Posts Tagged ‘Cycling’

Day 4. 100km. Westport – Karamea

Posted: November 8, 2024 in Cycling, New Zealand
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When the rain is steady, the cyclist’s mind turns inward. The kilometres are mind games, punctuated with sudden thoughts – look outward. Live in the now. Look at that fern. That bird. The crashing sea shrouded in grey. The west coast is wet.

The crashing sea

I wanted to get to the start of the Heaphy Trail. The weather forecast is constant rain for the coming days, so waiting it out wasn’t an option. With no reason to dawdle and check out the sights on the way, I ventured out into the rain.

A picnic lunch in the camp kitchen at Mokihinui and then a climb and drop in the rain was the order of the day.

The climb
View from the top

The rain eased for the last hour enough for me to put in my earbuds and listen to the US election. Trump it is.

Tomorrow the Heaphy Trail.

Day 3. 65km. Lyell – Westport

Posted: November 7, 2024 in Cycling, New Zealand
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‘Have you just come or are you going?’ the lady asked at the entrance gate to the Old Ghost Road.

‘ I have just changed my mind,’ I replied. Today, I took my heavily laden bike on the main road and not on the steep, narrow mountain bike route. My gut feeling was that this was the safest thing to do.

The start of the Old Ghost Road

I was at the entrance gate with the German, Fritz, when a mountain biker came out of the little hut next door.

‘I don’t want this to sound bad, but are you sure you want to do this?’

Yes. I knew it was steep. And narrow. I’d have to carry my luggage up the steep bits separately. He went on, and I realised that my super heavy bike just wasn’t the right tool for this task. I checked out the first 500m of the trail and turned back, disappointed but sure I had made the right decision.

I continued on the main road westwards to join the other end of the Old Ghost Road. As the weather got wetter and more miserable, I was happy I wasn’t 1000m higher on an exposed mountain ridge.

Buller Gorge

I was planning to have lunch in Westport but my drowned rat instincts decided it was time to call it a day. Tomorrow morning there is a short break in the rain. I might try to do some kilometres before I get too wet.

Day 2. 64km. Rotoroa Lake – Lyell

Posted: November 6, 2024 in Cycling, New Zealand
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The sky was pink behind the snow capped mountains, a band of cloud hovering around waist level. The water was still, reflecting the sky. The ducks were calling, and then a black swans swam by, with a little baby – a shabby white, following. The morning was peaceful and beautiful. Lake Rotoroa.

Sunrise at Lake Rotoroa
Sunrise at Lake Rotoroa
Black swan

Today saw a steep grunt over a small shoulder and then a trip following another river down. There was even 4 water crossings, shin deep.

River ford number 2
River ford number 3

Today was a tranquil meander along the backroad to Murchison – the only town for 80km, and the only town I’d see for days. I stopped, ate, drunk and charged my external batteries.

Towards Murchison
Towards Murchison

I saw the Germans again at the camping ground at the start of the Old Ghost Road and had a nice dinner together before a very early evening.

I also saw a weka – a New Zealand bird that always fossicks around. It even steals socks. I hear. My smelly socks were banished into the tent.

 

Day 1. 129km. Nelson – Lake Rotoroa

Posted: November 5, 2024 in Cycling, New Zealand
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The Old Ghost Road is a ‘challenge’ according to my cycling friend, Clement. Clement’s challenges are truly challenging. Today was a perfect preparation for a challenge. A slow start, gradually getting harder, with quite some distance and hours covered. Perfect to get the untrained legs back into action.

The Great Taste Trail

The Great Taste Trail took me from Nelson up through wine areas in a dirt track that followed a wide stream. It meandered through sleepy villages and through a 1.5km long tunnel. Built for a trainline that was never completed, it was fun to plunge into the darkness.

The Great Taste Trail
The Great Taste Trail
Spooners Tunnel
Spooners Tunnel
Spooners Tunnel

A back road following a river up through farmland was the next on the list, popping over a little pass before joining the main road.

The back road

The end leg was following a river uphill to Lake Rotoroa – a beautiful oblong lake surrounded by snow- capped peaks. Recommended by my cycling neighbour on the plane – Steve, and another cyclist – Jake, I met on the way.

Lake Rotoroa
Lake Rotoroa
Lake Rotoroa

I met a German couple at the lake. We had dinner together and chatted. They have been traveling around the world for 1.5 years now. Not only the Germans were friendly – the midges too.

 

Chasing Sunsets – My Far North Queensland little cycle

Posted: July 1, 2022 in Australia, Cycling
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The sunsets in Croydon (in Far North Queensland) are famous. When my friend moved there, I had to visit – but, of course, by bicycle. I had a smörgåsbord of sunsets, but also waterfalls and long outback roads as I cycled from the tropical eastern coast to the mangroves on the Gulf of Carpentaria.

I wasn’t the only one chasing sunsets. I met a German walking across the world. He is just finishing a circle around Australia after spending the pandemic here. I last cycled past him crossing Khardung La – the highest motorable road in the world in the Himalayas. In Croydon I ran into the cyclists doing the annual Cairns to Karumba charity cycle. They were going out as I was going home.

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Walking from Germany

For such a short trip it had many distinctive parts, making the holiday experience feel longer and more refreshing.

Palm studded sandy beaches at Palm Cove and Turtle Cove

Sunrise at Turtle Cove

Crater lakes and raging waterfalls on the Atherton Tablelands

Ellinjaa Falls

Hot springs and lava tubes on the savannah

Undara Lava Tubes

Sunsets in Croydon

Sunset at Croydon

Sunset at Croydon

Mangrove beaches and offshore sand banks at Karumba

Mangrove beach at Karumba

Mangrove beach at Karumba

Bird-filled sandy flats at Normanton

Mutton Hole Wetlands

Mutton Hole Wetlands

Many thanks to John Thompson and the Cairns Cycling Group Rides Facebook Group for the tips, especially how to get from the coast to the Tablelands without becoming roadkill (from windy, steep, narrow roads). Quaid Road is the go! Thanks to Elizabeth in Croydon for the motivation to discover this part of Australia!

Rest day – Mutton Hole Wetlands

Posted: June 28, 2022 in Australia, Cycling, Queensland
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The grass was crackeling as the smoke billowed up and was blown away by the wind. The eagles and hawks circled and dived in a mad feeding frenzy. They were feeding on grasshoppers fleeing the flames. It felt like a special moment in this beautiful, barren landscape.

The birds circled in a feeding frenzy

Looking at the landscape on Google Maps gets me excited. White plains with fingers of green in a fractal pattern as the rivers meander to the sea. I asked around how to get to this landscape. Many roads were blocked, but I could go to the Mutton Hole Wetlands. I’m glad I did.

Mutton Hole Wetlands
Mutton Hole Wetlands

It is a maze of tracks criss-crossing the landscape. Some ended in dead ends. Some ended at water that I didn’t dare to explore (because of crocs).

Dotted across the horizon were burns with smoke billowing out. I finally went to explore, and was amazed by the feeding spectacle.

Feeding frenzy

Day 12. 70km. Karumba – Normanton

Posted: June 27, 2022 in Australia, Cycling, Queensland
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The sandy track followed the beach on the other side of a sandhill. I was exploring in the dark as the sun was just becoming a pink glow on the horizon. The sea began to be studded with little mangrove bushes. They became more dense. Finally they opened out into a mangrove swamp the other side of the beach. Dead trees stood high in the mud, with birds perched on their tips. It was a beautiful sight. Silence broken by bird calls. And this was all for me.

The mangrove beach
The mangrove beach
The mangrove beach

This beautiful place I visited for two sunrises. It was my favourite, secret place. On the second morning I made a pire from the dead wood.

My very own pire

My second sunset at Karumba was on a sand bar 7km out to see. A boat took me and the other visitors out to have a meal and drinks. It was a beautiful, surreal place.

Arrival at the sand bank
7km off shore on the sand bank
The sun sets
The sun sets
Our return ride arrives

All of this was on my day off pottering around Karumba. The return trip to Normanton was a bit of a slog. I have grown accustomed to a tailwind. Heading east, my friend became my enemy, and I had to remember how it is slowly counting down the kms into the wind. Tomorrow is another rest day in Normanton.

 

Day 11. 71km. Normanton – Karumba

Posted: June 26, 2022 in Australia, Cycling, Queensland
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It’s the end of the road. The road from Cairns has led here, and has now stopped. The land ends at this remote ‘Outback by the Sea’ town. People sip their drinks under the palm trees watching the sun turn to orange and then red over the sea, the mangroves and the emerging sand bars. The end of the world vibe. I love it.

Sunset at Karumba

The road here saw the vegetation slowly disappear as I pedalled through low grasslands and then salt pans.

50km to Karumba
The final approach

And then the road rises and I pop out to a view of the sea.

The Gulf of Carpentaria

The cycling day was short, but my body decided it was time to be lazy. And what a chill place to be lazy.

Sunset at Karumba
Sunset at Karumba

Day 10. 159km. Croydon – Normanton

Posted: June 25, 2022 in Australia, Cycling, Queensland
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“They sun themselves on the salt flats. Massive things. As big as the statue. If you stay more than 50m away you’ll be fine. And stay away from the water.” I contemplate my stay in croc territory as I watch the sunset from the bridge over the Norman River. I’m excited.

Life size, so they say

Today was a perfect cycling day. An ever so gradual slope downwards and a handy tailwind. I left at 5:15am in the dark and glided along through the dark, watching the sky turn pink and then orange before the direct sunbeams poked out between the trees.

Early morning on the road

The Gulflander train stops at Blackbull siding at 10:15am on Thursdays. I was there at 9 for a snack and photos.

Blackbull Siding
Blackbull Siding

I waited for the train 105km from Croydon, waving as it passed.

A snack stop at Leichardt Lake before on to the big smoke – Normanton.

Leichardt Lake
Leichardt Lake
The famous Purple Pub in Normanton

Out of Normanton is a pedestrian bridge over the Norman River. Its quite an impressive waterway. I spent an hour looking for crocs and watching the sky turn amazing colours.

The GoPro is capturing the sunset
Norman River at sunset
Norman River at sunset

Social distancing in Croydon

Posted: June 24, 2022 in Australia, Cycling, Queensland
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I was watching the sunrise when my phone pinged. It was a photo of a positive RAT test. My friend Elizabeth, who I was here to visit, just tested positive for COVID.

Socially distancing in Croydon

We had spent the evening together (in the open air) and I had slept on her living room floor. I had 2 days visiting the poorly Elizabeth and testing myself for COVID.

Watching sunsets is a favourite pasttime in Croydon. I let the GoPro capture it while I consumed dinner at the pub.

The GoPro captured sunset
Watching from the pub
Watching from the pub

I passed 84,000km on the bike doing errands around Croydon. I celebrated it, socially distanced, with Elizabeth and a banana cake.

84,000km

An evening sunset train ride was a highlight as a German guy walked past with a trolley he has pulled all the way from Germany. I met the same guy in 2018 walking up Khardung La high pass at around 5000m altitude. This time he was circumnavigating Australia.

The Gulflander train
On the train with Elizabeth’s friend Sarah
Meeting the German walker
Meeting the German walker

All is set for my onward journey to Normanton and Karumba. Without Elizabeth. Sorry that she will miss out on our luxury shoreline apartment and our luxury sunset boat trip.

I am still COVID negative. Let’s hope it stays that way.

COVID negative
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