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November 23rd: Wonthaggi to Cowes (60kms)
November 24th - November 28th: Brisbane
November 28th: Geelong to Torquay (20 kms)
We spent some quality time resting in Melbourne - which we absolutely loved!!! It is by far teh best city that we have been to so far!! It had a lot of character - lots of little diverse nighborhoods scattered around. It wasn't too touristy, was so easy to get around and was incredibly bike friendly!!! The entire city is peppered with bike lanes and we even had a bike freeway that we could ride from our campsite 7 k out of the city right into the heart of the city! We ate our way through the city (Burmese, Italian, Morrocan, local cheeses and wines)! We went to the museums, the gardens and to great little pubs and live music. If you all were in danger of losing us to anywhere in Australia, it would be Melbourne (don't worry, we left today!)
We have found so many things about Australia so wonderful, but we recently discovered just another amazing thing to add to the list: "Clean Skins". Basically, this country produces so much fantastic wine at so many little family-owned wineries that they just can't sell it or export it fast enough. So to compensate for this surplus in the market the wineries will sell their excess wine to distributors who will select and sell the wines without the vinter's label (so as not to drive down the price of the labeled bottles). The distributor will tell you what wines are good, what regin they are from, and their market price. Then they will sell them to you for 70% off! Pat and I have been drinking $50 bottles of wine for $10 - can't beat that!
We are now off to the Great Ocean Road, a 350 km strech of road perched above the ocean en route to Adelaide - life is good!!
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WE APOLOGIZE!!! Our last update didn't publish and we thought it did - so this week you get a two fer'!! See middle below for the 9th-13th!
THE TALLY: 2308 kms biked so far!
FAVORITE RIDE KATE: November 13th: Bermagui to Merimbula (65 k)
FAVORITE RIDE PAT: November 12th: Narooma to Bermagui (34 k)
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Nov 15: Merimbula to Orbost (200 km bus/0 km bike)
Nov 16: Orbost to Bairnsdale (78 km)
Nov 17: Bairnsdale to Sale (97 km)
Nov 18: Sale to Yarram (84 km)
Nov 19: Yarram to Foster (50 km)
Nov 20 (& 21): Foster to Tidal River/Wilson's Promontory (60 km)
Nov 22: Tidal River/Wilson's Promontory to Fish Creek (55 km)
Nov 23: Fish Creek to Wonthaggi (70 km)
So much has happened since our last update! We will try to keep it semi-brief, though! As our last update indicated the terrain was getting progressively hillier as we got closer to the Great Diving Range. We talked to many locals at our camping site in Merimbula about the ride ahead. They told us that it got more mountainous, the road became very skinny and is used mainly by logging trucks (Kate was having flashbacks to getting blown off the road). Also, we would be entering an area of the country that is vary sparsely populated - towns 100km or more apart. Armed with that info we opted to board a bus for 200 km and travel over the range. That was a decision that made us very happy and come on, we are on our honeymoon here! :)
After arriving in the Eden-like paradise of Orbost with only semi-mountainous terrain we carried on. That ride marked some esciting new things for us: #1 we reached 2,000 kms! and #2 we crossed the border from New South Wales into Victoria. We both agree that Victoria is our favorite state as far as bike friendliness is concerned. Everyone moves way over, there are large shoulders and we get many excited honks and waves - FUN! Plus everyone is very interested in what we are doing (because they are impressed by us or think we are crazy we aren't sure!) Top three responses we get when we explain what we are up to: 1. Gudonya! (translation: "Good on you"/Good for you!) 2. Why? 3. Are you mad? (Probably!)
This leg of the trip also led us to Wilson's Promontory National Park "Prom" (as everything is shortened to its most sort of understandable version in Australia). It was amazing! The Prom is all National Park and is a large peninsula that juts out into the ocean and is the southern most point of continental Australia. Pretty much the whole park is void of people and full of wildlife. There are amazing granite cliffs and outcrops which stick out from the landscape like a surrealist painting and are just unbelievable (you have to check out the pictures of them). We both loved it and went on many hikes around the island and saw four wombats, which are pretty much like large bear cubs that eat grass. Pat describes them as mutant guinea pigs. Australia wildlife seen: Kangaroo, bilby, shark, sea turtle, parrots, manta ray, wallaby, koala, wombat, dingo, goanna, echinda. Yet to go: Cassowary, emu, seal, penguin. The diversity of Australian wildlife continue to amaze us. One thing we have been particularly amazed by lately is the bush flies. Now, I know we did write previously of the flies we experienced in Myall Lakes. That was nothin'. We have never seen anything like this before. There are literally swarms of them - everywhere (again, check picture)! Even the Aussies are saying that this year is particularly bad. Biking up hills in the hot is bad enough without these little buggers trying to fly into your eyes, nose, ears, and mouth! And seriously, 20% pure deet doesn't even deter them at all. After becoming so frustrated with them that we nearly biked off cliffs into the ocean we consulted some locals at our caravan park who simply said: get a fly net! So we stopped by the local camping store where they improvised a fly net that would go around our helmets. We look ridiculous (see picture) but the flies are gone and our sanity is back!
As we spend 5-8 hours a day on our bikes we have a lot of time to think and if the traffic is light enough chat with each other. Pat has filled this time with an amazing new talent that I never saw coming (and I bet nobody else did either). He has dubbed himself the "Bicycling Minstrel" and spends his thinking time on his bike pondering up new lyrics to old classics. Then he spends our bike talking opportunities to try them out on his captive audience: Kate. Some Pat Top Tens that you can ask him about when we get home are:
1. After being attacked by nesting magpies (To the tune of "Sky Rockets in Flight") with lyrics like Magpies in flight, bicyclist's fright....wombats at night, bicyclist's delight!
2. After our visit to Wilsons Promontory (To the tune of "Stuck in the Middle with You") Stuck in the Middens* with You with lyrics like "Shells to left of me, bones to the right, here I am - stuck in the middens with you!"
* For those of us who are not Anthropology dorks (Pat, Kelsey) middens are shell and bone piles left behind by the Aboriginal people in the area and are evidence of there presence there.
3. Any time there is a hill or Kate needs encouragement (To the tune of "Keep on Rocking in the Free World") with lyrics like "Keep on Bikin' in the Free World!"
4. After the fly invasion (To the tune of "I've Only Got Eyes for You") with lyrics like "I've only got flies for you!"
You get the idea. Put your request in before the next posting and Pat may make one up just for you!
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THE TALLY: 1814 kms biked so far!
FAVORITE RIDE KATE: November 13th: Bermagui to Merimbula (65 k)
FAVORITE RIDE PAT: November 12th: Narooma to Bermagui (34 k)
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November 9th: Curridmah to Ulladulla (53k)
November 10th: Ulladulla to Broulee (86 k)
November 11th: Broulee to Narooma (56 k)
November 12th: Narooma to Bermagui (34 k)
November 13th: Bermagui to Merimbula (65 k)
Well, it turns out that Australia DOES in fact have mountains. We are nearing the Great Dividing Range and things have definitely gotten more hilly. This has offered some beautiful rides through undulating hills and Pat and I are both thankful that we got about 1,300 k training before tackling this area! All in all, though, we are loving this area. There are significantly fewer people and there are beautiful secondary roads that follow the coast along through national parks.
We had a little nature adventure outside of Narooma. We pulled off the road before the town at a rest area that happened to be in a Nature Reserve. After pulling off the highway we realized that there was free camping at the rest area. We happily set up our tent, took a walk through the reserve and slept soundly surrounded by the natural beauty...little did we know what was brewing right outside our tent.... We got up the next morning, packed up camp, ate breakfast and headed on our merry way. Kate did note at one point that her bike seemed awfully full of cobwebs. About 4k out of camp Kate heard screaming from behind her. Her dear husband was shouting "KATE!!! Get off your bike NOW!!!" Kate dutifully obeyed (basically because of the urgency in Pat's voice) After dismounting Kate saw what all the shouting was about. A uninvited hitchhiking spider was cruising around on her panniers. Now, this was no ordinary spider - It was a Huntsman spider and is about the size of tea saucer. It is the biggest spider either of us have ever seen! Pat chivalrously removed the spider with a stick. Apparently it is not deadly (although it sure looked like it!) but can cause a nasty bite and did we mention that it was big (check out the photo we snapped of it!)?
And now for an installment of Q&A with the Aussie Biking Duo (ABD):
We have received some interesting questions so far about our journey. Today we will be answering a question we received about our gear: "What the heck do you have in all those bags?" one interested reader wanted to know.
Well, we each have five bags:
Kate
Clothing (3 outfits each) - 4 kilos
Linens (Sleeping bag, towel, etc.) - 4 kilos
Electronics (Walkie Talkies, camera ,etc.) - 3 kilos
Books (Lonely Planet, Biking Australia, Maps) - 4 kilos
Thermarests - 3 kilos
Total Kate weight (with bike) - 77 pounds!
Pat
Food (including water supplies) - 7 kilos (variable, though!)
Tools (cook kit, bike repair, etc.) - 5 kilos
Toiletries - 9 kilos
Misc bag (shoes, day pack, etc.) 6 kilos
Tent - 6 kilos
Total Pat weight (with bike) - 108 pounds
Yes, Pat is carrying more weight...I know.
If you have questions for ABD, please write to us - we may feature your question next!
Over and Out.
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November 8th, 2007
October 31st: Newcastle to Sydney (0 k)
November 1st & 2nd: Sydney
November 3rd: Sydney to Bulli (0 k)
November 4th: Bulli to Kiama (59 k)
November 5th: Kiama to Nowra (45 k)
November 6th: Nowra to Sussex Inlet (49 k)
November 7th & 8th: Sussex Inlet
Well, we took Sydney by storm. We saw all the great sights: the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. We also went to many museums, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Barracks Museum (a penal settlement museum), and the and Bret Whitley gallery. Sydney was a bustling city that is very multi-cultural and diverse. We were very thankful for this because it meant we got to eat some fabulous food (that we didn't have to cook!). We ate great Chinese in China Town, yummy Italian, Lebanese, authentic Indian, and even went to Govinda's, a Hare Krishna run all vegetarian buffet and movie house! WOW!
We did run into a bit of bad luck in Sydney...we (foolishly) left our bikes unattended (but locked up) outside our hostel for about 1/2 hour. During this time some punks decided to rip off Kate's derailleur, which set us back some valuable time and $120. No fun! The guys at the repair shop said this has been happening often lately... :(
We spent 4 days in Sydney and just got to see the very tip of the iceberg of what the city has to offer!
Heading out of Sydney we found out that we would be following the Sydney to Wollongong ("The Gong") bike race route! We ended up biking most of the race route alongside spandex-clad, racing bikers (with no gear, may we add!) When we got to the Finish Line we tried to sneak off to the side, explaining to the organizers that we were just touring through...they thought it was great fun and had us ride across the finish line!! the announcer even announced "And look at these two - they did the race all loaded down!! Good on them!" We each recieved a certificate and patch saying we completed the race! Now that doesn't happen every day! ;)
We are currently staying in a lovely beach house that is owned by our friends Marcus and Simon in a town called Sussex Inlet! We have the whole house to ourselves, including a full kitchen, warm showers, a soft bed and beautiful views of Swan Lake and the ocean!! We just may never leave!!! (Just kidding, Marcus!)
Tomorrow, the rubber meets the pavement once again!
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October 30th 2007
October 24th: Nambucca Heads to South West Rocks (76 k)
October 25th: South West Rocks to Port Maquarie (104 k)
October 26th: Port Maquarie to North Haven (42 k)
October 27th: North Haven to Forester/Tuncurry (94 k)
October 28th: Forester/Tuncurry to Myall Lakes NAtional Park (90 k)
October 29th: Myall Lakes to Anna Bay (35 k)
October 30th: Anna Bay to Stockton (Newcastle) (55 k)
After a lovely rest in our bed and breakfast in Nambucca and a good time celebrating Kate's Bday we set off once again on our continuing adventure. We travelled to South West Rocks, which is a peninsula jutting out into the ocean. Most of the point in National Park and we had our first overnight camping in one of Oz's National Parks! It was beautiful, but definately added a bit more challenge onto our routine. We had to pack in all of our drinking water, firewood and there was no running water (other than the ocean!) for showers or washing. While there were some drawbacks we got to see Australian nature in full force! Kate woke up in the morning to find a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch about 5 feet from the tent! We also made close friends with a possum (or he wanted to make friends with our food, rather) and we also saw an elusive bilby. Bilbies (we were told by our fellow campers) are a rare and endangered species and are the world's smallest marsupial. We thought it looked like a tiny mouse with bottle cleaner attached to its tail!
Day #2 of this trip tested our (limited) bike repair skills. 5 kms out of camp Kate snapped a front spoke. While neither of us had ever actually repaired a spoke together with a little assistance from the handy "roadside repair" section of our Cycling Australia book Kate managed to sucessfully peair the spoke and true her wheel! There were many references to Rosie the Rivoter after a grease and sweat covered Kate rose voctorious over the spoke! Then, after a fairly long ride to Port Maquarie Pat got a flat on his tire 5 kms before the town! When it rains it pours! But after a little Smellis team pep talk (to ourselves) we also repaired the puncture and sailed into camp!
Speaking of tests of our endurance...
Day #4 of the trip tested our mountain climbing skills (Kate has firmly declared she prefers the prairie, beautiful views be damned!) We traversed 2 mountain ranges, biked 90 k, and were on the road for over 10 hours. We had two mantras that we repeated: "What goes up must come down" and "If we can do this, we can do anything!" We were rewarded with some stunning views and a fantastic decent which consisted of a lot of breaking to avoid plummeting over the mountain edge! We hit 55 kms per hour on the ride down! That night we again satayed a National Park - Myall Lakes, which is a tiny stip of land that on one side is borded by a huge inland fresh water lake and on the other towering dunes and the ocean - WOW! At this park we finally experienced firs thand something that we had been warned about, but had not taken seriously enough: sand flies. We will not even attempt to explain the persistance and psychosis-inducing nature of these little pests. Let it suffice to say that Minnesota mosquitoes have absolutley nothing on these little babies and that our children may have 6 legs from the amount of deet we poured on ourselves that night (sorry Dad!) Once we got the flies at bay we enjoyed a glass of wine watching the sunset over the lake filled with swans and bordered by the mountain range we had just conquered - can't ask for much more than that!
Next we will be unleased on Sydney....
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October 23rd 2007
Kate's Birthday!!!
October 19th: Byron Bay to Evans Heads (71 k)
October 20th: Evans Head to Grafton (110 k)
October 21st: Grafton to Coffs Harbour (85 k)
October 22nd Coffs Harbour to Nambucca Heads (54k)
October 23rd: Nabucca Heads (0 K)
Well, we are still trucking down the East Coast of Australia! On October 20th we thought we were only going to ride 50 k, but when we got into our stopping destination for the night we learned that the caravan park no longer had camping sites for tents! We debated spending the $$on a hotel room, but instead opted to push through to our next day's destination - another 60 k! It ended up being a very long ride, but Pat and I both agree that it is the best ride we have done so far!! We were on little country backroads, passing through little countryside towns and rolling hills and fields! We barely saw a car all day! We also got to take a little cable ferry across the river.
We spent the night in Grafton, which is known for its purple flowering trees called Jacarandas. We had been marvelling at the trees the entire trip as more and more of them started to bloom, but in Grafton the entire city is one mass of purple blooms. All the streets are lined with these amazing trees and the streets are covered in purple petals fallen from the trees. It was like a magic fairy land (yes, Larina, it was).
To make the town even more amazing, it happened to be home to the largest fruit bat colony in the world (you find out these strange factoids when travelling so slowly). There is an island in teh middle of the river in town and every night at dusk all the bats leave en masse from the island to go out hunting. Now, take note: these are not your average, American small bats, these bats are flying foxes and are more like the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz. At dusk the entire sky was blackened with them! Wow!
We are now stayiing for 2 days in Nambucca Heads to celebrate Kate's 26th B-day! We are staying in a restored historic hotel that was built in 1880 and is right on the ocean. We have a bed and towels again! Ah, the small pleasures in life!
See you again next week...same bat time...same bat channel.
The Smellises
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Note: Every time we post an entry we will post new pictures. There are new pictures at the end of the Weeks 1-2 for the Oct 11th posting.
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October 18th, 2007
Photos to Accompany this section are in Weeks 3-4 on pages 1-3.
To start off we are going to post where we rode and then tell you about some of the highlights.
October 12th: Noosa to Caloundra (65 k)
October 13th: Glass House Mountains (0 k)
October 14th: Brisbane (0 k)
October 15th:Helensvale (Brisbane) to Tweed Heads (50 k)
October 16th:Tweed Heads to Byron Bay (75 k)
The ride from Noosa to Caloundra was absolutely beautiful. We biked right along the ocean pretty much the entire way and stopped in little seaside towns for breaks. And there was a huge shoulder and even bike lanes and relatively few road trains!
The craziest thing happened in Caloundra. We were making dinner and two women (Ria and Jane) who we had made friends with way back in Maryborough at the campground happened to be staying at the same park in Caloundra! We ate dinner together and were discussing our route. It turned out that they were headed to Brisbane soon so they offered to put our bikes on their car and drive us to our Bed and Breakfast in Brisbane! They also brought us on a wonderful tour of the beautiful Glass House Mountains and fed us!! Thanks Ria and Jane!!!
We had a nice time in Brisbane, walking around and seeing the river and all the museums. We stayed in a Bed and Breakfast - sheets and pillows!!!
Now we are in Byron Bay which is one big hippy town. They elected the first Green Party rep to their government and this place is crawling with VW vans. The place we are staying at is called the Arts Factory Lodge and it is like the Winnipeg Folk Festival 24/7 (or maybe like Berkely in the '60s. Wow.'
We are heading south towards Sydney from here along the coast!
Thats it for now!!
October 11th, 2007
Hello again! Sorry about the long time in between postings; some of the small towns that we have been in haven't had internet. So, a lot has happened since we last posted, so this will be a longish journal entry!
After Townsville we travelled to Hervey Bay, which is the official biking start point of our trip. So, for those of you who have been giving us guff for taking a train, you will now be satisfied! Hervey Bay was fine, we stayed at a caravan park where our tent was 5 feet from the ocean, so not too shabby. The town is noted for its continuous 12 kms of white sand beach! The town is pretty touristy and it was a school holiday so it was somewhat of a madhouse, but beautiful nonetheless!
So, on Oct 7th we biked our first day of biking from Mervey Bay to Maryborough, 40km, 2:15 Hrs. It was a nice, short, flat bike ride. The first ride went really well! We left camp at 7:00am, so we were in to Maryborough bright and shiny early. Turns out that Maryborough is a really cute town that was the second largest immigration point after Syndey fro entry into Australia! Oddly enough it was also the birth place of P. L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins. The town had a beautiful old downtown right on a big river and also had many little cafes and mesuems, which we visited and learned about Australia's early years. Our guide book didn't even mention Maryborough! That doesn't matter so much though because Kate took over the tour guide role and brought Pat on a walking tour of the town. One of the benefits of touring by bike is you get to see all the little side things that are interesting and beautiful that everyone else in a car just whizzes by!
On Oct 8th we biked 80kms from Mayborough to Tin Can Bay (back on the coast). After only two days of biking we learned some fast lessons about Australian roads.
1. There are only a few main roads, so your route options are limited (and so are everyone else's).
2. One of Australia's favorite goods transport methods is via the "road train" which is basically a semi truck towing 1, 2, or 3 trailers (yes, 3). They don't like to slow down or move over for ANYTHING. and the create a lot of wind when they whizz by at 100kms/hr
3. Shoulders on roads seem to be optional in Australia. This is especially exciting when combined with lesson #2.
If you are a "nervous nelly" and have been worrying about our safety STOP READING HERE (go look at the pretty pictures we have posted). So Pat and I were biking along this pretty road from Maryborough to Tin Can Bay. It went through some hilly countryside and then a forestry area that looked like the North Woods of MN - beautiful!!! Only bad thing is that the road also seemed to be a major transport road - lots of logging trucks and 3 trailer road trains! About half way through our trip we were biking along when all of a sudden I saw a big road train coming, so as usual we slowed down and got over as far as we could, then I looked up and realized that there was a truck coming in the oncoming lane too, so the raod train couldn't move over...as I tried to scoot onto the shoulder, the combination of no shoulder plus the huge gust of wind from the road train toppled me over. I went head over heels with the bike on top of me into the ditch. I was a little shaken, but fine (a nice Aussie bloke stopped to make sure there weren't any dead Yanks in the ditch). I only have a few bruises and scratches. And now I look really tough - like a real biker. :) Lesson learned. Plan routes on roads that have shoulders. ;) Get back on the horse (bike)!
So, after that adventure (on Oct 9th) we biked from Tin Can Bay to Gympie. The route was absolutely beautiful, but pretty darn hilly (we went over two "mountains")! Gympie was the center of the Australian gold rush at the turn of the century, so it was all built in the hills and planned very sporadically (Pat noted the terrible city planning every 2 minutes!) but all the gold money led to some beautiful buildings and nice eye candy!
We departed Gympie on October 10th for Noosa (85 kms). Our maps showed the only route was the Bruce Highway (nearly a freeway), so we consulted the man who ran our caravan park for an alternate route. He immediately suggested the "Old Noosa Road," which everyone took prior to the freeway being constructed. He assured us that it was A) A beautiful road and B) Paved the whole way to Noosa. Well, he was right about "A" it was the most beautiful ride we have been on, but unfortunately in the middle of nowhere the pavement abruptly ended. We just kept on trucking (more slowly) and enjoyed the landscape, which looked something like Appalachia with parrots. Lovely! The pavement found us again and we travelled through some beatiful little towns that were filled with artists and hippies - we loved it! We also went through Pamona, which has the oldest functioning silent movie house in the world (in a town of 2,000!) Sort of like the Morris Theater, but restored and with a gourment restaurant and bar! Someone tell Curt Barber! We are currently staying in Noosa at the best campsite so far. It is right where the Noosa river pours into the ocean. Our campsite is beachfront and lovely. Next, we will be biking down the coast... on a bike path no less!
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October 3, 2007
On the 2nd we departed Cairns via train for the city of Townsville. The train ride was about 7 hours straight south along the coast. The train ride was well worth the extra time that it took us to get down the coast. We saw a lot of the countryside, cute little hamlets and lots and lots of sugar cane and banana fields.
From Townsville we caught a ferry to the island affectionatly known as Maggie, or Magnetic Island. The island was named by Captain Cook, who had difficulty with his navigational instruments when he passed by this island. How beautiful it is here! Our first night we got to play with an Australian possum and saw a wee wallaby hopping through our camp area. Today we visited a koala refuge, where we got to see many of Australia's native animals and briefly pet a koala!
Today we also had our first major bike around the island (all the paved roads; approx. 20 kilometers). The island has its share of major hills, but other than that it was amazing. There are little bays everwhere with beautiful, secluded (and pretty much empty) beaches. Only 2,000 people live on the island and most of the island is national park - so it is pretty peaceful here!
We have lots of pictures to post, but are having some compatibility issues. We promise pictures very soon (in 2 days for sure!)
Kate and Pat
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October 1, 2007
Greetings from the Land Down Under!!! Pat and I have successfully arrived in Australia and have already had some major adventures! We have been staying in Cairns, which is in the NE of Australia. We are staying at a great hostel and the people in Australia are absolutely fabulous and very friendly. We may never come home ;)
We have already been out the Great Barrier Reef for three days and two nights. We stayed aboard a 40 foot sailboat, which was magical. There were only 10 people aboard and they were all a lot of fun. The reef is a 4 hour sail from the mainland and on the way out to the reef we saw a humpback whale and a pod of dolphins!!
When we got out to the reef we did some fantastic snorkeling and then on the second day Pat and I both went Scuba diving for the first time ever. It was beyond description!!! When we were diving we saw a huge manta ray, a sea turtle, a small reef shark, sea cucumbers, clown fish (Nemos), tons of beautiful fish and coral. WOW! Then on the way home after helping to put up all the saills Kate got to drive the sailboat back for 2 hours. She was seriously sailing the boat. Who knew a girl from teh Prairie could do such things?!?!? Must be the Viking heritage. ;) Check back very soon and we will publish oodles of pictures from teh Great Barreir Reef!!!!
We will write more soon. We are off tomorrow to travel to Magentic Island by Townsville. We hear they have the largest koala colony in Australia. Should be some great pictures!!!
Much love,
Kate & Pat
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