Archive for the ‘Australia’ Category

Day 5. 120km. Pretty Pine – Cobram

Posted: December 4, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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‘You’re from Adelaide. Lot of left-wing greeny tree-huggers there. Wanting water from the Murray River for “the environment”. Lot of bullshit. And it’s a good thing that Donald Trump is in. He’ll shake things up.’
I was amazed. The first Australian Trump supporter. I kept my mouth shut and laid low.

Murray River

Murray River

And then there was the guy that stopped in the middle of nowhere, got out, and gave me stuff – whatever he had was mine to take. A cake. Water. Chips. He was wearing a cycle t-shirt. He worked at the Murray River environment management. Cool guy. He wasn’t a Trump supporter.

Today was hot as hell. I left late and hung out in supermarkets – in Deniliquin and in Finley. It’s cool there. In Finley they even had a ‘cool area’ for the beer – and for hot cyclists. They didn’t sell individual ice-creams, so I was forced to buy 4 Golden Gaytimes. Such suffering.

Four Golden Gaytimes

Four Golden Gaytimes

It was hot, but was threatening to rain for a lot of the day. It didn’t rain more than a sprinkle, but it was windy and dusty. I thought it was time to return to more civilisation – rather than great distances across flat, dry plains – so I headed south to the mighty Murray River. There are camping spots all along the river, and the idea of going for a swim was very appealing. So, here I am, camping on the banks of Australia’s longest river, and on the border between Victoria and New South Wales. My tent is situated on the sand just next to the river, with all eucalyptus trees around. The cockatoos screech and fly overhead, and the cicadas purr in the background. It is a beautiful place.

Murray River

Murray River

Day 4. 145km. Kyalite – Pretty Pine

Posted: December 3, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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It’s warming up – the weather and the people. Meetings with farmers – at the start and the end of the day, and a meeting with a Belgian backpacker couple. Drinks were shouted by everyone. The land is getting flatter, and bleeker. Today was a cycle through a plain with just dry grass as far as the eye can see. Beautiful.

Endless plains

Endless plains

I was escorted with kangaroos this morning, hopping along next to the road, travelling at my speed through the grass. Lots of rotting carcasses were on the road – you can smell them from a long way off – in different states of decay. First the scenery was similar to yesterday – mallee scrub and the odd wheat field. Also, there were some lakes with lots of birds. After lunch at Moulamein the trees stopped, and it was a ride under the stark sun on and on across the plains of dry grass.

Moulamein pub

Moulamein pub

Ready to leave into the heat after lunch, a Belgian couple invited me for a drink. Then, 16km from Deniliquin, at the first sign of life since lunch, I was called in for more drinks by a lovely group of farm workers, and then invited by the new owners for a lovely shower and a free camping spot. So, here I find myself, camping on the lawn behind the Pretty Pine Hotel.

Belgian couple

Belgian couple

Friend at Pretty Pine

Friend at Pretty Pine

Day 3. 117km. Ouyen – Kyalite

Posted: December 3, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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The days are heating up, and my initial burst of speed has returned to a sustainable rhythm. Today the earphones were off, and I drank in the landscape – a very familiar one. I am now in New South Wales, and all set to veer off the main drag to Sydney.

Wheat

Wheat

This countryside is so different to lush Europe where I’ve spent the last half of my life. The sun, blasting from above, creates this parched landscape. You can feel your skin shrivelling up and burning when the sun is overhead like nowhere else I have cycled. Only the spindly mallee trees with their tufts of grey-green on their tops provide a bit of shade. Behind the trees that line the road where before was more mallee scrub, there are vast fields of wheat. I remember that this is the fertile corner of the nation, and there is water – rain water, artesian, and from the Murray River.

Wheat

Wheat

Mallee

Mallee

This dry, crusty landscape feels so familiar, and makes me smile inside. This is the landscape that I grew up in, and it feels like home. The flocks of pink and grey breasted galahs that launch from the road as I pass, and that call from overhead. The magpies that swoop, and the crows that screech.

In the mid-afternoon I crashed – just over the New South Wales border. Like in Uzbekistan, I decided it was time for an afternoon snooze to pass the hottest part of the day.

Afternoon snooze

Afternoon snooze

New South Wales

New South Wales

I decided to stop early and relax, so I find myself in the last piece of civilisation for 50km – in the little pub at Kyalite.

Kyalite

Kyalite

Day 2. 163km. Parilla – Ouyen

Posted: December 1, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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Cycling along the long road through the endless mallee, I realised I needed an early night, and I needed a bit of company. Cycling was long and straight and uneventful, and then eating to replenish the calories. I swung in to the caravan park in Ouyen, ate a kilogram of yoghurt, a mountain of spaghetti, spoke to some girls walking 500km for charity, and spoke in hindi/urdu to two Pakistani guys.

The mallee

The mallee

Clement and I raided the quarantine bin in Marla when we entered South Australia – a right feast of fresh fruit and vegetables. I had hopes of doing the same thing at the Victorian border. No. This border crossing is more serious. Video cameras and people waving cars in for checking. No raiding of quarantine bins here.

Victoria

Victoria

The dark clouds loomed in the afternoon, dumping rain on the horizon to the side, and I was unsure if I was going to get wet. The need for company, the need for shelter and the need for a shower drove me to the campsite, and so here I am.

Looming clouds

Looming clouds

Ouyen

Ouyen

Day 1. 202km. Balhannah – Parilla

Posted: November 30, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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The road through the mallee was long with lengthy stretches with noone. To pass the time I repeated the town names, over and over again, rolling the r. Lameroo. Pinnaroo. Lameroo. Pinnaroo. I didn’t make it to the Victorian border in one day, but almost. Over 10h30 on the bike.

Lameroo

Lameroo

I learned early on that I should not follow the ‘bike route’ that my app constructed.

Not an easy road

Not an easy road

I’ve had lots of sandy road before in the desert in central Australia, but I don’t need it here. I only had 500m or so of deep sand, but it was a bit of a slog in the sun.

The rest was just keep on pedalling through the quite strong side-wind. Tomorrow Victoria. Yay!

Day 0. 35km. Brighton – Balhannah

Posted: November 29, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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And he came galloping down the road as the cars banked up behind him, and behind me. A cute galloping koala – I’ve never seen one run like that. Frightened by the cars, it cowered away from them, at my feet, looking up into my eyes. Finally he crossed the road and clambered up a tree. The cars kept coming and coming as I waited to cross the road too, and be with my new little friend.

My friend the koala.

My friend the koala.

My friend the koala

My friend the koala

Today my distance from the starting point was reset to zero. The starting point of this trip is the end of my last one – Brighton jetty – which is 41483km from Eindhoven by bike. This trip is less ambitious – a little jaunt to Sydney for Christmas. I’m looking forward to getting on the road again – even if it is only for a few weeks. I hope to scale Australia’s highest bump (mountain) on the way. 🙂

Zero kilometres - Brighton Jetty.

Zero kilometres – Brighton Jetty.

Good bye Adelaide for the time being. I will be returning in the new year to study the aboriginal pitjantjatjara language. If all goes well, this will be important for my future projects.. More on that later if my hopes develop further. Anyway, for the time being, Sydney – here I come!

Final video: Dilli (Timor Leste) – Adelaide (Australia)

Posted: October 7, 2016 in Australia, Cycling, Timor Leste
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The 41483km bike trip has come to an end, and I have been working on the final video. It’s a long finale to this two year trip. I hope you like it.

Day 472. 7km. Novar Gardens – Brighton

Posted: October 6, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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They were all there. They used to call themselves Judy’s Remnants. All of mum’s friends that used to meet for coffee. Through them, mum was there too. Welcoming me home. It’s been a long trip.

The Arch of Remembrance

The Arch of Remembrance

We adjourned to a restaurant for lunch and chatted. The afternoon was spent by myself – at the jetty, at the cemetery. I watched the sunset. I have seen so many sunsets over the jetty. Now, this is the last sunset of my bike trip. The end of this chapter of my life, and the dawn of the next one.

41483km

41483km

Brighton at sunset

Brighton at sunset

Brighton at sunset

Brighton at sunset

Day 471. 60km. Balhannah – Novar Gardens

Posted: October 5, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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I took the lead today, navigating without a map. This was the tourist trail of Adelaide for Clement, and cycling in extremely known territory for me. Past Mt Lofty – the highest hill behind Adelaide. Past Cleland National Park where you can pat the koalas. Past the city, along the river, along the beach. It’s unreal being here. It doesn’t feel part of this world trip, so familiar is everything, but it is. It is the end. The final chapter of this life-changing journey.

Beach

Beach

Mt Lofty

Mt Lofty

Day 470. 44km. Williamstown – Balhannah

Posted: October 4, 2016 in Australia, Cycling
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We woke up in the rain. It was cold rain, and it continued all the way to my father’s house in Balhannah. No photos. It was a case of – let’s get this over with. The final run down to the suburb of Brighton where I was born can be done when the weather is better.

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