of road to contend with.
Not too far out of Quorn, we turned up the climb to head into the Yarrah Vale Gorge. I was surprised by this section the first time I did it in 2015. and even now, three times in, it still has that wow factor. Riding through a relatively narrow gorge we reach the top of the small climb, the road turns to the right and almost instantly the landscape opens up and presents itself.
 |
| Yarrah Vale Gorge - Spectacular |
The ride after Yarrah Vale Gorge leads us past the grave of Hugh Proby, and then onward to the surveyed but never completed town of Simmonston. This section is just magic, with gently undulating roads providing a view of the vast plains the hills in the distance.
 |
| It looks like it goes on forever. |
We reached Simmonston and much to our surprise the sag wagon was right on our tail! So unfortunately we couldn't hang around too long and needed to keep moving. We took a few photos, and then off we went, hoping to make a bit of time on the sag wagon while thinking ahead to the corrugated road that lay ahead.
Then we had our biggest surprise of the day. The 10 kilometre corrugated piece of road that we were absolutely dreading all day had been (relatively) recently graded. Better still, we had a tail wind the entire time we were on it! We made excellent time along here, and arrived at lunch in better shape than we ever had on this section.
As we ate lunch overlooking an impressively heavily eroded creek channel, I think our decision had already been made. We were heading to Cradock.
Much like the ride during the morning, the ride from lunch to Cradock felt like nothing could go wrong. Wind in the back, awesome scenery and generally friendly cycling terrain with gentle undulating hills. We arrived at the Cradock hotel to find a number of our cycling colleagues enjoying a cold beverage. Naturally we chose to do the same; It would surely be considered rude if we didn't!
 |
| Cheers! |
Cider consumed, we jumped back on the bikes and headed towards our destination for the night. The road from Cradock to Hawker is relatively flat and boring, but given the awesome day that we had already had, this fast and relatively short stretch of road was never going to dampen our spirits.
Day 13 - Hawker to Rawnsley Park
The morning out of Hawker followed a familiar routine to the previous days. Quite a cold morning, but when the sun arrived, things warmed up and provided us with perfect cycling conditions. Much of the route for today would have us threading between two ranges, so we were blessed with amazing scenery in all directions.
Today is also the day that we pass by the grave of Douglas Bruce. Much more impressive than that of Hugh Proby, whose grave we passed yesterday. In contrast though, nothing is said about this one in the nightly briefings over dinner. Still, very much worth a stop if only to marvel at the effort required to get the marble structure to it's location on top of the hill where it sits.
 |
| Grave of Douglas Bruce |
The mild nature of the trail soon ends, and we are directed up Wonoka hill. This is a short, steep little climb that puts us on top of the ridge giving us amazing views from above the trail that we have just taken. An equally steep, but far more treacherous downhill brings us to our morning tea stop. This part was far more rocky and sketchy than in previous years, to the extent that I may have taken a small chunk out of my front rim. Less ideal! Following morning tea we wind our way through Mt Little Station. The landscape here is vast, and the ranges in the background keep serving up that wow factor.
 |
| Vast plains bound by epic ranges at Mt Little Station |
Exiting Mt Little Station, we find ourselves on a lengthy stretch of highway that is long enough to contemplate the next corrugated section which we are all too aware is coming up. Then again, the previous corrugated section had been graded recently, could we possibly be so luck that this next one is also?
 |
| Open highway on the way to lunch |
Rolling into lunch on the first short part of Moralana Scenic Drive, we soon found that the answer to the previous question was a definite no. Moralana Scenic Drive certainly had not been recently graded. Oh well, we can't have everything going our way! And with that, after (a fairly tiny) lunch, we took on the 25 kilometres of undulating, corrugated road. It should be said that despite it being a fairly ordinary road to ride on, it does live up to it's name and is very scenic, once you get a chance to take your eyes off the road for a moment and take a look.
 |
| Moralana Scenic Drive lives up to it's name. |
After (finally!) exiting Moralana Scenic drive, we ride towards Rawnsley park on the highway. The feeling of relief to be riding without a constant barrage of corrugations is unimaginable. The ride along this section was, once again, aided by a tailwind. Our good fortune just keeps getting better!
 |
| Arriving in camp |
Day 14 - Rawnsley Park to Wilpena Pound
Our shortest day of the tour, but certainly up there in terms of fun. Outside of Rawnsley Park is a pretty fun section of single track which starts off reasonably simple, but gradually gets a bit more difficult with a few creek crossings and other obstacles. There's nothing super technical, but there's enough that you could potentially damage yourself if you screwed it up. Unusually for us, we found ourselves in the middle of a relatively large group of riders which made things a bit dicey, since we were generally a bit quicker. As a result, we limited our photo stops so that we didn't have to continually re-overtake people.
 |
| Wilpena Pound in all it's glory. |
Once the buzz of the single track has worn off we get spat out onto the highway on the way to Wilpena Pound. Given the shortness of the day, and the relatively direct nature of the trail, this stretch is one where we can see the hard working volunteers in action as they pass by us on the highway.
The highway takes us past the Flinders Ranges information hut, and then we make a sharp left turn onto the start of another fun section of trail, the telegraph track! After a short twisty part we join a relatively straight, mostly downhill, trail that takes us ever closer to Wilpena Pound. It's pretty easy to get a bit of speed up along here, and coupled with a few strategically placed humps, it's also easy to get a bit of air. So get some air we did! Only a little bit though. 😎
 |
| The super fun telegraph track |
The day finished off with a short bitumen stretch leading into the heart of the Wilpena Pound resort. V and I still haven't managed to get ourselves back here outside of Outback Odyssey, despite our best intentions. Hopefully soon.
 |
| Arriving at our campsite |
With such a sort day on the trail, there was ample time to just relax and chat with other riders, perform a bit of a mental reset and prepare for the final day. I've noticed in previous editions of Outback Odyssey (and this one was no different) that there seems to be a general lifting of the mood in camp at Wilpena as we're all preparing to finish our adventure.
Day 15 - Wilpena Pound to Blinman
As we rolled out of Wilpena Pound, we began our final day on the Mawson Trail. The first section of the trail is simply amazing. Fast and flowing, the trail weaves between the trees and crosses a number of creek channels. Some of the creek channels can be a lot deeper than they first appear and need a bit of caution, but on the whole they can be taken at full speed.
Just prior to morning tea we arrive at what is probably the best view in the entire trip, and certainly one of the most photographed in the Flinders Ranges, Razorback lookout. The view from here is stunning, and is definitely worth a brief stop after the effort taken to climb up the steep hill to get there. It's also a good chance to cheer on a few of our fellow riders as they make their way up the climb.
 |
| Miss V climbing up to Razorback Lookout. |
The section after morning tea towards lunch can be a bit of a grind, but also rewards with great views when cresting the many small climbs. The creeks banks tend to be far steeper in this area, and so a fast run into a creek bed tends to be followed immediately by a leg burning climb out the other side. In 2019, I remember my legs feeling quite ordinary through here, but this time around I was feeling relatively fresh and was enjoying it more than I ever had previously. Soon enough, the trail fun had to end and we arrived at a clearing just off the highway where our lunch stop was.
|
|
After lunch, following the hot tip from one of our ride companions, we pumped up our tyres nice and hard and prepared for the final bitumen stretch into Blinman. Following the trend for the previous days, we also had a tail wind. Because of course we did. In the past, I've found this small section to be a real drag, but this time I actually found it quite enjoyable!
We rolled into the parking area of the Blinman North Hotel to the cheers of those who had already finished and set about finding some refreshments. As we sat and reflected on what had been an amazing two weeks on the bike, we watched and cheered as other riders completed their journey; some seemingly overwhelmed with emotion once the magnitude of their epic accomplishment had become apparent.
 |
| We made it! |
All good things must come to an end, and with that we remounted the bikes and rode back to our accommodation for our final Outback Odyssey night at Alpana station. As has been the case in previous Outback Odysseys, the family running Alpana really looked after us with a delicious home cooked meal.
Day 16 - Returning home
 |
| Busy morning packing all the bikes and luggage |
 |
| Mission Accomplished! |
