I finished work on Friday afternoon, moved my car to a random street with free parking and took my bike to Adelaide bus station. Six uneventful hours later, I arrived in Mt Gambier close to midnight and had a short, frosty cycle to my stale motel room.

Day 1: Mt Gambier – Millicent – Beachport – Robe (140km)
Strong headwinds between Millicent and Beachport coupled with little shoulder made for difficult riding. Campground attendee (with straight face) tried to charge $41 for a square of grass to pitch my tent. He was politely informed where to go.

Day 2: Robe – Kingston SE – Salt Creek – Parnka Pt (171km)
Magnificent tail wind made for easy riding and beyond Kingston and the shoulder opened right up. Reached Salt Creek and decided to push on due to the strong head winds forecast for Day 3. On arrival at Parnka Pt, I was greeted by a fellow camper with a plate full of tacos. This person turned out to by Kayak Adventurer Sandy Robson, on a break from her trip from Germany to Australia (http://www.sandy-robson.com/).

Day 3: Parnka Pt – Pelican Pt – Barrages – Goolwa – Pt Elliot (105km)
Wind, wind, wind and tears. Moderate headwinds from Parnka Pt made progress slow, but as I passed through the farmland at the South of Lake Alexandrina, a mighty gale broke loose. Headwinds of 60km/h and gusts up to 100km/h.

Before crossing the barrages, I hailed down the only car I had seen in the area and filled my water bottles. I snuck under the fence at Parnka Pt and began cycling along the barrages at almost a walking pace. At times, I was stopped in my tracks by the furious wind. The area is teeming with thousands of birds in many varieties, I saw seals taking shelter in the lee side of the barrages and while crossing a cattle grid, had a brown snake leap at me. I arrived on Hindmarsh Island with no water remaining and had I not previously hailed the car for water, would have found myself in dire straits.

It was a short trundle from Goolwa to Pt Elliot, but greatly extended due to my exhaustion and unrelenting wind.

Day 4: Pt Elliot – Mount Compass – Adelaide (84km)
A slow and steep climb to start the day, followed by downhills and a top speed of over 60km/h.

500kms in 4 days (at my current fitness level) was a tall order and did not permit as much exploring as I would have liked.