Loading up the bike at the trainstation... the blurry photo is accurate relative to how I was seeing everything!
At 5.30 am my alarm went off and I sat straight up in bed. I was actually relieved to have the alarm go off so I could quit pretending to sleep. I threw the piles of semi-sorted gear into my panniers, stashed those items that I wouldn't be taking in my duffle, and jumped into the shower.
The taxi was prompt, and I loaded in no time flat. The driver, a man of middle-eastern decent, thought I was crazy to be doing this trip... I seem to get that a lot here! At the train station he firmly shook my hand a wished me "good luck"- it was all very touching. It's surprising how a small gesture from a stranger can mean so much.
Initially I thought that it was just fatigue, but as the train pulled out of Melbourne, I began to feel genuinely terrible. Within an hour I had a full-on fever, head-ache, coughing, the works. I managed to sleep most of the 10 hours to Adelaide, being woken up every hour or so for a broadcast tourist announcement. I tried to take photos of the noteable stuff, but only the Murray brige photo turned out. I'm not certain why it is significant, but I think it has something to do with being big, or old, or made from matchsticks or something.
I've checked into the Adelaide YHA (youth hostel), and I'm going to hole-up here until Sunday in the hope that I will feel up to crossing the one low mountain pass of the journey..! I'm force-feeding liquids, vitamin C, and a little sushi, as well as sleeping for enormous stretches of time. I slept straight through from 6pm until 9am today, and that was after sleeping 10 hours on the train.
I went for a short walk to the central market to buy supplies, and found a fleece jacket on close-out for $7. It is surprisingly cold here, and I needed another layer. The market was excellent, with lots of fresh fruit, used books, and myrid exotic curiosities from around the world. They also had EXCELLENT coffee!
Well, I'm off for another nap. I will then start the task of figuring out how to actually get out of Adelaide and such.
