Boddington to Williams 2003

Boddington to Williams, day 4, Thursday 16 October 2003. The morning in Boddington was very foggy, thicker than you see fog in Perth, more like a good East Anglia fog in England. I didn’t rush to get going, I didn’t want to ride in fog, there were only another 50-odd km to do today and the road would not be so hard. The winds turned out to be helpful, moderate westerlies all day. The sun soon peeped through the dissipating fog and I left Boddington on a cool morning at 8:58.

Williams

I reached Crossman at 984. There seemed to be nothing there but a house until I turned onto the Albany Highway and looked north and saw the roadhouse beyond the house. I remembered stopping there in 2002 on my way back from Tenterden with Liz, when we had cappuccino and looked at the peacocks.

I turned south and took my first rest at 989. The country was green and the air was clear, and trees cast shadows across the road. A flock of large black cockatoos, with white tail feathers, wheeled and screeched above me.

I took another rest at 1007 and soon after that began a long climb up a big hill. This reached its peak at 1015. I stopped for a minute and looked back, to see a vista of landscape which suggested that I had come up a long way indeed. I resumed riding and had a long descent, reaching 58 kph at one point, free-wheeling.

I rode into Williams at 1025, 11:57. I went to the hotel to claim my booking. The man told me that they had put me in a double unit (No. 8), but would only charge me for a single, $50. He took my money over the bar and gave me the key, there was no receipt and no register to fill in. $50 seemed all right until I got into the unit.

The units were a series of wooden huts on a wooden platform accessible by ramps and steps. The unit itself was small and I opened the back door which I assumed would lead to the plumbing. This was correct, but it also led to a kitchen, where I left my bike, and to three other doors marked 3, 4 and 7. It looked as though I would be sharing my plumbing with three other units. I hoped that this was not really the case, or that if it were, then the other units would be unoccupied that night. I was wrong on both counts. The units were to be fully occupied by evening and people tramped around on the other side of my door using the toilets and the shower.

Three of the channels on the TV were tuned to the local ABC station, but there was no colour. The only other channel that had a program was the local WIN station. It had colour but diagonal bands across the screen. It would be a dreary TV night tonight.

There was a good clothes line with pegs, just down the steps in front of my unit, so in addition to the usual washing I took the opportunity to wash my jumper and back pack, and also the bathmat from the shower, which was soggy and dirty. There were waist-high weeds around the clothes line so I had to stomp these down before I could use it.

After my rest and shower and washing I went to the phone and tried to book the next two nights’ accommodation. I booked into the Wickepin Hotel all right, not with a huge rush of pleasure because I had not thought much of it in 1999. Then I tried to get into the Kulin motel, only to find that it was fully booked. There was some big shearing thing going on that weekend. Oh, I said, thank you, and hung up. I would have to think about this.

I walked along the main street of the town, past the ‘shopping centre’ which is just a couple of little shops (in one of which I bought a packet of barley sugar) and a lot of derelict premises, then to the end of the road and onto the path that runs along the river. This was pleasant. I walked along, saw a couple of horses, a foal and presumably its mother. I took a picture. I reached the bridge that carries the highway over the river. Instead of crossing that I walked over the little footbridge that crosses the weir, and took a picture of this.

I walked though a lush garden of roses and other things, reached a dead end and came back, walking back up to the main road into town.

I looked at the historic homestead, which was closed now. The gate was open and I didn’t see anyone so I walked in to get a picture of the old buildings. I was surprised by a young man sitting on the ground with a blanket and some bits and pieces. I hadn’t noticed him. He said ‘can I help you?’ I apologised and asked if I were intruding. He said, no, no problem, go ahead and have a look at the buildings. I took my picture and left.

I had been thinking about the Kulin problem and wondering where I could go instead, or where else there might be to stay in or near Kulin. I went back to my unit and looked at the map and the accommodation guide. I could just go to Yealering after Wickepin, thence to Corrigin, but this would shave about 40 – 50 km off the whole ride and would be another failure. But wait, there was a caravan park at Kulin. I rang them up and they said yes, I could have a caravan, no problem, but they didn’t have any food, there might be a blanket and the shop in Kulin closed at 11:30 am on a Saturday, leaving only the hotel, or something called the woolshed, where one might be able to get a meal. I booked the caravan anyway without much ease of mind.

My washing was dry but the heavy bathmat was still damp. I took it in anyway. Then I went to see what I could get for tea. I ended up with chicken and chips again, but it wasn’t so nice as that at Dwellingup, a bit dry. I had some biscuits and coffee too, and settled down to watch the black-and-white TV and sew a button on my shirt and read my magazines.

There was no smoking allowed in these units either and this was said to be in compliance with the Enclosed Workplaces Act. There were chairs outside the units where you could smoke. This was how I got to meet some of my toilet-sharers, two of whom were a nice old married couple travelling around. The others were the usual people who use these motels, road and infrastructure maintenance workers, truck drivers, travelling salespeople.

Reading at Williams: 1025. day: 54 km. Cumulative 194 km. kpd 48. Speed to Williams: 18 kph.

Boddington to Williams 2003

Other days on this Tour:

Places Mentioned in this Post:

Want To Provide Some Feedback?