May 16th: Noonamah to Adelaide River – 78.2 km
Day 215
Eager to get on the road yet not fully adjusted to the time difference, I woke up at 5:00am and was bustling around in the dark. I had breakfast made by 5:30 and tried to wake Cher at 5:45. I was afraid it was going to rain and wanted to pack before it came, but I really should have worried more about waking Cher a full hour before daylight.
We ate in the dark as the mosquitos devoured us, and were packed and ready to go by daybreak. We did get to see a wonderful sunrise. These open expanses are like living on the sea and you get both wonderful sunrises and sunsets.
Since the rest area in Adelaide River has a public shower we decided to camp in the bush. We stocked up on what little groceries we could find at a small store near the gas station and cooked dinner in a nearby park. There we saw at least 2 different kinds of parrots. There is such an incredible diversity of birds that we see at least 5 a day and have no idea what they are. We later made our way out to where a free camp is marked on our map. When we arrived there was nothing there but we did find a historic railroad site under developement which had a nice level spot hidden away in the bush. Cher saw her first walaby which ran through our camp. We finally felt that we had arrived in the wilderness.
