SYDNEY NSW

SYDNEY NSW

Now that I'm back home in Sydney, the past 4 months will become an important part of my history - obviously full of wonderful experiences and memories but it is the ongoing connections that travel enables that make the extra effort worthwhile and makes me more even more determined to bother in the future.

Connection to a wide array of places, people and indeed to life itself is what matters most to me.

It is way too easy to become comfortable in some kind of rut; committed to any number of causes that may or may not mean anything in the bigger picture and before you know it, the best part of life has just skipped on by.

This is not what I want to represent.

So thanks once again to all that have shared time, energy and other parts of themselves with me over the past 4 months.

Many came and went but not before cooking me dinner, breakfast or loading me up with food, cups of tea, fishing equipment and anything else that was called for at the time.

I'm glad to have been part of your experience and to have had you be part of mine.

Finally to my hosts along the way:

Nathan, Tina, Lily and Phoebe in Katoomba, the Toms and Newcombe families in Orange, Geoff and Hellina Barnes in Adelaide, Raelene and Kingsley Mason in Port Lincoln, Steve and Anne Lewis in Adelaide, Shannon and Julie Moran in Beachport.

Special mentions as well to Val, Pushbike John, Jeff Lock, Les and Judy Beyer and Geoff and Hellina all for very helpful input at different times.

So until next time, I retreat once again to prepare for whatever lies ahead.

My aim is for bigger, better and even more inspiring.

DAY 127 - MELBOURNE VIC

MELBOURNE VIC

DAY 127

PORT FAIRY - MELBOURNE AIRPORT

63.35km

Total Time – 08.50 – 19.00 (10h 10m)

Time on Bike – 4h 04m 13s

Max. Speed – 54.8 km/h

Av. Speed – 15.5 km/h


I've said it all before, but good plans are meant to be changed.

After 127 days, 18 weeks, 4 months, 6100 kilometres I have decided to finish in Melbourne a week earlier than scheduled.

I actually started the day dry.

It didn't last long.

10 kilometres along Princes Highway A1 towards Warrnambool, blanket rain moved in and sat immovably over large sections of the southern Victorian coastline.

And unlike in Port Fairy, there was no wind to blow it all through.

I made Warrnambool in good time considering.

By 11 am, drenched to the skin, freezing cold and just a little fed up with the whole deal, my immediate options seemed particularly weak.

The primary cards weren't that smart and in hindsight I can see it even more clearly.

Having already eliminated the more direct route via Great Ocean Road, Plan B via Ballarat was looking even less inviting.

Ballarat is presently Australia's coldest destination outside the alpine areas and most likely one of the wettest in addition.

For an extra week and 300-something kilometres all I stood to be was cold, wet and just a little temperamental.

Warrnambool happened to offer a Plan C and this is what came to be, in not very long this morning.

First step however, was to check flights from Melbourne to Sydney and move my pre-booked flight forward a week.

If this could be done, a train to Melbourne from Warrnambool could also be done.

A 10-minute stint on the Warrnambool Library Internet later and I was in business.

Almost.

There were indeed seats on the last flight of the day to Sydney, so back on the bike and around the corner to Warrnambool Station where the next train to Melbourne was revving not so quietly on the platform.

In a 7 minute period, I queued for an enquiry, pulled my rig apart, got it on the train, pulled my bags apart for dry clothes, got changed, re-queued for a ticket and was on the move to my final destination.

That's exactly 1 minute per thing and I was quite proud of that.

Damn thing was, I ran out of time to re-book my flight.

The worst I could think of for the next 3½ hours was hanging out in Melbourne for a few days for a flight to be available.

Not so bad really.

By 3.30, I was set down at Melbourne's Southern Cross Station and confronted with another logistical horror show.

All I had to do was rip apart the rig and put it back together on the train platform, get warm clothes on, ring Virgin to re-book my flight, ring home to re-arrange a pick-up, get a feed and then somehow barrage 25 kilometres through city traffic as night fell and the fun at the airport was even yet to begin.

To make a great story a little shorter, I did make it to Melbourne Airport intact.

Dark it was and dry I was.

I did get lost a few times and ended up taking a most interesting and often precarious route to Tullamarine Airport.

One can survive on this, if only just.

By 7 pm and with 2.25 hours remaining until showtime, the final challenge persisted and I needed to get everything on the flight to Sydney with the least possible drama and inconvenience.

2 hours hence, I joined the boarding gate queue for my 9.15 flight with about 12 minutes credit - everything packed, onboard and no excess baggage charges although the Virgin staff were quite obviously lenient to my plight.

There is no way I'd have been off so lightly in a foreign land and I know it but this is surely a bridge for another day.

I'm now back home in Sydney.

'Twas indeed a day of high stress and action but I got there.

And of the ending, am I disappointed ?

Yes, of course I am.

Truth is that both my spearhead plans were flawed and I believe, in the circumstances, unnecessarily difficult.

After 4 months, 6100 kilometres and a marvellous, fulfilling period of unique experiences, places and people, there was nothing to prove in pushing for the sake of another week and a few more pissy cold and wet miles.

The deed is done and I absolutely can't wait for the next one.

DAY 126 - PORT FAIRY VIC

PORT FAIRY VIC

DAY 126


If somebody had offered me a little plastic lunch box at 8 o’clock this morning, with the events of today all neatly wrapped up inside and nicely sliced for easy access, I probably would have taken it.

All except the weather that is.

Another day for the record books I would say, although it is quite difficult to ascertain how much worse these days can get.

Deep snowfalls are one possible scenario that would certainly make the going tough into Melbourne.

Given that I am headed for Ballarat which is the coldest place in Australia outside the alpine regions at the moment, this may yet materialise.

I am guessing in such an event, it would be necessary to somehow slap chains on the tyres and just keep on pedalling.

Anyway, enough of this, as I actually have something positive to contribute from today.

I put my library/internet time to good use this morning as the weather really wasn’t compatible with much else.

There remained some meek hope that erstwhile clear skies would somehow hold in unison with a prevailing westerly gale and dry my wet clothes in about half an hour.

This was out to sea by 11 am and instead some of the heaviest rain of 2008 pounded Port Fairy for nearly 2 hours.

When the library closed for lunch at 1 pm, I was back out in the cold although it seemed timely for the rain to abate just long enough for me to get back to camp and chow some day food.

And looking about, growing patches of blue sky augured for an afternoon that may not have been about to develop so badly.

Plan A had always been to get about and explore Port Fairy this afternoon and by 2 pm, this was indeed the best option.

Winds were bad but with not much rain to speak of beyond 1.30 and more sunlight than could possibly have been predicted, I was out and about with camera primed.

All is well that ends well and I got around to most of what Port Fairy has to offer as well as keeping the faith that my clothes would be dry by dinner.

The main Fairy attractions are Griffiths Island with its Lighthouse and shearwater colony as well as the historic Port and Wharf.

Most of the wharf area is occupied by a fleet of crayfish boats on one side and absolute top-end tourist accommodation on the other.

Located where it is, Port Fairy is fair game for cashed up and stressed out city folk from either Adelaide or Melbourne who could readily come on by for a weekend, punch a rather large hole in $2000 and have quite a fine old time.

Loaded with beautiful National Trust and Heritage Listed buildings, typical numbers of Norfolk Pines as well as said upmarket-ness, it is an attractive seaside getaway that would reward those who make a slightly bigger effort to get away from the commercialism and popularity of the Great Ocean Road or some of Adelaide’s better known traps.

Get down here in the middle of a winter such as this and you’d basically have a free run of the place.

Port Fairy’s main claim to fame in recent history however, is the Port Fairy Folk Festival held in March of each year.

The regular population of 2000 blows out to around 40 000 and they somehow all fit in.

I believe it to be a typical fare of music, food and culture of International standing and I may also argue that the most unique and appealing aspect of the whole deal is the location itself.

I’d personally not be bothered with the masses, however this weather is not exactly the sweetest of timing either.

I will be moving ahead tomorrow as the final week of the trip commences.

Destination Mortlake, via the larger commercial centre of Warrnambool, which is generally regarded as the western extremity of a stretch of Princes Highway known as the Great Ocean Road.

I have decided against taking my part on this section of road due to legitimate concerns about safety (or lack thereof) and will instead take an inland route through Ballarat by early next week.

This will ultimately bring me into Melbourne from the north, mostly avoiding the worst of city traffic and more practically easier access to Tullamarine Airport, which lies 25 kilometres to the north of the city.

DAY 125 - PORT FAIRY VIC

PORT FAIRY VIC

DAY 125

PORTLAND – PORT FAIRY

86.66 km

Total Time – 08.30 – 14.45 (6h 15m)

Time on Bike – 5h 19m 41s

Max. Speed – 52.8 km/h

Av. Speed – 16.2 km/h


Less than 400 km to go now.

It’s still cold but maybe a just a piece of toast warmer.

I’m kind of lying low for now.

There’s not much left to go and I want to get there intact.

And the weather isn’t lending itself to much at all.

I’m doing the distances, getting in and doing what needs to be done.

A day around Port Fairy lies ahead tomorrow and it would be nice to explore a little.

It seems an appealing little place.

Lots of historic National Trust buildings in the main street and the Moyne River runs right through the centre of town.

It’s just so damned dank and cold.

I’ll get over it, but there’s no escaping the next 9 days ahead.

DAY 124 - PORTLAND VIC

PORTLAND VIC

DAY 124


A day around Portland - partly to recover from yesterday and partly because I’ve got some days to cover between here and Melbourne and this is one of them.

Much conversation I have taken pains to overhear today is about the weather.

Yesterday was the coldest in 25 years people in some quarters would have it.

So it wasn’t my imagination after all and things were only mildly warmer today.

Late this afternoon, skies cleared quite rapidly and unexpectedly.

If this points to better conditions tomorrow, I will most welcome it…..

Kilometre number 6000 clicked over yesterday amidst the suffering.

If anything was to be salvaged, then this was it.

Quite a round number 6000 – this is about double what I may have considered a fair effort on this trip and it should creep up on 6500 by the time I reach Melbourne.

Mission accomplished if this is the standard I have set.

11 days it is now until completion and I grow each day with anticipation of meeting my finish line safely and at least partly warm.

DAY 123 - PORTLAND VIC

PORTLAND VIC

DAY 123

MOUNT GAMBIER - PORTLAND

116.71 km

Total Time: 08.45 – 17.30 (8h 15m)

(including 30 min time difference SA – VIC)

Time on Bike: 7h 20m

Max. Speed: 56.5 km/h

Av. Speed: 15.9 km/h


There was some long, hard, stone cold, boring riding today.

Oh, and there was the small sideshow of a shitload of log trucks.

Everything that I could possibly dislike was laid on with abundance.

Only howling wind and pouring rain were missing.

It rates a podium finish on terms of least inspiring rides.

Truth be told, I did unbelievably well to get in as early as I did, especially losing 30 minutes with the time difference.

At one stage, 7 pm was not out of reckoning and I gave myself absolutely no chance of finishing before dark.

And it was so freaking cold.

Single figures today, no doubt and I don’t care a crap what the forecasts said.

I’ve got a tough skin and I was struggling.

My feet got cold at about 3 am this morning and stayed so until a hot shower after 6 pm this evening.

My hands just took turns with my feet – feet cold, hands warm/ hands cold, feet warm or all 4 totally fucking cold together.

I just gave up after a point when I realised there was no chance of getting any feeling back.

At least 50 kilometres of C192 between Mount Gambier and Portland travels through large tracts of plantation pine forest and I wish it didn’t.

Absolutely none of it was flat and more to the point, there was some seriously slow and punishing grind.

One pass in particular was layered in 4 different sections, dragging me over it at not much better than walking pace and plummeting the average speed as low as the temperature.

And not to mention the log trucks, although I believe I have already.

I was largely unimpressed.

With still 45 kilometres to cover at 2.30 pm, I started to get my night lights warmed up.

Each section of the ride was getting progressively slower and an arrival any time between 5 and 7 pm was all I could see.

As so often happens, with a little perseverance, a lot of effort and an accompanying bad mouth, things eventually improve and the final 30 kilometres into Portland was relatively acceptable.

I wouldn’t want to another repeat of today any time soon, however.

This weather is harsh and I’m taking a day about town tomorrow.

If things improve, then good.

If not, I’m onwards to Port Fairy on Thursday in the cold yet again.

DAY 122 - MOUNT GAMBIER SA

MOUNT GAMBIER SA

DAY 122


This should be my final day in South Australia for now, although I’d best not sound as if I’m glad about it.

3 months and 4000 kilometres is an effort I’m proud of – second only to what how the overall statistics will look in around 2 weeks.

Today was a day of 2 halves, 4 quarters or even 3 thirds as well.

2 halves was how it eventuated for my liking, taking care of business this morning and allowing the afternoon for sightseeing.

Business was mostly about fixing the tyre blow out from yesterday.

Bad news is that 7000+ kilometres has taken its toll and worn the tyre completely through, hence the tube explosion yesterday.

Good news is I bought a new tyre – one with knobbly bits, which should see me through.

The sightseeing part of the day then, was quite a unique one.

Mount Gambier is located in a formerly volcanically active limestone basin.

Most of the volcanic activity took place around 4500 years ago, meaning the landforms it created are merely babes in arms by Australian standards.

What remains are several good sized craters, lakes and a most interesting formation called a sinkhole.

Easily the most renowned feature is the Blue Lake and the surrounding Crater Lakes.

The Umpherston Sinkhole is located a little east of town, but I was still able to get around and see the lot.

The Blue Lake is so named for good reason.

Unfortunately it is not so blue at the very moment but I was hardly about to tumble into a sinkhole of disappointment over it.

It is the wrong time of year apparently, as the lake really comes into its own blueness between November and March.

The rest of the time it supposedly looks “grey”, although its inherent blueness was still on show today, despite the winter and despite the cloudy gloom about.

I actually had a slightly better time around at the adjacent Crater Lake, which also enabled a steep walk up to the 1904 Centenary Tower and panoramic views of said lake and the city of Mount Gambier as its backdrop.

Dropping back down to town around 3 pm, I took a late afternoon stroll out to the Sinkhole.

The Sinkhole was named after a former wealthy local named Umpherston who owned the land between 1868 and 1900 and created a place for people to visit and enjoy.

Mr U passed on in 1900 and for 70 odd years, various owners and others allowed the Sinkhole to degenerate and it was only repossessed and taken responsibility for during the 1970’s.

Since then, various community projects have tiered some spectacular gardens within the sunken limestone pit that is now filled with native and imported flora, vines, mosses, walkways and lookouts.

So this has been my Mount Gambier experience.

I am scheduled to cross back into Victoria early tomorrow morning, as I make for the coastal settlement of Portland, probably for a pair of evenings.