Tuesday, February 26, 2013

A Childhood Wish Come True

Cycling in the Clare Valley in South Australia Trevor and I got into a heated argument because he doesn’t like how much I move around on the bike and I don’t like that he tailgates me.  We eventually resolved this by setting up a new regime where Trevor zooms off and meets me many kilometers down the road.  That way he can go at his insane speed and I can take my time enjoying the scenery around me and not worrying about him right behind me.  Not sure why we didn’t do this earlier.  It is also nice in that we aren’t around each other 24/7.  One can only be around someone for so long in a day.  To note, we don’t have many intense fights but there have been a few en route.  Most of the time it is more me dishing out at him as I get annoyed rather quickly at many things like the strong winds in my face and just constantly take it out on the closest person around me which happens to be Trevor. 

In Adelaide we scoured the city trying to find a bare rim so I could replace my cracked one.  I noticed it had a crack whilst on the Nullarbor and worried about it a lot.  Luckily I made it to Adelaide without any disaster.  Unfortunately no place sold bare rims so I had to buy a whole new wheel.  Cost a lot but I feel confident that this wheel will manage the rest of the way. 

As usual, the weather is never in our favour.  In South Australia we had temperatures of 40+ degrees Celsius and the winds were mental, strong and in my face.  The unpredictable winds continued into Victoria.  It won’t stop and I have learned to accept this but I will still keep getting pissed and perturbed.  The wind though is finally getting to Trevor as well.  About time.

Had a bit of a scare one evening in the bush when I was cooking pasta on my excellent Trangria stove.  Some flames acted up due to the stupid wind and caught some grass leaves and then started to spread quickly.  I instantly distinguished the flames with water but it sure showed me how fast fire can spread in this dry and windy climate.  I am extra careful now when cooking.    

We just spent the last few days in Melbourne exploring around town and doing the Australian wave.  That is, waving away the flies that constantly pester us.  Much like the wind, flies are something we have had to deal with a whole lot throughout Australia.  I guess they are at their worst in the summer months here.  Trevor absolutely hates flies with a passion.  So much, he wants to go into genetics to figure out a way to decimate their population. 

We are now leaving a rainy Melbourne and are heading for Sydney.  




Stopping to admire these glass balls on Rundle Street in Adelaide.

Doesn’t happen very often.  In fact, I think only twice thus far on this trip, the other time being in Uzbekistan.  What’s that you ask?  A day where I am faster and stronger than Trevor on the bike.  This was in the Adelaide Hills after climbing some steep ass hills.  It wasn’t fun especially on the narrow road we had to go on.  Luckily there were blackberry bushes and apple trees in the area.  Huge!  The apples were quite nice actually and the blackberries were sweet.  Who needs to spend $5 at the supermarket when you can just freely pick them yourself? 


Trevor taking a dip in the Southern Ocean near Beachport.  In hindsight I probably should have had a dunk myself but didn’t.  The days are hot and cooling down in the ocean is always a treat. 


The Blue Lake in Mt Gambier.  Kind of reminds me of Crater Lake in Oregon.

The start of the Great Ocean Road.  Most people start at the other end as they are traveling from Melbourne.  Nice for us as less vehicles passed us as opposed to the other side of the road. 


Many interesting rock formations to see along the Great Ocean Road.  Trevor went to the first one here being the Bay of Islands and decided that was enough for him and happily skipped the rest.  He said to me they all look the same.  Each to their own but I made the effort to check them all out. 


The Grotto but unfortunately not Hef’s………………………………… bad joke I know but that is what I am about.  It is who I am.   


The 12 Apostles on a gloomy day.  Shame the weather wasn’t great on the days we cycled the Great Ocean Road.  We were actually cold a lot of the time as it rained quite a bit. 


An Echidna!  Kind of reminds me of a hedgehog or porcupine.


When I was a boy my mom got me this glossy photo book of koalas and they became one of my favourite animals.  Twenty plus years later I finally see the real deal!  This was very exciting for me.  We ventured off the Great Ocean Road towards Cape Otway Lighthouse and then cycled through the many eucalyptus trees.  I looked up and it didn’t take long before I began seeing little fur balls perched way up in the trees.  They all of a sudden exploded and were everywhere.  It was very neat to watch them even though most of them were just sitting there not doing much at all but sleep. 


I even saw a koala fight!  These two had a row over territory.  The koala biting won the battle fairly quickly and thus stole the spot from the other one. 


Question: What do these sheep have in common with both Trevor and me?  If you said all are in need of a haircut you would be correct! 


The latter half of the Great Ocean Road was quite nice being snug against the coast.  Even better was that there were many blackberry bushes along the way.  It is such a great time when you can stop every so often and pick blackberries on the spot.  Great Ocean Road gets brownie points for that.    

Having a read of the history behind the Great Ocean Road.  This was also the end of it for us.  



Pretty neat when we saw our first Aldi in Victoria.  It was like we were in Germany.  The store layout is exactly like it is in Europe.  Prices aren’t quite the same though but Aldi is now our go to supermarket.  Trevor pictured is trying to enjoy his ice cream in peace but the flies are annoying him yet again.  As a result, he has turned into a lean, mean fly slapping machine.  He takes joy in all his kills. 


Another game of where’s Trevor.  The setting: Federation Square, Melbourne.  Game on… 

The first night in Melbourne there was this White Night going on.  It was pretty cool with lots of entertainment and crazy lights going on all around the central business district.  So many people flooded the streets. 


The Melbourne skyline.  Lots of sports played here.  In the right is the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground and the white building center left is the Rod Laver Arena where the Australian Open is played.  


Big thanks to my friend Simon for letting us crash at his place in Melbourne and to his parents for putting us up for a night at their beach house in Pt. Lonsdale.  Always great to have a place to stay every now and then to rest up the legs and store the bikes so we can freely explore around on foot.


Last night Simon drove us around the Melbourne Grand Prix track at night.  So this morning before leaving we cycled some of the course by day.  Should be neat now watching it as I will know exactly where the race cars are in the city. 




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