PERTH – COOLGARDIE
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
7 days : 345.1 miles
7 stages : 9 hours and 18 minutes’stage to 11hours and 25 minutes’stage
Ground : road
Accomodation : 2 unauthorized camping / 2 campsites
3 motels.
Temperatures : 5°C to 35°C
Friday, september 24th / 49.7 miles
Perth : 8 am Serge is on the starting line, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. He looks tense. His strained face shows the stress of getting everything ready as well as the doubt of being up to the job, after 46.7 miles, he takes a break. He has a headache : he suffers from sunstroke. But he has 5.5 miles left to get to the camp and to finish the stage. What a relief ! Cars and road trains ceaselessly going past were wearing him out.
Saturday, September 25th / 54.2 miles
Serge starts at the crack of dawn to take advantage of the coolness of the early hours. The rubbing between his toes and against the shoe is very painful. Clouds gather over our heads. Tonight, we’ll camp in Cunderlin in a caravan park, under the rain.
Sunday, September 26th / 54.5 miles
For the first time, he feels tendinous pains and his toes hurt terribly. His body is not used to the required effort yet and sends messages from all over. This evening, Serge eats on his own.
Monday, September 28th / 51.2 miles
It’s been pouring down with rain since midday. Serge quickly changes his shoes and socks, no break.
Tuesday, September 28th / 51.2 miles
Serge hasn’t stopped at all and hasn’t talked either.
Wednesday, September 29th / 45.3 miles
Serge is at the end of his tether today. He knows he isn’t much ahead of schedule. He prefers to stop to be in good shape tomorrow.
Thursday, September 30th / 49.7 miles
Tiring day for everybody : filling up all the cans with gas oil, petrol, water and tightening them up on the racks. At 8pm, in the dark, some of us are still at it. Even if he stays concentrated on his route without anything to say, his doubts have gone away with the first strides.
PERTH
Perth is the capital of Western-Australia. It’s situated in the south west of Australia, 20Km away from the Indian ocean, on the river Swan.
There were 1.025.300 inhabitants in 1990. Perth was established in 1829, it’s named of Perthshire ( Scotland) The discovery, in 1890, of gold around Kalgoorlie, in the interior of Western Australia, the construction of port facilities at nearby Fremantle and the completion of a transcontinental railway contributed to the growth and posperity of the city. With nearby communities, it forms the principal commercial, manufacturing and cultural center of the state.
It has a moderate climate, with warm to hot summers and mild winters.
Perth is rich in mineral resources such as iron ore, nickel and bauxite. Agriculture is based on the production of cereals and cattle farming. Fire risks are high in Perth and its area. It’s a cultural centre with lots of Art museums.
