MID LIFE AT THE OASIS

So we last left you in Melbourne as our gracious hosts, Tanya and Eric took us wine tasting in the beautiful Yarra River Valley and to the Healsville Animal Sanctuary. The sanctuary has all the lovable and odd Australian critters mostly out and about in a very nice setting somewhere between a zoo and a wild animal park. Koalas, Kangaroos, Wallabies, Platypus, and a wild raptor show that was amazing.

THE FEARSOME KANGAROOS!

Eric even cooked us some delicious Kangaroo that night, so we got to both cuddle and devour the critters in the same day. (Sorry if this is creeping out our vegetarian friends)

Overall we really liked the vibe of Melbourne and it was extremely easy to get around on both bike and transit, with really nice river pathways that get you into downtown on bike from just about any side of the city. Good food too.

But alas it was time to leave lovely Melbourne and move on again, so we loaded up all our worldly possessions onto our bikes and did the easy ride down to the Southern Cross rail Station to catch the regional Vline train to the Victorian “High Country”. Tanya and Eric had brilliantly recommend this as the perfect stop between Melbourne and Sydney. The V-line from Melbourne was kinda of cramped for a nearly 3-hour ride, but we forgave that as they are very nice to bicycles, allowing you to put your bikes in a fairly large luggage car without the ridiculous requirement of dissembled into a box. Once in Wangaratta we had the challenge to find a place to leave our half our gear for the week while we toured up the valley by bike. No luck at the train station or tourist office, but the nice folks at the clean, comfortable, and retro (unintentionally) Millers Cottage let us leave two duffles there for the week while we rode which was a lifesaver, as we had to do something with our RTW stuff as our bikes nearly sag to the ground under our the full load of our gear.

The High Country is not one of the the most famous of Australian destinations and a bit off the beat and track, and we were probably the only foreign tourists that we noticed up in the area, but there were quite a few Aussies from the region. So naturally we loved it. Of course there is also a great 97 km rail-trail and rail access to the trailhead from Wangaratta, right on the main line from Melbourne to Sydney. We even found some great Thai food.

EXCUSE ME, ON YOUR RIGHT!

Now I use quotes not to belittle the beauty of the area, but to emphasise the fact that it’s just not that high in the high country. The highest mountain is about 2000 meters, while most of the towns are at 300-500 meters. Apparently there is a somewhat brief ski season there from late June to August, although the past few years of drought have not been kind to the area for both farming or skiing. There is also a growing wine and gourmet food industry, with olives, mustards, breads, and cheeses being produced all over the region. And the wine, cheese, and olives we sampled were superb. The Darling-Murray river basin is one of the largest agricultural regions of Australia and produces about 1/3 of their food. Unfortunately the area is in severe drought and farmers are at risk of losing entire crops this year, with major discussions here about a potential long-term crisis blamed primarily on the climate change that is already occurring. Of course, the current federal government here is even more hostile to science and reason that ours, and once again, the individual states are taking it upon themselves to do something about the issue. The State of Victoria has a large wind and solar farm initiative and there are other future plans to reduce carbon emissions. Sounds familiar.

THE BEAUTIFUL DECENT FROM BEECHWORTH

So the cool thing about taking the rail trail up the valley is the fact that biking is the absolutely perfect pace to appreciate this countryside. It’s too vast to walk, but driving it you miss out on the wonderful birds, pungent eucalyptus, and gentle autumn breezes. I thought the countryside was beautiful even in the drought, although I can only imagine how spectacular it would be in late Spring after a good winter of rain. The town of Bright at the upper end of the rail-trail was especially nice and has an alpine feel despite being only at elevation 300 m!? The people were really nice and much of the Autumn foliage was still bright despite the drought. There was also a great rail-trail spur up to Beechworth which is a historic Gold rush town that still has loads of the original 19th century buildings and a very laid back vibe. So we only saw about 250 km of the high country, but I think we got a small sense of some of the interior of this massive continent without having to rent a 4×4.

JUST ONE OF THE HAZARDS OF THE BUSH

When we returned to Wangaratta for our last night, where we had the somewhat typical demoralzing experience of taking long distance rail in a car country (e.g. Amtrak) and had booked ourselves and two bikes on Countrylink, the national rail service of Australia. Despite our train leaving at 11 a.m., we had to get to the train station at 8:30 to pick up two bike boxes and break down our bikes. What we didn’t realzie is that the station buidling actually closed at 9 a.m. and we got booted outside with all our gear and boxes to pack them in the dirty and abandoned parking lot out front.

BOXING OUR BIKES OUTSIDE THE WANGARATTA TRAIN STATION

We then had to drag the bike boxes and our gear to a separate “lower” platform about 300m away and wait for two hours for the train to arrive, as the station building really only served the V-line trains from Melbourne that we had arrived on. As the train approached, we dragged the boxes to the luggage end of the train and loaded the boxes (the agent wasn’t sure which end of the train the luggage car would be) in the roomy luggage car that could have fit 30 bikes if configured correctly, despite Countrylink telling us that they only allow 3 bikes/train and that you must reserve the space and pay for it. (Of course, our total gear was lighter than some of the suitcases that many people were travelling with) Now I don’t mind paying for reserved bike space, but please then don’t make me break dwon my bike into silly and wasteful boxes. It’s easier for everyone to keep the bikes assembled as many transit systems and even airlines have realized. Of course on the other end we had the challenge (which I do enjoy in a thrilling sort of way) of arriving in yert another city at night, assebling our bikes in the train station, and riding across the city to our hotel. We definataley have improved in bike dis/re-assembly as I think we had both bikes together in about 10 minutes!!!
The train ride itself was very pleasant and I must say, the trains are newer and more comfortable than Amtrak. And we were only about 20 minutes late.

NEW WORLD RECORD FOR BIKE ASSEMBLY IN SYDNEY CENTRAL STATION!

So we explored Melbourne to Sydney by bike and train, but much of it wasn’t easy, as everyone expects you to drive everywhere and that is the way the world is set up. Even the rail-trail was designed to be ridden via cars and shuttles for your gear as we were the only overnight touring cyclists we encountered. You know it’s really quite easy to carry gear on your bike, but you just need a little accomodation along the way, such as a safe place to put your bike (good thing we brought locks), and a train that you can ride up to, put your bike on and ride away from across the vast parking lots. It’s only difficult because we as a society have made it difficult.

THESE GREAT REST AREAS MADE THE TRAIL NICE

So now we’ve hunkered down in Sydney for about 3 weeks. We found a great little apartment sublet East of downtown in an area known as Bronte, which also happens to have a nice beach and park about 10 minutes walk down the canyon from our place. The water is stunning and the sandstone cliffs amazingly dramatic, while the bird life just continues to amaze us with its variety.

NEAR OUR APARTMENT IN BRONTE BEACH..WOULD YOU LEAVE?

So we plan to stay in the Sydney area until we fly to Singapore on May 10th. The Sydney area is a lot like the San Francisco Bay Area in that there is plenty to do and see in three weeks that is unique and unusual. We may venture as far as about two hours East by regional train to the nearby Blue Mountains, but one clear side effect of travelling so long, is that we just don’t feel the need to see every corner of the country, and are quite content to see one small corner between Melbourne and Sydney. This will also free our minds to absorb as much of the national culture and psyche as possible (except maybe for the common past time of frequent binge drinking with your mates) So please don’t ask us if we saw Ayers Rock or the Great Barrier Reef when we return, ’cause we didn’t. I’m finally catching up on the photos, so please visit our Flickr site for all the latest Australia photos. Coming Soon….reflections of Sydney (yup, been here long enough to have ‘reflections’!).

Cheers. -R

Greetings Mates…yes we arrived in Melbourne, Australia last Thursday(5-Apr) from Christchurch after ending our 3 1/2 week bike tour and brief 11-day sojourn with motorized transport exploring the South island of New Zealand. There is nothing more exciting than arriving in a foreign country for the first time and putting you bikes together in baggage claim, loading all your travel possessions for a year, rolling through customs, and heading out for an 18km ride across a large city without a map. Oh yeah, and at night too just to add to the fun. If you haven’t tried this, I highly recommend it as it will give you a whole new perspective on Airport travel as well as make you the conversation piece of customs and airport security. It is also an excellent way to test your marriage. We reckon about one in 100,000 travellers does this at most airports, with most settling for the more mundane taxis, buses, or Supper Shuttles. Where’s the adventure in that? Rolling away from an airport on bikes on roadways 100% NOT designed for bikes is so unique that most cars and taxis give you a wide berth, as people clearly relegate you to the category of “insane but on perhaps on parole”!

LAKE MATHESON REFLECTIONS – MT. TASMAN AND COOK IN THE CLOUDS

We had meant to print out some maps (or buy one) that our friends had emailed, but forget in our haste leaving Christchurch. Luckily, a random guy in customs handed us a city bike map for Melbourne which really helped us once we got closer to the city; however, outside this area were relying on some vague directions printed from the Cycle Victoria web site, but still only had to stop once to ask directions from locals. (Of course, a regular road map doesn’t help you as a cyclist much, since it may put you on a scary semi-highway, up massive hills, or run by a glass factory) So we frequently spent a few turns on the many roundabouts looking for a certain road. Of course one of the brilliant things about Roundabouts is that you can circle until you find your exit or at least review your options. Of course, yelling to Cheryl to turn across lanes of speeding traffic was not always successful, but we seemed to make it out of even the gnarliest double roundabouts (yikes), while always thinking “Stay Left, Stay Left, Stay Left!” There were some lovely four lane splits across tram tracks (which are everywhere in Melbourne) and a few construction nasty construction zones, but overall, I have to say the people of Melbourne were very kind to us on the road as we must of looked like confused ducklings trying to cross the rapids and they would always give us a wide berth (or nearly stop) and never honked! To our credit, we mostly rode in a predictable manner and were very well lit with loads of reflective clothing and gear. I emphasize the mostly.

BRAVE EXPLORERS OF THE FOX GLACIER, NZ

So on the New Zealand End, we rode to the Christchurch airport where we had a relatively easy time getting our bikes ready for the plane as Air New Zealand does not require boxing of bikes (thank you!) and we merely had to take off our pedals, loosen and turn the handlebars, and splice two baggage bags together to cover them (certainly not to protect the bikes, but to protect other luggage from grease according to Air NZ) Luckily as we were dropping off our rental car back in downtown Christchurch we stopped at the airport and left a duffel to lighten our cycle to the airport a bit and verified that they would have bags and tape at the airport, something I recommend prior to travelling with bikes no matter what they tell you on the phone! Oh yeah, and if you are going to travel the world with your bikes, business class really helps too, as they were very kind to us every step of the way. We also said goodbye to Robyn, our wonderful Servas host in Christchurch. She and her husband Alan had been so kind to us from our arrival to our departure 5 weeks later with great hospitality, food, and insight on NZ culture. We also got to know about their family and friends and day to day lives, as they couldn’t get rid of us so easily! Thanks again.

We had a brilliant cycle tour with our friends Mike and Nancy as we biked from Christchurch south to Dunedin, rode the Otago Central Rail Trail, and then head onto the Queenstown (when I last checked in with you) area and finally up the rugged West coast of the South Island.

A REST NEAR HOKITIKA ON THE WEST COAST OF NZ

Our 3 weeks of cycling was remarkably uneventful which is a good thing for bike touring as the wind, rain, and occasional double-long sheep trucks were enough to keep us all focused on our next good meal, some Monteith’s beer, and for Cheryl, of course, a bit of that tasty NZ Sauvingon Blanc. Most of all, it was a time for us to catch up with our great friends and reconnect with the world back home for awhile. And it appears we are all still friends, which is a very good thing. The West coast and glaciers were spectacular, and riding along in the thick and wet rainforest was quite surreal at times with the sounds of water and birds overwhelming the senses.

After a somewhat sad goodbye to Mike and Nancy, we decided that we would suave our sore butts for a bit and opted to rent a car for our last 11 days. We loved cycling in New Zealand, but having a car really gave us a chance to do some wonderful hiking, which is probably the Kiwis favorite past time, perhaps short of watching Rugby. We hiked the coast of Kaikoura, little-known “Sawcut Canyon”, a good day on the Queen Charlotte Track in Marlborough Sounds, and Mount Roberts and Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes NP. There is a lifetime of hiking in new Zealand and we only touched the surface, but it was really nice to have the time to enjoy each trail slowly and enjoy all of the amazingly different ecosystems that the little islands have.

As for Australia, we spent four great days in Melbourne staying with a former colleague of mine and her husband. They have a very peaceful new house in the Kensington neighborhood and graciously hosted us for the long Easter weekend. There is lots to talk about on Melboure, the Yarra Valley, and our trip here so far, but I’m going to wait to get some photos for the silly details. Right now, we’re in Beechworth, Victoria in the High Country area which is beautiful right now but quite dry due to the vicious drought they are experiencing all over Eastern Australia. We took the V-line train with our bikes and all our gear from Melbourne and have been riding the Rail Trail (Murray to the Mountains) and nearby roads for 5 days as a stop on our way to Sydney by train on Sunday. We are frantically looking for apartments in Sydney to call home for 3+ weeks to experience a stability and really get to know the other city by the Bay.

Stay Tuned for more on Hong Kong and other tidbits on the wonderful world of Oz.

Peace -R