Riding down under - Pictures

Back on the bikes, now on the left side of the road

Unfortunately the tropical "wet" season was not over so we took shelter where we could find it

Waiting at the train station for a ride south and out of the monsoon conditions.  This bench was our home for two days until the flooding subsided enough for the trains to run. 

Little, black Australian flies.  They are unfortunately very friendly

Climbing up into Border Ranges National Park

Lisa in the jungle of Nightcap National Park

Out of the mountains and back to the sea

South of Byron Bay

We love food... and meat pies are pretty high up on the list. 

Three days on the old Glenn Innes road

We ask for local advice on "the least traveled road"  Found it!

New South Wales

Riding along "Thunderbolts Way"

Piglet races at a local fair.  I lost money on #3

Just so the cow has no delusions

Bogan dream machine

Gloucester to New Castle - Writing

Continuing south from Gloucester, we had some time to kill before meeting friends in Newcastle. We would stop in most towns and ride our way off the direct paths. Why not? We didn't have anywhere to be, which was a good thing because we were often approached with questions about our travels. It was nice to not be in a hurry so we could take the time to meet the locals and share stories. Fanstastic people. Beautiful land.

To avoid the busy highways leading into Newcastle, we took little roads that led us across the water where we could take another ferry directly into Newcastle. The outskirts of town were quite industrial, but Newcastle was a supprisingly vibrant city; clean and filled with independent shops and restaurants. Finding our way through the city to Sean and Misty's place, we were thankful to be able to spend a long weekend with them, even making it to a local festival and of course drinking loads of delicious wine. Thank you Sean and Misty for your amazing hospitality. Boy do we owe A LOT of paybacks after this trip. Wherever our feet may land in the future, we definitely hope to be able to repay the kindness we have experienced.

Somehow our 6 months in Australia passed extremely quick. We (again using the word "we" loosely as Ryan did most of the work) used Sean and Misty's place to break down the bikes to prepare for shipping. Unfortunately, we did not get to spend time in Sydney, but the way we see this adventure is that we are getting to see the small towns rather than the cities. The big cities will be on a different journey in life. Taking the train to Sydney, we said goodbye to another wonderful experience and were quite looking forward to the 5 weeks in Hawaii with Todd and Laurel!

Byron Bay to Gloucester - Writing

Although we wanted to spend time in Byron, we decided to keep moving because everything was inflated due to the holiday. It worked out well because Byron was extremely crowded because it is a desired holiday destination because. Rightfully so with the beautiful beaches and great surf breaks. Back on the bikes and we continued down the coast through Ballina, catching the Pacific Highway for the first time down toward Illuka. Riding the 26k on the Pacific Highway made us grateful that we had changed our original course, allowing for smaller roads with less traffic. The highway had very small shoulders with many cars and road trains. We couldn't wait to be off this highway.

Brisbane to Byron Bay - Writing

Rather than following our initial plan of riding down the Pacific Highway along the coast, we took Daniel's advice and headed southwest out of Brisbane. Fewer cars and road trains, less people, and more nature. Right up our alley. We headed southwest to Beaudesert, making our way to Border Ranges National Park. Knowing we need to cover quite a large distance between towns, we stocked up and had enough dry food for 3 nights. A typical day of eating when we know we will not being hitting towns on a regular basis: oatmeal for breakfast, tuna packets in tortillas for lunch, nuts and dried dates for a snack, and a rice or noodle packet for dinner. It's amazing how delicious these meals actually are after spending the day pedaling. 

We were extremely fortunate in finding great camping areas in the Border Ranges. One of the most beautiful spots was only 30 miles outside of Beaudesert. We set up camp along a river that homed platypus (although we spent a lot of time looking, we never saw anything more than bubbles) and strung our hammock under enormous trees that lined the water. A book in hand while swaying in the hammock is a relaxing time to kill a few hours. The camping areas often provide firewood from the timber mills, a great treat when spending the evening under the stars.

Arriving in Brisbane - Writing

Finding our way out of cities is a reoccurring adventure. Brisbane was no different. A few hours of meandering, we made our way to the outskirts of the city but not far enough to stealth camp. We opted for the campground. Waiting at a light to cross, a guy pulled up next to us asking about our brand of bikes, Surly Long Haul Truckers. He was in the process of planning a long bike ride himself in the following year and had just purchased a Surly frame. After a few minutes of chatting, he offered a shower, dinner, conversation and a mattress on his family room floor. Traveling by bicycle has started many conversations that we would not otherwise have being in a car or touring by foot.

Stuck at the Train Station - Writing

We arrived at the Mackay train station at noon, our train departure time was 11:50pm. 11 hours to kill was nothing compared to the thought of riding through weeks of rain. The train station workers could not have been nicer, letting us set up shop on one of the benches to cook and giving us access to hot water for tea and coffee. I know I keep saying this, but a fantastic lesson I keep learning through life means of travel is how little gestures and instances make the biggest differences in life.

A few hours into our 11 hour wait, the weather intensified and caused the tracks north of us to completely flood. Our train was not going anywhere anytime soon.

Leaving Shute Harbor - Writing

It is truly astounding how quickly 3 months can and did go by for us. Where in the world did the time go? And what did we do with all that time? I guess that is the real question. Living in the tropics is a completely different way of life, a much slower life. Much slower because it is so ridiculously hot and humid. Never before have I experienced weather like this, the constant heat and humidity that surrounds us. There is no wonder how everything is go green and lush and why the pace of life is similar to a turtle.

2 weeks ago, walking from the sitting area into the kitchen (I made delicious cookies that I later cursed.....epicurious recipe for sugar cookies in case you were wondering and extremely easy to make), I caught my pinky toe on a 2 inch board. There is a hole in the kitchen floor where a staircase will soon lead to the downstairs apartment. This hole is covered by pieces of plywood and a carpet. Occasionally knocking the boards over the past few months, I did not have an excuse of not knowing what was there.