Australian Adventures

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.