A ride: Around Cox Peninsula

This morning I was up at 4:45 and out the door by 5:30am. On my way to do my occasional ride around Darwin harbour. 

The Plan: 

According to this map the ride will be as follows. Start at somewhere around map 8, cut through 12, 13 and 14 continue through 20 through to Stuart Highway (green line) follow green line through 21, 27 and 34. Turn right at the Red line (Cox Peninsula Rd) continue through 33, 32 and 31 then continue on red line through the places that appear as nothing more than a line on a page until Mandorah (Insert map 31), catch boat across blue bit back to 16 then continue home through 10, 6 and 7 back to 8.... And that's it. - It's not a new ride for me. It's pretty much the only long distance round trip available in Darwin without covering the same ground. I just thought I'd post the rout in terms of our local street directory because it just about covers every map in the book.

I didn't check the weather report but was hoping there'd be a bit of rain about. I checked the moon cycle and we had quite a full moon until after dawn which is always good for early morning or night cycling. Full moon and clear skies are good conditions for night riding... but the clear skies aren't such a good thing when cycling through the heat of the day in the tropics.

End of cycle path, about to join Stuart Highway. (Moon top right)

It was a pleasant ride to Howard Springs Rd along the cycle path, I even had some company for part of the journey. A guy on a road bike was behind me for a km or two, he had an extremely bright headlight which overpowered my puny torch and projected a surreal shadow of me onto the path and surrounding trees right in front of us. I wish I could have filmed it, it looked amazing and entertained me until he decided to overtake. Once he passed me I tucked into his slipstream and coasted most of the rest of the way to Howard Springs Rd, where my temporary travel companion/projectionist turned back. I don't feel too bad about tailing him, he was on a slick bike and I had a few kgs of stuff in my panniers. (Big thanks to you mate whoever you were)

Although the sky was clear it was humid. The grass was wet at home and by the time I'd reached the Stuart Highway my whole body was already dripping with sweat. Damn! Now that I've got a pair of those fancy padded lycra pants, today would have been a good day to wear them, I could already feel the chaffing bite.

The Stuart Highway from Howard Springs to the Cox Peninsula road was predictably hazardous. Several road trains passed me, which can be a fairly intimidating experience but they are usually very responsible drivers and rarely do anything stupid or dangerous, the worst is always the arrogant drivers in V8s or Work trucks who, despite the lack of traffic around them insist on speeding past cyclists as close as they can. Plenty of those on the road this morning.

Insect houses are big in the NT

Just out of Coolalinga I saw a guy pedalling in the opposite direction with trailer load of gear, It looked like all his worldly possessions plus recyclable bottles he'd collected. I'd actually seen him the night before at Palmerston, it's quite an unmistakable rig. I crossed the highway to go and say g'day but he wasn't much into chatting so I headed back in my original direction, it was getting late and I wasn't looking forward to riding in the sun. Unfortunately the sun had begun to rise as I pulled into the Noonamah service station. I'd prefer to get some of the Cox Peninsula Rd out of the way before the sun came up and it was looking like an unusually clear day.

Me and the Avanti taking a break at Blackmore River, Cox Peninsula Rd.

I stopped at the Blackmore Rive bridge for the obligatory 1/2 way photo and rest, it's become a bit of a ritual over the past few years, but this year I'm on a different bike. The Shogun has a flat tyre and the bottom bracket is getting quite rough. By now it was starting to warm up, I guzzled a some water and wondered why on such a long ride I would choose to wear a sleeveless vest and not bring sunscreen!

From here on, as usual the ride became decidedly harder. It's not the terrain, it's more the fact that I'd already ridden about 60km, my back had started aching, I was getting tired and the heat of the sun had started to take it's toll. After another 1/2 hour of riding I was bonked! Had to stop and eat. Macaroni and cheese leftovers picked me up heaps but without cloud cover the sun was just sapping all my energy. I could feel my skin sizzling and knew I'd stuffed up bad.

I finally made it to Beleuen and discovered that the store was actually open. There was only another 10km to go but by now I was feeling dehydrated and was really dragging my feet. I've called in there so many times to find it closed. Not today! Stepping in the door I was greeted by a slushy machine! Drank half an orange slushy sitting at the picnic table outside Beleuin store and took the rest with me for the final leg.

Nearly at my destination I had a minor crash on. On the last few kms from Wagait beach to the Mandorah jetty there's a bicycle path. If you ever do this ride be very careful when leaving the road to enter the bike path. All the dirt and grit from the unpaved gutter washes out onto the beginning of the path. It's deep enough for the front wheel to lose traction. I approached the path on a slight angle, the front wheel slipped and I ended up sliding on my  side a couple of meters with the bike on top of me. No great damage done just a few grazes, my pannier got a bit ripped but the bike was OK.

Mandorah Jetty - Low tide

There was an hour wait for the ferry so wandered down to the sea and washed the gravel and grit of my elbow and knee. By now I had become aware just how burned I was. Even though I'd done the bulk of the ride there was still one more leg to do. The ride from the city back home to the northern suburbs... Another 15 km, I'd rather not ride. As usual this part was slow and painful, I had a headache and when I finally arrived I was totally spent (as usual). All in all a good way to punish myself out of the funk I'd been in for the past few weeks. 

Comfortable ride across the sea

Happy cycling!

Another year

New Year's day is kind of a special day for me.
It is the anniversary of a major decision I made 19 years ago which changed my life dramatically.

It's a time when I like to spend some time along to reflect on my life, where I am, where I could have been. Sometimes I don't get to celebrate the occasion but this year I went for an evening ride on my bike through the wetlands between my home and the outer suburbs of Palmerston.

It was green and there were frogs. Here's some sound bites I've added to some images of the country.

Great Vic. A bike ride... Part VI

Official Ride day 1. Sunday 30th November

Day 2.

Woke sometime around 5:30am to the sound of heavy machinery flashing lights and reverse beep-beep-beep of fork lifts... I fumble around with the zipper of my tent look out and find people are packing their gear and getting ready for their first day of riding.

Figuring it best to beat the crowd I packed my gear, loaded it into the nearest truck (5), and jumped in the breakfast line, it was about 6am. In the cue there were about 20 people ahead of me, but when I looked over my shoulder I could see a long line stretching well past my camp on the river bank and up the hill toward the main entry already well over a couple of hundred meters long. Phew! I'd made it just before the crowd. I thought to myself 'Man! I'd hate to be at the end of that cue!' But actually the cues move amazingly fast! At every meal there are at least 5 serving bays and each of those bays has about 5 people serving. So the line just keeps moving, people sit at one of a sea of tables to eat their breakfast, or Dinner and are replaced by the people coming behind them, pretty soon 4,000 people have been well fed. It really is an amazing sight.

So on Day 1 we rode from Albury to Yackandandah via the Hume Dam!
This was my first experience of riding with a large group and I was quite excited. I pushed off with a group of young guys, one of whom was carrying some kind of sound system in his backpack so we had music... for a while. I soon discovered that people ride at very different pace and I tended to want to stay away from large clumps of riders so I tended to push forward to get away from the crowd, rather than dropping back. By the time we'd climbed a few small hills the field had spread out and I was in a comfortable riding space with some serious riders around me.

Crossing Hume Dam wall

 Fairly early on the ride we rolled down across the Hume Dam, which produced a kind of euphoric feeling of freedom and awe at the beauty of the country we were in.

Heading toward Yackandandah or 'Yack' as the locals call it we had a fair bit of up hill work to do, it was quite strenuous but the encouragement of other riders made it somehow easier to keep peddling (Or maybe that was competitive pride?), then amazingly several km before Yackandanda the road started to slope downwards and riders had a freewheeling free ride all the way into town! (Or quite a fast ride for those of us who preferred to keep our legs pumping!)

As we zoomed into Yackandandah we were greeted by a welcoming parade of locals who stayed (in the heat of the day) to welcome all riders over a period of about 4 hours! The town of Yackandandah was very welcoming. Cyclists mingled with locals and sat in the shade of the main street caffe's, museum, art gallery, grassy park and the pub, where live music was playing. The people at Yack were very welcoming and friendly, it was a great place to spend the day.

Yackandandah community welcoming party

Yackandandah Unicyclists.

 We had to wait a couple of hours for the camp to open, but when it did it was amazing! A duplication of what had been in Albury, a virtual portable village! Bike shop, food stalls, camping shop, first aid, etc... etc... and the giant marquee. It was a hot day and the sports field was in full sun but I was lucky to find a shady spot under at tree by the creek, where I spent the later hours of the day chilling out and cooling my heals.

Fresh water Spiny Tailed Crayfish

This ride is pretty amazing! All I need to do is peddle and put up my tent, everything else is totally catered for by the ride organizers! Just line up with your plate at dinner time and you get an awesome meal (wash your own plate), after dinner you can sit back and watch a movie on the giant outdoor screen or listen to live music, or just head into town and see what's going on in there.

Really loving this ride so far!

Great Vic. A bike ride... Part V

Plans, Mice and Men!

To Melbourne on the plane:

No Problemo! One bag of carry on luggage. One bike stuffed into a cardboard box. My sister even came and picked me up from the airport, and gave me a bed for the night and even cooked me a delicious omelet in the morning. It was great to see her and my two nephews again.

Mulwala - 24km south of Moyhu (Sunday 30th Nov. - Wednesday 3rd Dec.)

Before I left Darwin I attended a talk by the author Arnold Zable who mentioned the two archetype story tellers (and so I presume 2 basic stories), one is the role of the great law/lore keepers which we have depended on throughout time to keep our aural history and record happenings in our society, maintain relations, family connections, interesting events, the law and what we call lore etc... the other which we are most familiar with these days is The Hero's Journey. Zabel told the story well, I'm not going to try and recount it for you but it was great to listen to... Fundamentally though my reason for mentioning this is that my posts lately have been around a journey... The Great Victorian Bike Ride 2014. Since the story is about my journey you won't find much in the way of heroics, but out of the two story modes I don't have many options.

A good story usually has a bit of drama. It's probably the drama which makes the difference between an ordinary travel log and an adventure story. Now I believe the great and Internationally infamous traveler Kris Larsen loathes to be called and adventurer, since that implies he is reckless and does not take precautions. I am not he, or like to him much at all, and if I had to live through his 'travels' my hair would have dropped out from fear, struggle or suffering (or before it even came to that fear of the struggle and suffering)! So I will take caution in the use of the word adventure, especially since this was a very well organized trip, but I must say.... as I began, like most road trips this one did not go exactly to plan.

The Journey

Change of plan: Instead of catching the train to Shepparton my parents decided to take a road trip with me to Yarrawongah / Mulwala which saved me 1 day of riding and gave us some time together.

Ride Day 1. 

Mulwala - Albury 99km

Route day one: I intended to ride through Victoria and to see Rutherglen but decided there wouldn't be time

Club Mulwala... It's huge.

Had breakfast at Club Mulwala (the most enormous RSL club I've ever, ever seen!) with Mum and Dad, then headed off on the NSW side of the border, following a cycle path along the lake through Kyffins Reserve where there was free camps right at the waters edge. (I'm still struggling with the idea that you can walk right into the rivers and lakes here with not a thought of crocodiles)

Me before the big ride. The bike is all painted up with anti fracking stuff... and #Freethechildren !

The reserve soon ended and I was cycling along Spring Drive which after Corowa became the Riverina Highway. There's a lot of wheat and sheep in this country. It's fairly dry but close to the rive so they have water for irrigation.

Basically after Corowa I had head winds most of the rest of the way to Howlong. Yes by the time I'd reached Howlong I was asking myself the same question!
It was about 1:30pm, I was dehydrated and tired, sculled a 750ml bottle of some fancy energy drink from the shop and pushed off into the wind and now hills to try and make Albury by 3pm.

Tough ride! Met up with Mum and Dad again at Wonga wetlands and they gave me a ride to the Base Camp for the GVBR2014.

Staggered into camp at around 3:30 and the sight nearly floored me! I can't remember having seen so many people in one place before and they were all there for the bike ride, the magnitude stunned me. What have I gotten myself into?

This is only a fraction of the tents on site in Albury. The camp went a lot further back than you can see here.

Great Vic... A bike ride. Part III

Getting there and away

Plan:

Darwin to Melbourne: 
Fly to Melbourne in a stinking fosil fuel burning airplane! Arrive very late at night. Hang out at airport for a while, put bike together then ride on to family. Spend a couple of days getting my gear together. Tubes, tools, torch, tent, that kind of stuff.

Melbourne to Albury: Catch train to Albury on Friday, enjoy a 3 or 4 hour train ride through scenic country Victoria, MAGIC! Arrive in Albury find somewhere to camp before the riders gather.

 Cycle Albury to Mansfield 4 days yeh!

Return Mansfield to Melbourne:

Catch 'organized transport' bus from Mansfield to Melbourne

Ride train or cycle Melbourne - Watsonia.

Great Vic... A bike ride. Part II

A few details about the Great Victorian Bike Ride 2014

(ha ha... blogging this was a good idea, now at least I'm bothering to read some of the details on the Bicycle Network website)

Where:      Albury to Lilydale
Duration:   9 days including two rest days (I'll only be riding 5 days... day one is a rest day... cool!)
Dates:        29 November 2014 - 7 December 2014
Distance:   520km (I'll do 334km Albury to Mansfield)

Towns the ride will pass through, Albury, Yackandandah, Bright, Myrtleford, Moyhu, Mansfield... There's more but I'm not going there so who cares! (Or check the route out HERE)

Terrain: A bit of unsealed road to negotiate and.... whoah! Holy crap! What the?! Hills! Bloody big ones! Oh yeh... 'The High Country'! Right, hills... We don't do hills here in Darwin. The elevation profile looks like I imagine my electrocardiogram will look when they've revived me after my first attempt to climb one!

This is an image of an ECG, it's not the actual Elevation map if you want that click HERE

I saw something in the email they sent me today about preparation, better go back and find out what I'm supposed to be doing.

OK there's a video and some basic advise HERE, on 'Final preparation tips'. (Final? Oh... whateva!) I'll summarize:

• Something about next few weeks of training (too late mate, I only have one week!)... 
• Ride multiple days in a row = Check! 
• Don't have to ride long distances = Check! (top points on that one!)
• More than three days per week / commute = Check!
• Get used to being on the bike for several hours at a time. = (Well... Nahhh)
• Get some experience in windy, rainy weather. = Huh? (We aint got none of that here yet.)
• Wet weather gear.... = (in Darwin that means take your T-Shirt off and enjoy a warm shower... what's this joker talking about?)
• Raincoat = (Is this guy a bit of a sook or what? Raincoat? What for?!)
• Prepare for cold = (Huh?)
• Nutrition, experiment with foods, energy etc.. = Check! Check! Double Check! (You got it brother! I'll get onto that right away... you can never be too prepared!)
• Hone your descending skills = (descending? Oh yeh hills... Oh crap I'm going to need to fix my brakes!) 
• Get your bike serviced before riding or make sure you check the cassette, chain, brakes, bottom bracket, tyres... = bla, blah blah blah... (OK, OK, I get it, I'll check my brakes, sheesh! bit fussy if you ask me!)

Damn it's past midnight! I thought this was going to be fun but it's shaping up to be a bunch of humbug!

Catch ya tomorrow, when I've had a chance to find out where they're hiding the fun on this little adventure.





    

A short Sunday morning ride

This morning I had some time off just to cruise!

Where to go? Well I have to admit I'm in no shape to go peddling around to Mandorah or to do any heroic jaunts south of Humpty Doo. Considering my current, pathetic physical condition I can only imagine a very short, very local ride. (I've been working on a hedonistic theory for reducing my itchy feet. The theory is that if I stay up late playing computer games and watching movies I will be suitably sedated so as not to pace the house resenting domesticity... The down side is my body and mind have atrophied to a state similar what a lobotomized sea slug might look like... I'm working on a new theory... )

If you like cycling Darwin is a great place to live. OK there's only one road out of town but around town there are plenty of cycle paths and parkways where cycling is easy and very pleasant. I decide to make a loop around the Casuarina Coastal Reserve and then continue on to Rapid Creek Market for some paw-paw salad and black sticky rice. mmmmm yum!

Since the brain isn't capable of inventing anything interesting to read I thought I'd just tell you about my ride.

The beginning of the ride was a bit emotional for me. I had to cycle past a place that used to be a very healthy woodland habitat and a favorite spot for large flocks of Red Tailed Cockatoos. The pocket of bush between Leanyer and the Lee Point Caravan park on Lee Point Rd was the source of inspiration for an artist friend of mine who lived across the road from there for years. We both used to admire the health of the woodlands and the variety of species it supported, then one day the buldozers moved in and the whole lot was gone in a matter of days! I called him not long after and could hear the Black Cockatoos calling desperately in a tone neither of us have ever heard before! It was quite unnerving to hear, those birds were obviously distressed and so were we!

What was will soon be forgotten by many who used to drive past that special pocket of bush and never known by the new home owners who come to fill the newly created estate of Muirhead!

Muirhead Estate. Wildlife exterminated! Woodlands no more!

 I soon passed Darwin's latest obnoxious development and was rolling down the trail to more familiar ground. The Casuarina Coastal Reserve Stringybark Walk. (Not officially a cycle path but for cyclists this track is irresistible). The blue bike I rode today was a freebie! I rescued it from a skip on a building site. When I found it the rear wheel and cogs were worn out, the chain rusted stiff and all the cables seized up. After just a couple of hours of free time and a bunch of horded spare bits I had it on the road and rolling beautifully. I've finally learned my lessons about chain sizes and gears etc.. I managed to find a matching set of cogs and chain to suit the bikes gear shifter and it worked very nicely.

Beginning of the Stringybark Track

The Stringybark track to Lee Point has been graded and quite wide for a walking path, its like cycling on a well packed dirt road. The upper woodland section is quite flat and winds a short distance through some typical woodland habitat with occasional views of the sea. A lot of the washed out drainage lines have been re-vegetated and closed to destructive cyclist traffic.

Not too far along the way the track splits and walkers are offered a choice of continuing to Lee Point or taking the Monsoon Vine Forest track back to Casuarina beach. If you ever visit Darwin I recommend walking (or cycling respectfully) along this track. It is the most beautiful track in Darwin! All paths head toward the sea. If you follow the official path it's a fairly gentle slope... If you're a ratbag and chose to take one of the washed out informal paths it can be quite steep and slippery. Radical cyclists seem to prefer the second (non)option.

As the track tapers off at sea level we pass an old WWII bunker, there used to be heaps of these all along the coast around Darwin, I think there are three in tact within the coastal reserve. WWII relics are still being found from time to time, including unexploded ordinance dropped by Japanese planes. This bunker is located near a freshwater washout very close to the water's edge. On a high tide the sea gets pretty close. The trees in the background are Casuarina trees, these are native to the area but were planted to help stabilize the dunes after sand mining in the 1960s decimated the natural dunes. Casuarina's are a favorite food of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos.

After passing through the Casuarina forest, which is a bit like being in a Radiata pine forest with pine needles lining the forest floor and the whistling in the canopy when the wind blows, the track goes up hill a bit and into a very different and not so common habitat, Monsoon Vine Forest. It's always a bit cooler in here, greener, quieter and darker than the open Woodland and a huge contrast from the Casuarina forest which literally buts up against it. Monsoon Vine forests are remnant forests and as close as we get to a tropical jungle. The wildlife that lives in this habitat is very specific. Before the well watered urban gardens of Darwin suburbs evolved, Monsoon Vine Forests were the only place you would have found the Orange-footed scrub fowl. Despite my dislike for urban sprawl I have to admit the suburbs of Darwin have actually created a sanctuary for many species such as the scrub fowl, frilled lizards and once upon a time Yellow spotted monitors. Several species are probably more numerous within the city than they are in their natural habitat. On this part of the trail you can usually see a Rainbow Pitta or two and Rose Crowned Fruit Doves. The Rainbow Pittas are hard to spot from a bike, usually you'll hear them kicking the leaves around before you see them if you're walking quietly. This time I did see a Fruit Dove, (sorry no photos worth showing).

The Monsoon Vine Forest path is fairly flat but gradually winds it's way back toward the beach. Before emerging at the Darwin Free Beach (nudist beach) there's a really nice footbridge over the upper part of Sandy Creek. Now we're in the mangroves and a very different environment. On the dirt tracks before entering the mangroves are small piles of shells and ashes. A lot of aboriginal people who live in Darwin take advantage of the rich stocks of bush tucker that can be found so close to town. Shelfish are a luxury that many people can't do without. I think that for saltwater people, to live in the city and not be able to eat their favorite foods would be far too much to bear. The number of delicacies they can find in a tiny patch of mangrove is amazing. Gathering shelfish is the work of the ladies and kids. Maybe I could blog a hunting trip next time. A dhunga Balanda like me gets in the way out in the mangroves and can be more trouble than we're worth, even when hunting with kids.

Finally we're back at the beach. The Free Beach is pretty big and there's plenty of privacy for those odd sandal and socks wearing naturists.

Wide open vistas at Casuarina Beach. It's lovely. The sand is packed hard after some overnight rain and fairly easy to cycle on.

Headed back past the open paddock beside the Rapid Creek I saw heaps of birds. One favorite along this stretch are the Rainbow Bee Eaters that perch on an old wire fence. Waiting for passers by to scare up some easy tucker.

Galah

Plumed Whistling Ducks - Foreground, Corella's - Background

Magpie Geese

A quiet moment at Rapid Creek Market

Pretty soon I've crossed the Rapid Creek Bridge and I'm at the Rapid Creek markets. This is the best place in Darwin to find Asian vegetables (I'm not too sure about the chemical content of produce you'll find here). I came here especially for some paw-paw salad and black sticky rice. I grab the desert first and an extra sweet rice and casava wrapped in banana leaf and savor every mouthful. Something happened to me when I was in Indonesia years ago and I've craved this stuff ever since! Unfortunately I didn't get my paw-paw salad. I was given a free sample of some sickly sweet icy desert and felt obliged to spend my money on that instead! What a sucker!

Low tide on Nightcliff foreshore looking at a cloud

Headed home I rode back along the Nightcliff foreshore and got to see the approaching clouds of the monsoon just before the rain hit and everything became engulfed by the drenching tropical rain we've been waiting for. I cycled home in the rain feeling happy and contented and determined to change my program and go back to using early morning rides as a means of sedating my restless spirit or at least temporarily satisfying the nagging wanderlust that dominates my soul!

It's been raining fairly steadily ever since and the smell of the rain is divine!

Red-tailed Black Cockatoo in the Casuarina

Actually I forgot to mention the smells. Every part of this journey contained it's on particular smells. Riding past the housing estate I sensed dust and oil and an unholy lack of life.

The woodlands had a combination of fresh new wet leaves, sweet oxygen and just a touch of fowers.

The Casuarina forest smelt like the sea and the resin of half chewed casuarina nuts.

Monsoon Vine Forest smelt damp and heavy but fresh

Mangrove was a heady slightly fermented smell like warm beer

The smells at Rapid Creek market are like a free trip back to South East Asia! Spices, fruit even the occasional smell of clove cigarettes if you're really lucky. I love the food here but I have to admit sometimes even the scent is enough. Sometimes when I'm squeezing through the tightly packed walkways the smells convince me that I am somewhere else entirely.

A sweeter life I have never know. Peace.

I ride...

Just thought I'd make a quick post of nothing in particular... just a ride into town maybe one day, I'll put together something that shows just how special this place is and how much beauty I see along the way... this isn't that post.

I was reading a fellow bicycle commuters blog the other day, he was simply describing some of the every day wonders he sees along the way and I was reminded of the sense of gratitude I have for living in such a beautiful part of the world and being fortunate enough to be able to cycle to work or anywhere else I'd like to go in this city.

I had intended to do a bunch of photos of all the wildlife I saw along the way but I didn't actually see too much today and was too slow with the camera for those things I did see so anyway here's a few of the wonders between my place and Darwin City.

As I rode through the park virtually right outside my door a flock of Red Collared Lorikeets was spooked from their roost by a group of Torres Strait Pigeons.The lorikeets would take flight, fly a circle around the trees and then come back and land where they started. Then the pigeons would do the same... It was really weird but then I saw the reason. A group of Black kites were hunting them and all the birds in the park were freaking out! Fortunately for the prey birds the Black kites are due to leave as the humidity returns to the Top End.


I left this scene and peddled off on my Xtracycle with the Avanti Blade in tow... literally.


Towing the Avanti to the bike shop for some tlc.

From the bike shop I headed down Dick Ward Drive to Fanny Bay. (Seriously that's what they're called!)
At Fanny Bay I rolled down past the giant Milkwood and the war memorial, past the playground to the beach and the rocks and the milky blue water and the fish jumping and a large group of Aboriginal people, probably salt water people, possibly Yolngu but maybe a mixed group... I dunno. It was pretty laid back... I didn't talk, just sat and watched the fish jumping for a while... walked to the sea cupped my hands and splashed it over my face and hair, wiping it over my arms and legs. Tasting the salty brew on my lips and dreaming of sailing over the horizon... Enjoying the glorious freedom of the salty sea and the blue sky for the brief time between now and the buildup.

Black kite's hunting along the coast!

Rolling on down the hill past the Yacht club I saw an interesting vessel and wondered what it would take to build her up! Too many times I've wandered down there and drooled through that fence.

Onward toward Vesties Beach, past the ski club where they've built a new bar, Million Dollar views!
That tourist boat bus blocks the path as it prepares to enter the drink.

Boat bus enters the drink... Quack

Peddle past the museum and to the left are a couple of Orange Footed Scrub fowl. Our very own Macropods. They're very common in Darwin but you won't find too many elsewhere. They are very particular about where they live and our City appears to have more suitable habitat than you'll find in the wild. Scrub fowl are loyal lovers. They are always hanging out in pairs, although recent observations have indicated that the females aren't too particular about who sires her chicks. Apparently.

Bit of a slope after the museum headed toward the Highschool. There aren't too many hills in Darwin so I don't often put my chain under too much stress. Well this hill put my gear to the test and I discovered that the 16,000 odd kms I've done have worn out my chain and sprockets! I had to gear right down to get up this hill, the chain kept slipping, I'll have to do something about that some time!

View of Mindil Beach from the lookout. Notice the lack of swimmers on this inviting stretch of coast? Darwin has plenty of nice beaches but unfortunately the combination of stingers, crocks, stone fish, sharks and possibly the huge tidal variation leaves our beaches virtually un-swum!

Oh Yeh... Mindil beach was actually a Larakia Burial site. Nobody cared too much back in the day and even when they built the casino (that big white building just left of the centre) they even dug up some bones! That's the territory for ya! The area has also been a Chinese Garden and holding pen for the abetwar, now it's the site of Darwin's biggest tourist market.

Spiegeltent: This tent is just awesome! Darwin Festival is on so there's art everywhere! All kinds... Check out the Mo on the guy in the shorts! There seems to be a bit of a trend lately for young arty guys to be sporting a Village People Mo! I don't get out much and have no idea how this became popular but it's a great laugh to see young taking their facial hair so seriously.




Spiegeltent again.

Getting closer to town and there remain only a few signs of the Darwin I found when I arrived here 16 years ago! Oh where have the rusty iron roofs gone!

Met up with a mate and we headed down to Lameroo Beach for a chat. This was once the place where hippies and eccentric travelers used to live on the beach in busted up old boats. It's all been cleaned out now but there are still a few hangers on. Sometimes it feels like Darwin has been completely homogenized but if you get down to the hidden corners you'll find there still exists some of that old spirit that made this such a special place to be!

Today was the last day of the Asylum Seeker Art Cries Freedom exhibition so I dropped in and had a chat with Vikki the curator and Bill Day (Author of Bunji). The art was quite amazing. Click here  Not too many people turned up for this show. Compassion for the vulnerable is not really in vogue in this country at the moment!

Anyhow I'm sick of writing now and not too much more happened... I went back and wandered the beach on my own for a while and then rode home, sunburned nose, tired and happy.

Oh yeh I didn't go to work yesterday or today... two days annual leave... stress leave, what better way to spend them!

Cheers.