The first week was a bit of down time which I needed, although I didn’t realise that until I was mid way through it. I have been on the road for quite a while now, living with just basic essentials, finding stuff out on a daily basis and as I get to places, and making friends along the way. Every conversation I have is with a stranger, and whilst I like that, it is also nice to recognise people and have people recognise me, albeit only on a ‘ I’ve seen you riding around town', or ‘ you were in here yesterday’ type thing. So to stop in one place for any length of time is very welcome but also a bit of a shock to the system, requiring a bit of adjustment.
It is weird to wake up (in a bed) and not have to get moving instantly or pack stuff up. It’s odd not going to sleep looking up at the nightly display of fabulous stars, or being woken by the birds and bush creatures as they go about their day. And TV; I’ve never been much of a TV watcher, but I had forgotten just how it is part of everyday life, and on few occasions, realised I was watching it without really being conscious of doing so. I suppose that’s how habits form in the first place; repetitive subconscious behaviour that becomes a ritual.
I caught up with Nadine too, and it was great to see her. She’s now working in Townsville, and we arrived on the east coast at the same time, which was uncanny but useful as I was able to help her find a place to live, as well as provide an additional pair of hands in the moving process. We even managed a few days exploring the area together which was nice - Magnetic Island, the Reef Centre, Charters Towers - formerly known as 'The World' because it was such a lively and thriving place with anything anybody could apparently want, the Italian Australian festival at Ingham, the Wallaman falls and its surrounding tropical rainforest.
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| View over low bit of UNESCO World Heritage Park |
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| The Wallaman Falls - 268m and the highest single drop waterfall in Australia |
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| Rain brewing over the rainforest |
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| Jetty on Maggie (Magnetic Island) |
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| Stingers ( brand of jellyfish) live here - but thankfully not this time of year |
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| Allied Rock wallabies thrive on Maggie |
Since then, I’ve been getting on with stuff that I really needed to do but was unable to do for various reasons. I had the final scan that I was needed ( check up on the abdo problems I had in Perth) and that seems to be OK, and which I am very glad about. Then I got my haircut - long overdue and much needed. I had to get it chopped shorter than I wanted because my helmet had worn a bit of a hole in it at the back, a combination of wearing a helmet 12 hours a day, the constant dust and grit getting into it, and the heat. My hair is very fine but there is a lot of it, so right at the back on that lump bit at the back of the skull is where my helmet rubbed. Its a bit like that bald spot that babies get when they sleep and before they can really lift their heads on their own. Only I wasn’t bald, just slightly thread bear.
The lantern Festival was on Saturday. It precedes the annual Cultural Festival which starts later this week.
And the 100 year commemoration of the start of WW1.
Had a chat with the mayor too who has a friend living in Roehampton, London (near my old stomping ground). She really laughed when she discovered I had ridden the whole way round Australia and up through the centre on dirt on a postie bike, living in the bush on my own. A very cool lady.
I’ve also given Gerty a bit of an overhaul, and she is looking trim and rested. I haven’t touched her engine as yet though as she’s running really well so there is little point in fiddling with something that isn’t broken. For now at least. But I have ‘rearranged’ her and got rid of a few bits.
Things like the Australia Post panniers. Whilst they were good and did their job OK, they are heavy even when empty and so add unnecessary weight. And whilst the little postie bike is designed for a bit of lugging and is regularly overloaded in places like Asia, what with a pig, a three piece suite and the whole family of seventeen on it at any one time, I prefer to run as light as possible and have as few possessions to worry about or unload, particularly when it comes to crossing rivers, negotiating very rough ground or off loading to fix flats.
The max weight ( including the rider) is 109kgs, so with me (65kgs, plus riding gear - jacket, boots, riding pants, helmet, back plate - probably nearer 70kgs) an extra 10L of fuel, plus the gear I need to live (as opposed to gear that ‘might be useful’ ), then weight soon ads up. I said many months ago that when I resume travelling longterm on Gerty, which I will after PNG and NZ, I will replace the panniers with smaller, lighter bags without a built in fame. It is very easy to fill any space that you have, and you always collect stuff as you go, so it makes sense to limit initial space and weight, with that in mind. Nadine and I both used Army webbing bags with liners on our trips across Europe, Africa and Asia, and they were great, but I’m currently investigating a giant loop system. We shall see. Actually, I might do a complete gear review when I get time, assess what was really useful and what could have been left out.
What else. Oh yes; I also removed the bits of pipe that had been bolted to Gerty. A good enough idea but overkill and not really needed. My bike had four bolted on the back and two on the front, far in excess of anything really necessary, and they were never full. I binned three from the back at Christmas and the two at the front have also now gone; good as extra water carrier or tool roll location, but superfluous.
They attracted too much attention too - people always wanted to know what was in them, and if interested passers by wanted to know, then it was probable that passing tealeaves might also wonder, so not a good place to leave vital items such as tools. I did contemplate locking them with drilled bolts but shelved that idea too as a lock indicates something worth nicking. And having had all our tools stolen in Mongolia, I found a better, less obvious place to stash them instead.
The satnav cradle is not wired to the battery and I only used the satnav once, along the Oodndatta when the track split. It was useless, but the cradle makes a useful phone holder for riding around town and using Google maps. But I will take that off when I get round to it.
I’ve moved the crate forward too. It had been suspended off the backrack on a steel brace which flexed and lasted surprisingly better than expected. But I have moved it forward and got rid of the brace, halving the backrack capacity, but leaving enough room for my tent and sleeping mat. The bike rides so much better too with weight further forward over the back wheel, and that makes it better too riding off road and through the bush, which I do a lot of.
So all of that took a few days, doing a bit here and there. Then I bought a bike. Yes, a leg powered velocipede, which I have been riding around Townsville and exploring on. I love it and it is a great way to get out and about in a place which is essentially flat, although it does get very windy here in the afternoon, which makes the going a bit hard if you don’t plan your direction of travel ( it usually blows in from the ocean so I try and use it to propel me home). I bought it as my main means of transport around New Zealand. I will leave Gerty here because the faff and expense of getting her across the Tasman for a few months outweighs the benefits, and also restricts where I go next. If it is PNG, then sorting passage for her to there and then out again is likely to be even more of a fag. But a pushie is far more simple. I hope.
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