DAY 138: Apple Tree Creek to Bundaberg

Mon 10th March 2008

54 km @ 16.1 km/hr

Distance to date 8227 km (5142 miles)

Sunny, hot, early showers

I slept OK last night but it’s a wonder! As I guessed no-one else camped here at the side of the road (it is a permitted camping area) so I was all alone. It does make me a bit paranoid about noises and movements outside, so I will try to avoid getting caught out in this situation in future. Creepiest noise was the squeak of the swing just a few yards away at 2130 in pitch darkness - clearly someone was riding on the swing, but why at that time of night? I didn’t really feel afraid, but it made me curious - but not so enough to go out and have a look so I sat tight and the squeak stopped eventually. I don’t see what I could have achieved by going out to confront someone anyway. Anyhow I was tired and fell asleep but awoke in the middle of the night when a car stopped nearby, but again fell asleep soon after.

The day got off to a bad start when I went to the loo and a guy was throwing up in there, but I needed to top water bottles up so came back when he’d gone. The first 5km on Route 3 to Bundeburg was mostly uphill, and I hate hills first thing, so didn’t feel too happy! Then the road turned out to be very busy with many lorries and no shoulder for 70% of the way so that wasn’t good either. Give me a break! There was nowhere to stop for coffee or even a rest area for the first 40km either, and a rest would’ve been good as it was pretty hot and humid. I still had a decent tail wind though which was good. At one point when passing over a pot-holed railway crossing I was forced to pull to the right a bit and immediately got a long blast on the horn, then to add insult to injury someone threw a plastic bottle at me as they passed - thanks guys, I love you too! I didn’t flinch so as not to give the person the gift of a reaction, and they probably thought I didn’t even see the bottle he he.

Some 5km from Bundaburg (home of Bundaburg Rum which is one of Oz’s favourite tipples) and had an iced coffee which lifted me little. I found the VIC easily and got good info about CP’s and what to see in the town, er city. It is a big place is Bundaburg....

I had arranged to stay with a Warmshowers host some 20km north of the city, but I have so much to sort out that I phoned him (Peter) to cancel. Main thing is a low bank balance that can’t be explained, and I need to get on the internet and check my account out, and then possibly telephone the bank to discuss. Also I have piles of washing and a few niggles with the bike which are best sorted in a big place like this where there are plenty of shops. I was looking forward to meeting Peter but I can’t avoid this.

I booked an hour on the net at the library for 3, but needn’t have bothered as they don’t allow uploading “....because of viruses....” Well the Council should get some bloody virus check software then like the rest of us.....grrrrrr. Practically every other library in Oz that I’ve been to is OK with uploading so it's a local thing?!

So I moved a block to an internet cafe, but although they allowed uploading (of course) the connection was very slow and Blogger was playing SB’s so I managed to post 1 pic in some 40 minutes.

Last 3 pics are of Bundaberg.

Anyway things improved with a nice CP on the banks of the Burnett River, and I got all my washing done (yes Lyn I washed my white Assos top first lol), charged many depleted batteries, had a shower, went out to the bottle shop for a 2l box of Shiraz and a 12” pizza (Hawaain if you must know) and downed the lot (not including three quarters of the wine). While I was out I saw the amazing sight of the nightly bat armada - thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of bats flying inland just as it got dark - they stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions, amazing, especially with an orange sky backdrop. These are images of Oz I won’t easily forget.

Thanks again to the Christian group from Childers for my gift - amongst other things it contained a small box of Lindt chocs - what lovely people!!

The CP at Bundeburg is very friendly too - I’ve been chatting to a pair from Norfolk on 2 months holiday and an Oz guy from inland somewhere, there’s a very nice atmosphere here. I’m going to stay another night and have the day tomorrow to do all my outstanding chores, and get a hair / beard cut. The CP is very close to the town centre so very convenient. Tonight I was spoilt for choice re food outlets; I may have a Chinese tomorrow lol. If time I’d also like to visit the botanic gardens and famous rum distillery (maybe need 2 more nights!)

DAY 137: Maryborough to Apple Tree Creek

Sun 9th March 2008

66 km @ 19.0 km/hr

Distance to date 8173 km (5108 miles)

Sunny, cloudy, occasional shower

A very quiet night and sunny start to the day. I hit the road at 9 but hadn’t got out of town when I noticed the lake wildlife reserve in the park so went to have a look, and I’m glad I did because it was teeming with screaming and squaking birds of all kinds.

At the waters edge stood a dozen or so geese, a mixture of White and Magpie Geese having a blather, but easiest to notice were hundreds of Little Corellas who as usual were causing mayhem - squabbling and tearing the trees to shreds in search of seeds - they look like thugs with the blue rings around their eyes looking as if they’ve been thumped. Black Swan glided gracefully around in haughty contrast to their white cousins. Ibis were everywhere practicing taking off and landing on the water. I haven’t identified the large duck with the black head (pic) but recognised the Cattle (or Little?) Egret which were nesting in the trees all over the place. I could have spent longer watching all this going on but it started to rain heavily and I dashed for cover. The pic of the swing-type apparatus is exactly that - a swing for wheelerchair users - how cool is that? Never seen one of those before.

Most recent showers have been short-lived and this was no exception, and I left town to join good ‘ol (not!) Bruce Highway (Highway 1) which I must (unfortunately) use all the way to Childers. My destination is the town where a few years ago there was a contraversial fire in a backpacker hostel, unfortunately with loss of young life. The Highway wasn’t quite as busy as further south, but busy enough. Thankfully most of this lef features a decent-width shoulder, although this narrowed alarmingly on unimproved stretches of road. My mirror is starting to fall apart already, and the Duct Tape I ‘fixed’ it with prevents proper adjustment, so ,i need to sortg this out asap - I can’t do without the thing now, it certainly aids safety and makes me feel more in control of my actions.

I stopped briefly at Howard and had a cold drink from IGA, took a pic of the bus shelter, and continued to Childers. First stop VIC where the very helpful ladies discussed camping with me and even phoned one site up, but they were closed to tents for some reason, but they told me about a free site at Apple Tree Creek 6km up the road to Bundaberg (where I’m going next). So after a Subway 6” and a look around the pleasant town, off I went.

The site was OK but a bit close to the Highway (noisy) but hey, it’s free! I was slightly concerned that there was no-one else camping here, which makes me slightly less secure, but never mind. Just as I was making a cuppa 2 guys came over from the group of parents and kids playing at the other end of the recreation area, and said they were having a family day from a local church and would I join them for a barbie!? Why not? Better than same past dish and it’ll be nice to meet some new people. Later on once I’d set the tent up they came over for me and before long I was tucking into steak, sausage and salad and chatting over the table to my new acquantancies. I regret not remembering all their names but that’s par for the course with me. I did leave my website address so I hope they’ll be in touch. This isn’t the first Christian kindness that I’ve encountered on this trip, and I appreciate their warmth and kindness, and also their spoken prayers for my safe journey. I also got plied with food before I departed, and a little gift also - very heartwarming for me.

It was practically dark by the time I got back to the tent and the lorriews / traffic was still rolling in earnest. I wanted to phone Lyn on her first morning back in Caithness, but the phone box was quite a distance away and i didn’t want to leave the tent alone so texted her instead, and got a quick reply. She got home without drama and managed to take quite a bit of my stuff back too that i didn’t need, without incurring excess baggage charges.

Here’s hoping for a peaceful night.

DAY 136: Tin Can Bay to Maryborough

Sat 8th March 2008

77 km @ 19.1 km/hr

Distance to date 8107 km (5067 miles)

Sunny, cloudy later, warm (yet again!)

What a noisy night! A small girl screaming in temper regularly; campers sat around till late talking loudly, and a house up the road still spewing out a poor imitation of Jimi Hendrix at 4AM. Still, I managed to get enough hours not to feel tired next day. For this reason I’m moving on rather than spend another day here, as nice as it is in TCB. I have seen everything really and I’d like to get to Cairns by early April because I’d like to spend at least 2 weeks in the Cairns / Cooktown area.

After brekkie I rode down the road before packing up, to see the dolphins being fed. This has happened every morning for donkey’s years apparently. I am somewhat sceptical about feeding wild animals although not entirely innocent in that respect myself. There were about 40 people at the quayside listening to a man with a microphone giving his speil - I think he is associated with the boat trip company operating from this point. He asked anyone who wanted to feed the dolphins (in fact there was only one and the poor thing was tattered and scarred from countless fights in his 17-year life) should queue up for a small bucket with a fish in it. I don’t know if one has to pay for this. He said that the amount of fish fed is only 10% of the daily food requirement so (they) it would still have to hunt for the other 90%. He then invited 5 people with buckets at a time to step into the water and Dolph will take the fish from the feeders hand, which he duly did. It was fun, but a bit tacky for me, though I nevertheless tried to take a photo (in the interests of science of course). I did get this pic of the Pied Cormorant though, who was lurking close hoping to snatch a fish from an unwary feeder. I wished he had, that would have increased the excitement marginally.

After all this touristy stuff I was ready for the wide open road, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was a lovely warm and sunny start to the day and after retracing my 14km track back to the Maryborough junction the SW side wind turned to a pure tailwind, and as it was blowing around force 5 or 6 I was fairly bowling along at a heady 27 km/hr. In addition the Maryborough road was much quiter with only 1 vehicle every 2 or 3 minutes. And as it was Saturday there were practically no lorries. This road is bordered by forest for 50km and I had been warned about the number of logging trucks on weekdays. All these positives conspired to make for a very enjoyable day - warm, sunny, quiet, tail wind, and quite scenic even though the forestry was commercial. I got quite a few toots today too (hopefully not because my Assos shorts have gone a bit see-through where they’ve worn).

As if this wasn’t pleasure enough I had a thrilling experience when I came upon a herd of a dozen wild horses (Brumbies). I came over a rise and there they were grazing on the better grass near to the road. They were all chestnuts and fairly big in size, with a couple of foals in tow, keenly protected by one braver and more aggressive animal, who stood his ground facing me as the others took fright. I was momentarily concerned he might attack me, but he soon turned and ran after the others. I’m sure they were mystified as to what I was, and they didn’t stop running until nearly a km away. I managed to stop quickly and get the pic of them fleeing. It was a wonderful moment, as many of my many unexpected with animals and birds has been. Two days ago I spooked another horse I met on a narrow road - it almost threw the lady rider as it reared up, obviously very afraid. The lady said something about me being ‘silent’.

I stopped for half an hour at noon under a shady tree where I could lean the bike on an Armco barrier. There are no shops or rest areas, not even a single house, between TCB and Maryborough, nothing but trees. The road is of good quality with around 600 to 900mm of shoulder all the way - a recommended cycling route, at least at weekends with no trucks to speak of.

The wind persisted and blew me all the way to Maryborough in rapid style, and I checked into one of the 4 caravan parks in the town ($17). The site is very quiet and I have a secluded shady spot which should be quiter than last night hopefully.

I spent a good 2 or 3 hours exploring the town and Mary River. The town is one of the oldest in Queensland and ‘old’ buildings are much in evidence, but they have not been restored so sympathetically - all gaudy signs and billboards and false fronts, yet there is some charm in the place nevertheless and it is worth a visit. There are a few walks / cycle paths by the river but unfortunately you can’t see the river for the dense mangrove-type bank vegetation. I’m well into the tropical zone now, as evidenced by the ubiquitous sugar cane, banana and pineapple crops, although I haven’t quite reached the Tropic of Capricorn yet. Banana's can be bought for only 99 cents a kilo (20p / pound). I also had a look at the (now closed) railway station, where a graffiti-covered and forlorn-looking steam engine sat silently against the rusty buffers.

I tried to text Lyn, who had texted me from Singapore, but I was unable to fathom the way the phone keypad works, and unfortunately I’ve jettisoned the manual to save weight. Another job for a rainy day working out what the buttons do.

I haven’t seen many birds here to say there’s so much water around, although there are a few Red-tailed Black Cockatoos around, and loads of Magpie-Wrens and Masked Lapwings. And a few Brahmini Kites.

DAY 135: Jamie’s (N of Gympie) to Tin Can Bay

Fri 7th March 2008

45 km @ 15.5 km/hr

Distance to date 8030 km (5019 miles)

Sunny, cloudy later, warm

I had a perfect night’s sleep in this beautifully quiet setting, interrupted only by the Kookaburras at dawn, and I slept on until 8. Breakfast was out on the verandah with Jamie and Deb whilst admiring the gorgeous view to the north over the treetops. This place looks even better in the light - what a gem of a setting for a house! There’s a pool down below too, heated by solar collector panels on the roof of the pool’s covered area. There’s mains electric and a telephone line here but no mains water - that all comes from roof rainwater collection in large tanks.

Soon after 9 I was packed and reluctantly ready to roll, so having said goodbyes to my hospitable hosts off I went to immediately attack a 25% hill on a gravel track as part of the 3km gravel connection road to the Gympie - Tin Can Bay Road. I puffed and strained for 80m or so and actually made it without getting off, but my loud puffing and panting brought a lady out of a nearby house to see what was going on. 1km further on another similarly-sloped rise reared up before me, and this time I had to walk, which isn’t easy on loose gravel with a fully laden bike. Eventually the gravel turned to tar and a few metres later I was on the main road.

The Tin Can Bay road was pretty busy, but everyone was very well-behaved and anyway there was a decent verge.

I didn’t have far to go today so could afford to take my time, so after just 8km I stopped at the local General Store for a Dare Double Espresso iced coffee, which was slowly sipped as I read today’s paper, which was very relaxing after the last two days of concentrated effort. This coffee is actually preferable to Farmer's Union, I compared the two back to back the other day.One ‘dampener’ though is the fact that the saddle sore is definitely back. I could hardly believe it yesterday when that familiar soreness started to make itself felt - after 3 weeks completely off the bike it had apparently healed - but obviously there’s still something going on down there. I think possibly there was still a slight scar / bump there which is now again trapped between pelvic bone and saddle. I may be stuck with this for the forseeable future as there seems to be no solution short of wearing 2 pairs (of shorts).

The 45km ride was through pleasant forest, much of it commercial forestry, with the sun popping in and out for a few minutes at a time. I wore my Assos sleeveless top that I had posted on to Brisbane from Perth, and it really is nice and cool.

In the last 10km there is a large military camp, and the dummy soldier guarding the entrance seems to suggest there have been severe cuts in the Australian Army budget recently.

I arrived in Tin Can Bay around 1230 and checked in at one of the 3 caravan parks here ($16) in a nice shady position. I had a quick look around the adjacent mangrove coast and was pretty impressed - it is very beautiful and very well-kept. I decided to have a big breakfast at the cafe next to the CP whilst I typed yesterdays blog up.

There is a good concrete walking / cycling path which runs for some 4km. The manager of the CP told me that early morning (around 8) is the time to go and watch the dolphins coming into the coast just 2 or 300m from here, so I shall make a point of checking this out tomorrow. This place is so nice I’m already thinking of spending another night here, after just 3 days cycling after the break.

There’s free internet too (although on the slow side) so I uploaded just in time as the library closes at 5. After some more exploring the many types of tree alongside the water (many have name signs for identification), and watching the King Parrots and Lorikeets screaming around in the trees I did a little more shopping and went back to cook dinner in the rapidly-failing light (around 1800).

After dinner my evening in the tent was taken up with blog-typing, reading the paper, then pudding of grapes and yoghurt. I have plenty to do in the evenings and never feel bored.

DAY 134: Nambour to Jamie’s

Thurs 6th March 2008
95 km @ 15.1 km/hr
Distance to date 7985 km (4991 miles)
Sunny, cloudy later, warm

Had a good nights sleep and a leisurely start, leaving around 9. Straight into several kms of climbing and I soon realised it was going to be a hard day because I had very little energy. It felt as if I had ‘hit the wall’ in racing parlance, but I yet had around 80km to ride today.
Within 10km I was on the Bruce Highway - which is still a motorway at this point, but bicycles are allowed on. I learnt from the guy I met at Caboolture yesterday that bicycles are actually allowed on north of Caboolture whereas the motorway designation lasts until well north of Eumundi. South of caboolture bikes are banned. I didn’t fancy riding with heavy traffic so near but in the state I was in I needed to take as direct a route as possible to where I was going. It was around 50km down the highway to Gympie and I fully expected to find a filling station or cafe where I might find a coffee and cake and have a rest, but no joy - it was fully 40km to a rest area, only 10km from Gympie itself.
That 40km seemed interminable, and the heavy traffic played havoc with my nerves and demeanor, and I was thoroughly p***** off the whole time. This was by far the most miserable day on the bike of this tour. I think lack of fitness and my recent cold conspired to cause the energy loss, and mental negativity after parting with Lyn played its part too.
Anyway after a steak sandwich I plodded on to Gympie, and spent an hour in the park watching the birds and even snoozing for a while, after which I had recovered somewhat. Just as well, because the next 2 or 3 hours were a bit of a nightmare.
I thought I knew where Jaimie lived from our telephone discussions, but when I didn’t find the road I expected I phoned him to check, and learnst that I was completely on the wrong road, some 14km away, whereas I had thought I was nearly there! I miserably retraced my course and arrived at the minor road on which Jaimie lives 10km down this road. I had omitted to notice a couple of weeks ago that Jaimie had attached a map to his e-mail response to me, so I could have made life so much easier for myself. And this proved one of the hilliest roads I have found in Oz - true Toblerone country if ever I saw it, straight up then straight down, this after more that 70km battling against weariness. At one point whilst furiously changing down from 14th to 1st at the bottom of a dip, my chain came off and I had to push for a while since I couldn't get going uphill again. After 10km and not having found his road I phoned again, and Jaimie thought I was somewhere other than I described, and advised me to go another 4 or 5km yet. After another 6km and still not having found the road I tried to phone yet again but there was no mobile signal! It was getting a little dark and I was getting somewhat concerned. This was a very quiet road but thankfully a lady finally passed in her car and I flagged her down to ask directions. She hadn’t heard of the road I wanted but very kindly offered to go back and look for it for me. She was gone some time but finally returned with Jaimie in his estate car in hot pursuit - saved! I think this lady worked in Coles supermarket (in Gympie?) - I don't suppose she'll see this but thanks to her anyhow. I had been getting desperate.
We bundled the bike and bags into the car and drove the 6km back to Jamie's house. After a bath and change I felt quite revived and had a lovely evening with Jaimie and Deb, and a terrific curry dinner, a delicious tart, beer, and wine. A true Warmshowers host 5 star treatment.
We had a good blather until about 10 but by then I was severly flagging and got off to bed, falling asleep instantly.

The house is set in a magnificent position, elevated some 5m above the ground at the north side, which looks out over miles of forest. there is a balcony / terrace all the way round in true Queensland style, I really like this arrangement.

It had been a traumatic day but as often happens, ended on a high note!

DAY 133: Brisbane (Chermside) to Nambour

Weds 5th March 2008
107 km @ 16.1 km/hr
Distance to date 7890 km (4931 miles)
Sunny, cloudy later, pretty warm

My 2 or 3 weeks off at Gareth and Jens have been sooo enjoyable - they have made me so welcome even though I arrived several days early, and they have been so welcoming and friendly, as usual, and being with Lyn for 2 weeks has been all I imagined it would be these past few months; we’ve had a 5 star holiday! Jen, and sometimes Gareth, cooked us a delicious meal every night, even though they’ve been working all day, and it’s been very much appreciated.
Lyn and I had a very interesting week in the campervan, staying both beside idyllic sandy beaches, and by lakes and mountains, so we’ve had real variety.
It was very sad to leave Gareth and Jen this morning and I don’t know when I’ll see them next, and especially to leave Lyn - we won’t see each other for many months until I arrive back in the UK in September. It’s not been the type of relationship I expected 5 years ago when we met - is it ever? - and I don’t know what the future holds for us - but she is very special to me, very lovable, and someone I enjoyspending time with. Events have been very hectic for her back home and I hope things settle down for her when she gets back.
Anyway we said our tearful goodbyes and I left at around 0815 this morning. I had expected the worst of traffic on the ever-busy Gympie Road north, but as it turned out it wasn’t so bad, and there was a decent shoulder to the city outskirts, so first hurdle over. The main highway north is banned to cyclists for some way out so the plan was to cycle via Strathpine, Petrie, Caboolture, Landsborough, and Mooloolah Valley to Nambour, where I hoped to find a caravan park.
There wasn’t really much navigating to do as the road to take was quite obvious. Traffic wasn’t too heavy after Petrie. I stopped in Caboolture and immediately got talking to another touring cyclist who has toured the far east a few times - -including Thailand which he recommends - but I’ve forgotten his name already! I gave him my web address and he said he’ll be in touch. He had a lot of info about the road north to Cairns which could be useful for me so I hope he does make contact. It was nice to have a chat to someone as I was feeling a little lonely this morning.
The road north of Caboolture was quite busy and there were many, many lorries and little shoulder. Well, that’s not quite true; there was a grass shoulder which I did have to dive into occasionally when there was a lorry coming both ways, but some of the time the grass was long enough to be possible concealing debris or stones, so I was very careful. I never really felt stressed though and most drivers were considerate and gave me a wide berth. I had a slight tailwind so this stage was fairly easy, nevertheless I was feeling a little weary, not having ridden for 3 weeks, and I’ve had a bad cold (caught off Lyn who probably caught it on the plane over) and this probably reduced my energy levels, but as I have a Warmshowers host in Gympie tomorrow I can’t hang about today as he is 185km away.
I had a ‘moment’ 10km or so north of Caboolture whilst during a gap in the traffic I was fiddling with the mobile to get the camera mode on, when a couple of metres in front of me I suddenly saw a large snake immediately to my left. It was some 2m long (7ft or so) and partly coiled, head upright in ‘strike’ position pointing towards the centre of the road, and my knee. I was past it in seconds and only then thought what a near miss I had had. I think most large snakes may be pythons, which haven't got a venemous bite of course, but it still felt like a near miss!
I stopped after 60km or so at Beerburrum and had iced coffee and the piece (cheese butty) that Lyn had made for me, plus a piece of Rocky Road from the store, and that livened me up a bit. By the time I passed Australia Zoo (resplendent with pictures of the late Steve Irwin but mired in family disputes at the moment it seems) the traffic was heavy and a bit of a pain. This was so until 10km after Landsborough where I turned left for Mooloolah Valley when it got considerably quieter but a bit hillier.
By the time I reached Eudio I was flagging a bit, but Gatorade rescued me and I recovered somewhat. It was hills all the way from here to Nambour, some pretty steep at 10%, not what I wanted after 90km on my first day back, but you get what you get and have to deal with it. Added to my woes was getting lost in Woombye, a town that knows no road signs - you have to guess which way to go if there’s no-one to ask (which there wasn’t during my wasteful and pointless 7km hilly detour before I found the Nambour road). I therefore award this town my prestigious title "Dump of the Day".
I found a caravan park 2km or so south of Nambour, an,d even though I baulked at paying $26 (rip off) I was too tired to carry on looking, and it was after 5 too so it was pay up and (not!) look pleasant.
It’s going dark at 1830 now as autumn settles in, so it was dark when I had dinner ready on the MSR stove. It was the usual pasta / tomato / salami but the tube of fresh garlic paste added an interesting difference - a good choice. I still haven’t really got my appetite back after the cold so I didn’t do a very large portion.

With hindsight I took too much on today in view of my recent rest / cold etc., I should have started more slowly.

Time off the bike in Brisbane 15/2/08 to 5/3/08

Noosa
Favourite pose - this slice of cake even beat me; couldn't finish it!

DAY 132: Coolangatta to Brisbane (Chermside)

Thurs 14th February 2008
129 km @ 19.1 km/hr
Distance to date 7783 km (4864 miles)
Dull, occasional shower, warm

At breakfast we decided this would be a good day for Linda to escort me into Brisbane for the last leg of the first ‘half’ of my trip around Australia. She had kindly agreed to do this in view of the difficulty for the visitor in finding of a clearly-defined and safe route for bicycles travelling into the city.
We set off around 0915 just as it started raining, but as it turned out this was a minor shower and the only one during the journey. The route took the quiter roads down to Surfer’s Paradise (28km) and then mostly ran parallel or near the Pacific Highway, which is a motorway here and of course bicycles are not permitted. It’s hard to know why bicycles are banned since there is no difference between this road and that in NSW further south; they both have good shoulders and would appear to be fairly safe, but there you go....
We stopped a couple of times for coffee and snacks but made it to the city (118km) in about 6 hours, with a nice tailwaind. Traffic was heavy in parts, but for 75% of the time it was pretty quiet. I personally enjoyed the trip very much, due to not having to figure out which road to take, and Linda said she enjoyed it too. I never really felt unsafe apart from one short section where lorries were coming close whereupon I got onto the pavement for a while.
It was good to get to Gareth and Jen’s (my partner Lyn’s son and daughter-in law) but I really enjoyed today’s ride, and still felt very strong after it.

However I will have about 2 weeks rest and recouperation now - a ‘holiday’, mostly off the bike. Lyn arrives here from Scotland on Tuesday next, 19th, and from Sat 23rd for a week I’ve hired a campervan for Lyn and I to explore the area. I shall probably set off nortrh for the next section to Cairns around 1st March - I don’t want to arrive at Cairns before April so as to hopefully avoid the wet / cyclone season at the Top End.

After this post I will probably only post a couple of times before I set off again north. In the meantime if any readers would like to donate to WaterAid they can do so by either clicking on the JustGiving tab on the blog and paying by credit card, or if in Australia by phoning WaterAid Australia on 1300 725649. In both cases giftaid can be added if you are a tax payer. Thank you to all who have already donated - you have provided a clean, safe water supply and good sanitation facilities for around 40 people in developing countries - a small village; that's a great result!

DAY 131: Day off in Coolangatta

Awoke to another cloudy day but warm as ever. After breakfast with Linda and Arie I went for a wander around the shops and a walk on the beach afor the morning. Lots of people were sunbathing but the sun only popped out occasionally - although I understand you can still get ‘irradiated’ through the cloud!? I enjoyed watching the surfing for a while, and some of them are very good; clearly they’ve been at it for years. The ‘High Street’ of Coolangatta is quite pleasant, and there is a sense of community and ‘separateness’ from the neighbouring districts on the rest of the fairly heavily populated Gold Coast. I sat in the street for a while with cake and iced coffe and watched the world go by. On having a rummage through the St.Vinnie’s
op shop I found a new white T-shirt with Bicycle Gold Coast logo for $4 and bought it, before heading back to Linda’s. On showing her what I’d bought she laughed - and it turned out that she had designed and commissioned these 4 years ago, and this one found it’s way back into her life somehow! Linda set up theu Bicycle Gold Coast website and has spent many years promoting cycling in this area.
In the aftrenoon Linda took me to the art gallery at Murwillumbah, which was a very positive experiencei. The gallery has great views of the tree-lined valleys leading down to the town, and which can be seen in a different way through deep and narrow vertical windows. The collection there is very interesting, with some beautiful big portraits and unusual pottery and glassware to mention just a few items of interest. Also of interets was the cafe with scrumptious cakes and coffee that of course we had to try before leaving. On the way back we called to see Lindsay and Marjie, the couple I was arranging to stay with in Murwillumbah but didn’t. Like Linda they have masses of experience in cycle touring, and they told us about the 4-month tour of South America they start next month, taking in Chile, Argentina and Bolivia via the Carreterra track. I could have spent many happy hours chatting to them about their riding.
In the evening the three of us went out to a Suchi restaurant for dinner - my first time at one of these places - very enjoyable and a nice experience, th,ough a bit pricier than my budget likes at $36!!