The route I have travelled so far went through Bundaberg, Rosedale, Lowmead, Calliope to Gladstone, then Rockhampton, Malbourgh, Sarina, Mackay, St Helens Bridge, Prosperpine, Bowen, Home Hill, Ayr to Townsville.
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| Bundaberg to Cairns 1480km |
When I arrived in Townsville, I had now cycled exactly 3300km and still another 340km to go to Cairns to make sure I'm there by October 12 because then I fly to Bali! Incidentally, I had calculated that the distance I would need to cycle from New Zealand through Australia was going to be 3200km, but it turns out that it was a bit longer than I thought, more like 3700km, which will bring me to Cairns, and a full 2 months into the journey.
In Bundaberg, I hit a bit of a low and I needed a few days to recover from this to get back on track. From Bundaberg, I cycled to Rosedale, the temperature has been steadily increasing the more northerly I travel from Bundaberg. There is really not much more along the way besides every 70 - 80km there may be a gas station where I need to make sure that I stock up on clean drinking water supplies.
I drink about 5 - 6 litres of water for every 100km I cycle, and it all just evaporates. It is very remote out in the sticks, with not much more than lots of magpies. I have been looking for a croc in each and every river that I have crossed, but up to now have failed to spot one.
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| Lots of rivers, not many crocs.... |
On the road I met another cyclist from New Zealand - we cycled together for a while to support and motivate each other. We took this picture at the last road sign to help keep the motivation going.
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| Almost there..... |
After another three days, I arrived in Gladstone and had found a
Warm Showers address of Alexander and Lisa Bennett, the joke is that they don't actually live in Gladstone, but Alex works as a doctor in the emergency department at Gladstone Hospital. They have accommodation in Gladstone for the dates he works at the hospital. So I took my bicycle up in the lift, parked it on the balcony and we had a lovely evening together. When Alex was around 20yrs old he cycled all the way around Australia, 18600km!!
Thanks for the hospitality and pleasant evening :)
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| Thanks Alex and Lisa! |
From Gladstone, the route to Rockhampton was the point where I had reached my limit with these pesky magpies, attacking me as much as 5 or 6 times a day. I also came across a train which was about 2 km in length, with 100 carriages and two locomotives in front and two in the middle: coal, coal, coal! Every half an hour for 24 hours a day, they say that there is still enough coal in the ground for the next 300 years! I tried to take a picture but could not capture the immense length of this train, the camera is just too small. Later on when I was in Mackay some people took me to a lookout point where you can see the ships off the coast; about 35 of them all waiting for a load of coal.
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| Coal, coal, coal and more coal... |
Other than many dead kangaroos by the side of the road, I did come across a python for a change, they are harmless I think, but they come to the roads at night to soak up the heat from the tarmac - this one was unfortunately dead though.
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| Python roadkill |
After a few nights of camping in the wild, I found a place to sleep in Mackay with Peppe and Jeanie Tucci. Peppe is a school teacher, but also a musician. On my last evening with them they took me to a charity event where he performed his music to raise funds for this good cause. On Saturday we put a laminate floor down, and on Sunday Jeanie explained how to get back to my cycling route via alternate roads to Boulders Creek. I saw everything except for Boulders Creek! I got completely lost in the wop wops, after seeing many gravel roads, two camels, three living kangaroos and a bush emu, I finally got back to my route on the bridge highway, better luck next time.
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| Camping in the wild |
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| Projector room |
Another lovely couple I ended up staying with were Frank and Suzie Jerkic in Home Hill. I didn't read very well where I was headed and to my great surprise, I ended up at Stardust - one of the few remaining drive-in movie theaters left in Australia. I couldn't understand why they asked me to shower by a certain time that evening until I realized that their guests were about to arrive. It was great, and the really nice thing was that they showed two movies that night. They have been doing this for the past 26 years, it is not about earning a living, it is their passion. As nowadays with the digital age, not many people come to watch drive-in movies.
I finally made it to Cairns and boarded my flight to Denpasar, Bali on the evening of Sunday 12th October. The Australian chapter has come to an end, but now the Bali adventure begins....thanks for following and supporting me through this journey so far!
You can also help by donating funds to
GoFundMe to help raise money and awareness for the Cambodian street kids.
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| Frank and Suzie |
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| Stardust Drive In Movie Theatre |
After Singapore I crossed the border and headed into Malaysia - I got a very easy and quick visa without any difficulty. From there I started towards Benut about a 90km ride, but now also in the rainy season. Just before I got to Benut I stopped and asked a local if there were any hostels in Benut, but; "no sorry, not for another 45km". Then it started to rain, of course, so I stopped along the road and someone came to me and offered for me to stay in one of his rooms - my luck day! After a hot shower, he drove me to the nearest town for a meal, and in the morning at 7'o clock, he brought me breakfast - amazing!
With the canal, small streets, markets, and the bikers of the night, Malacca has a European atmosphere with lots of Chinese people.
