Outback Odyssey 2015 - Day 4

Mini Mawson 3 - Rawnsley Park to Wilpena Pound - 27km

The shortest day in our adventure, but one that was a lot of fun. A short day meant that there was much less pressure to keep moving, meaning that we could stop and appreciate the scenery, and of course take more photos! This shorter section was new for this year to enable people to enjoy explore Wilpena Pound should they have the energy. Personally I think it was a big win. Others that have done previous editions of the Odyssey seemed to share that view.

Overnight the temperatures had dropped and I found myself shivering in my sleeping bag, despite multiple layers of clothing. Fortunately being a short day we could ease into the task of getting out of bed.

While we were preparing to head out for the day, we ran into ride marshall Chris, who was admiring our bikes. He declared Miss V and I the Bike Porn King and Queen! I'm not really convinced that this is an official royal title, nor that Chris has the authority to bestow royal titles on people, but it made us laugh.

The first part of the day was over single track like trails through Rawnsley Park. These were a lot of fun, with an interesting mix of surfaces and terrain. Like yesterday, there were multiple creek crossings which were super fun. There was also an interesting mix of scenery,  After a brief stint on the sealed road we were back on the trails for the last 15 or so kilometers. These were similar to some of the trails yesterday, traversing fairly open fields.

Lynskey and Maretta taking a break	Miss V tackling a creek crossing
Miss V on the trails	Impressive scenery

Rolling into Wilpena Pound we found camping spots in short supply. We initially found a place, but the ground was so hard that we couldn't hammer our pegs in! Having relocated the tent, all was good!

Lynskey and Maretta arrive at Wilpena Pound

A smorgasboard lunch was provided by the Wilpena Pound resort which was much appreciated. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and doing a bit of bike maintenance. Both Miss V and I are thinking that a trip up here for a long weekend might be on the cards as a single afternoon here couldn't possibly do it justice.

Dinner was a pretty impressive affair with pumpkin soup, chicken, pasta, beef stroganoff,  potato wedges, and vegetables for the main course, and lemon meringue for dessert. This meal certainly made up for last night's meal.

During the night we had the appropriately named Port Augusta band "On ya bike" playing for us, pumping out some awesome classic tunes. They definitely got my attention when they performed a brilliant cover of the ZZ Top classic "Tush". Full marks.

Final day of riding tomorrow, so everyone in the camp is full of optimism and looking forward to a trouble free day.

Strava data