Posts Tagged ‘BBQ’

h1

Cross Country. Finally!

December 9, 2011

 

You can’t accuse me of being fast. Never have been. Never will be.

But after two years skimming around the edges and occasionaly fluttering inland I’ve finally managed to cross this country East to West. Yay! This brings my grand total to about 50.000km. Not that I’m counting…

The last 2000km I’ve been cycling with Stuart and despite a few mishaps we (almost) made it back to the west coast…

But let me take you back to Leonora where Stu, after a bout of Swine flu, managed to finally change his backwheel. He’s been cycling with a cracked rim for the last 1500km so it was nice to be able to set off without a wobble in his wheel. There is still a good bit of fun to be had with a useless rim, as some of our campground friends show here;

The enjoyment of problem-free cycling didn’t last long, a day after we set off from our campsite his derailleur snapped…

When a mining vehicle pulled up to check on us we were tempted to give in and chuck the whole lot on board. After being pestered by flies all day the enthusiasm started to falter. (See Video on last update)

But then Stu came to the genius idea to make his a fixed gear bicycle. And a coffee.

After all we were nearly at our goal of Geraldton. (only another 800-odd km’s)

So we kept plodding along.

You might think after about thousands kilometres of dusty red dirt roads things might get boring.

This is not so.

We manage to keep ourselves entertained with deep and meaningful conversation (“so, how was the consistency of your stool this morning?”)

And Stuart is happy running after, and catching, all sorts of wildlife while I rather just get the picture.

But of course just when everything seems beautiful and perfect (except the flies, damn those flies!), something will snap. In this case it was Stuart’s chain.

Because surely, we can not cycle more than 100 km uninterupted..

Lucky we weren’t far off a 5 star campingspot, requirments for 5 stars are:

* A clear spot with no ants or prickles.

* Shade.

* No wind.

* Wood for a fire.

* Water.

If you get all of the above it is definitely 5 stars

And there is nothing like the screeches of galah’s around a windmill to wake you up in the morning.

After long and slow going for many many miles it seemed rather sudden we turned a corner and hit the bitumen,

I usually don’t like paved road because the traffic and, like every other cyclist would know, the stink of roadkill. Well… every other cyclist except for Stuart. He jumps of his bike at the sight of a carcass to check out how fresh it is and if he gets the chance he cuts of bits and pieces to make a stew… or steak, whatever is available.

Going smoothly down the road a multicoloured windmill marked the entrance of the pretty little town of Sandstone.

Being the first town in 5 days we made a beeline for the pub and were very pleasantly surprised when we found out that they make the best burgers in the whole of Australia! Its true, I’ve tried a few… the worst one was at Warakurna roadhouse… in case you care.

That burger kept us going a good while.

It was strange to turn onto the Geraldton-Mount Magnet road. It felt like being back on home ground as it was here I spent more than 4 months two years ago working on farms and stations. Only thing was the Geraldton-Mount Magnet road is 490km, so we weren’t there quiet yet…

It was about 11.30 and 36degrees celcius when we rolled into the tiny little town of Yalgoo. It was small but had all luxuries you can imagine, rainwater, a little shop, BBQ-area and a waterpark! Ok, it’s probably meant for under 12′s only. But I couldn’t let this opportunity go. So while Stu got himself busy cooking up a feast on the BBQ I ran across the road and got a little to excited running around, which resulted in injury.

I can’t remember the last time I slipped and fell like that. I must’ve been about 8 years old…

But even on this ‘home stretch’ things didn’t run smoothly.

Stu got a flat tyre.

Not a major hassle, you might think. But after going through all spares, and mine, it got slightly frustrating. So with no spare tubes he didn’t really have a choice when a road train pulled up and offered us a ride.

The driver was surprised I didn’t want to jump on, but after all those km’s I really wanted to cover the last stretch on my own power. Stu did too, but sadly his bike did not. You never guess. Another cracked rim!!!

He didn’t find out until getting to Mullewa where he noticed the tiny crack just near the valve.

By the time I made it there, two days later, Stuart was already well settled with his new mates in a house with an unusual pet.

Meet Tony the Roo

From there it was just a short stretch ‘Home‘.

Where I celebrate, today, my 32nd birthday. Oh dear. Time to do something with my life…?

nah. I rather cycle.

Posted in Australia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments »

h1

Along The Old Ghan

August 25, 2011

The Old Ghan, originally called the Great Northern Railway, is a tale of the triumphs of pioneering Australians in a landscape of extremes.

Or so the information sign says. It continued by telling me;

The Ghan opened the way into Australia’s remote interior. Unofficially called ‘The Ghan’, it provided isolated residents with a physical and emotional link to civilisation. During World War II the railway was pushed to its limits, yet barely a decade after peace resumed in 1945, it was rejected.

I’ve been cycling along the old railway line since I left Lyndhurst.

Just out of Lyndhurst a car pulled up to ask if I was ‘the Dutch girl‘ after confirming this they handed me a little envelope. An amulet, made by Talc Alf.

Talc Alf had shown me around his place the previous day. He’s discovered the secret of letters and has explained me what my name means.

(it was something about a journey and the sun rolling over hills..)

He must have set out to carve my name in stone straight after I left, it’s now dangling of my handlebar-bag.

When the railway line was first build in 1878 there was need of constant maintenance, so every 15 or 20 km they build a little house where 3 or 4 man would live to look after the tracks. In places the only job they did was shovelling sand off the lines from dawn to dusk and do it all again the next day. Some of these old railway sidings are still standing in various states of decay. They make for a nice shelter from the wind.

It’s been busy on the road.

With ‘busy’ I mean about 20 cars a day. This is because there is water in Lake Eyre.  Having water in a lake might not seem like a very unusual thing to us Europeans… But out here it is a big deal. The last time this lake, wich lays 15 meter below sea level and is with that Australia’s lowest point, was full was way before I was born. From the road I could see Lake Eyre South. It’s huge. Most people would take a flight to be able to see it properly. I asked what it was like, apparently it’s like a big lake with water in it. Didn’t overly surprise me. Still, it’s special.

Because there is so much of not a lot out here every little thing is a sight.

So it happened I came across a pole. Now, this is not a normal pole, it is part of the overland telegraph line, Australia’s first telecommunication  link to the outside world. Between 1872 and 1896 it connected Darwin with Adelaide and ultimately London. Very little remains of the original line, but here is one of the Cypress Pine Poles…

Another famous piece of wood stands just north of Oodnadatta, the Angle Pole is the point where the telegraph line changed direction.

Another time I was rather surprised to see a big thing on the side of the track waving at  me. I waved back and continued along my way.

With so few things around it seems I have become a bit of a sight myself, I might be the most photographed cycling Dutch girl on the track this month. Sometimes I don’t like it when big cars just slow down and take a snap shot without even saying hello, or without even slowing down. Mostly it’s fine when they stop and have a yarn on the side of the road.

I really don’t mind at all when they then offer me water…

Or a tea with blueberry muffins…

Or a cappuccino with chocolate on top and a chocolate…

Or pork chops for lunch…

Or fresh fruit…

Or a cold can of coke…

Or a cold beer and air for my tyres when the pump broke…

Or a feed at the end of the day :-)

It all happens along the Old Ghan.

A funny thing I found is that men often ask about my gear where the ladies ask how I keep my hair looking good :-)

The Old Ghan travelled past the William Creek and Cowards Springs sidings, during the war the stops were reduced from 10 to 2 minutes due to the amount of alcohol consumed on the train… The hotelier complains were ignored. In 1945 the trains were ordered not to stop at all anymore. However, the train would travel very slow, the passengers would jump off the train before the station, sprint up to the pub, buy their drink and run after the train. Lucky I had a little more time to enjoy a beer in the iconic William Creek Hotel.

I didn’t plan to have dinner there as well, but three nice gentlemen from Melbourne invited me to have some kangaroo with them. It sure beats pasta & tuna!

It gave me so much energy that I cycled/pushed 100km the next day, a bit of a feat for me on these roads where my average is around 70km a day.

Barry Tydeman and John Glover’s are scientist who came up between ’69 and ’71 to study the desert Goby, a small endemic fish found only in the waters of the Lake Eyre Basin.

“Then we came up. It was a bit wet and we ended up on the tracks because it was too boggy along the road so we were riding along the sleepers on top. John’s driving and we’re riding -boom boom boom boom, like that. I just had this uneasy feeling and I looked around and there’s this bloody great locomotive right behind us! I don’t know how long he’d been there, hadn’t said a bloody boo you know, and I said to John; ‘I think we better get off the track’. He said; ‘Why?’ I said; “Have a look behind you”. He looked in the mirror and panicked and went down the side… The locomotive came past and slowed right up and he slid the window back and this guy said;”You guys alright?” and we said “Yeah… we’re trying to keep out of the water along the track” He said;”OK, no worries” and boom, boom, boom off they went and that was the Ghan.”

Every now and then I get the idea the universe must like me. Like the day I lost my little camera…

The handle had snapped and looking back through pictures of that day (on my big camera, got two ‘just in case’) I realized it must have happened over 30km ago. The Creek where I was when I discovered was very salty,

So with the amount of water I had going back wasn’t an option…  I kept going. When I stopped a car about an hour later another coming from my direction stopped as well. They had my camera! Two men had found it and given it to them, after snapping a pic of themselves.

So thanks random strangers and thank you universe!

Another example is my 16gig memory card breaking… just after I uploaded (almost) all my pictures!

I would have hated to lose the pics I took only the night before when I pushed my bike to the top of a hill only to be able to see the full moon rising (and setting) over my tent.

A magical night with a 360 degree view of surrounding hills and a crystal clear sky with Dingo’s howling down in the valley…

And a big water tank conveniently located only a km away on the next hill-top…

Thanks again…

Adam & Lynnie Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta is, as the name kinda explains, very pink. This is good because I like pink. (my toothbrush is pink, and my towel too)

And so I liked this roadhouse, but that had very little to do with the colour.

More the very friendly welcome I got. A group of 10  travellers who passed me on the road 20 km’s earlier offered me breakfast. (thanks guys!) And I spent the next 4 hours or so charging things, cleaning clothes and myself eating chocolate and drinking coffee. All clean and satisfied I rode out-of-town while a little boy shouted;” Hey! Where’s your man??” …. Now, there’s a question ;-)

The very next day the wind was against me. And believe me, in these parts if the wind decides to be against you, you do not move. A lot.

After a windy night at a windmill I made it 15km up the road to Hamilton Station.

Where a sign told me Junk Mail and Jehovah’s are not welcome. Since it didn’t mention cycling folk I called in and didn’t leave for two days.

I was welcomed by Warren the owner. Together with Josh he was the only one around at this time and the were busy with jobs around the homestead.

He gave me a room in the girls-quarters where I could recharge and clean both my gear and myself. It was an oasis in this barren country side.

Just after climbing on top of a water tank to get a good shot of the station Warren mentioned I could get a bit higher up for a picture. Only seeing flat plains around me I asked where…. He then took me to the shed where he pulled out a small yellow plane… And he flew me over the property :-)

Four of Warrens friend came up for a night on their way cross the Simpson Desert. A good laugh, BBQ and reciting poems later I decided to catch up with these fellows one day later at Dalhousie Springs.

This water comes from the largest Artesian ground water basin in the world (lying underneath 1/5 th of Australia. When it rains up in Queensland the water filters through this basin and comes up in places like here and Coward Springs around  two-million (!!!) years later… But where as Coward Springs had just a little luke-warm bath of about 2square meter, here a huge 37 degrees pool appeared out of nowhere. A great relaxing dip. And when you sit real still the tiny little ‘Dalhousie Goby’ comes and nibbles on your toes.

I did spend the night camping with my four new friends and after jumping in the hot water at sunrise I set of on my tredly while they packed up and got ready to make the Simpson desert crossing.

At my next destination all my carefull planning and timing suddenly got thrown upside down.

But more about that next time.

Posted in Australia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments »

h1

Not The End

May 21, 2011

I rolled into the small country town of Braidswood on a glorious afternoon. It’s worth mentioning this since the weather has been everything but great my last few weeks in Australia.
My newfound surrogate-parents,  Robert and Joan, had mentioned the rodeo in town this weekend and the cattle-sales.
I have not seen a cattle sale-yard before (I saw the sheep-sale yards…) so went to have a look.
Many men with hats. This was good since I like ehm… hats. Not at all did I feel out of place dressed in lycra leggings and my work-shirt…

When I arrived at the rodeo-ground the preparations were in full swing. So I parked my bike between farm-ute’s and horse-floats, put on my hat ;-) and helped setting up.
Yeehaa!

 

The sun kept it up the whole weekend…

.But, naturally, as soon as I set off on my bike it started to drizzle. Via my newfound ‘mum & dad’ I got some contacts on the way out. So I stopped off at a farm where I was spoiled and filled up with steak, beer, pancakes and ice cream. I keep telling myself ‘I’ll cycle it off’… I’ve got a whole lot more cycling to do…

I set off along the Nerriga road. Mainly because on the map I’ve seen places named; “Duran Dura”, “Wog Wog” and “Tomboy”.
A dirt-road, with a little more traffic then I expected. Some serious ups and downs and the pub in Nerriga.

In the pub in Nerriga a man took one look at my bike and told me I couldn’t cycle up the next hill. I find this an unusual statement. Just because he couldn’t do it doesn’t mean I can’t… So I cycled up the hill. And called in at the chestnut-farm at the top where I stayed a day picking chestnuts , drinking beer and watching a man and his bird…what else to do on a rainy day?

Cycling along I saw a honey-place. I like honey so stopped and had a coffee. While the bees where buzzing about, doing what bees do I had a chat to the owner. He came to the conclusion I needed energy and stamina, so he gave me three little packs of super-honey. Bee power. And a bright yellow cap. I cycled real fast after that. And uphill too!

So fast that before I knew it evening started falling and I hadn’t reached Hill End yet (that is the name of the town at the end of the hill). When I stopped to take a photo of a cute cottage.


a car pulled up, the lady lived in that cottage and migrated from Uruguay to Australia with her husband 23 years ago. Now they are restoring the cottage and having a South-American-style BBQ. If I’d like to join :-)

.

So without much trouble I reached the old mining town of Hill End the next morning. Once the largest NSW inland city with 52 pubs because of a massive amount of gold in the ground. Now it’s merely a ghost town with a nice little shop where few people mentioned the road I intended to take was closed. After some more inquieries I found out there had been a landslide and cars couldn’t get past. Motorbikes could, I was told in the pub. So, logically, a pushbike could too.

I assumed that because of this the ‘Bridle-Track’, as it is known, would be quiet and traffic-free.
I was wrong.
I chose a holiday weekend to ride through the most popular camping spot in a 500km radius (well, so it seemed) Every spot at the river was jam-packed with 4WD’s, tents, kids on cross motors and men with chainsaws (just for firewood… I hope)

.
Just before the landslide area I ran into Terry. Terry build a house in the valley and was just gathering leaves to burn that evening. I joined him for a cuppa and the fire. And by gathering our supplies we managed to cook a nice meal that evening.

Back into the real world and onto real roads with real traffic I decided to stay a night in the masively un-appealing town of Bathurst (note; on a nice day in a good mood it probably is a lovely place…)
Where I was allowed to pitch my tent at the sport-grounds. This same evening a engagement-party was held at the sport-grounds. With no chance of an early night I joined the party :-)


I cycled up and up and wondered why everything felt a lot harder then I thought it should. Surely one bad night sleep wouldn’t do this to me? The answer came a little later as I said good bye to a young family who’d invited me for lunch; “Don’t you need some air in your tyres?” He shouted as I rode off… ahhh, that explains a lot. Oops.

I do like this part of Australia eventhough at times it seems a little hectic. Like when I came across the Blue Mountains back to Sydney. It was the end of a bank holiday weekend. The lack of shoulders and some sharp little climbs made it slightly hazardous. Maybe the fact I don’t like traffic noice so I cover it with my music and the ungoing drizzle didn’t help… could’ve all together made for an unpleasant experience. A massive traffic jam snaked itself all the way up the mountains. So I happily cycled past the lot, all the while thinking that eventhough it has been said many many times… Surely I’m not the mad one…
Even I sometimes doubt it, like when I had to return 4 times to a massive viewing platform before I could finally see ‘the three sister’ through the mist. I’ve got three sisters myself and can tell you, they look nothing like it.

I had the pleasure to be hosted by Leigh I met a long time ago (well, feb last year) when I stayed at a big motorbike-gathering. A very keen cyclist. He showed me around Sydney on my last visit and now he took me to some beautiful viewpoints and Katoomba. I have to take his word for the beauty of the place because all I saw was clouds… He did accompany me down the mountain on a lovely downhill ride.

Now my time in Australia has come to an end. Or, to be more correct, my visa has come to an end.
The thing is, I’m not done…

So-this is not “THE END.”

:-)

Posted in Australia | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments »

h1

Dancing with Dingo’s

September 21, 2009

I can not think of anywhere I’d rather be, or anything I rather do then being here on my bike.
How lucky is that?

I’ve been on roads where cars don’t go and where I didn’t see any motorbikes either.
Just some sturdy 4WD’s with mine workers or travellers wondering if I got lost or need any water.

A good few people have said; “I’m glad it’s you doing this, and not me.” All I can answer is; “me too!”
Wouldn’t want to be stuck in a little metal box where you can’t feel or smell the country
…well, the smell-thing isn’t always good… Men, road kill stinks!
Lucky you don’t encounter too much of that when you stay of the bitumen.

I love those roads, and I’m extremely glad I got a bicycle I trust not to break down.
Don’t think I would’ve been able to conquer those roads on the old bike.

I am fairly organized and prepared though, not to worry. I might be mad, as people keep telling me. I’m not stupid.
I contact police or cattle stations along the way so at least some one knows where to start looking may I disappear.

But let’s go back a little.
The three of us arrived in Broome after a bit of a headwind struggle.
I find the police in Broome slightly over active. One evening as I stood at the side of the road a police car stopped to tell me that I wasn’t wearing my helmet and I had no lights on my bike. I brought it to their attention that I wasn’t actually cycling…

We spent a few days looking around and getting organized.
Got invited to a private concert of 3 elderly aboriginal gentleman playing rock ‘n roll music.
Then, sadly, it was time to say Goodbye to Stu & Mike and hit the road again.

Heading South-ish I spend a night at one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen, 80-mile beach. Perfect white sand that stretches as far as I could see with a perfect Azur-blue ocean that looked inviting,
sadly it was full of sharks so no swimming there. I ran into a lovely french couple who let me pitch my tent at their spot since I wasn’t willing to pay 29$ for a campsite. Figured it be fine as long as I keep a low profile…
That plan kinda failed when the Marble Bar police rang me at the office… They’d found some phone nrs for stations for me. helpful.

That evening Marti, A German who arrived in Australia across the hippie-trail in ’74 and stayed, cooked up a feast on the BBQ, we ate shark and salmon straight out of the sea. Gorgeous! He also gave me his hat since I’d lost mine on the Gibb-river road.

The morning of departure I had my coffee on the beach while nature treated me on a stunning performance of the full moon setting above the mudplains. The reflection in the wet sand is called ‘stairway to the moon’ absolutely amazing.

But even perfect bitumen with a steady tail-wind gets a little boring after about 400km.
So when I got a change I turned inland onto the boreline road. That was everything but boring.
The first day it took me 7 hours to cover 30km. Sand.
I got a little worried by the amount of water I consumed on that stretch, it would run out quickly that way.
Imagine my surprise when I came across an unexpected water tank after 6km the next morning!
I had a wash and spend about an hour splashing around in the warm water while watching the sun come up.

Because the nights are so long I usually sleep around 6pm when I camp in the bush. That means I wake up around 3am.
And since there’s nothing else to do I usually just pack up and go. With the full moon I don’t even need a flashlight and start cycling in the dark enjoying the spectacle of sunrise as I go.

Around sunset one night an enormous snake slithered past my tent, it looked at me and stuck its tongue out…. I did the same and he moved off. Pfew. A little scary.

Another water tank held another pleasant surprise as it was there I met Anne. The lady who runs Yarrie station.
She’d just come back from a horse-riding holiday in Kyrgyzstan, so we had something to talk about. She invited me down to the homestead.
A wonderfully welcoming place where I didn’t intend to stay 4 nights… It just happened.

Because what would you say when on the eve of planned departure Leng (Anne’s husband) comes up to you with the words; “How would you like to go on a helicopter-muster tomorrow?” ….
AAAHRGH! How cool is THAT!

I spend the next day feeling like a huge bumblebee chasing cow around the property. It was some experience, priceless. He showed me ancient aboriginal art on top of hills that I’m sure not too many people have laid eyes on.
And afterwards I helped in the yards with sorting out the cattle we collected and watched young bulls having their testicles cut out… ouch.
I didn’t need to be told twice to stay out of the paddock with the big bulls, those things are massive!

Sadly I couldn’t stay around for ever… Lucky I’m sure I’ll meet these wonderful people again one day.

So with a sandwich for lunch in my bag I cycled off to Marble Bar, known as ‘the hottest town in Australia’. Where I got a police-escort to Leng’s sisters house.
They already knew I was coming. They already knew where I’ll be staying too.
The hospitality here is truly amazing.

But I keep feeling I should try and keep moving south.
I did get stuck again for two days just 10km out of Marble Bar at Commets Gold mine.
The mine is not in use anymore and everything is left as it was. I got to have a look inside the mine and saw ghost-bats. They look white and its a grand sight to see them flying through the dark caves.

Time to move on though.
At the end of the dirt road I hit the bitumen again, and was immediately reminded why I don’t like cycling on it. Never seen so many roadtrains in one day before! And I do have to get off the road and stop every time one passes me. Or they blow me off my bike.
So I cycled 150km in a day to get back on the dirt as soon as I could.

Getting closer to Karinjini national park I kept hearing that some of the Gorges are not to be missed.
I stayed a night in Wittenoom Gorge where some previous occupants made a little veg garden so I had a beautiful fresh salad for dinner.
Only later I heard this is the deadliest place in the world. The town is taken of the map, it used to be an asbestos-mine.
8 people still live in this ghost town.

The good thing about the dirt-roads is that the 4WD’s that do pass you usually stop to check I’m ok.
So too did Chicky. A guy from the south who works up here in a mining camp and invited me to come and stay for a day.

So after I spend a night on one of the best camp spots ever. On top of a lookout near Hamersley Gorge where I met Anja, A tall Dutch girl travelling in a tiny car.
I cycled the 30km into his camp.

I am the first cyclist ever to come to that camp. A great place with great people and the best food I’ve had in Australia so far.
I was given a room for the night. Would have loved to stay and work there for a while, not least ’cause the amount of money you can make working there for 3 months equals the amount of money I had when I started cycling 30 months ago…
No work available though, so I just keep cycling.

Down a ‘forbidden’ road along the railway where I’ve seen the trains for the first time. They are massive! At one time I counted 223 carriages.
The 3 trains that passed me that day all beeped their horns at me. Not too sure if it was a get-off-that-road-you-shouldn’t-be-here-beep or a hello-pretty-girl-on-bicycle-nice-to-see-you-beep…
I reckon the 2nd Wink ;-)

I met up with Anja again in Tom Price, not only does she travel in a tiny car… she sleeps in a tiny little tent too. hilarious to see. We had dinner in the pub. The only pub.
It was there I decided to catch a ride with her into Karinjini to have a look at what the fuss is all about.

Leaving my tent and bicycle behind
I spend a day wandering through a Gorge, jumping in a waterhole and getting followed around by Dingo’s who were obviously after my food.
One kept circling me and must have followed me out of the Gorge because in a moment it grabbed my bag and ran of. No way I was gonna see my crisps again Sad :-(

That night I slept in my hammock watching the stars and listening to the dingo’s howl. It was cold. very very cold.
Didn’t sleep too well and the lack of coffee started to get to me a little the next day.

But that’s when I ran into Collin and Matt, two motorbike riders. Had the best day with them climbing up and down rock walls and jumping into freezing cold pools.
It’s indeed a wonderful spot. We lingered around so long I nearly couldn’t get a lift back into town…

Lucky I did find one in the end and so it happened I’m back on my bike and in Paraburdoo at the moment.

The wheels just keep on turning.

Thats it for now, I’m going to leave you but not before I wish my dad a happy happy birthday!
Congratulations dad!

I’m off to the pub and drink a beer on you… and probably another one for my sister Judith whose birthday it is the 24th.
Love you!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted in Australia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments »

h1

Dodging ‘roos and road trains

May 27, 2009

Australia!
Would you believe it?
I made it Smile :-)
I had to remind myself the first couple of days. I kept suddenly jumping up and going; “AAAHRG! I’m actually here!” …… Now what?

I arrived at Darwin at the rather unfortunate time of 2.30a.m. Thursday the 7th of May. 780 days after I left Apeldoorn.

Lucky my friend Don (who you might remember from Nepal & Thailand) just arrived in Darwin on his ‘round-Australia-on-the-Bullet-trip’ and came to meet me at the airport.

Everything seems different here.
First impression is that everything is flat, wide, and big. The roads, the houses and the people…
No motorbikes whooshing about… But many 4WD’s. One thing that surprised me where the many Car & Dog – wash places. You can actually get your car and dog washed at the same time!

Since I had to wait for a parcel to arrive from Holland we decided to go on a little road-trip on the Enfield around the Northern Territory.

So leaving my bicycle safely in Darwin we got on the bike on a sunny Saturday morning to ride in the direction of Kakadu national park.

That’s when I first experienced the Australian road trains.
It’s a funny place, a few days later I cycled along the railway tracks and a car came along on the tracks. Cars on the tracks and trains on the road…
They’re HUGE big monster-trucks with three or four trailers that swing all over the show when they pass you. When I see them coming on my bicycle I just hop of the road and wait till they pass.
But when I rode the Enfield along and a road train past, I got nearly shuffed off the road as he pulled over to quickly ‘cause of oncoming traffic.
It nearly gave me a heart attack. And Don, who was on the back at the time, got a wee bit of a fright as well.
Lucky I managed to stay on the road but I’m very weary of them from now on…

There’s enough to see and to be surprised about around here.

Animals for example.

One afternoon, cruising along, an enormous bird of prey just dived down to the road out of nowhere, picked up a monster snake and flew off. Now that is something I haven’t seen before.
It makes you feel small. Everything seems pretty big. Along the roads you see these termite-mounts everywhere. They’re not little ones either.
And there’s crocs in the water! I spotted three so far… A bit scary, you don’t want to go swimming around here, even though it can get pretty warm.

I have also seen lots and lots of wallabies, I like them.
They’re rather cute when they are alive. Sadly they’re not overly smart. When they get a fright, from for example a truck or car, they just hop in whatever direction they’re facing at the time. Which rather often is right in front of that truck/car.
That’s when they die; I’ve seen lots of that too.
Not as cute anymore.
And they smell bad.

Then there are the insects.
Many many Ants, Some bite, some get bitten…. As I discovered. I was intrigued to find lots of ants with green bums. Then somebody told me you can actually eat them. So I tried, and would you know it? Not too bad. Will just take a long time to fill up on them though.

And I don’t know how many different kind of mosquito’s they have around here, but I encountered a good few of them. Extremely annoying. One campsite was particularly bad. You couldn’t stand around for a minute before getting attacked. So we jumped on the bike and kept riding around ‘till after dusk. Then sprinted into the tent to eat a can of beans… No way would either of us wonder outside to try and cook.

Which is, by the way, a great thing about the Campsites around here! They all seem to have wonderful kitchen areas with BBQ’s so you don’t have to fiddle with your little stove cooking pasta or rice. No, you can actually walk into a shop buy potatoes and meat and cook a proper steak! Yum. I like Australia Very Happy :-D
You need to keep an eye on your food though, one morning, while turning our backs at the table, a dingo stole our bread!

We went to see some ancient aboriginal rock paintings, a lot of them have explanations and stories written down. The stories seemed a bit violent to me. They rather often end with; “and then everybody was dead”…. hmmm

It was a good little trip, just riding, stopping here to swim in a waterfall and there to jump in a hot spring. We even manage to squeeze in a day of Horse races in Pine Creek and a motorbike tour + evening of bands and beers and dancing…
But after a good few days of bumming around on the Motorbike the time came to move back to Darwin. Where, in the meantime, my parcel had arrived.

It was very exciting to open it up. Just like x-mass.
This company, AGU, has decided to help me out a bit clothes-wise.
So I’ve got proper bike-shorts, pants, shoes, shirts and even a helmet!!!
I’m feeling very professional indeed.
The colour of the shirt shocked me a bit at first. But, as Don mentioned, he can spot me from a mile away. Which does help on these roads, with this traffic.

So I finally got cycling again! It’s great, and it lasted about 300km….

My plan to cycle to Perth and get a job has been slightly altered.
I’ve been asking for jobs just about every place I walked into. Because rather soon I realized I can’t live on the same budget here as I’ve managed the past two years…
Just the other day I got chatting to a guy who turned out to be a ‘helicopter-cowboy’. And he told me about this outback pub where they’re always looking for staff in a place called Top Springs. He gave them a call and yes. I’ll be going there tomorrow.

The nearest main road will be 180km to the east…
Nearest internet 300km North.
I won’t have network on my phone there.
Not sure how long I’m gonna be there but I will be out of touch for a little while…

No doubt I’ll be back with stories to tell.

Hug!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted in Australia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 188 other followers