OCEAN ROAD

Since my last report Leana and I have cycled Eastwards along the Southern tip of the Australian mainland towards Melbourne. We've had some less fortunate weather along the way, which made the going a bit slow (about 10 degrees C below normal for this time of year - cold rain and wind). However, there were some beautiful places, especially along the famed Great Ocean Road (12 Apostles rock formations, and other scenic spots). Unfortunately along the way I recieved the news that my Mom had passed away, and this afternoon Leana left (she flew back to SA). Now I'm heading for Sydney, and I have to be out of the country no later than 10 Nov (my sister has offered to pay for my escape flight). Distances cycled since my last report have been:- Coorong Nat Park 83 km; Robe 112 km; Millicent 81 km; Mount Gambier 53 km; Portland 106 km; Warrnambool 104 km; Port Campbell 71 km; Lavers Hill 52 km; Kennet River 72 km; Anglesea 56 km; Rosebud 80 km; and Melbourne 79 km. Total distance cycled in Australia since leaving Darwin on 13 August is 4 851 km. Total distance cycled since leaving Cape Town at the start of this journey is 65 358 km.

BEYOND THE DOG FENCE

As I’ve previously mentioned, just South of the Coober Pedy opal mine dumps we crossed the Dog Fence. This fence, which stretches for thousands of k’s across Australia, is one of the measures discriminating against the dingo (they are also being shot and poisoned, and even have an unjust reputation as human “killers”). Since crossing the fence we’ve moved steadily South, reaching the coast and Adelaide along the way. Adelaide impressed me as a rather pleasant uncluttered city with lots of parks, and also recreational paths along the Torrents River. I even peeped in at the renowned “pretty” cricket oval – and I was disappointed to see that the stands have been modernised, in fact the building work is still in progress. As it was a long weekend at the time of our arrival, Leana and I stayed a few days at the caravan park on the river banks. When business resumed as usual Leana got a new rear hub for her bike (which I fitted), and she also bought a set of good tyres for Old Saartjie (my bike) – I’d been cycling on a tyre sewn up with fishing line for the previous 900 k’s. Over the past couple of days we’ve moved rather slowly through the picturesque Adelaide Hills region, where we met a South African family in the Mt Barker camp site who are in the process of immigrating (their furniture is still on the way over). After the hills we had to contend with a howling wind out on the plains along the Murray River, but we’ve dealt with that in the same way one would eat an elephant – a mouthful at a time. It seems that after the long trek across the centre of the country we’ve become a bit lazy, and today we’re resting at a very nice camp site in the small town of Meningie on the shore of Lake Albert. Tomorrow we intend to head SE from here along the Princess Highway towards Melbourne via the Coorong National Park, the Limestone Coast, and the Great Ocean Road. Although I made it over the Dog Fence, I’ve been in the “Dog Box” lately, and it seems that Leana intends to leave me (again), perhaps in Melbourne. In one month my Australian visa expires, and this is one country where one can’t just cycle off across the border. Whichever way things turn out, I hope to reach Sydney by that time – we’ll see. Daily distances cycled since Port Augusta have been:- Port Germein 74 km; Snowtown 98 km; Dublin 88 km; Adelaide 62 km; Mount Barker 39 km; Tailem Bend 79 km; and Meningie 63 km. The total distance cycled in Australia so far is 3 902 km since Darwin. Total so far this year is 11 672 km, and the total distance which I’ve cycled since leaving Cape Town on 27 March 2007 is 64 409 km.

THE ROCK

After waiting out the rain in Alice Springs, Leana and I were eventually back on the road – unfortunately to find that the usual head-wind was gusting again. About 200 k’s South of Alice we reached the turnoff to one of Australia’s great icons – Uluru (formerly called Ayers Rock). One can hardly be in the area without a visit to “The Rock”, so we cycled the 500 km diversion there and back to the Stuart Highway. On the way to Uluru we met Carson (his nickname) from Taiwan, cycling Darwin to Adelaide. On the return leg we met a Japanese guy who claims to be cycling around the world – he started cycling in his home country and then flew to Australia (perhaps the next leg of his trip will be Antarctica). Further South on the road we also met Mario, a middle aged guy from Adelaide who hopped on his bike one day and decided to tackle the Stuart Highway towards Darwin (his main concern is to reach Alice Springs in time to see the Aussie football finals on TV, and he’s also worried about meeting “funny” people along the way – I hope we didn’t fall into that category!). Once again we were bogged down in the rain, this time at Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse , and our tents looked like two bullfrogs in the red muddy lake which was the camp site. It is so unusual to have such rain in the area, that people were flocking to Uluru in an effort to get a picture of “The Rock” with water pouring off it. Since then we’ve worked our way steadily South, camping either at Roadhouses (R/H) or rest areas (R/A) along the way. We’ve had to cycle in freezing rain and wind – it’s quite a challenge to stay on track in a howling cross-wind when a Road Train rumbles past! However, people along the way have been friendly (especially the “Grey Nomads” in their caravans and campers – thanks to Daryll and Gloria for feeding us delicious cake and coffee on 2 occasions). We took a couple of days break at the first town we encountered South of Alice Springs, the “Opal Capital of the World” – Coober Pedy. For about 20 k’s on either side of town we cycled past hundreds of mine dumps resembling overgrown mole-hills on the desolate wind-swept plains. However, Coober Pedy is quite an interesting little town, exactly as one would imagine a frontier mining town to be (dusty corrugated iron buildings, and “miners” of many different nationalities who’ve come to seek their fortune in opals). People also live inside some of the old (and working) mine tunnels in town, and there’s even a few hotels inside the ground! On the road South we crossed the “Dog Fence” (which runs for thousands of kilometers to keep out the Dingo’s). We stayed over at Woomera town (base of missile testing area), and passed impessive salt lakes such as Lake Hart and Iron Stone Lagoon. Now we’ve reached the Southern shores of Australia at Port Augusta, the first sight of the ocean here at the Spencer Gulf since we Left Darwin 6 weeks ago. Daily distances cycled since Alice Springs have been:- Stuarts Well R/H 95 km; Erldunda R/H 111 km; Mt Conner R/A 137; Curtin Springs R/H 28 km; Yulara Resort 88 km; around Uluru Nat Park 37 km; Curtin Springs (return leg) 88 km; Mt Ebenezer R/H 107 km; Kulgera R/H 134 km; Maryatt R/A 61 km; Marla R/H 123 km; Cadney Homestead R/H 83 km; Pootnoura R/A 79 km; Coober Pedy 78 km; Ingomar R/A 94 km; BonBon R/A 79 km; Glendambo R/H 87 km; Woomera 125 km; Ranges View R/A 120 km; and Port Augusta 65 km. Total in Australia in 6 weeks since leaving Darwin on 13 August is 3 399 km. Total distance I’ve cycled on this journey since leaving Cape Town exactly 3 and a half years ago on 27 March 2007 is 63 906 km.

THE RED CENTRE

Well, Leana and I have pretty much made it to the (red) heart of Australia – to the central town of Alice Springs. Locally referred to as “The Red Centre”, the Alice region is still a little off the geographical centre of Australia. Just North of town we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn for the first time since jumping that line on the way North through Botswana more than 3 years ago. After that we crossed the Equator twice, and have cycled back and forth over the Tropic of Cancer about 8 times. We found the tropical divide to be well placed, as we’d been battling into the wind the whole day and reached the line in the late pm (there was a water tank at the rest area, so we didn’t think twice about spending the night). I’d rather not say anything about the road and the scenery, except that it hasn’t changed much since my last report – however, it has gradually become more arid. The “feared” road trains are still not a problem, and the “Grey Nomads” (retired Aussies in their campers and caravans) are very friendly – even offering us water along the road. On the way into town we also posed for a self-photo at the unremarkable "highest point" on the Stuart Highway between Darwin and Adelaide. Now we’ve already spent a couple of nights at a camp site in Alice which is close to town – we’ve been cycling in to the supermarkets and bike shop in order to get what we need. What we also need is to start moving South tomorrow morning, before we grow roots. Daily distances cycled since my last report have been:- Barrow Creek 94 km; Ti-Tree 93 km; Aileron 63 km; Tropic of Capricorn 105 km; and Alice Springs 36 km. Total distance cycled in Australia so far is 1 580 km, and total since leaving Cape Town at the start of this journey is 62 087 km.

NO TURNING BACK NOW

Since my previous report from Katherine, Leana and I cycled at a fair pace deeper into the Australian Outback – we even had a tail-wind at times. As we’ve moved Southwards the vegetation has become more sparse, and “towns” on the map are mostly just roadhouses (shop, petrol station, and basic camp site, etc.). However, so far the longest distances between water points have been only about 90 km, as there are regular rest areas at the roadside – where we’ve also camped. The stretches where nothing much happens are at times so vast that we even become excited when we see a road sign, but there are some interesting places in between. We camped at Bitter Springs near Mataranka where we were the first people in the steaming water the following morning – sending the wallabys hopping off into the bush. Devils Marbles is a spectacular formation of rocks, a rare feature thus far (there we met Italian Antonio, cycling Australia). Besides wallabys we’ve also seen a bit of the local wildlife, including a dingo in the road at dusk (he gave us a wide berth – maybe it had something to do with our smell!). So, after initially making good time, things have now ground to a bit of a halt. We had a rest day at Tennant Creek, doing laundry and stocking up at the local supermarket. Only 2 days later, after cycling a few k’s in the AM we camped at Wycliffe Well (UFO centre of Australia). This morning we awoke to unseasonal cold rainy conditions, and decided to stay another day. Just as well, because here we’ve met another SA cyclist, Clyde, who has joined us in the campsite where we’re sure to be swapping stories until we go our opposite ways tomorrow. Daily distances cycled since Katherine have been:- Mataranka 115 km; Larrimah 81 km; Daly Waters 104 km; Newcastle Waters 127 km; Renner Springs 118 km; Tennant Creek 166 km; Wauchope 119 km; and Wycliffe Well 18 km. Total distance cycled so far in Australia has been 1 189 km. Total since leaving Cape Town at the start of this journey is 61 696 km.

INTO THE OUTBACK

On FRIDAY THE 13TH Leana and I headed off from Darwin down the infamous Stuart Highway. My mouth was dry and I wondered whether it had something to do with the Aussie beer from the previous night, but I discovered otherwise. Apparently it is winter, but in this Northern Territory of Australia locals refer to this period as “the dry season”. For some time previously we’d been cycling in humid tropical conditions, so instead of being soaked in sweat, we’re now caked in salt by the end of the day. So far the road has been good, the dreaded hills we’ve heard about were no more than just hills, and the feared Road Trains are OK as long as you keep your line at the side of the road. However, the constant breeze up the nostrils slows one down a bit, but at least it keeps the flies away. Having said all that, I’m aware that we haven’t even scratched the surface yet. The area we’ve been through thus far is quite touristy with the occasional water and camp sites at reasonable intervals – apparently the desolation is still spread out ahead of us. So far we’ve seen wallaby’s and flocks of black cockatoo along the way. There is also plenty of wallaby road-kill (no reference to the rugby team). Today we took a break at the town of Katherine, camping at the rather interesting “Coco’s”. Distances cycled since Darwin have been:- Adelaide River 124 km; Pine Creek 120 km; and Katherine 97 km. Total in Australia so far is 341 km, and total distance since Cape Town is 60 848 km.

LIFT-OFF TO AUSTRALIA

Flying with our bikes and heavy loads was going to be a problem for Leana and myself. Our budget Jet Star flight specified 20 kg of check-in baggage for each of us, which just about accounted for the bikes alone. Our room in Kuta, Bali, resembled a disaster zone as we sorted through our things searching for stuff to dump – but that hardly made a difference. Then, to identify the heavy items which I would be allowed to take as carry-on baggage – yes, I did consider strapping the bike to my back! Once at the airport it was also confirmed that we would need to box the bikes, and a helpful “cyclist” passenger phoned his bike shop who delivered the boxes to the airport for us! At the “check-in” (or is it “weigh-in”) a terrible shock awaited us – even after much begging, wailing, and banging our heads against the walls the excess weight penalty was still 680 Aus $ (about R5000 SA). That was almost double what our non-refundable tickets had costed, and with our non-extendable Indonesian visas expiring the next day there wasn’t much choice but to pay up (thanks again, Leana!). After the 3am landing at Darwin airport I was concerned about perhaps being arrested due to all the apparently “illegal” things in my luggage. However, I was casually waved through customs while (the now poor) Leana had the full search treatment – sniffer dogs and all! By the time I’d re-assembled the bikes dawn was breaking and we had a pleasant 15km ride to the city, mostly along cycle paths. I think Darwin is an interesting little “frontier-type” city with a fascinating mix of locals, tourists (many Aussies), and migrant workers (many Aussies). From what I gather, Australians from the S-E regard Darwin as a “different country” – that’s how isolated this place is. Last night we tried to make sense of it all by watching the humanity from behind a beer at pavement café’s – this lot sure know how to let their hair down! So, now we also have books and maps etc. to help guide us on the Australian leg of our trip, heading South tomorrow from here across the vast “Outback” towards Adelaide. I don’t expect life on a bicycle to be easy on the isolated route, and some pessimists have warned against the demons and dragons. However, I think that the key to our survival in Australia is being able to afford to live – the place is expensive!