December 25th -30th

Bombo Beach, Vincentia, Erskinville

My first Christmas day outside the UK was started with breakfast just off the beach. It was pretty busy with walkers and runners seeing that it was Christmas morning. We ate breakfast then swapped presents. It was good doing that as it made just another hot day feel Christmasy. Angela gave me an Australia flag and sticker for my bike and I gave her a selfie stick. Get ready for a wave of new photos.

We set off south and came to Bombo Beach and found a good camping spot hidden away behind some buildings overlooking the bay. Wild camping is pretty easy if you time it right and choose the right surroundings. It also saves you some money. 

So Christmas day was spent on the beach and in the sea surrounded by Aussies all having their family get togethers in 90 degree heat.

This is the traditional Aussie Christmas dinner. No turkey in sight just seafood and the Queens speech is replaced by sun and surf.

The next couple of days were spent with Joe and Judi in Vincentia. This is a town in Jervis Bay where the sand is white like flour and the sea is clear and warm. 

Joe got out his snorkeling gear for us to have a go with. It's been a long while since I had done any snorkeling but I soon got back into it. The beach at Hyams is where a lot of holiday brochure photos are taken and it's easy to see why. We left Vincentia and returned to Sydney to stay with our previous host for 2 nights. We have spent the last two days pretty much in bed suffering from a stomach bug. On a positive note my weight is staying down. On a negative note it's embarrassing throwing up and having the shits at a hosts house.

December 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th
Sydney, Stanwell Park, Wollongong

In central Sydney for 2 days we stayed with a lovely lady called Eleri. She lives is a really cool area of Sydney called Erskinville. It's quite a similar vibe to Camden Town. Her house is a three level set up that she designed herself. From the outside it looks really small but the same as me once you see it you can tell it's perfectly formed.
The only issue in the two days in central Sydney was the weather. It pretty much rained solid. On the first day Angela went to met a friend of hers from Wolverhampton who has been travelling and I went for dinner with a friend who emigrated here over a decade ago. It was a great afternoon with Karen at the Opera House Bar. There were lots of remember when moments? It made my day sitting and chatting with her.
Angela had read about a route south of Sydney called the grand ocean drive. We found some information about and have now set off to ride it for 4 or 5 days over Christmas. We started in a town called Bundeena and will make it eventually to Hyams Bay. The first day from Bundeena took in a ride through a national park and into the town of Stanwell to spend the night with a host called Kieran and his 3 Spanish guests. His house is very eco friendly with purpose built pet runs through the trees for the possums and Sugar gliders or as they are known in Europe, flying squirrels.
Christmas eve has come with no where to stay. I now know what Mary and Joseph went through when they set off for Bethlehem. I'm thinking that if they can get a stable in war torn Judea then we can sort something on the east coast of Australia.
Footnote: no room at the inn so for Christmas eve 2015 we are stealth camping on the beach.

December 16th -20th.

Newcastle, Wamberal, Oxford Falls.

So we made it into Sydney today. Getting here from Newcastle has taken 4 days. We left Newcastle in a huge thunder storm. This was Angie's first rain ride. Luckily the traffic was only slightly sketchy and she takled the heavy rain without issue. Newcastle town and the waterfront are very British. It was almost like riding down the front of Rhyl or Prestatyn and with the weather being wet and windy it was no different to North Wales.
Our host just outside Newcastle were Kedan and Katherine, their two dogs and one baby. They run their own business from home making bags for bikes. No part of it is sub contracted out. They bring the material in and design and stitch the bags to completion. They handle the shipping and have orders worldwide. Very inspiring.
The meal they made was Chinese with Pavlova pudding.
Our next host in Wamberal was for two nights and were Rod and Deb. Deb is an expat who lived a while in Shrewsbury so it was easy talking about home as she was one host who actually knew our city.
The view they have in their house of the ocean is truly stunning and up there with the best I have seen while on tour.
We had a go at boogie boarding again and I tried surfing. I may look like Kelly Slater (Rod's words not mine) but I don't surf like him.
For dinner they made kangaroo steaks with three different salads. The salad with watermelon in was off the chart.
For the second day we hung around the beach, as you do then Angela made pasta bake for dinner. I cut the sausage and poured the wine.
Our new host now is Scott and Helen and we are just 6 miles from Sydney. This is a rural area and to get into the city you have to cycle into Manly and catch a ferry over the bay with its stunning view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera house. The bay area of Sydney is spectacular, it's on quire a hilly peninsular so each area is stacked up along the horizon.
Dinner at Scott's and Helen's is a big affair as Helen is in catering and knows how to spoil her guests. Kangaroo steaks again with BBQ courgettes, spicy pastes, rice, chicken and beef. She finished us off with chocolate brownies which are so amazing I think I'm addicted.

December 13th - 15th
Miami to Halfway Creek to Bulahdelah (Wootton Way Rest Stop)

On our final day with Jacob and Russel The sun came out so we were able to go to the beach for some boogie boarding but not until after we came back from the pub. A good thing about Australia is that when sporting events happen in the U.S they are shown at a nice time over here. This ment we were able to watch all 13 seconds of Connor Mcgregor's fight against Jose Aldo while in the pub in the mid afternoon instead of 5am back in the UK.
The route from Miami led through the South Hinterland into Springbrook Park and around the rim of a former volcano. There were lots of opportunities to go to vista points and check out the amazing views of the valley all the way back out to the coast. One of the best views was even called "The best lookout of all". Really that was its name. A bit of a boast I thought when I first read it but once you get to see it you can understand why it's called that.
Our spotting of "big things" continued when we came across the big shrimp. So far this is the most impressive of the big things I have found. The following day at Coffs Harbour we saw the Big Banana. It was pretty big but n'a a patch on the Shrimp.
The camp for the night was our first road side truck stop. These are basically the same as the service stations back in the UK but here you can set a tent up. Just like the service stations back home the prices suddenly double.
On the 15th we passed through Port Macquarie and stopped just north of Newcastle. Some of the harbour towns here are stunning. Nambucca Heads is particularly impressive. It has a beautiful alcove through a park that let's the sea run through and into the towns rivers. Our camp was another free one. This time a lay by clearing with a toilet and a fire pit. When it's free you have to be grateful that there is at least a clean toilet with new toilet roll and not like the toilets back home with their "call this number for sex" graffiti and second hand toilet paper stuck to the walls.
Dusk time was insane with the insect noise from the trees. Almost at 9pm on the dot though the noise stopped. It was then time for the Sand Flies followed by the Mosquitoes. I was glad to get in the tent and call it a day.

December 11th -12th

Surfer's Paradise - Miami

We decided to take the train out of Brisbane down to the Gold Coast mostly due to south of the city being very industrial and built up. 30 plus miles of stop start traffic and dual carriageway didn't seem much of a choice against a $15 train ticket. When we arrived at the hosts house in a beach town called Miami we were met by two guys from Manchester who were renting the flat after cycling from their front doors in the UK two years ago. They are Jacob and Russell. Their journey took them through Europe, the Balkans, parts of the former USSR, into China, down through South East Asia and into the Pacific Rim Countries. They have some amazing stories and cycled with some awesome people. Along the way they met an English guy on a tandem who rode through towns giving children lifts on the spare seat. He told the lads he was going to cycle into Afghanistan. They found out off him quite a while later that he ended up being taken and kept in a lock up where he was held and questioned over a long period of time as a suspected spy for the Taliban. In the end after it was all sorted out he was released and ended up staying with the chief of police as a guest at his home. It has been fantastic to swap travel stories and see how situations happen all over the world. They are looking at cycling from Alaska down through the US and then down South America in a couple of years. They have my details as South America would be great to cycle as a team. 

The weather for the last 2 days have been raining. It's still warm but just wet. Shame really as I was hoping to do some beach chilling. On Saturday night we went out to the local indoor market for food and live music. The band were called The Twine and they put on a great show. It had a barn dance feel to it but without the straw and horse muck. 

We head for Newcastle over the next few days and may take the inland road for a while as the area has some amazing mountains and waterfalls.

December 7th - 10th
Maleny to Brisbane Central

The four days since my last post have been spent in Maleny and back at Scarborough. While in Maleny, Eleanor and Angie drove over and met my host Mary and had a lovely chat about travelling New Zealand. I'm contacting Qantas soon about extending my return date to give me a chance to cycle both islands. The last full day in Maleny was spent with Mary's friend Gary. We rode out to the nature reserve at Cairncross park. I saw my first up close Pademelon. This is a marsupial similar to a Kangaroo or a Wallabie. We then went for a ride to the Montville lookout and viewed the Glass house mountains and the coast from Brisbane to Noosa. Gary told me a story about the mountains that the indigenous people past down. There are 3 main mountains. One looks like a Gorilla's head looking out to sea. There is a small spiked mountain behind it and a large double peaked one. The double peaked one was a pregnant lady and the spike was her first child. The Gorilla one was the husband who sent them both inland while he looked out to sea to guard them against a wave that would be coming at some point.
On the last night Gary and Susan took me for a meal at a live music restaurant. It was an open mic night and as much as I fancy myself as a bit of a crooner there has to be a point when I admit that subjectively I sound amazing but objectively I sound awful. I decided to best leave it and enjoy the meal.
I rode back to Scarborough the next day and met up with Angie at the hosts flat who we stayed with previously. Andrew and Paul were really kind to let us stop for another two nights. Steak and chips were the order of the day. There is a brand over here called Red Rooster and they serve the best chips I have ever tasted. Put them with a juicy steak and some salad and you can't go wrong.
The final night was spent in the pub in Redcliffe which is the town that the Bee Gees hailed from. The Bee Gees way exhibition is a major attraction with nightly showings of a film detailing the history of the band. It's impossible to sit through a showing without tapping your feet or singing along.....(In your head not out loud in my case).
On the 10th we made it back to Brisbane central and are staying with a host called Peter and his girlfriend Nicole. I'm back on the cat trail. They have two but one is really shy and was only briefly spotted upon our arrival. The plan is to cycle south from Brisbane to Coolangata then get to Newcastle and cycle into Sydney just prior to Christmas.

Jingle bells across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

December 5th -6th
Crystal Waters to Maleny Warmshower host.
Total miles 746

I hit the road early to cover the short but hilly distance to Maleny where I was going to be staying with a host called Mary. She is a fellow cyclist and has toured New Zealand, Europe and Cuba amongst other places.
A few miles in I noticed I had made the mistake of not filling my water bottles so rather than turn back I pulled into the next farm I went past. The farmer was out on his porch with his family and filled the bottles for me and asked which way I was heading. Maleny, I replied. It's hard to put into words a description of his facial reaction but it was clear to me it meant a mixture of.......you fecking idiot and may the cycling gods have mercy on your soul. He cracked a joke when he told me he was going to Maleny in about 18 hours and if I was still on the hill he would give me a lift in the horse box.
In fairness to the farmer the hill was a bit of a brute. It was only around 3km long but with a steep gradient. I have rode harder ones even while being in Australia but I don't think I have gone up a steeper one.
My host had explained that she and her friend were going to be out all day but she gave me her friends address and to go to there if I arrived early and her friends husband would be in and knew I may be coming.
I stopped in Maleny town first to get some breakfast and had a walk along the river hoping to see the platypus that are natives of the hinterlands. I followed the river path quite far and when I checked my map I had unwittingly arrived just outside Mary's friends house. I met with Gary and once I had chilled he took me to a vista point lookout where I could look back to the coast where I had rode from and also see the view back along the Glass House Mountains. When Mary arrived back with Gary's wife Susan we all went to the Lake Baroon Dam for a picnic. We were joined by a Magpie, a Crow and a Cookabura all on the beg for whatever we left behind. There is something unerringly strange about looking into the eyes of a Cookabura up close. Beautiful bird but not a welcome dinner guest. Our evening meal was Mexican food followed by Rhubarb pie and cream. I'm thinking more and more of New Zealand after hearing Mary and Susan's stories and seeing their photo album. Today I met their cycling club for breakfast, The Lycra Lizards. Just to put the mind at rest, I didn't put on any Lycra. It was their end of year Christmas breakfast with some awards being presented. My host Mary came away with the award for most inspirational rider of the year. This was due to her taking on Cuba and Spain on her own. Fair play.

Nov 30th, Dec 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th
With Eleanor, Tim and family in Coolum and ride to Crystal Waters

26 years or so after last seeing her we end up at the house of our old school friend Eleanor Caddick. She travelled a lot, moved a few times and finally settled in Coolum Beach Australia. She is married to Tim and they have two charming boys, Zack who is 6 and Max who is 18 months. It's been really good staying with the family for a few days. The chance to be off the bikes for two full days was refreshing and the time has been well spent. The one day we went out on the bikes was to ride up to the beautiful bay town Noosa Head. It was a 17 mile journey along the coast and over a few hills but the view on arrival was worth it. Angie joined Eleanor for some beach aerobics one morning, I opted out as running on sand at 6am is not my idea of fun. What I did enjoy was walking up Mt Coolum, especially with Eleanor bringing young Max along in her backpack. I took the chance to go slowly as I know that a good long hike batters my shins and calf's. While here we have tried "boogie boarding". Years ago I found out that I cannot wind surf but now I know that yes Sir, I can boogie. So can Angie. We both took to it and we're catching some great waves. No wipe outs for this beach bum. My final day in Coolum was actually spent asleep on the beach. We went down again with our boards but the sea was way to rough for this novice so we had a picnic and ended up flat out and snoozing for 2 hours. Mine and Angie's path have split for a while. I have set off to cycle the Hinterlands back down to Brisbane and Angie is retracing our steps back along the coast. We should both meet up by the middle or end of next week.
I want to put into text mine and Angie's appreciation to Eleanor and Tim for letting us stay in their home with their amazing family. We ate and drank like royals, we had great conversations and we loved meeting Zack and Max. I'm certain it won't be another 20 plus years till we all meet again.
The ride to Crystal Waters took me through a village called Eumundi that has a popular market for local goods and products. I dipped into the coffers to purchase some environmentally friendly wooden sunglasses. I could have bought a wooden calculator or computer keyboard but I'll maybe wait until I'm home a get one from their online shop. If you want to check them out then go to www.eumundibamboo.com.au
I stayed the night at an Eco-village called Crystal Waters. $10 to camp and access to showers, kitchen and WiFi. I awoke during the night to use the bathroom and exited my tent to be greeted by the most amazing view of the night sky I have ever seen. It all looked like a big picture with connecting patterns. Truly stunning.