Monday, 19 November 2018

I had already decided to take the quick road on to Irvinebank and hopefully find someone with a quad or ATV to help retrieve Bob. I was also looking forward to having a sturdy breakfast (after almost 2 days without a proper meal), and a cold drink at the pub. But……. the tavern is closed Mondays! Thankfully I met a couple of very friendly guys at the campground across the road, who offered me coffee, a muesli breakfast, and a fresh towel and soap to take shower! I also met a guy who will take me to Bob and carry it back on his buggy, a big quad, later this afternoon. I will stay in Irvinebank an extra day so I can still get a real meal and some cold ones. Because, as I’ve discovered in the past, drinking 40º water is not a pleasant experience. Adding lemon, sugar and salt makes it somewhat more bearable, but it cannot beat a cold one!

Later in the afternoon two blokes showed up with two quads. The second, smaller, quad was driven by one of their daughters and a friend who didn’t want to miss out on this adventure. The agreed price for this rescue mission: a carton of beer. From the dam onwards the track deteriorated considerably, which I had warned the fellows about, but they were both mightily surprised to find the road in such poor condition. It was a hairy ride downhill, often just crawling through the deep ruts and washouts, and several times the quads were teetering on just two wheels. I often felt we would topple over and go crashing down the hill, but miraculously we stayed upright. We found BOB where I had left him, patiently waiting at the side of the road. Loaded up on the quad, and secured with a couple of straps, we slowly made our way up to the dam again. Everybody agreed that they had seldom ventured on such a poor, eroded, washed out rough road before. But, mission accomplished! I had all my gear again.

Alas, there were no opportunities to take any pictures during this roller coaster ride, we were all just hanging on for dear life. Ah well, it will live on in my memory forever anyway.

Total distance ridden today: 21 kms, mostly downhill