April Reports

30 April 2009- north of Capella
Distance: 111 km
Word of the Day: Penny Wong (Find out who she is and why I'm glad not to be her.)
You can see how all this riding is making my legs stronger! The last few days it has been busier on the road. This is mainly because there are several huge open pit coal mines in the region. It's incredible to see the number of vehicles with flashing amber lights on the roof and long orange flags that zip along out here. Add them to the usual cattle and crop farmers with all their trucks and bits and pieces, and it starts to get a little hectic in the country! Although the coal industry employs a lot of people and makes fistfuls of money for the local people and the Queensland government it is controversial due to climate change worries. Some scientists have suggested Australia should stop exporting coal altogether. The motels in Emerald, where I passed through today, would empty quickly if that happened. And all the Toyota Lancruiser's with the flashing amber lights and orange flags... all gone. It's going to be a tricky business changing from a world that burns the fossil fuels from these mines to one that doesn't. Glad I'm not Penny Wong at the moment!
This evening I had real trouble finding a good roadside camp because the grass is too high. Wherever I looked it was 1 metre high and thick with scratchy things and spiders. Just as the sun went to visit the people on the other side of the world, I dashed off the road and under a tree. It's not perfect but at least the flattened grass makes a comfortable mattress. Looking ahead, I've made plans with Tim Trehearn in Cairns to climb Mt Bartle Frere on Sunday next week. I'll need to keep punching out about 100km per day to get there on time.

29 April 2009- north of Springsure
Distance: 108 km
Word of the Day: Feather (Which other word in this report rhymes with feather?)
There have been a few questions about the weather and temperature in the forum recently. The sun rises at about 6.30am and sets just before 6.00pm at the moment. Back home in Tassie the sun is dipping lower and lower over the northern horizon each day. I can imagine the chill in the air as winter creeps up from the Southern Ocean, and blows in on those cold south-westerlies. By going north, I'm chasing the sun and not losing as much daylight as you would be further south. Closer to the equator means less extreme winter/summer daylight variation. The winds aren't quite as cold here, but overnight it has been chilly enough to have the sleeping bag zipped up and my beanie on. This is partly because my sleeping bag is looking like an old flea bitten dog. After ten years of being stuffed and squashed into small bags, having feathers escape, and never being washed (that's right, ten years, hundreds of days, no wash!), it's nearly had enough. You know how sleeping bags are fluffy, well mine's not. But back to the weather. The winds will generally be south-easterly along the coast at this time of year, and turn more easterly as they come inland. There will be a chance of rain and storms in the tropical areas further north of Townsville, but it should stay clear and dry for the next week. Having said that, I'm probably about to be hit by a tropical cyclone!

28 April 2009- south of Rolleston
Distance: 133 km
Word of the Day: Gouge (How many words can you think of that have two 'g's?)
The Queensland Bottle Tree (pictured) is sometimes found with strange little bike riders attached near the base of the trunk. They pose no harm to the delightfully shaped tree and drop off with a firm flick.
They are found mainly right around where I am now, in central western Queensland, but grow down into northern NSW as well. If planted in a garden they will do okay in most parts of Australia. Historically, they were used by local aboriginals as a source of water by boring a hole in the bark and forming a little reservoir to collect the seep. I know all this because I just looked it up on Google. While I was hugging the tree I knew nothing. If I had, I might have used the pocket knife to gouge off the bark and have a drink. I've been rationing my water to make sure I have enough for tonight. It turned out not be a problem as I have nearly made it to Rolleston and have plenty left in my water bags. Passing through a section of the Carnarvon National Park this morning was beautiful, the road conditions were also beautiful, and the drivers drove beautifully. Yep, it was a beautiful day out here.

27 April 2009- north of Injune
Distance: 115 km
Word of the Day: Safe (Are there any other 4 letter words ending with 'afe'?)
This is a cotton plant growing beside the road. Isn't it great, just covered in cotton balls like that! I'd never seen a cotton plant before and had no picture in my head of what they might look like. The little buds open up but instead of a flower coming bursting out... there's a cotton ball. Another intersting thing I saw today was a herd of camels in an open paddock. It looked like a family with a few young calves. I wondered if they were wildly roaming around or the farmer keeps them for some reason. What do we use camels for in Australia? Anyway, it was a good days riding with the wind swinging around to the south-west. I passed through Injune, just stopping for an ice cream (it's hot up here compared to Tassie!) and to fill up the water bags. The next town is Rolleston which is 170 km north of Injune, so I had to make sure I had enough water to last for two nights. I might make it to Rolleston tomorrow with a big day, or there might be water along the way, but it's best to play it safe.

26 April 2009- north of Roma
Distance: 86 km
Word of the Day: Suitable (Does this mean you are allowed to wear a suit... or something else?)
Is the town of Roma where the egg shaped 'Roma' tomato gets it's name? I didn't see any on my way through town, but there's a lot of things I don't see travelling at 13.6km/h. However, I did see a games of rugby league, rugby union, netball, and lawn bowls being played. There were lots of large, scary looking pig hunting dogs on the back of utes too. The people aren't so scary though, with many friendly waves and toots. As usual I filled up with water and continued through town to find a camp in the scrub beside the road. I love the last hour of the riding day as I look for a suitable resting place. The best camps are hidden from passing traffic and in a natural setting. Tonight I found another good one between the road and the paddocks out the back. There's a strip of trees and scrub about 40 meters wide and I'm set up right at the back so I can see into the open paddocks. This photo shows what I think is part of an old fence. If you have a better suggestion, let me know. Also, I need advice on climbing Mt Bartle Frere. I realised today that I'm only a few weeks away from it and have NO IDEA how people go about climbing it! My map doesn't show the foot track but I assume I leave from the road near Josephine Falls? So if you are hunting around on the net and find some advice for me, it would be much appeciated.

25 April 2009- near Surat
Distance: 105 km
Word of the Day: AM and FM (In the radio world, what do these letters mean?)
If there's one game of footy I like to watch or listen to, it's Essendon v Collingwood on Anzac Day. Being in Queensland this is a problem. Up here the locals really only care about rugby league. ABC local radio on the AM band is the only frequency I can pick up in between towns, so I had to listen to the rugby to get the score updates. At the town of Surat I thought I might get ABC Newsradio (which has the AFL coverage today) on FM frequency. No such luck, and my phone didn't work either so I couldn't ring anyone for a score update. Hmm, so I rode through town, only pausing to fill up the water bags, and camped a few kilometres out the other side. After a quick wash I pulled the computer out to tune in online. The score showed Eseendon down by a few points deep into the fourth quarter. But try as I might, I could not get the online broadcast to work. I watched in agony as the score stayed the same, and then, just when I thought it lost, Essendon clicked over to beat the Pies by 5 points. Ah, what a great end to the day! The photo here is in Surat, Cobb and Co. were a famous transport company who took mail, people and gold around Australia. They were vital to the people in these remote areas to connect them to the outside world. They were probably faster than my bike too.

24 April 2009- north of St George
Distance: 89 km
Word of the Day: Gusty (If you move two letters in this word you get one that means brave- what is it?)
Hot, gusty, northerly wind- bad, bad and really bad. I dropped down into a low gear and began the slog. In the cotton paddocks, machines hummed up and down plucking the white fluff away and leaving neat brown stubble. Trucks took the bales away, leaving a trail of cotton blowing across the road. Grasshoppers jumped off the road, sometimes slamming into my arms, chest, and head as a gust of wind caught them unaware. I was only going about 12-13 km/hour but the town of St George was creeping closer. Then a bike rider appeared on the horizon. The bright red jacket came zooming closer and I could see it was a white haired old lady pedalling hard. A 4WD chugged along behind. As she drew level she smiled widely and yelled, "How are you going?" and then, "Where are you going?" Before I could answer either question she was long gone, enjoying the tailwind and leaving me to suffer the opposite direction. At St George I went to the supermarket for supplies and continued about 20 km north of town. This is a photo of the campsite tonight. It's a beauty!

23 April 2009- between Dirranbandi and St George
Distance: 90 km
Word of the Day: Camouflage (How do some other animals hide in the wild?)
This little fella is well camouflaged. Against the rocky red sand he's almost impossible to see. Luckily I was sitting down having a rest after setting up the tent and nearly put my hand on him. In the sand there are also tracks from kangaroo, beetles and lizards. It was a slow start this morning with a headwind, yep that's right, a horrible old headwind. The last week have all been south-easterly tailwinds so it was a nasty shock! I kept my head down and watched the road trains (2 trailers) carting cotton from the nearby farms. The roadside was dotted with what looks exactly like cotton balls that you'd buy from a supermarket. Enough had blown off the trucks to make a lot of t-shirts. Eventually I arrived for a late lunch in the park at Dirranbandi. The council workers were busy cutting, mowing and mulching in preparation for Anzac Day. They said they wanted to make the town look good for the special day. I kept going for another little while so I could reach St George and beyond tomorrow. The wind died off later in the afternoon so hopefully it won't be a problem tomorrow.

22 April 2009- Hebel (in Queensland!)
Distance: 126 km
Word of the Day: Drover (Is this word only used in Australia?)
Wayne is droving his cattle up and down the road for a few weeks because there's not enough grass to feed them all on his property at the moment. That makes him a drover- just like Hugh Jackman in the film 'Australia'. When I mentioned this to him he smiled. Wayne has a stock whip, two dogs, a quad bike and a large hat to help him keep the cows behaving. He said it cost $2 per week, per beast (he always said beast instead of cow) to let them graze on the roadside. Cattle do strange things when they see a bicycle. Often they run ahead of me as if I'm herding them along, then panic and dart across the road or stop quickly. They don't care about cars or trucks, just bicycles and people with stock whips. The land changed from the endless flat plains to include a few roly-poly hills. I went past the turn-off to Lightning Ridge where they mine opals and the dirt changed from yellow/brown to red/brown. The scrub, where there are no sheep or cows is a mixture of well spaced trees and long grasses. Where there are sheep and cows it is the same except the long grass is a lot shorter or not there at all. I have stopped at Hebel, which is a small town with a general store, a pub, and handful of houses. Barb runs the store and looked at me severely when I said I'd grab some water and camp down the road. In the end we decided I should camp in the caravan park at the back of the shop and have a shower. I'm glad I did because I have just eaten the biggest hamburger with the LOT ever. There was probably one entire beast in there!

21 April 2009- 10 km north of Walgett
Distance: 105 km
Word of the Day: Skittish (Is this even a real word?)
There's been a lot if rain in these parts recently. Without the hills and gullies to send it quickly into river sand out to sea, it sits around on the flat ground making shallow ponds. And we all know who loves a warm, shallow pond don't we? BIRDS- there are thousands of them flapping about up here. Just today I've seen black swans, white ibis, ducks, cockatoos, galahs, parrots, hawks and many that I can't name. I desperately need a big book of birds! These emu's were striding along the side of the road pecking at the ground and acting skittish.
I've pedaled up past Walgett to camp beside the Barwon River. The water is dusty brown but I had a great swim, and even washed my socks. Also had a flat tyre on the trailer this afternoon, that's the first puncture since Tasmania. Might be in Queensland tomorrow.

20 April 2009- 20km north of Coonamble
Distance: 131 km
Word of the Day: Imagine (also a song by John Lennon, listen to it if you can.)
They call this area the Western Plains. There hasn't been a hill since I left Dubbo two days ago. With a strong south-east wind I am FLYING along without much effort. Early this morning I reached Gilgandra. Most of the heavy traffic continues along the Oxley Highway going to Brisbane, so it was a relief to be taking the Castlereagh Highway to Coonamble. I might be imaging this, but it seems that passing trucks and cars are friendlier up too. My theory is that the less traffic there is overall, the more waves and smiles can be expected. Maybe we all have a limit to how many people we can be nice to in one day- say 22. In cities and on busy roads we reach that limit in about ten minutes and spend the rest of the day looking at our feet or staring past people. Anyway, quiet roads are good roads. Tonight I'm camped beside a creek in an open cow paddock. The ground is covered in burrs so I won't be surprised if I wake to a couple of flat tyres in the morning. The frogs are loudly croaking away outside the tent. It is either delightful or highly annoying, I can't work out which?

19 April 2009- not far south of Gilgandra
Distance: 117 km
Word of the Day: Tapering (Does this word have anything to do with wrapping presents in sticky-tape? Check a dictionary.)
I heard the fox terrier before I saw it. Yap, yap, yap, it went, from its home at Eumungerie, 40 km north of Dubbo. The next thing I did was check for a fence. No fence, uh-oh. Yap, yap, yap, it came charging out onto the road closely followed by a much bigger doggy friend. Double uh-oh! Luckily I already had a good head of steam up thanks to the tailwind and was able to stay a few metres in front of their yapping jaws. After about 100 metres they dropped off the pace and I turned to shake my fist at them.
This morning I saved this lizard (photo) from a messy end on the road. It's about 15 centimetres long, has a few thorny spikes along its body, a diamond shaped head, and thin, tapering tail. It puffed its neck out when I shoved it off the road, but not like a Frilled Necked Lizard. Anyone know what it might be? At the moment I'm camped in a great spot amongst cypress trees beside the road. Zoom down on the map for a better look.

18 April 2009- between Yeoval and Obley
Distance: 119 km
Word of the Day: Pronounced (How many syllables?)
"Where'd ya come from?" asked Charlie, as I filled up my water bag at the park in Cumnock. "From Canowindra today, it's been good riding." I replied. Charlie looked at me blankly. "From where?" he asked, with genuine question in his voice. "Canowindra." I said more slowly, bringing the map over to show him. "Ahh, you mean Canowindra!" Charlie said finally. I'd been saying it as 'kan-o-win-dra', but Charlie said it like 'ka-nown-dra'. With that sorted out we talked about the drought and bikes. Charlie reckons the ten year drought that the area has been through (there has been some good rain recently but they need more), is a permanent change. The farmers are looking on the bright side and hope the rainfall will return to normal (what is normal after 10 years?) soon. Then I learnt about the annual bike ride from Cumnock to Yeoval (rhymes with 'oval'), which is probably why this bike was hanging out of a tree (photo). Around town there were bikes in all sorts of strange places. The route I took today was off the main roads as I passed through Barragan, Cudal, Manindra, Gumble, Cumnock and Yeoval. I'm in the country!

17 April 2009- Canowindra
Distance: 135 km
Word of the Day: Miniature (This word is usually shortened to make it easier to say- what is the miniature version of this word?)
Every town seems to start with the letter 'C' around here! Cowra, Canowindra... umm... Canberra... hmm, maybe not all of them, but there's a few. I woke at 6am with the alarm and went straight back to sleep until 7am. Not happy with missing some good early morning riding I hurried (sort of) to be on the road just after 8am. The wind had swung around to be from the south-west so it was helping me along happily. The land is slightly hilly with a light sprinkle of lone trees. The whole thing looks like a vast green carpet with mice running around underneath. There were only four very small clouds on the eastern horizon but the temperature didn't get much past 20 degrees. At Boorowa I stopped quickly for a vanilla slice before continuing north. After 100km at Cowra, I decided to push on towards Canowindra. The whole way I was looking for a patch of roadside trees to camp amongst. Not even one miniature forest to be found, just a long line of fences and paddocks and grassy verge. I had to keep riding into Canowindra where I have camped in the council caravan park. The caretaker asked me where I live. When I said Hobart, Tasmania she said, 'Oh, you must have caught the ferry over... can't be riding bikes over from there!' I was too tired to explain and went to have a shower.

16 April 2009- between Yass and Boorowa
Distance: 85 km
Word of the Day: Foundation (This is another tricky word that means a few different things, can you work out them out?)
There were two trailers being dragged behind bikes this morning. The Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo was gracefully weaving through Canberra traffic with Ant's OzByBike (see yesterday's dispatch) setup, so she could carry her backpack. We rode to the National Library to join Ant's friends for pancakes and climbing. The stone foundations of the library make for excellent Spiderman impersonations. Actually, I didn't do the climbing part, preferring to stick to the pancakes. After saying goodbye to the YTBC I rode north out of Australia's capital city and onward to Yass. Chris, Nick and their dad were waiting at the bakery on the main street to say hello. Chris has been following the journey so he'd invited me to stop for a catch up on the way through. I'm glad he did because I enjoyed their stories of their own recent travels around Australia and Papua New Guinea. Especially the frightening account of being in the middle of an earthquake on the north coast of PNG! There was still plenty of daylight so I continued another 25 km up the road and have camped in the trees for the night. The long, brown paddocks with grazing sheep and cattle were catching the light beautifully this afternoon (photo). Great to be back on the road after the short break in Canberra.

15 April 2009- Canberra R&R day 3
Word of the Day: Macadamia (If you could only eat 3 types of nut for the rest of your life, what would they be?)
This is Ant and Theresa who have been lending us some floor space while here in Canberra. In 2006/07 Ant did a tiny little bike around Australia's to visit the seven extremes! Only about 27 147km on his incy-pincy, 18 month ride. The seven extremes are most southern, eastern, northern, western, highest, lowest and most central. Can you work out what they are- let me know on the forum! Then go and check out Oz By Bike for a great look at some of the country I'll be visiting and a whole lot more.
Not to be outdone, Theresa went on an incredible journey by foot accompanied by packhorse (is that one word or two... pack horse/ packhorse?) for 800km around Lesotho in Africa. Raising awareness and money for the HIV epidemic in the small mountainous country was Theresa's goal. Have a look at the video diaries and more from the epic adventure at Treading the Forgotten Sky.
Staying with these two is a great reminder that creative, inspiring and excellent adventures are only limited by your imagination. They are everywhere if you have your eyes open and don't mind getting dirt in them sometimes. Thanks for the hospitality and sorry for eating all the Honey Macadamia Icecream. I forgot to replace it and I'm leaving in the morning...

14 April 2009- Canberra R&R day 2
Word of the Day: Rollicking (how many smaller words can you make from the letters?)
Graham picked us up late this afternoon to take a photo for the Canberra Times (story buried on page 71 tomorrow if you live here). We drove up to Mt Ainsleigh chasing the dying sun as it dipped below Black Mountain. Zipping around in the little red car was a rollicking change of pace. Graham used to work as a photographer in Adelaide for the Advertiser. Times changed when a new owner by the name of Rupert Murdoch took over and Graham moved to Canberra. He told of times when he was sent out for weeks at a time with a reporter to chase stories from all corners of South Australia. Not like that now apparently. The rest of today was spent... hmm, not exactly sure? Some shopping for missing/broken/needed equipment was in there, but the hours slid by without trace otherwise. One more day in Canberra tomorrow to finish off a few jobs and then back on the road.

13 April 2009- Canberra R&R
Word of the Day: Suburb (What other words start with SUB and what does it mean?)
Here at Ant and Theresa's the animals outnumber the people. It's only a handful of kilometres from Parliament House but it's just like being on a farm out the back of whoop-whoop. These two old horses live over the fence, and a goat, cows, guinea pigs, chooks, pigs and rabbits can be found making all sorts of farmyard noises nearby. The main jobs for me today were recharging batteries, washing clothes and catching up with news and emails. Ant and Theresa are away seakayaking at Jervis Bay (See if you can find it on the map of Australia- it's an amazing place.) so I've been eating their icecream and fig jam on toast. This evening I went into the city with Nicola. Most of the suburbs around Canberra are named after prominent people in Australia's history. It'd be a good challenge to work out what all the different people are famous for. Some of the places we noticed were Deakin, Barton, Forrest, Dickson, Griffith, Russel, Parkes and Red Hill. The last one might not be named after a famous person though! These few days off will be the last for at least three weeks so it's important to be very lazy, that's what I keep telling myself anyway.

12 April 2009- Canberra
Distance: 49km (17 walked, 32 ridden)
Word of the Day: Torrent (I heard that Matthew Lloyd of the Essendon Bombers kicked a torrent of goals to beat the Carlton Blues. Is this true?)The Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo chewed down some porridge before we walked out to the Namadgi Visitor Centre. The end of the five day walk to climb Bimberi Peak was clear and sunny after the torrential downpour last night. The kids at the campground were getting ready for an Easter egg hunt as we left. Our packs were much lighter because all the food was nearly gone. It was tempting to go and find a few eggs before the kids got to them! No snakes today but we did see a lyrebird (we think) running through the bush with a long swishing tail. I went on a chase to get a photo but it trotted away before I could get close enough. Back at the visitor's centre I grabbed the bike from the shed where the ranger's had put it while we were out (thanks), and loaded the bags for the short ride into Canberra. I'll be staying with friends, Ant and Theresa, for a few days to get ready for the long ride through outback NSW and Queensland. On the list of things to do is; wash clothes, buy a spoon, send maps, get sultanas and eat cakes. Happy Easter.

11 April 2009- Honeysuckle Campground, Namadgi NP
Distance: 24 km
Word of the Day: Compromise (Can you think of a situation where you've had to compromise recently?)
Kangaroos at camp this morning nibbling on the grass and ignoring the humans. During the night they were very keen to scratch around the packs in the tent and generally be nosey. Today's walking was a reverse of 3 days ago so there were no surprises. I'm walking in sneaker type shoes because I'm only carrying one pair for the cycling and the walking. That means they're a compromise between being any good for either activity. That, in turn, means I have developed painful blisters and ended up walking half the day in the Crocs that I usually wear around in the evening. They were very good to walk along the dirt roads! We are in the middle of a thunderstorm here in the tent. A puddle formed underneath us and we have had to move to higher ground. Another puddle is forming and the floor is wet. Ah well, one more day walking tomorrow and then a few days off in Canberra to dry out. The Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo is holding up better than I am which doesn't surprise me.

10 April 2009- Bimberi Peak climb
Distance: 15 km
Word of the Day: Blister (Should blisters be popped?)
The Long Necked Turtle made a slow ascent of Bimberi Peak today... very slowly on it's little turtle legs and with it's long neck poking through the scrub to see the way ahead. Thanks PearlB! We followed the turtle up to Murray's Gap where the ACT/NSW border is marked by a national park sign and a survey peg. Following the border through untracked bush to summit was easy going. Above about 1800m the bush thinned out to mainly Snow Gums and snow grass. From the summit we went straight down the mountain towards camp rather than the longer route back to the gap and down the track. The scrub was a little thicker in placer but because it was downhill we made good progress. The Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo went close to treading on one of those yellow bellied black snakes. After that she was seeing snakes and wild pigs in every burnt stick and dark shadow. With tired feet and a few blisters we're ready to head back out the way we came in. Plod, plod, plod!

9 April 2009- Cotters Flat, Namadgi NP
Distance: 24 km
Word of the Day: Inquisitive (What are you inquisitive about?)
This is a special photo for the Grade 5's at Collegiate in Hobart. They asked me to keep an eye out for any dangerous animals. Not sure of the species, but black with yellow scales along belly. Any Suggestions? We are sitting outside the tent on a grassy plain beside the Cotter River. A full moon has risen over the range behind and the still evening air is beginning to cool and become dewy. It was a long 24 km walk over hard tracks and dirt roads to be near the base of Bimberi Peak. Two inquisitive kangaroos are sniffing around the tent for food but I'm chasing them away by waving my red walking shorts and yelling. They're not taking much notice. The Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo is cooking up a storm and I'm enjoying the company a lot. Bimberi tomorrow.

8 April 2009- Honeysuckle Campground, Namadgi National Park
Distance: 27 km (10 ridden 17 walked)
Word of the Day: Research (the first part of this word (re) turns up at the start of many words- why?)
This is NOT the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo, who has joined me for the bushwalk to Bimberi Peak. This is Bruce who is sharing the campground with us. He rode in on the road but we walked from the visitors centre. Not sure if the walking or the riding would be better, there's hills both ways. Bruce is writing a cycling guidebook for Canberra and he's doing some research up here. From here we will walk another day to get closer to Bimberi, then walk it as a day walk without heavy packs and return back to the visitors centre the same way. Only have limited battery power for the next 3-4 days so these reports will be messy!
Hot walking in dry, rocky country. Lots of kangaroos and birds near a waterhole. If you were an animal you'd want to stay close to water out here, not much about. We were wondering if the summit of Bimberi peak is part of the official border between NSW and ACT? If we stand on the western side will we be in NSW, and when we stand on the eastern side in the ACT?

7 April 2009- Murrumbidgee River
Distance: 131 km
Word of the Day: Manner (There are at least two other words that sound like this but are spelt differently and mean different things. Do you know what they are?)
It was one of those days that passes neither fast nor slow. The landscape of rolling paddocks with distant forested hills didn't change much from Jindabyne, right through Cooma to here on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River. The road was smooth and there was a helpful tailwind. Cars and trucks had good manners as they passed in their hundreds. Kilometres dropped away with the green 5km signs beside the road. Cooma 45...40...35... Canberra 110...105...100... I turned off the Monaro Highway onto a dirt road at 5pm. It will take me across to the Namadgi Visitor Centre tomorrow where I'll start the 5 day walk to Bimberi Peak- the highest in the Australian Capital Territory. But I won't be going alone, a special Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo (Nicola) is flying in from Tasmania for the walk. That's lucky.

6 April 2009- 15km past Jindabyne
Distance: 72 km (17 walked, 55 ridden)
Word of the Day: Temperature (How many words can you think of for cold temperature?)
Can you believe it! I found a Brush Turkey on the top of Mt Kosciuszko at 2228 metres above sea level. It was trying hard to perch on top of the summit marker but as you can see, only made it half way. Perhaps they are better suited to the scrub? Well done Warateah Warrior for guessing that I might find this strange bird on the highest point of NSW and Australia. Email your school's address and I'll send you out a map.
It wasn't easy getting out of the sleeping bag this morning with the temperature not much above zero degrees. I unzipped the tent at 6am and saw that there was blue sky above and clouds filling the valleys below. Following the track (about time) I walked past the chairlifts of Thredbo ski resort and along the main track. To contain the erosion from thousands of walkers Parks and Wildlife installed a raised or hardened track all the way to the top. On the way up I saw nobody, but on the way back to the tent I must have passed at least 50 walkers who had caught the chairlift up and were finishing off the last 6km by foot. Returning back to Dead Horse Gap I collected the bike and rolled down to Thredbo for a hot drink and pie. It's quiet at the moment but once the ski season starts it must be buzzing with people. With great downhills and only a few small ups it was easy riding into Jindabyne and beyond. Over the next few days I'll be heading through Cooma on the way to Namadgi National Park in the ACT. Hiding in there is Bimberi Peak, target number three.

5 April 2009- near Mt Kosciuszko
Distance: 54 km (50 bike, 4 foot)
Word of the Day: Petered (Does this have anything to do with people called Peter?)
From Scammel's Lookout the road dropped down to Geehi so for the first 20 minutes I didn't have to pedal. Then up and down again and I arrived at Tom Groggin, a large farm carved out of the valley that is otherwise all trees. The gears were making a grinding noise and not running smoothly so I cleaned the old grease away, adjusted them and oiled them back up. The difference it made was enormous, I should have done it yesterday! From Tom Groggin the road goes up from 500 metres elevation to over 1500 metres at Dead Horse Gap (photo). I didn't move out of the lowest gear, which is not much faster than walking. Sometimes I just walked anyway. Motorbikes by the dozen were out for a Sunday ride and they zipped around the switchbacks with tremendous speed and agility. At Dead Horse Gap I unloaded the bike and selected the equipment I needed for walking up Mt Kosciuszko. The track I followed petered out but it took me into the high country above the tree-line and I traversed around on the snow grass and rocks to find the usual walking track. With the wind cold and strengthening I have set up on some lumpy, but sheltered, ground. It's only about 4-5 km from the summit so I'll head out tomorrow morning before returning to the road. Getting ready for the animal pose!

4 April 2009- Scammels Lookout
Distance: 85km
Word of the day: Hydro (how many states use hydro electricity as their primary source of power?
The thunderstorm passed in the night and has left good rainfall across the area. Farm dams are full of muddy brown water, but a lot of the paddocks look like they need a few more downpours. Corryong was full of people and the main street was closed to traffic for the 'Man From Snowy River Festival'. I've never seen so many Akubra's before! Bought a few extra supplies and continued in warm sunshine to Khancoban. Many years ago it was a small farming district, then it boomed to about 5000 people in the 1950's and 60's when the Snowy Hydro Scheme was being built. Now it's back to a sleepy and very friendly 500 residents. Out of Khancoban it's all up hill to the dam and power station pictured. This is the second biggest of the Snowy scheme and can generate enough electricity for 95000 homes. After that it's pretty much all up hill again to here at Scammel's Lookout. I can see the main range where Mt Kosciuszko is hiding but there's an awfully big hill to ride up to get there tomorrow. There'll be lots of walking and fair bit of feeling sorry for myself
before I reach Dead Horse gap and put the pack on for the final climb. Might have to wait until Monday morning?

3 April 2009- 38km before Corryong
Distance: 101 km
Word of the Day: Poured (Why is there a 'u' in this word?)
Strange old day! Awoke to light rain and clouds hugging the hills above Mitta Mitta. As I rode through town the taps were turned on full and it poured down. There was no point stopping because I was already wet inside and out, and I'd only get cold. So for the next three hours I peeped from a dripping helmet and dodged puddles. The cows weren't happy but the river was quickly filling (perhaps a little too quickly). By lunch (photo) it was dry again and I turned onto the Murray Valley Highway. At Koetong I'd had enough of the hills and stopped at the pub for a hot pie. Camp tonight is between the road and a huge pine plantation. A thunderstorm has blown in and I can't hear the radio for the drumming of rain and rolling thunder. Flashes of lightning seem awfully close but I should be okay in the tent, let's hope it doesn't leak. Blimey that's getting wild out there!

2 April 2009- nearly to Mitta Mitta
Distance: 59 km (17 walk, 42 ride)
Word of the Day: Altitude (Does the following sentence make sense: 'Your altitude is letting you down.'?)
The morning started at over 1900 metres above sea level and was all downhill after that. After packing up slowly so the sun would dry the tent fly, I passed the Cleve Cole Hut where a group of students from Healesville were doing their morning stretches. They told me that there was a devastating fire in 2003 that burnt all the snow gums. I had been wondering when the damage was done. It's good to see the new shoots coming form the base of the trunks, in a few more years it'll start looking like it used to. I continued down Long Spur with an accidental detour down Mulhauser Spur. Instead of backtracking to the saddle when I'd made the wrong turn, I sidled around in the scrub to the next saddle. I think the backtracking option would have been wiser! But after that I kept losing altitude until I was back at the bike. With a few good hours of daylight I pedalled off down the VERY LONG hill towards Mitta Mitta. Have stopped a few kms short to camp beside a bubbling creek.

1 April 2009- Mt Bogong
Distance: 25km (6km bike, 19km walking)
Word of the Day: Specimen (What is the dictionary meaning?)
Use your best David Attenborough voice while reading the following report.
The Superb Lyrebird has been spotted on the roof of Victoria at Mt Bogong today. An unusually colourful specimen, it's believed to have migrated quite some distance to be there. It has been observed staying close to the ground and nibbling frequently on dried pineapple and fresh blackberries. Noone knows exactly how the bird will feel tomorrow as it was being a bit of a sook and complaining of sore feet.
The students at Collegiate in Hobart who chose the lyrebird for me, and gave such a detailed explanation, will receive the Mt Bogong 1:100000 topographical map that I'm currently using to navigate up here. I'll pop it in the post soon. Thanks for the other suggestions. Keep them coming for the other mountains for your chance to win a tatty, secondhand map! Am on satellite tonight so will get to the forum tomorrow or the next tomorrow...