3-28

Today the landscape added a new dimension: sugar cane for miles and miles.  We have entered the sub-tropical area of the Oz eastern coast.  Smaller side roads make pleasant alternatives to truck heavy Pacific Highway, but only when they don’t add too many more kilometres.  The cool, rainy weather blew through and we are now dealing with headwinds again, as the weather heats up.  This heating/cooling cycle seems pretty consistent over about a week’s time period.  Never too hot because of the ocean breeze and never too cool, either.  Lovely!

The landscape of Oz is shaped by broad rivers that meet the sea, influenced by the tides with brackish water.  Fishing on those rivers is a highly regulated cottage industry that produces wonderful fresh fish and prawns.  In the evening we walked down to the local pub in Woodburn and enjoyed some of this wonderful food.  The good dining was coupled with a spectacular show put on by the small rainbow lorikeets as absolutely thousands flew in flocks into and out of several trees across the highway.  The sound was so cacophonous we could not hear each other speak!

1. Riding Coast Highway 2. Prawn Fishing 3. Tropic staghorns

3-29 

This morning we surprised a swamp wallaby by the side of the road.  Besides being smaller than the various species of Kangaroo, this wallaby was reddish with a dark almost black face and eerie yellow eyes.

1. Roos by road

We left the Pacific highway for several hours, remembering how hilly and narrow these side roads by the beaches can be.  We ended our day at Brunswick Head, one of those beautiful and quiet, river meets beach, towns.

4/1

We spent three days on the Gold Coast, walking, watching surfers, meeting new friends: Will, Flo, Jock and Lynn, joining them and others for a fun filled entertainment by a country fiddling comedian: Pixie, dinner and drinks at a club in Tweeds Head.  Tomorrow we will ride to the train and take it into Brisbane to bunk for three days with Gareth, a motorcyclist we met in Nasca, Peru.

1. Gold Coast and surfers 2. River meets sea

4-3

Today Gareth took us to Velocity’s manufacturing plant where Tom Black gave us a tour and while he showed us around his wheel builder built two new, tougher than ever wheels for Bici.  We will get on the road April 5 and can’t wait to try them out.

Gareth’s first hand knowledge of the world and places we are heading combined with his spectacular computer, aided us in honing a schedule and making plans to purchase air tickets for transit between Cains and Darwin (May 29) and then on to Bali, June 1 and Singapore, July 1.  We are going to decide then where we will fly home for a two month visit – probably from Bangkok in September/October with a stop in Hawaii one way or the other.

1. Tom Black - Velocity 2. Gareth and Art at control center

Gareth shared some of his excellent writing about his travels through Asia and the recent motorbike journey he made from Santiago, Argentina to Victoria, British Colombia (www.web.mac.com/gpfs).  He also allowed me to copy this delightful poem he wrote responding to the constant queries about his travels:

IRREVELANCE

“Where are you going my travelling friend?

Echoing everywhere,

That question rather confuses me,

But you don’t really care.

“Have you been to Melbourne?”

“What places did you go?”

I many consider telling,

But you don’t really want to know.

“Did you hitch?”

“Are you staying tonight?”

Why must we all

Be so bloody polite?’…..

“What part of Scotland?”

“What is your name?”

4-8

Easter Sunday.  After a thanks and farewell to Gareth we proceeded north to the Glass House Mountains, named by James Cook, who likened the peaks he saw from his ship to the glass furnaces at home in England.  The ride is still following green, grassy hill terrain through Eucalyptus forests with ferny floors, past small, homey towns. The main highway has a good berm much of the distance but the tourist roads are more interesting as well as less trafficked.  The route has turned inland just a bit and has a more rural flavour.  Since the big Easter holiday is coming, campgrounds are filling with families creating canvas compounds.  We are lucky to be small and car-less so we can pitch our tent between two trees or we would be camp less for the holiday.

We decided to hike to the top of one of the volcanic plugs that make up the Glass House Mountains, Ngungun.  As we are picking up a few supplies in town a couple, Matt and his wife Sam, start up a chat.  They gave us directions to the mountain trail head but were concerned about us leaving Bici and offered their home as a bike path.  Then they offered to drive us up.  How could we refuse such a kind offer?  So after depositing the bike, Matt drove us all up, taking a detour to show us the look out, then by a local Macadamia nut farm to buy a bag or two and then arranged to shuttle us back after our big climb.

It was steep and the views magnificent as we munched our lunch with the Australian landscape spread out below us.  Matt met us as promised, chauffered us back to our bike and we peddled back to the campground to lie around the pool and read for the rest of the afternoon.

1 & 2 Glass House Mountains 3. Matt & Sam

Saturday morning we set off on back roads toward Pomona to stay with Neal and Pam Sibley who we met at Lake Paringa, New Zealand.  Following Pam’s great directions after many kilometres of fun side roads, we called them from town center and they rode their bikes to meet us.  They lead us through the bush on a dirt road and single track: the back way to their perfect home.

Easter Sunday, Neal drove us on a huge circuit into the hinterland.  In one small town, Imbil, we arrived to traipse through the town market, enjoy iced coffee and watch a steam locomotive pulling six restored early 1900’s Pullmans chug into the station.  An animated gentleman described to the crowd the process as the engine was turned on a special roundhouse machine and then he gave a delightful tour of all the cars.  Much like the railroad and tourist train that run through CVNP (Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio),  this train was manned, refurbished, and supported by volunteers.  There were special runs like the every other Wednesday “robberies” to attract customers.  What a treat! After lunch in Kenilworth and a cheese tasting at the local factory, we headed to Bourumba National Park for a nature walk guided by Neal and Pam who pointed out strangling fig trees, stinging trees, and many other varieties of plants, plus birds and wallaby spotting.  It was late before we returned home and were spoiled by yet another fabulous meal cooked by Pam.

1. Backroad 2. OZy Mailbox 3. Locomotive

4/9

Drive to Noose Heads, Laguna Bay and a Koala hunt in Noose National Park with Neal and Pam: a whirlwind tour of the coastal and near inland area of the upper Sunshine Coast.  Sun and fun, surfers, beaches and birds topped off with delicious sandwiches and drinks.  We did need to get off the bike to see sunsets and showers, hills and valleys in this green wonderland.

1. Noosa Head Beach 2. Neal and Pam Sibley 3. Koala Hunt

4/10 

Back on Bici over rolling hills and country farms snaking along country lanes with little or no traffic working our way back on to the major highway north - the Bruce Highway.   We quickly find our way up to Gympie, do our grocery shopping, have a quick picnic in the park and pedal on over hill and dale finding our way to a small caravan park full of Aussie Vets.  There is a limited cook kitchen, but a nice spot for $9.  After camp set up and showers, we fall into the tent for a nap.  Around 4:30 the other campers start to assemble around the picnic tables for the afternoon cocktail hour.  We join the gang, share our story and learn lots about the local area and other parts of Queensland.  After drinks, the barbeque is fired up and we are given tastes of cheese and a couple of sausages all fried on the grill, yummy items to go with our pasta and sauce.

After three days of being spoiled by Pam and Neal’s hospitality, the road life seems a little tougher and our bed a little harder, but the stars are bright and we both drop off around 8:30.

4/11

Took off early with a wind at our back.  We rode over 60km through a State Forest managed by a lumber company using plantation methods to grow and harvest trees.  Huge sections are tall pines, other sections only as high as my ankles.  We end our day in a lovely town, Maryborough, full of historical buildings and helpful people.  We might hang out a little later tomorrow morning to enjoy the market and an historical walk.