Australian Adventures

Sunday 12th September 2010 – my first full day in Australia and my mate took me on a Moto Guzzi Owners Club ride out. At the first stop I found my knees had completely seized up from being on the back of his Rosa Corsa which has pillion pegs about 6 inches below the seat! Noticing that I was having difficulty dismounting, one of the other owners organised for me to go pillion on the back of 2 other rider’s bikes that had more leg room. The first one was a California model and the driver had us sweeping through bends so smoothly I actually forgot my usual fear of cornering.

Just got a call this morning saying that all my paperwork has been cleared and that I can go and pick up the bike tomorrow. Whey hey, I'll be able to get on the road soon!

Sunday 19th September 2010 – My friend that I'm staying with and I managed to have a day out together today. We went to a place called The Homestead and walked around the grounds. In the bush we could see a "mob" of kangaroos so set off in pursuit. We managed to get quite close and there was one giant buck who kept a watchful eye on us while his companions bounced away. As they all bounced off, we changed our direction and started walking away.

Wednesday 15th September 2010 – after 3 days of fruitless searching for a bike, I finally found one today. On Monday my friends took me into Elizabeth Street in Melbourne to look at what the bike shops had to offer. Somewhat tired and jetlagged I found it difficult to put UK prices out of my mind and was shocked at how much Ozzie second hand bikes cost. One guy offered us a 22 year old Honda for $8,000. I just laughed out loud. Getting increasingly depressed and alarmed we eventually came across the Triumph showroom.

Wednesday 22 September 2010 – I’ve got the bike! And its perfect. Took it for an inaugural ride after I picked it up and it runs like a dream. Feels light, holds the road well, and, now that they’ve replaced the exhaust with a quieter one, speeds along like a big yellow stealth bomber! Although I like the name Yellow Peril, I think I’ll just call it Yellow as Peril may prove to be a bit predictive!

Thursday 30 September 2010 – so I left Port Fairy yesterday. It was a fun visit – nice people at the hostel and a disasterous attempt to French plait an English girl’s hair (I warned her I couldn’t do it!).

Wednesday 29 September 2010 - After my first real run of any distance on the bike I found I was quite exhausted so decided to land at Apollo Bay for 3 days. Was amazed at how tired my legs were so contented myself with short walks around the town and along the beach, watching the waves swell and crash for hours on end. Even the weather picked up and I got beautiful sunshine for my last day.

Saturday 2 October 2010 – I rode from Robe to Port Elliot today – a 300-odd km journey. The roads were relatively clear apart from a plague of flying bugs everywhere, presumably brought out by the sunny skies and increase in temperature. By the time I stopped for lunch in Meninges I was covered in the little critters. When I went to the loo, one of them must have got caught in my clothing as when I took my trousers down I got bitten about 5 times on the bum!

Monday 4 October 2010 – Again, I was exhausted by my long ride on Saturday, so decided to spend a couple of days in Port Elliot. Yesterday I didn’t make it much further than the village shops and the nearest beach, but today, I thought I spotted a whale from the hostel balcony so went charging over the headland to see if I could capture some shots of it. As I approached I realised the mass I’d spotted from the hostel wasn’t really moving or changing shape at all, and upon closer inspection, it turned out, it was actually a rock.

Thursday 7 October 2010 – So I waved good bye to my room-mate at the YHA on Tuesday and rode the 60-odd km to Cape Jervis where I caught the ferry to Kangaroo Island. It was a gorgeous sunny crossing and I even spotted a baby dolphin leaping through the waves.

Friday 8 October 2010 – OMG! What a ride from Kangaroo Island to Adelaide. First an unexpectedly twisty road from Cape Jervis, then I had to navigate my way into Adelaide from memorised directions (as I have no GPS or any way of mounting a map onto my bike). Nevertheless, I managed to make it all but one street from the YHA before I had to pull over and check the map. I almost dropped to my knees and kissed the tarmac when I pulled up in front of the hostel I was so relieved to have made it.

Sunday 24 October 2010 - Riding across the Mallee Highway from Tailem Bend to Ouyen involved travelling through what is obviously flour country - miles and miles of wheat fields criss-crossed by railway tracks and flour silos at each station. But as soon as I reached Swan Hill this changed into fruit country – vineyards and fruit farms for as far as the eye could see. Australia has been suffering from drought for the last 10 years, but this winter, the drought finally broke and the country has been experiencing flooding in a number of places.

Saturday 23rd October 2010 – Adelaide was a wonderful city. If I had to find a word to describe it, I would say EASY. Everything about the city is easy - its easy to get into, its easy to get out of, its easy to get around, its easy to make friends, it easy to find what you need. Its all just so easy. I loved it.

Friday 29th October 2010 – Well, there’s a lot more to this house-sitting business than meets the eye – just taking a friend’s dog for a walk once a day is completely different from living with two of them.

Wednesday 3rd November 2010 – So I left Lake Boga on Monday and rode the 366.4 km back to Melbourne. It was a sunny day but quite chilly, but nevertheless I made good progress. Somewhere between Echuca and Bendigo a big orange light started flashing on my dashboard. Thinking this was the oil light, I pulled over and poured in half a bottle of oil. However, on restarting, the light didn’t go out.

Wednesday 10th November 2010 – When I returned to Melbourne I was in a bit of a quandary about whether I should sell the bike and get a car. Because I’d be here for a month, it would give me time to sell it, but, surprisingly, I found I wasn’t that keen to do that just yet. However, I explored all the options, like buying or renting a car, putting the bike on motorail, leaving the bike in somewhere like Brisbane then flying to Whyalla, but none of them were going to be that easy or inexpensive. Then, yesterday, I decided to see what I’d get for the bike if I sold it.

Saturday 27th November 2010 – As I have 3.5 weeks before I need to be in Whyalla, I’ve decided to go to Tasmania for 2 weeks instead of going east around the coast to Bateman's Bay (as my friends were going to be away). I could have sworn the ferry was at 5.30pm yesterday and that check-in, being 2.5 hours before, was at 3.00pm. So Lou guided me down to the ferry terminal (thank god, as I’d never have found it myself) and got me there for precisely 3.00pm. However the man at the gate then advised me boarding would commence at 4.30pm.

Monday 29th November 2010 - I awoke this morning to clear blue skies and sunshine, so I packed up the bike and rode the half mile down to the backpackers hostel and checked in there. Then I took the road to Billabong Bay to see the Bay of Fire. This is so named because it is flanked with huge boulders which are covered in a sort of red algae which looks fiery red when the sun shines.

Sunday 28th November 2010 – I set off from Bridport to St Helens today. The ride started wonderfully, passing through lots of lilac poppy fields and gentle rolling hills topped with whisping clouds. But as soon as I left Scottsdale the road started winding its way up into the cloud base and before I knew it, I was riding in a downpour.

So the last month in Melbourne was lovely. Apart from a few torrential downpours, the weather warmed up and I was able to get out and about and explore the local, and not so local, area. And, of course, I got to walk the doggies every day. They are such delightful creatures – so friendly and obedient and affectionate. A couple of nights they even burrowed under my covers and spent the night keeping me cozy. And the unexpected bonus from all the walking is that I’ve lost about half a stone in weight and am a lot fitter!

Tuesday 30th November 2010 – Last night I met a French lady in the hostel. Her English was a bit patchy so I endeavoured to fill in the missing words with my school-girl French. We ended up having quite a good conversation and I felt quite pleased with myself for managing to string a few sentences together.

Wednesday 1st December 2010 – Leaving Coles Bay I rejoined the main road south which weaves its way along the coastline then heads inland along the side of a river. I stopped for petrol at Triabunna and decided to turn into the town for a look around. Somehow I managed to put the bike in neutral (instead of first) whilst turning at a junction which made me realise I was really starting to lose my concentration so had an extended lunch break here.

Friday 3rd December 2010 – Today I met up with my gardening enthusiast friend, Anne, from the Bridport YHA. She took me all round the local beaches near her house then took me back to her place to meet her family and have a barbeque. It was great to see her and be looked after for a day. So thank you Anne for all your hospitality, I really appreciated it.

Thursday 2nd December 2010 – To get a better understanding of the lie of the land in Hobart, I joined the Hop On Hop Off bus today. The driver was really excellent and gave a very informative commentary of the history and geography of Hobart. One of the stops was the Female Factory which was the old female prison in the days of transportation. After serving their time here for various crimes and misdemeanours, the women would be placed with free settlers, many of whom were men who had left their families at home.

Friday 10th December 2010 - On Tuesday I took a boat tour from Strahan round McQuarrie Harbour and up the Gordon River which was very good but a bit overcast. Then on Wednesday I packed up and headed for Cradle Mountain. It was dry when I left Strahan but about 20 miles into the trip the rain started again. By the time I got to the turn off for Cradle Mountain, the fog was also coming in. Before long it was so thick I had to pull over and stop as I could barely see in front of me. I eventually made it to the National Park and found the campground.

Sunday 12th December 2010 – So I continued up the M31 Hume Highway today to Canberra. It was a great ride – sunny skies and light winds and not too much traffic on the roads. As this is the main road between Melbourne and Sydney I had always imagined it would be densely populated, but quite the reverse. I only passed through 2 towns the whole way to Canberra.

Saturday 11th December 2010 – Arrived at the ferry at 1pm so had to wait for 4 hours before I could check-in. So I got talking to a couple of guys who were part of the film crew for “The Hunter”, a film starring Wilhelm Dafoe and Sam Neil. They were pretty funny and most put out by the thank you gift of a tea towel that had been given to all the crew. I also met up with some of the other bikers I’d met on the way out – like 2 of the WA boys and the group from Sydney.

Monday 13th December 2010 - Well, Nick turned out to be a gorgeous Italian stallion of a guy (and a very nice person too). We left Canberra on Monday morning and rode back along the M31 highway to Gundagai where we picked up a back road and started making our way across to Wagga Wagga. It was a beautiful ride through undulating hillsides and farmland. At one point the road was closed due to flooding so we were diverted god only knows where but miraculously, eventually made it back to the main highway and into Wagga.

Wednesday 15th December 2010 – Next day Nick continued to guide me through the back roads of New South Wales to Deniliquin. There were huge plagues of locusts everywhere and we both ended up covered in insect splatter as we rode through the swarms. At one point I nearly drove off the road when one of them got up under my visor and started buzzing around in front of my face!

Wednesday 22nd December 2010 – The owner of my hotel told me to head down to the wharf at 10am as this is when the fishing boats come in, usually followed by schools of dolphins. So I jumped on my bike at the appointed time and set off. Two guys on Triumph Rockets whizzed past me and, when I later arrived at the wharf, I found them there. So I wandered over and started chatting to them. There were no fishing boats in sights but upon hearing of my desire to see dolphins, they offered to take me out on their boat next week sometime! Can’t wait.

Tuesday 21 December 2010 – On returning to the hostel in Adelaide I discovered there was only one decent mug left, so for the last few days I have been hiding this in the kitchen after each time I’ve used it. However, this morning I came down for breakfast to find that someone had stolen my milk! If this isn’t a karmic payback for such selfish acts then I don’t know what is.

Monday 20th December 2010 – I stayed 2 nights in Mildura. As soon as I rode in I felt it was perhaps a bit of a rough town and, when I saw a guy being pinned to the ground by 6 police officers, it confirmed my suspicions. It had been great to rest up and not have to contend with the mossies again, but I was glad to leave.

Wednesday 22nd December 2010 – The lady I’m house-sitting for advised me today that she’d be home on 29th December now, not 1st January as originally planned. This is really good news for me as it gives me an extra 3 days to make the trip to Queensland (provided she doesn’t get caught in the floods there and have her flight cancelled!).

Wednesday 22nd December 2010 – Whyalla’s strapline is “Where the Outback Meets the Sea” and I’d say this is a pretty accurate description. At Port Wakefield (about 100km north of Adelaide) it suddenly becomes Road Train country. Dozens of 2 and 3 trailer trucks roar up and down the highway. Then, at Port Augusta, the road splits in two – one branch going to Darwin and the Northern Territories, the other heading west to Perth and Western Australia. I took the latter and as I cleared Port Augusta it really felt like I was entering very remote territory.

Thursday 23rd December 2010 - On the way into Whyalla, the first thing you see after the steel works is the HMAS Whyalla – a warship sitting in a field overlooking the car park of the visitors centre. Its 2km from the coast so I had to find out how it got there. Apparently, from 1947 until 1978 Whyalla had a thriving ship building industry. This was the first ship built and, after 40-odd years of active service, it was sold back to Whyalla for $5,000 in 1988. It then took another $500,600 to winch the thing into its current position.

Friday 24th December 2010 – Whyalla is dominated by a massive steel works so I couldn’t come here and not have a look around.

I took a tour today and discovered steel is actually made from a combination of iron ore and other raw materials. These are shipped in from nearby mines at Iron Knob (and other places like Japan). Coal is then baked until it becomes coke which is used to fuel the massive blast furnace in which the raw materials are mixed.

I spent Christmas Day with a family whose mother used to live in the flats I’m based in. They were really great fun and, despite the fact I didn’t know a soul, I really enjoyed myself. It was really strange having Christmas in the sun though!

Tuesday 28th December 2010 – Well my time in Whyalla is coming to an end. The boat trip with the 2 bikers never materialised but I did run into another biker yesterday who took great interest in my trip so that cheered me up immensely. Tomorrow the lady I’m house-sitting for returns and I can start making my way north to Mount Molloy in Queensland for my next house-sit.

Thursday 30th December 2010 – Ride statistcs:

Broken Hill - Cobar
Distance: 445.3km
Depart: 10.00am
Arrive: 5.00pm
Total ride duration: 7 hours
Temperature: 40.7C (at Wilcannia road house)

Wednesday 29th December 2010 – Ride statistics:

Whyalla – Broken Hill
Distance: 478km
Depart: 11am
Arrive: 6.30pm
Total ride duration: 7.5 hours
Temperature: 37C (at Olary Hotel)

Friday 31st December 2010 – Ride statistics:

Cobar - Cunnamulla
Distance: 406.7 km
Depart: 9.30am
Arrive: 4.00pm
Total ride duration: 6.5 hours
Temperature: 40C (at Enngonia Hotel)

Saturday 1st January 2011 – Ride statistics:

Cunnamulla - Balcardine
Distance: 674.6 km
Depart: 6.00am
Arrive: 4.30pm
Total ride duration: 10.5 hours
Temperature: don’t know but still very hot

Monday 3rd January 2011 – Ride statistics:

Balcardine - Hughenden
Distance: 480 km
Depart: 6.00am
Arrive: 2.00pm
Total ride duration: 8 hours
Temperature: unbelievably hot!

Had the day off yesterday, but back on the road today.

Balcardine onwards saw the introduction of my first 3-trailer road trains. As I came out of Longreach I encountered 4 of them in a row so I got whipped all over the joint.

When I woke up this morning and thought about having to do another Development Road in the blistering heat, I almost didn’t get up at all. I had really scared myself yesterday and I didn’t want to end up over-exposing myself again. So I prayed (I’ve been doing a lot of that recently), “I’m going to need some help today God”. Within a few minutes, it occurred to me that I should just ride as far as Charters Towers (250km), then do the Development Road tomorrow morning when its still cool.

Wednesday 5th January 2011 – Ride statistics:

Charters Towers - Atherton
Distance: 502 km
Depart: 6.00am
Arrive: 4.00pm
Total ride duration: 10 hours
Temperature: humid but cooler

Thursday 6th January 2010 – Well, 3,330 km and 8 days of riding later, I’ve finally made it to Mount Molloy. And what a beautiful place it is. High up in the rain forests, just a small town with one main street containing a pub/hotel, a cafe, a post office, a general store and 2 art galleries. It was sunny when I arrived but we’ve just had the most almighty thunder storm. I loved it! The sound of the rain hammering down on the tin roof and the energy of the storm was fantastic. The house I’m to be looking after is absolutely beautiful too.

Wednesday 12th January 2011 – Sorry I haven’t been online for a while, life in Mount Molloy has been pretty full on since I arrived and this, plus the fact that everyone wants to know if I’ve been affected by the floods, means I thought I'd better update this again.

Thursday 13th January 2011 – Oh boo hoo. I had been so looking forward to going back to Cairns, but OMG, what a mess they’ve made of it. Obviously the town planners were more interested in increasing their bank balances than in preserving the essence of the town. Every spare bit of land has been filled with either a horrible hotel or a hideous shopping centre. What used to be a lovely, open, low level town with a sense of space and plenty of green areas, has been transformed into a concrete labyrinth.

Sunday 16th January 2011 – After a few days of air-conditioned luxury in the car, I decided it was time to take the bike for a spin again, so I rode it down to work and back again. This is the first time I have ridden it naked (i.e. unladen) for weeks, and what a difference it makes. The road to the coast crosses the Great Dividing Range so is another windy, twisty one full of hairpin bends and steep decents, but I managed it with scarcely a touch on the brakes.

Saturday 22nd January 2011 – The wet season is well and truly upon us this week. It must have started about 4 or 5 days ago when I took the dog for a walk up to have a nosey at a lovely old Queenslander-style house that’s for sale on a nearby hill. Just as we got there, the heavens opened and we had to shelter on the veranda for about half an hour for the rain to subside enough for us to run home (not that it made any difference, we still got soaked). And its pretty much been raining ever since.

Sunday 23 Janurary 2011 - As if to test me, a Praying Mantis flew into the living room last night. The cat immediately went after it and half killed it but left it with just enough life to flounder on the floor for a few hours. So, after another sleepless night from the dog barking at every shadow that passed, my resolve for staying in the house was severely dented this morning. Then, this afternoon I came home to find the squirming dissected innards of a cockroach on the kitchen floor with the cat overlooking it with a gecko in her mouth.

Monday 24th January 2011 – Over the weekend I spoke to both my mum and my dad who are dealing with health issues at the moment and last night had an overwhelming desire to go back and help them. So this morning I phoned the owner’s sister to get a contact address for the owner. Suddenly it was all too much and I was in floods of tears, so she took the situation in hand and arranged for the owner’s son to move back in and take care of the pets and to contact the owner to let her know.

Friday 28th January 2011 – Contrary to my first thoughts, I’ve now decided to return to Melbourne via the east coast highways – going through the centre at this time of year would mean dealing with temperatures in excess of 45C and I’m not sure I’m up to that again. Whereas the east coast route will only be about 30C! Plus its a much more populated and interesting route and is also a more direct route to Canberra and Bateman’s Bay.

Thursday 27th January 2011 – I’m free! I’m back in Cairns, staying in an insect free room at the YHA and acutely aware of how much anxiety I’ve been carrying in my body since arriving in Mount Molloy. I’ve ordered a new set of panniers for the bike as one of them has developed a large tear, so I’m staying here for a few of days until they arrive. It feels good to be back, even though its not the same town it used to be – enough of it is still the same to make me feel at home.

Friday 28th January 2011 – I decided to do a bit of sunbathing today so donned my bikini and headed down to the lagoon on the Esplanade. This is the first time I’ve done any sunbathing since I arrived in Australia and like most Brits abroad my stunning white flesh practically blinded the locals. I did, of course, apply sunscreen but when I later got changed back at the hostel I realised I hadn’t applied it very evenly as my tummy and legs were covered in red blotches where I’d obviously missed some bits.

Sunday 30th January 2011 – When I left Mount Molloy the owner’s brother-in-law told me to watch out for 2 cyclones making their way towards the coast. However, I was too busy trying to fit the plastic supports inside my panniers so they wouldn’t collapse again (I think this is why the last set ripped) to pay much attention to the weather reports, so I was up at the crack of dawn this morning and on my way south down the Bruce Highway. I wasn’t exactly sure how far I’d go, but, Townsville seemed like a good target.

Saturday 29th January 2011 – I got the call late yesterday afternoon saying my new panniers had arrived so this morning I jumped on the bike and headed up to Atherton to collect them (I ordered them from the same place I got my tyres as I thought I’d be going back that way before I changed my mind and decided to go down the coast). I took the road to Mareeba via Kuranda which is very windy then took the road back down over the Gillies Ranges to Gordonville. Now I’ve done some twisty roads since I’ve been in Australia, but this took the biscuit.

Monday 31st January 2011 – I awoke to a calm and peaceful morning today. Cyclone Anthony did a bit of mischief down at Bowen but we were unaffected in Townsville. So, by the time I’d retrieved my bike from the toilet block, it was about 7am before I got on the road. However, I made good time and got to Ayr by 8.30 so stopped for a cuppa in the local servo.

Tuesday 1st February 2011 - Having fled south for the last 3 days like a Wild West outlaw, it would appear I’ve managed to outrun the most imminent danger. I’ve just seen a TV report saying the cyclone is currently heading towards Cairns.

Thank goodness, I’m not sure I could keep this pace up much longer (I’ve been doing 400-500km a day). I saw a newspaper report this morning saying Yasi was heading for Rockhampton which almost made me weep as I couldn’t have taken riding all this way and still getting hit with it.

Friday 4th February 2011 – The ride from Gin Gin to Noosa Heads found me in a rotten mood. I was hot and tired and fed up with riding alone and not having anyone to talk to. And more road works – at one point I got so hot waiting in a long queue of traffic that I pulled the bike over to the side, got my bottle of water and started pouring it all over myself. It was only when I’d finished that I realised the truck driver behind me was watching the whole affair!

Monday 7th February 2011 – Byron Bay has been just what I needed, rest and relaxation in beautiful surroundings. The campsite is right on the beach and therefore benefits from cool sea breezes as well as warm sunshine. Its a bit of a hippy town – lots of massage clinics, art galleries and shops selling brightly coloured clothing. And more campervans than I’ve seen in my entire tour of Australia! Its a big surfing destination.

Wednesday 9th February 2011 – When I left Byron Bay it was a cold, drizzly morning. In fact, it got so cold at one point, I had to pull over and dig out my windproof jacket. However, by the time I arrived in Port Macquarie it had brightened up a bit and I was able to have a very pleasant stroll around the town.

Saturday 12th February 2011 – God, I’m exhausted. I’ve just spent the last 3 days with Glenn & Emilia and the Northern Beaches Social Riders. This is the motorcycle club that Glenn runs, but it’s not just any old motorcycle club, they also raise money for charity, tonnes of it – so far they have raised AU$300,000. They do this through a combination of raffles, events and people paying to be pillion passengers on their rides. Thursday night was raffle night at the pub, then yesterday, they had a big ride through the streets of Sydney.

Monday 14th February 2011 – I took the bus into central Sydney today. Its been about 6.5 years since I was last there but as I looked out across Circular Quay (which is rectangular, incidentally) it seemed as if it was only yesterday. Its funny how memories can distort time, or is it, how time distorts memories? As I travelled down the east coast I went through many places I’ve been through before yet didn’t recognise at all, then others that I had really clear memories of in my head but didn’t even see. Weird isn’t it?

Wednesday 16th February 2011 – I left Sydney today. The thought of riding through the biggest city in Australia on a fully laden motorbike wasn’t one that I’d been particularly looking forward to, but I noticed that Route No 3 from Mona Vale Road would take me all the way through Sydney and out the other side at Woolongong where I could pick up the Pacific Highway to Bateman’s Bay.

Saturday 19th February 2011 – What a great time I had in Bateman’s Bay. It was lovely to see Rod and his family again and also to meet up with another old friend, Shane.

On Friday, Rod took me for a drive to Shallow Crossing. This involves taking a dirt track up into the forest for several miles before the road descends down to the River Clyde where a concrete weir has been built across the river. As there has been so much rain it was completely submerged and we had to drive quite slowly across it to avoid being swept away by the current.

Sunday 20th February 2011 – I met up with Nick for dinner last night and again this morning. We took the bikes out to the NASA Deep Space Communications Complex. This is where they "listen" to space.

Tuesday 22nd February 2011 – Yesterday, Nick lent me a push bike and took me off to see the National War Memorial. It’s an impressive building that also houses a museum of wartime artefacts. He left me there to look around, then I cycled part way round Lake Burley Griffin before heading off to look at the Houses of Parliament. Alas, the bike proved to be perhaps the most uncomfortable I have ever ridden so I ended up pushing it most of the way round Canberra.

Wednesday 23rd February 2011 – What a joyful day’s riding it was today. I left Tathra, rejoined the Princes Highway north for a few kms, then took the Snowy Mountains Highway west to Cooma then Jindabyne. It was the most gorgeous day – clear blue skies, radiant sunshine and stunning clarity. It was quite cool climbing up over Brown Mountain so I had to dig out my windproof jacket again. At Jindabyne, I turned onto the Alpine Way to Thredbo. This is where the Kosciuszko National Park starts and where the Australian ski resorts are located.

Friday 25th February 2011 – I had the day off yesterday so wandered around Tallangatta and caught up on my laundry.

Sunday 27th February 2011 – The last 395km from Lakes Entrance back to Melbourne should have been a beautiful ride along the South Gipsland Highway but unfortunately the weather broke for my final ride and I got completely soaked! The final approach to Melbourne meant joining the freeway system and navigating my way through roadworks, heavy traffic and a number of tricky junctions. As with the approach to any major city, this was a nerve wracking experience, but I managed to find all the right roads at the right time and made it back to my friends’ house without incident.

Thursday 10th March 2011 – So my time in Australia is finally over and I’m waiting at the airport for my flight to Hong Kong to be called. I woke up with a sore throat, runny nose and a light head today that has been gradually getting worse. I read somewhere that runny noses usually indicate tears that haven’t been expressed. I managed to fight back the tears for most of the day today, but saying goodbye to my friends, their little girl, their dogs and, of course, the bike, was more than I could take and I’ve been bubbling ever since.

Friday 18th March 2011 – I arrived back in the UK yesterday morning after, I’m pleased to report, an uneventful flight back from Hong Kong. Despite my cold, I had a great week in Hong Kong with my brother and ended up staying in a very posh hotel room for a very cheap price so it seemed like a fitting end to my journey. After 7 months of life on the road and endless adventures its going to be strange establishing a “normal” life again, but I guess that’s what life’s all about – ch-ch-changes ...

Friday 11th March 2011 – Here’s a funny story for you all. On the plane to Hong Kong during a bit of mild turbulence I started to feel a bit queezy. However, never having suffered from any form of travel sickness I discounted the possibility that I may be sick and decided to go to sleep instead. Sometime later, the girl in the seat next to me starts shaking me awake as, it turns out, I was vomiting in my sleep! On awakening I grabbed the sick bag and proceeded to empty my guts into it.

If you've enjoyed reading this blog, you might like to read the story behind the story in "Excess Baggage" the book of this trip. For full details, click here:

Part 2 will begin on 28 August 2014!

According to my laptop's clock it's 5.40 am in the UK (I haven't changed the timezone yet) and it's 2.40 pm here in Brisbane so by my body clock's estimation that's the middle of the night. Nevertheless, I am forcing myself to stay awake and try to act as if I've adjusted when in reality my eyelids feel like they want to shut and never open again.

Wednesday 3 September 2104

On Sunday night a woman in my room started coughing and I was a bit worried I’d catch whatever lurgie she had. By Monday morning I was coughing too. Nevertheless it was just a minor cough so I thought I’d got away with it.

Sunday 31 August 2014

Imagine waking up to this every morning! This is the view from the hostel’s rooftop kitchen.

Isn’t Brisbane a beautiful city?

Just a quick update before the Postie Bike Challenge gets underway properly tomorrow. Today was registration day and we all got allocated our bikes. There are 40 of us on the trip and my bike is Number 24, a somewhat impersonal name I thought, so I've christened her, Rosie, as she'll be my Desert Rose.

Photo albumAustralia 2014 - (3) Postie Bike Challenge

Day 1 (Sunday 7 September 2014) – Brisbane to Chinchilla

Saturday 20 September 2014

Well, it's been a busy few days. After our night in the swanky 5* Rydges Hotel it was time to move on for most people. I bit back the tears and said my final farewells then Walshy, one of the Postie Bike riders who lives in Adelaide, gave me a lift to the youth hostel.

Monday 22 September 2014

I loaded up Ruby and left Adelaide yesterday. Although I have considerably less luggage than my last trip to Oz, it still takes my two panniers, a top box and another small bag to carry it all, so looking at a picture it doesn't look like I have much less than I had before.

Wednesday 24 September 2014

Australia 2014 - (6) Port Augusta to Coober Pedy

Wednesday 24 September 2014

Australia 2014 - (7) Coober Pedy

Thursday 25 September 2014

Australia 2014 - (8) Coober Pedy to Alice Springs

Monday 29 September 2014

Australia 2014 - (10) Alice Springs to Ayres Rock

Friday 26 - Sunday 28 September 2014

Australia 2014 - (9) Alice Springs

Thursday 2 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (12) The Mail Bus Run

Wednesday 1 October 2014

The number one rule of the outback, apart from “Never drive past fuel” and “Never walk past a toilet” as I had learned, is “Don’t drive at dust or dawn” as this is when all the kangaroos come out. I was about to break this rule – big time.

Today I was heading back to Coober Pedy. I’d had a brief glance at my map and added up that it should be about 675 km, this would mean a seriously early start to cover the distance.

Tuesday 30 September 2014

Australia 2014 - (11) Uluru

Monday 6 October 2014

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (13) Eyre Peninsula

After a very cold night, I started the "Ninety Mile Straight", the longest piece of straight road in Australia. And boy was it straight - it had two RFDS emergency runways it was so straight.

When you do these huge distances you start to go into a kind of daze and it was only when I saw a bunch of people crowded around a sign on the other side of the road followed by a bend, that I realised I'd come to the end of it.

Friday 10 October 2014

Up until now I hadn't met, or even seen, many other bikers, but today was to be different. First, a guy I'd seen in Ceduna and also at the Nullarbor Road House kept catching up with me. He was with his family who were towing a caravan and setting an even slower pace than mine hence the reason I kept meeting him.

Loads of bikes seemed to be going in the opposite direction too. I presumed they were going to the Moto GP races at Phillip Island which Mark and Kim in Port Augusta had been heading to.

Thursday 9 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (14) Crossing the Nullarbor

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (15) Kalgoorlie

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (16) The Super Pit

Sunday 19 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (17) Kalgoorlie to Perth

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (18) Perth to Monkey Mia

Sunday 26 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (19) Monkey Mia to Dampier

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (20) Karratha to Port Hedland

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (21) Port Hedland

Thursday 30 October 2014

Australia 2014 - (22) Port Hedland to Broome

Sunday 2 November 2014

Australia 2014 - (23) Broome

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Australia 2014 - (24) Broome to Halls Creek

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Australia 2014 - (25) Halls Creek to Kununurra

Thursday 6 November 2014

Australia 2014 - (26) Kununurra to Katherine

Saturday 8 November 2014

Australia 2014 - (27) Katherine to Darwin

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Australia 2014 - (28) Litchfield National Park

Friday 14 November 2014

Australia 2014 - (29) Darwin

Friday 14 November 2014

Australia 2014 - (30) Darwin 2

This blog is now available as a book! So if you want to read the whole, unabridged version of what happened, click the image below: