Friday, 1st October, 2004
September 18 – Annett’s courier service
Annett offered to carry Gary’s panniers to lighten the load on the faulty tyre, so we threw the BOB trailer in the car too. Come on, it’s not cheating – we were just riding with less weight for two hours! Anyway, it was very easy riding to the rest area to meet Matt. He’d set up camp under some red gums next to a small, flowing creek. A cool oasis in this heat.
Matt had a spare tyre and Gary had rung ahead to get a spare sent to Fitzroy Crossing. Meantime, fingers crossed. A cooling dip in the creek was followed by a great lunch and siesta – we could get use to this!
September 17 – Bungle Bungle memories
We’ve picked up the PC in Broome (Sept 28) so we’ll retrace our steps to our Bungle Bungle trip.
It takes two and a half hours to drive 50 kilometres by 4wd to see the Bungle Bungles, so Andrew our tour guide and driver had us away at five thirty in the morning. No time for brekkie.
Our first stop was at Echidna Gorge. The two hour walk followed a dry creek bed to a chasm surrounded by palm trees native to the area. Pretty remarkable considering the Tanami desert is only 40 kilometres away.
After lunch we headed over to the beehive domes. They are banded with a striking oxide/sandstone colouring, rising 250 metres above the landscape. The three hour walk took us to Cathedral gorge, ending in a huge, half roofed space with a pool surrounded by fine crystal sand. Everyone lay on the sand as Andrew played a didgeridoo made from 45 millimetre electrical conduit. There is something very special about the sound made from a didge and the space we were in increased it further.
Finally it was time to leave, heading back down the 4wd track to Turkey Creek. When we arrived we found Gary’s rear bike tyre had blistered badly, so we replaced the tube, but the problem was still there. Gary didn’t have a spare tyre so we decided to meet Matt at the next rest area and borrow one of his tyres. Hopefully the tyre wouldn’t give us trouble tomorrow.
Monday, 20th September, 2004
16 September - hard work with great returns
The scenery today was even more beautiful than ever as we climbed steep hills and wound through dramatic valleys. But you'll have to take our word for it as it was such hard work we had no energy to stop for photos. It wasn't the hills that made the going tough - it was the headwinds. It was like riding with the brakes on - even on the downhills. We'd be giving it all we had and then another gust would come crashing into us and we'd have to find some more power somewhere just to keep upright. The dialogue for the morning went something like this: puff puff gasp wow look at that puff gasp beautiful mountain gasp.
100km later we made it to Turkey Creek, where we met Rory who is a walking oral history of Western Australia. He works closely with the Aboriginal elders to negotiate mining leases, and as a result knows both western and indigenous stories. We could have listened to him for hours, so we did. Later in the evening Annett arrived and we all signed up for a 4 wheel drive tour of the Bungle Bungles the next day. Annett brought news that Matt was on the way, but his progress was slow because his bus was having as much trouble with the hills and headwinds as we had. Gary bought some milk at the roadhouse for us to have for breakfast - $5.50, a new record for the trip.
15 September - the beautiful Kimberley
Matt got up early to cook us pancakes for breakfast in the camp kitchen - regular for the boys and soy for Ann and Annett. We decided we'd need to eat at this restaurant more often - and we did - but more about that later. We manged to roll out of Kununurra and headed for the Kimberley.
The mountains were incredibly beautiful, it was a day of magnificent scenery. Great red cliffs contrasted with green spinifex and eucalypts as the road wound through them. A sign post warned of extreme fire danger, and it proved to be correct as we soon road through flames on both sides of the roadside.
It was pretty hot so progress was slow - we sheltered in the shade through the heat of the day, and arrived at Doon Doon road house 10 minutes before closing time. Doon Doon is not marked on any maps and is not in our guide books, and it is not that visible from the road, so many people think it does not exist. But luckily it does, and has good drinking water and a grassy area to camp on. We watched the sunset and the glow of fires on the hills.
Tuesday, 14th September, 2004
September 13 – 14 – Kooling down in Kununurra
Kununurra means “the meeting of big waters”, and like all Aborginal place names this description is spot on. There is a lot of water here. In fact, they even grow sugar cane here, and the most delicious melons and papaya. We visited the melon farm this morning and left with a pannier full. But it was very hard to limit ourselves to just one pannier after tasting it all. We will have to come back.
When we arrive in town we always speak to the media to spread the stroke message, but today was different. For the first time, we spoke on indigenous radio. This meant a lot to us because the incidence of stroke in Aboriginal Communities is higher than the national average. Waringarri Radio AM 693 are “The Aboriginal Voice of the Kimberley”. We spoke at length to Derek on air about Ross’s stroke, our recovery together and what people can do to help minimise the impact of stroke on the community. Thanks Derek!
We treated ourselves to luxury and rented a cabin in a caravan park that has a swimming pool. We have become a magnet for all the campers we met on the road and have had many visitors – John and Ursula, James and Matthew, Augustin and his partner Barbara. We also ran into travellers we met on the road to Alice Springs. I guess when you wear shirts you can see from the moon it’s very easy to keep in touch. Tonight we’ll be having our third BBQ since we arrived – hope Matt comes again to demonstrate his fabulous culinary skills.
It’s time to hit the long hot road to Broome, and the laptop has to get sent ahead again to make space for water, so we’ll be offline for a couple of weeks. When we’re back on line we’ll have some great shots of the Bungle Bungles for you, so stay tuned.
September 12 – Across the border
Another big day’s ride as we crossed the border into WA. Time to add a few more dots to the route map on our website – always very satisfying! There is a quarantine check point as you cross the border. Ross pulled over to the rest area to eat all our dried fruit and nuts while I went ahead to see if we needed to get rid of our freeze dried peas too. The good news was that we didn’t need to get rid of any of it – just fresh stuff (like we had any!!!) and honey. Apparently WA is only one of three places left in the world without a bee disease that makes them unproductive, and they want to keep it that way.
The quarantine officers were very friendly and chatty and offered us their rainwater tank to fill our bottles. Apart from the bee story, I learned about the UFO sightings they had made. Apparently UFOs visit here often. The one the officer saw came in just after sunset, hovering over a truck. It was silver and dimpled like an old style caravan, and oval with porthole windows with light shining through them from inside. Then I caught sight of Gary, looking very alien in his Osama Bin Riding hat and a bike weird looking enough to be mistaken for a UFO. While taking Gary’s traditional “me and the bike at the border” photo I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t told Ross he didn’t have to eat all our supplies. Too late – a very, very full Ross was already weaving towards us. Oh well, at least the bike was a bit lighter.
I forgot to mention that we started riding this morning at 6am while it was still dark. But with our long border stop the sun had caught up to us. Solution: ride faster. So we did, and it was exhilarating. The countryside was spectacular as we rode through the Western edge of the Kimberleys. Every few pants I would gape and say “wow”. About 25km out of Kununurra we saw a figure weaving in the heat haze carrying an empty water bottle. We stopped to fill it up. He said he had heard about us on the news. We asked where he was heading. “Into town” he said, and kept walking.
September 11 – Camping under an escarpment
The day’s ride was long today so we could reach Kununurra tomorrow. Boabs were everywhere sometimes looking like someone who wants to shake your hand, sometimes like a bottle, and sometimes like a treed lockup.
We pulled into the first rest area and found Gary talking to Kerry and James. James is in a wheely and he and Kerry were heading home to Victoria after a motivational speaking engagement with a number of emergency response mining workers. After chatting for five minutes we found out we both knew John Maclean, a local Sydney Olympic wheel chair athlete who also did motivational engagements. Come on, how small is this country? Kerry reckoned we could be seen from the moon in our day glo shirts so a number of photos were taken by all. See you in Victoria guys, and make sure you’ve lined up that hand cycle tandem James.
After a hot, hard afternoon ride we rolled into the night’s camp site. Annette from East Germany had waved to us down the road and had decided to camp for the night with us. Gary had already arrived and was deep into a game of Monopoly with Matt and his son James, which Ann joined too. They had been travelling Australia for a few years in their trusty converted blue bus and even had room for Ding their duck who lives in the canoe on their trailer.
We all sat down to prepare for a great evening meal when we found out that Matt was a chef by trade. Can’t argue with a professional! We finally lay under the stars for a night’s sleep but the wind was building. Headwind or tailwind for tomorrow’s ride to Kununurra?
September 10 – Upriver to the creek
Despite spending the night next to one of the territory’s larger rivers, the water in the taps was almost undrinkable. We decided to go upmarket and buy bottled water even though we were told that no one had died drinking the bore water – maybe we’re just softies, but we’ll work that one out later. Incidentally, water is more expensive than petrol so there goes the famous bicycle economy.
The sunrise start was stunning, with the sunrays lighting the escarpments next to the road. Once again the country was changing with boab trees every. The trees were leafless but covered with fruit. If you cracked one open it was white inside, like a small lightweight coconut, but we weren’t game to eat any. The anthills were changing too, from Dali-esque surreal vistas to mini Sagradia de Familias.
The riding was easy but the heat was now climbing to the high thirties. After towelling down many times on the way to Timber Creek, we rounded a corner and were waved down by a campervan driver. Alma was heading back down south and decided these two cyclists needed a cold drink! After chatting for about half an hour another car pulled up going in the other direction. He told us we were too busy talking, and was sending the “hurry up” message from Gary down the road, waiting to have a beer. Talking to both drivers going in opposite directions doesn’t happen often! Honest!
When we arrived at the roadhouse Argo immediately became the star attraction. There were a couple of buses stopped for lunch so there were many passengers stretching their legs. After answering the standard questions and posing for the standard photos we started to talk to a couple with familiar faces. Ann and Peter were daily walkers and riders in Parramatta Park and had recognised us. This country is not so big after all!
After lunch we said goodbye to Alma, Gary went for a river cruise and we just crashed out to cool down.
September 9 – Going down to the river
The Victoria River was today’s destination, but even though the temperature was in the high thirties there was little chance of swimming! The river was tidal so there was the possibility you could be swimming with both “salties” and “freshies” (crocodiles). After half distance for the day we descended for about 10 kilometres into the river valley, downhills are always fun.
We were now in the Gregory National Park and in the distance we could see the East Kimberley Ranges. The soil and escarpments were now turning a deep ochre red and there were even palms at the cliff bases.
Gary had ridden ahead for the day and had arrived at the roadhouse a couple of hours before us. (In fact, Gary hasn’t arrived later than us ever since the fruit affair). He’d already showered, had lunch, drunk heaps of iced water and was waiting patiently for us to join him for the first beer at the end of the day’s ride. No worries, mate and it was time for steaks all round for dinner. Ann was so hungry she had two. I told you we eat a fair bit!
September 8 – Broome, here we come (just give us about three weeks)
We made an early start, fuelled by last night’s yummy barbeque. The idea was to ease back into riding with Argo fully loaded so the pace was what could be called “comfortable”. We only carry food for four or five days before we stop and buy more or pick up food which we have posted to ourselves. So the first day is always the “heaviest” as we gradually eat more of our food. By the time we need more Argo is lighter and faster.
The day was warm so by the time we pulled into the night’s camp site we were fairly wasted. A campervan pulled in 60 seconds later and a couple invited us over for cool water. Yes thanks. John (Hans) and Ursula are Swiss and travelling the same route as us, but at a different pace. They are keen cyclists at home and thought it normal to pull over and offer a drink to other cyclists they saw along the road. Nice attitude.
After we had eaten most of the offered watermelon, we learnt that they had seen Gary ten kilometres down the road and had pulled over intending to give him the fruit before they spotted us at the campsite. Sorry mate, we ate most of it! Don’t worry, we left you a little.
We said goodbye to our roadside hosts, had an evening meal, then went to bed. Sleeping under the stars is so beautiful you can stay awake for hours.
Tuesday, 7th September, 2004
September 7 – on the road again, next stop Kununurra
Having already ridden the Katherine – Darwin stretch, we put Argo on the bus this morning and are bumping along to Katherine as we type. Argo almost got left behind again as bus drivers just don’t like her and never seem to get the special instructions the booking people assure us they pass on with the extra fee we pay. Luckily there are two buses going to Katherine this morning and the driver of the second bus very kindly agreed to take her with the mail.
Well, that’s as far north as we’ll go this trip, and after we’re reunited with Argo in Katherine in a few minutes we’ll be riding to the west coast.
We’ve dipped our toes into the ocean on the east coast and north coast, we’ll next meet the ocean at Broome. We’ll be offline for a week now, we’ll be in touch again when we reach Kununurra.
September 3 to 6 – doin’ Darwin
We began our visit to Darwin by following our own advice and seeing a doctor for a checkup. Dr Geoff is not only a superb sports physiologist but a cyclist too, and he was recommended to us by friends in Alice. Our arrival date in Darwin was practically organised around our appointment with him. After trading stories we got down to work. Ross won the big prize – daily massages from Ann – and Ann won the lovely news that a knee arthroscopy is waiting for her in Sydney when we return in seven months. That’s medical speak for a very minor snip to get rid of some torn cartilage left over from last year’s bike spill. Geoff’s lined up a surgeon friend to do the work, and I’ll be in some very famous company as he’s fixed the knees of all our best athletes. Just call me Jana.
Then it was our turn to stop being patients and put on our visitors’ hats for a trip to Darwin Hospital. We met with staff and patients and then spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with Sue and Marine who run the local stroke support group. The focus of their group is supporting carers and families, not an easy task when you are a carer yourself. Like Ross, Marine and Sue’s husbands had their strokes at 40. Marine and husband Kim cycled from England to Australia a few years after his stroke, going through Burma and Thailand.
We finished the day with a fabulous fish and chips meal (barra of course) at the wharf. It was wonderful sitting on the edge of the wharf and watching the large fish swimming in the clear water below. A bit different to Sydney Harbour!
On Sunday we moved in with Elaine, who works at the rehab unit at Darwin Hospital, Lawrence, Mitchell and Zoe. That’s Zoe with the gorgeous eyes in the photo. Ross visited the Botanic Gardens, fish feeding, museum, art gallery and watched the sun set at East Point. The art gallery is small, but is a great showcase of northern indigenous art. Water features a lot in the work, unlike the sand of the Central Australian art we saw at Alice. The death poles from the northern islands were among the most striking works. Just writing about all that makes me tired, so I spent the day beached in Elaine’s pool. Do we really have to leave?
August 31 to September 2 – the road to Darwin City
We hit the road early from Katherine, got a good tailwind and were at Pine Creek just after lunch. This is how easy it is to travel by bike, you just have to get everything working in your favour. The next morning was also an early rise, but we struggled a bit until we arrived at Hayes Creek. Pulling up at the roadhouse/pub we were greeted by a Dame Edna, gladdies and all! We managed to keep from falling off but it was laughter and jokes for half an hour.
We’d run into another Variety Bash, this time the Territory crew. There were only about 20 cars in the event but by the time they left the National Stroke Foundation had $100 in donations. THANK YOU GUYS, and of course Dame!
Despite our long stop, we made it to Adelaide River early enough to spend some quality time with John Lloyd, who is cycling around Australia for leukaemia research through the Sydney children’s hospital. He aims to do “5 laps” or 100,000km. He began his ride in 2001 and has cycled 27,000km so far. John originally started his ride to find meaning after his life was changed by epilepsy (ironically John has the same epilepsy specialist as Ross). 
One night he met a ten year old girl at a caravan park who was dying of leukaemia. Although he only knew her for a few hours, her courage and positive attitude inspired him to dedicate his ride to helping find a cure. John was on his way back from his second trip to Darwin, and we were heading the other way, so we parted hoping to meet again down the track somewhere.
The other significant event at Adelaide River was rain. This is something we haven’t encountered for many months. Lucky our tent is waterproof after all!
After three days of riding over 100km per day, we finally arrived in Darwin. Aaargh!!! Where did all these cars come from? Take me back to the country! We were just in time for peak hour, a rude shock to cyclists so unused to being in a city. I don’t know how we will ever survive in Sydney again.
But after getting over the shock, we discovered how beautiful Darwin is. Soon we were showered, changed, and watching a magnificent sunset at Mindil Beach. We were lucky enough to reach town on a Thursday night when the markets are on, and had big enough appetites to take full advantage of them. We had a litre of fruit ice between us. We also caught up with our friends Gary and Augustine from our Mt Isa ride, and bumped into Mandy from the Alice Springs cycling group. Perhaps the continent is not so big after all.
August 29 to 31 – Nitmiluk
The deal for the day was for us to supply a picnic lunch and Rob to supply transport. Too easy. We arrived at the Gorge mid morning and decided to do a cruise as a belated birthday present for Ann. It would travel between each of the first three gorges and we had to transfer to the next by climbing past the rock sections. Rob decided he’d stay by the first gorge, do a bit of swimming, and catch up on some reading – he was starting a new job the next day.
Wade, the ranger/boat captain decided it was going to be an easy day – there were only 8 passengers instead of 64. Naturally the benefit was ours as we were taken to other areas which we explored further. The gorge walls were highlighted with rock art, some explaining where to find a good feed, others marking a special place with a signature. There were also images of the Rainbow Serpent but the particular story was unclear.
Wade was an expert at spotting crocodiles. We saw three but none of us could see them until he backed the boat right up to them. He calls most of them “logodiles” or “rockodiles” depending on what people “see”.
After having a great gorge trip and being tired and relaxed we decided to stay another day. Not a very hard decision to make but it meant we had to ride to Darwin in three days rather than four. No problem. The day was spent down at the Katherine hot springs. Very soothing but no major healing - the sore bums were still there.