Larrimah – Mataranka
With another tail wind forecast, Peter had a lazy start to the day – cooked breakfast and on the road by 9am.
Larrimah
Fifteen kilometres north of Larrimah, Peter stopped to look at the Gorrie Airfield. This is one of a series of old airfields between here and Darwin that were used during the Second World War.
On 9 February 1945, a Netherlands East Indies Air Force, was severely damaged in a belly landing at RSU at Gorrie airfield, which is located about 9 kms north of Larrimah , and 65 kms south of Mataranka on the western side of the Stuart Highway. The aircraft was dismantled on 14 May 1945.
Today’s ride was 76 kms of fairly straight road. Missing a rest day though, has made a big difference to how he feels. Tonight’s cabin accommodation is $95 for a ‘shoebox’!
But he said, compared to Elliott, it seems like 5 star.
The Mataranka Homestead is not on the highway, but a further 8kms in. The thought of an extra 16kms was too much, so it will be added to the list of things to see next time.
He met a couple at a truck bay today, and enjoyed homemade fruit cake (his favourite) and a cuppa with them, which was much appreciated. It’s amazing how open and generous people are with total strangers.
Now 428kms to go!
