Welcome to my Blog
Time flies when you’re having fun
As it turns out, maintaining a blog about a seemingly infinite array of daily experiences whilst cycling around the world is more work than I thought. It’s hard to believe that my last post is about my time in Java and that I am now hurtling through the edge of the Kazakh Steppe on a […]
Central Java
I met Marwan on the outskirts of Yogyakarta. Yogya (pronounced D’jogd’ja) is internationally famous for its proximity to some World Heritage Listed Buddhist temples, a little ironic given that there are almost no Buddhists living there today. Indonesia is also home to the world’s largest Muslim population with over 85% of the country’s 280 million […]
Volcanic Action
I arrived on the outskirts of a town called Probolinggo near dusk. My hotel was just off the main road towards Mt Bromo. Unfortunately my hotel did not exist. I cycled around in circles for half an hour even enlisting the help of locals to find a place that apparently wasn’t there and did not […]
East Java
I rolled off the ferry and onto Java. It was a short trip but it was late and I had booked a cheap hotel near the ferry terminal in Ketapang. I was now on Indonesia’s most populous island and the centre of government for this huge country. With 150 million people, it was a far […]
A new beginning in Bali
I took a last look at the two huge maps I had stuck to the wall above my bed. The first was a map of Australia showing my route and the second a map of the world. I’d deliberately put them up as a visual reminder of how far I had come and where I […]
A Bump in the Road – Part 2
My first thought was ‘Shit! Have I damaged the scooter?’, I quickly pulled the bike out of the bushes which was now missing a wing mirror. I then noticed that my left arm was in quite a bit of pain. With the scooter back between my legs and the adrenaline subsiding I realised I couldn’t […]
A Bump in the Road – Part 1
The bitumen of the Great Northern Highway was deliciously smooth compared to the hundreds of corrugated kilometres I had pedalled through Central Australia. A new challenge presented itself with daytime temperatures exceeding 40°C. It was getting towards the peak of the dry season and I was cooking under the harsh Australian sun. My strategy was […]
Wonders of Western Australia
I left the relaxed scenery of Nyaarnna and headed north. I still had roughly 220 km to the next bastion of civilisation, Halls Creek. The track comes close to the infamous (thanks to the backpacker horror movie) Wolfe Creek Meteor Crater. Eager to finish the Tanami, I was tempted to pedal right past it but […]
Trials and Tribulations on the Tanami
The weight of my bike was intimidating as I left the comparative metropolis of Yuendumu for the emptiness of the Tanami Desert. My trusty steed was fully loaded with enough food for over a week and maxed out with 22.5 litres of water. It would be a whopping 600 km to the next settlement of […]
An Unexpected Pitstop
I was headed west towards the Aboriginal town of Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff) on the Namatjira-Kintore Link Road. After a pretty lumpy start and one unplanned jettison of my 10L water bladder, the road condition improved greatly and I was zooming along towards more magnificent mountains in the distance. There were signs of brumbies everywhere with […]
Back on the road
It had been almost five weeks since I’d first arrived in Alice Springs on my bike. Time flies when you’re having fun. It was time to get ready and hit the road once more. I packed my panniers and completed a final food run at the supermarkets in Alice knowing that soon my grocery shopping […]
Exploring Central Australia
After a relaxing couple of weeks in Far North Queensland, I found myself back in the Red Centre once again. As it turned out – the cheapest flight I could buy back to Alice Springs from Cairns went via Melbourne. I took the opportunity to spend a day at home to meet my newest nephew […]
A Family Reunion in the Tropics
My view of Alice Springs quickly disappeared as the plane flew across the vast interior of Australia. It was a strange feeling to know that I would arrive in Cairns in only a few hours after having spent the previous six weeks cycling to the Red Centre from Melbourne. Did this side trip represent an […]
Back to the Alice
I was sad to leave Uluṟu so soon but I had a flight to catch out of Alice Springs. I still had a lot of ground to cover and knew I would be back for a longer visit in a couple of weeks with my partner Belinda. Next up would be Watarrka National Park (Kings […]
The blazing Red Centre
And so I was finally in the Northern Territory. About half the size of the state of Western Australia the NT (also known as The Territory) has a comparatively tiny population of roughly 250,000 people. That’s a lot of space with very few people. The blazing sunsets of Outback South Australia continued as I moved […]
An unexpected desert delight
I was staring down the barrel of ~150km of potentially very sandy and corrugated track. However, the further I went along the route, the more stoked I became. This is what my trip is about – a bit of unknown, having a crack and enjoying the adventure! I took the not too inspiringly named ‘Public […]
Pt.2 Back on the Oodnadatta Track
I enjoyed a quiet bush camp about 30km outside of Cowards Springs. The next morning I was surprised to find a little caravan selling hot coffee and dates that had been grown locally. Some of the date palms descend from the Afghan cameleer days. The days were getting warmer but it was still very chilly […]
Pt.1 Back on the Oodnadatta Track
I had a ripper cycle into Lyndhurst from my Arkaroola Loop. The wind seemed to be chasing me after coming off the Strzelecki Track and turning north. I was headed up the Outback Highway towards the famous junction town of Marree. I made a promise to myself and the wind gods that I would do […]
Into Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park
The road stretched into a pinpoint on the horizon, itself accented with the superb ridge lines of Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. I blasted into Hawker with a rip roaring tailwind on a slight downhill from Craddock. I’d had a coke at the Craddock Hotel, as we discussed what I was doing one of the locals […]
Mawson Trail Magic
A quick skip over the gorgeous Adelaide Hills brought me down into the Big Smoke of Adelaide city. I stayed with my mate Simon who was going to ride the first couple of days of the famous Mawson Trail with me. A few beers multiplied into a few more and we woke up a tad […]