Around Tasmania

An overnight ferry ride from Melbourne dropped me off in Tasmania as a pink sun rose pale and cool over the sea. I had spent a week in Melbourne and was excited to be on the move again. My plan was to bike a clockwise lap around the island sticking to the coast as much as I could.

For such a small place Tasmania had a large variety of landscapes. There were beautiful white sand beaches in the north. I hung my hammock between tall white eucalyptus trees in the east. The south took on a dense jungle appearance. In the west I crossed mountains and pedaled through alpine landscapes. There were giant trees rivaling the largest I've seen anywhere. Rivers flowing at the coast had soaked up forest tannins to become the color of oolong tea. In the mountains, streams were clear and cool as fresh rain puddles.

I was excited to find interesting animals too. Wallabies hopped through the forest around me in the evenings. Echidnas waddled alongside the roads. They look like porcupines but have long thin noses and I was told by locals that they lay eggs. I didn't see any Tasmanian Devils but listened to them growling one night as I fell asleep. Traveling a remote road on the west coast I spotted a feral cat that must have weighed 40 pounds. It was all black with yellow eyes that stared at me before slinking into the bush.

I had a breakdown on one of the quietest roads I've ever been on. A bearing in my rear hub disintegrated leaving my wheel good for pushing but not for riding. It happened in the early afternoon on the longest day of the year. I had a day of food with me and 60 miles to go before the next town. I pushed for hours until the light gave out without a single car passing me. In the morning I got up early to carry on. I had made it almost halfway to town before the first passing car stopped to give me a ride. It was a French brother and sister spending a year touring around Australia. I spent two days with them sightseeing and camping and looking for replacement bearings in bike shops. Eventually I took my broken bike to the ferry. I cruised through the night to arrive in Melbourne on Christmas morning. I am in the process of getting a new wheel built now.

While waiting for my new wheel I am on a forced break from cycling. I visited Ben and his family at their dairy farm where I spent a day as a mostly incompetent farm hand. In the evening we hunted rabbits from the back of a truck with a spot light. Heading back to Melbourne from the farm, Ben and I took a road trip along the famously beautiful Great Coastal Road. I spent a day helping to build a house, a rare bit of tangible productivity which felt good. I hiked through a gorge and swam in its clear green river. For the new year I watched fantastic fireworks over Melbourne. All fun things, I am missing bike touring though. I bought a plane ticket to Cape Town, I need another continent to get my fix.

 Western Tasmania. 

 The Twelve Apostles, near the Great Ocean road. 

The kangaroos were elusive but I've gotten requests for pictures. This is the best I got. 

 This is a wallaby in action. 

 Thank you for the rescue Charlyne and Janson! 

 A fat car in the Museum of Old and New Art. 

 Nice hammock trees in Tasmania. I watched a meteor shower from here. 

 An Achidna. 

 On a hike in Victoria. 

In Melbourne. 

Australia

I've been bicycling in Australia for the past month. Heading south and west along the coast from Brisbane to Melbourne. At the Brisbane airport I unboxed my bike after the flight then ventured off into the Australian sunshine. I had been going for only 40 minutes when I met Mitch. He came up to me on his bike and became my tour guide and friend for the rest of the day. We drank beer in the parks, biked all over the city, went out for dinner, then, as a warm downpour soaked us and the city, we biked to his house where I slept on his couch. This was my friendly welcome to Australia.

The Australian coast has been beautiful to bike along. I followed beachfront bike paths for days. Brightly colored birds filled the trees above my hammock in the morning. Many nights when I set up camp I see kangaroos hopping along through the forest. They may be my favorite animal. I laugh every time I see them.

I spent a day in Sydney. It is one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen. The Sydney Harbour Bridge at night is spectacular, and the Sydney Opera House absolutely deserves its iconic status. I bought a ticket to see a ballet performance there and afterwards Florence and the Machine was playing a concert on the Opera House steps.

I met plenty of friendly people on my way down the coast. I was invited to a beachside camper park where a couple new friends took me on a mountain bike ride. I took a day off there to get over a cold and, it being the culture there, we partied quite a bit. The day before I arrived to Melbourne I stopped to watch a lawn bowling match. I had been seeing the fields all through Australia but hadn't seen it played yet. It wasn't long before I was invited into the clubhouse for a beer and offered a spare bedroom to sleep in that evening.

Now I am in Melbourne. I am staying with my Australian friend Ben. I met Ben while cycling in Canada and now 16 months later I've managed to bicycle to the other side of the world to visit him.

 Biking with Mitch in Brisbane

 An interesting bike path

 Sweater tree on the beach

 I found a shy turtle

 Downtown Sydney

 Beautiful Sydney

 I was told this bridge is so famously beautiful that it has been in 4 car commercials.

 My collection grows.

 I don't know what this is but they are in the woods where I'm camping.

 Found a rail trail!

 An aboriginal carving. Few are left due to logging.

I gave Ben a hammock. This was the best place to hang it.

The last of New Zealand

At this point my dad and I have parted ways. He has flown home to Pennsylvania and I've continued onto Australia. The trip through New Zealand, biking and fishing, yielded one fish. Catching a fish in New Zealand was part of the reason, maybe a big part, of why my dad chose to join me here. Off of a steep bank over the mighty Tukituki River a rainbow trout as big as my forearm was dragged ashore. In grabbing my camera I got the lens wet so that the only photo I have of my dad holding a New Zealand trout looks like the trout might have actually pulled him underwater. At least he got the one.

On the east coast of New Zealand’s north island we arrived in Napier, the Art Deco capital of the world. Art Deco is the style popular when the city was rebuilt after an earthquake destroyed much of downtown in 1931. All the downtown buildings have this style of architecture with pastel colors and swooping lines. It isn't a style I would have been able to recognize or put a name to prior to visiting but after a day of walking around the city I quite like it.

The rugby world cup gripped the nation while we were there. The All Blacks are the New Zealand national team. If they made it to the finals it would be equivalent to the Superbowl in as much as it captures the national audience. The world Cup was happening in England so the live matches took place at 4 AM in New Zealand. This culminated in The All Blacks playing the championship match the night of, or call it morning after, Halloween. I don't think many people went to sleep. It was a party to remember. The All Blacks took the championship against Australia.

The highest mountain in New Zealand is Mount Cook. From valley to peak it rises almost 10,000 feet. Glaciers fill every crevice, dripping turquoise water into cold deep lakes. A hike took us a short ways up the same valley Sir Edmund Hillary might have used to approach Mount Cook when training for Everest. The mountain loomed huge and cold. It was spectacular.

Much of the rest of the riding was along beautiful coastlines of clear blue water or among steeply rolling pastures full of sheep and cows. Seals made an appearance by the thousand. They smelled awful. Christchurch, the last city we stopped in, was still under construction after a terrible earthquake 5 years ago. I think in 5 more years it will be an incredibly beautiful city. Hopefully they go with the Art Deco style.

 After a long morning of fishing and biking. 

 Flowers for you. 

 Wellington farmers market. 

 He was not amused. Expensive though. 

Snowy mountains could be seen from the beach! 

 New friends, we watched the rugby semi-finals together. 

 Robin makes the best pies in New Zealand. Thanks Robin! 

 Typical New Zealand decorating. 

 The road to Mount Cook. 

 Mount Cook in the back. 

 In Christchurch. 

 Christchurch under construction. 

I had the woman at the information center pronounce this for me. It sounds just like it is spelled.