Wide Open – Day 13 – Out the back of Mittyack

Wide Open – Day 13 – Out the back of Mittyack

E Sharp

5 June 2026 – 96 kms – Swan Hill to Mittyack

Wamba Wamba, Wadi Wadi, Latji Latji, Ngintait, Nyeri Nyeri Country

The lush, soft grass and my closed cell foam pad create a luxurious mattress that I do not want to get up from. But up we get. At 5.15am. I have no idea how far we will ride today or how strong the wind will get. I have no idea where we’ll camp tonight. So let’s get going so we have as much daylight to work with as possible.

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Wide Open – Days 10-12 – The thumb twiddling

Wide Open – Days 10-12 – The thumb twiddling

E Sharp

2-4 June 2026 – 16 kms – Swan Hill

Wamba Wamba and Wadi Wadi Country

So the question is: do you peel the band-aid off slowly or rip it off? Do you ease into a problem or jump straight in?

After I got to the motel on Monday, I noticed that there was a thorn stuck in the front tyre. There was no loss of tyre pressure. If I hadn’t seen the thorn, I wouldn’t know that there was going to be a puncture. The thorn was obviously stuck in the tube and plugging itself.

So, do I just ignore it and leave it there? Or do I pull the thorn out and fix the puncture while I have somewhere warm and dry to do it? Everyone knows the joys of roadside puncture repair.

So I pull the thorn out and the tyre goes quickly flat – accompanied by a great and dramatic hissing sound effect.

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Wide Open – Day 7 – Back in time

Wide Open – Day 7 – Back in time

E Sharp

30 May 2026 – 65 kms – Wakool to Moulamein

Wamba Wamba Country

My watch alarm alerts me that it is ‘sparrow’s gurgle’ at 5am. I immediately start packing up. Let’s see how far we can get toward Moulamein before the wind picks up. 5am is more sparrow’s fart, or even first light, in summer. But at this time of year, it is still pitch black out there. Sunrise is close to 7.30am. Sparrow’s gurgle it is.

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Wide Open – Day 6 – The general store

Wide Open – Day 6 – The general store

E Sharp

29 May 2026 – 84 kms – Mathoura to Wakool

Yorta Yorta/Bangerang, Wamba Wamba and Mutthi Mutthi Country

It is 3C outside the tent. I start the ritual process of easing my body into the cold. I pull down the neck buff that I wear over my nose and mouth to reduce condensation, I unzip the sleeping bag and then peel it back, trying to keep it from touching the wet tent sides. Then I slide down the sleeping bag liner to my waist, lift my butt, slide it to my knees and then pull the liner and bag from underneath me. Now exposed to the cold, I stuff the sleeping bag into its bag, roll the liner up and then lay back down to pull off my warm fleecy pants. Each act introduces the cold a bit at a time.

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Wide Open – Day 5 – The fault scarp

Wide Open – Day 5 – The fault scarp

E Sharp

28 May 2026 – 61 kms – Moama to Mathoura – Gulpa Island

Yorta Yorta/Bangerang Country

The heavy dew coats every surface in big rounded drops. The fog descends, leaving the barren deciduous tree branches looking like fuzzy, black and reaching claws behind a transluscent sheet of cloud. There is a light wind already that whooshes wisps of fog upward and pushes strands of cloud together into greater masses.

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Wide Open – Day 3 – The Choke

Wide Open – Day 3 – The Choke

E Sharp

26 May 2026 – 64 kms – Barmah National Park

Yorta Yorta/Bangerang Country

The earth moved. And moved again. And again a few more times. The movement changed the course of rivers and was the catalyst for the development of the largest river red gum forest in Australia. It has influenced the course of human history to this day. Over the next three days, we’re going to unleash the geomorphology nerd and have a look at it all.

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