Running With the Roos

August 22, 2015
Nearing Isisford, Qld, AU

First a big Happy Birthday to my little sister, Barb! I woulda closed but I'm so remote and finally off the road train route that I have no signal. Good for me. Bad for you. But maybe tomorrow earn I get to Isisford, an itty bitty town. That's your birthday back home anyways!




I've had more toots and waves and oranges given to me out here then anywhere coming up the coast. And so many folks just pull up to hear my story. Yesterday was no different when Peter pulled up in his ute, on my left side, on the shoulder. I had trouble figuring where this sound of a truck was coming from:).

Where ya going?

Longreach.

Where ya come from? (Always a tough question. Today? In Australia? My home?)

From Melbourne.

Whoa!! On that?!?

Up! I smile.

How far ya go in a day?

About 50 kms, give or take.

And on and on it goes.

And then I ask about where he lives and the drought, and the cattle.

This whole area's been de-cattled. Sold, or slaughtered, or moved.

Which tree is a coolibah tree?

You want to see coolibah trees? How about I come find you tomorrow and I take you down to our billabong to see them?

I'd love it!!

So today, mid morning, Peter comes up the road, we load Blaze on the back for a rest, and head back to his place. He stops at the house to get his ipad to show me what this place looks like when it's not in a drought. So green and lush and beautiful!

Then we drive down these dirt farm roads through a gate onto really rough terrain.



If I'd a known you were coming I'd have grated this track.

Next time I'll phone ahead!

We get back to where there are greener trees and a bit of lush bushes growing on the edge of this billabong, a pond in the dried up river that will never go dry. It was about 10 feet deep and a kilometer long. It looked murky, the color of the soil but not icky like stagnant water gets. Totally drinkable. And you could see there'd been lots of roos here getting there water.



Wanna see a whole lot of kangaroos?

Do I?!?

So we drive to open paddocks and there were roos running everywhere. Running along side the ute. Running way off in the paddock. Roos running everywhere! Such powerful hind legs and thighs! And fast. About 30 mph. Felt like I was on an Australian Safari. That's what it told Peter he should do during the drought: give people an outback experience like he was giving me! I was watching this kangaroo running along side the ute that had a Joey in her pouch. And the Joey fell out! Tumbled along on the ground. Momma kept going. She didn't even hesitate or look back. She'll go back and get it later, Peter said. It was a bigger Joey anyways. Saw one stumble too as it ran and it did a forward roll, got up, shook itself off, and took off. Seeing how many there were here, I got a feeling for the over population of them. They are a pest here. And they are not affected by the drought one bit.

We then went and checked in done cattle that he didn't sell or move south. They were looking pretty good we thought. Maybe because there was so few of them...only about 20...on so much land, they were finding something to eat.


Last he showed me this tree he'd found that had rocks that had been placed in the notch of the the tree a long time ago and the tree had grown around them. It certainly was the oldest tree around. Maybe a marker many years ago.

Time to get a move on, so Peter dropped me back at the road about 10 kms further along with a bag of oranges, a banana, and a large cold bottle of water.



Thanks Peter for a great outback experience. It pained me to hear your story of how hard it's been to hang on through the drought. I understand when some days you feel like just throwing up your hands and walking away. The terrain is so dry and dusty and barren. My wish for you and all the ranchers in this area is for heaps and heaps of RAIN!! Then you'll have flooding, but I'm sure you all know how to cope with that. I can tell from the signs on the sides of the road and meter markers that it floods here often. It's time for one now.

August 24, 2015
Nearing Longreach, Qld, AU

Hardest day yet...perhaps ever. I whupped. Don't even know how I'm finding the energy to write this except I want to capture today, as if I'd ever forget:/

Started with a miserable night. Couldn't get to sleep until well after midnight. Too hot perhaps. The nights are warm although once I turn my headlamp off I can unzip the doors and let the breezes flow through. Too dry for mozzies.

But I awoke at my usual 6 am. And I had told myself "Self, get up and go in the morning to beat the heat."...so I did. On the road by 7. I'm usually a 9 am starter. I retired!! I don't need to get up early ever again, well, except for hot hot days. And this was to be another day in the 90s. Ugh. I don't do heat.

When I awoke the wind was blowing as a tailwind so it was stoked! That didn't last. By the time I pedaled off it had swung around 180* to a headwind. And so the grind began. Now I can handle headwinds. And I can handle heat, sorta. And I can handle flies. But I had it ALL today. The trifecta!!! And I kept pedaling. I dint stop for my usual breakfast break because I was making no miles. Just a couple of cookies. About 12:30 I found an isolated shrub and decided to take a break. I forced myself to eat something: chopped egg and avocado. And I'd been drinking, warm water. Yuck. It just doesn't quench the thirst. But thirsty I was, is sipping I was. One car that went by mid morning asked if I had enough water. And if this had been a normal day, my answer of Yes would have been correct. But I didn't know that I would be so thirsty or go so slowly, all day. So in the afternoon, I decided to try and get some water. One bloke stopped to chat and I asked if he had water. He was a local. He gets out and pulls out juice bottle repurposed as a water jug, but there were things growing in there. Nope, he said.


I stopped an RV and they filled 1.5 liter container with COLD water. I kissed the bottle and thanked them profusely. Then I drank a quarter of it. The water out here is mostly bore water, pumped up from the ground and it's not a refreshing aftertaste. But I had cold water, for a while. I try to put stuff on the side of the bike not getting blasted by the sun to keep it cooler longer. When I was heading west, that was easy because the sun was on my right all day...so I out my food on my left side. Now I'm going north and some days I've changed the swapped the panniers midday to keep the food away from the sun. I didn't today. Even my kiwifruit tonight was warm to eat.




About 2 pm I thought I'd try finding shade and taking a midday break for a couple of hours. The tree was sparse and the shade spotty. I had to keep moving to stay out of the sun's scorching rays. They hurt. Ssssss!!!! While stopped i made a phone cLl...to a dentist in Longreach because about a week ago one of my temporary fillings cracked and then a few days later a quarter of it fell out. This was the fix in Wellington that cost me $700. I want it repacked and repaired. There's no pain and no swelling. I don't need a root canal as he had told me. They're going to work me in on Wednesday. Yippee! Having that open tooth has had me quite nervous that it would start to hurt, really hurt. But it's doing fine. Good job, molar. You're on my team!

I stayed under the tree an hour , then decided to keep going. Even at 3 mph I was going somewhere.

The wind challenged my answer for riding in the sun: my umbrella. It kept blowing it so hard I had to hold the edge of it with one hand...the hand that steered the bike. The other was holding the handle of the umbrella. And at one point it flipped inside out and broke a stay. But it still works. And when I have more energy I have a plan for mending it.

I had a goal of 60 kms today. More than I usually do, but I have a rough schedule in my head for getting to Perth. I expected to be in Longreach tomorrow. And I probably will. But I pedaled until after 5 before quitting at 62 kms! Wahoo! And then I collapsed. My skin tingles. I'm brown as a berry. I'm exhausted. I'm weak from hunger, but not hungry...and these freaking flies won't leave me alone! The headnet is so hot and I can't see well. Arrgghhhhh! No patience left.

Time for well deserved sleep. I'll bet I sleep tonight:))



I closed up and turned off the iPad to go enjoy these brownies a mate gave me yesterday when he stopped to chat. They were in a ziplock sitting just outside my tent door. Zipped. I picked up the bag and brought it in the tent, but right away noticed a creature, long with lots of legs in the bag. Oh no! My brownies! I threw it back outside and managed to unzip it, and this thing about 6 inches long crawled out and scampered away! (I just squashed an ant crawling across my mat.). Getting my last taste of the outback, I guess. I'm eating the brownies!!! How bad can they be?

Goodnight, again.



A friend I found on the road. He was about 6 inches long. I'll be the never held a conversation with a human before. Then a car came along and almost squished him right in front of my eyes.



An eagle. There are lots of them. The soar over me checking me out!



I only wish!



The flies are so annoying!



Kinda flat out here. Even the road is red!

Livin' the life!

BagLady

A Day in the Life of Me

August 20, 2015
Nearing Blackall, QLD, Australia




Dawn is breaking bright orange on the horizon outside my tent and I gotta pee, again. I situated my tent so that I would have morning sun to warm me up. It gets vodka at night in the Outback, although last night was the warmest it's been in months...most of the night...gets chilliest closer to dawn. I get up and take my socks off. Don't want to walk through the brush with them on in my sandals or they'll just get all dirty and prickery. Off to take care of business. I have lots of stories I could share on what I've learned on that topic, but not right now. It's morning and I'm sitting in the early sun enjoying a cup of Milo coffee, getting warm. Milo coffee is my own concoction. When visiting people and not wanting caffeine in the evening (before giving it up altogether again, for my heart) they would offer Milo. It's a barley chocolate drink. And quite yummy. And quite popular here. In the morning, I add a bit of instant decaf coffee to it with a bit of sugar. Yum!

I sometimes sit and read or knit or as this morning, write in my blog. I feel quite rushed most days. Gotta get going. Getting nowhere if I'm not pedaling. Feeling guilty. That's really when the fact that Blaze is slower than bicycles bothers me. Not when I'm pedaling and can enjoy the scenery more. Never then.

Time to pack up. There's a ritual. Get dressed first. Same clothes as yesterday. No decisions. Easy peasy. Then run a comb through my hair. Once a day, whether it needs it or not. (I have to remind myself every morning because it's something I forget to do since I never see myself in a mirror.) Stuff my warm sleeping bag in a sac. Stuff both bags into the bottom of the pannier, one wrapping around the other to reduce space, I hope. Then goes my clothes stuff sac. All of this is in a plastic pack liner (covered in duct tape as new rips appear) to keep it cleaner and drier, I hope. Then the plastic is rolled and my toiletries, book and notebook and maps, headlamp, pee jar (which is rinsed with soapy water every morning) in plastic bag, knitting. All the things I need at night. As I think about it, the toiletries bag (for showers) could go some place else, properly, as my toothbrush and stuff used daily are separate. Hmm I'll have to think where else would be good so I don't have to touch it every day. That's the rule. Guess I've slipped on that one. But another rule I have is don't change where you put things because I'll forget where it is. And if I go looking for something and it's not in the first place I looked, where I thought it should be, I put it there when I do find it because that's the first place I looked for it. Yes, things do get lost in this small space.

Meanwhile I've been making a pile of my bum bag, camera case, solar panel, anything that doesn't get packed. Next I pack my rear stuff sac with my camp chair, air mattress, sleep sac, fleece, rain jacket, and exercise strap. There are other things in there that never came out: town or other season clothes, backpack, art supplies, extra maps for other areas of Australia than where I am, hiking sandals, tent stuff sac that I don't use...and maybe one or two other things I can't remember:).



Out of the tent. Hang panniers on trike. The other pannier is solely food. Usually odds and ends of things like pasta, ramen, quinoa, lentils, spices, nearly empty jam and peanut butter jars, and whatever's left from the last grocery stop. I carry a lot of food. Always worried I'll get stranded with stores closed or something goes wrong. Always more than I need. So hard to plan. Have I told ya how much I hate planning? Well I do!

Down comes the tent. I load the large stuff sack, hiking pole, and tent on the top of the rack. The two waterproof panniers are on rack. I have two large pods that hang off the seat. One has 2 stoves and fuel (petrol for Muka stove and gas canister for Pocket Rocket that I use in morning...overkill to be sure, but I never know...) and my water bladder. The other pod has repair kits for me and my gear and the trike, as well as all the cables, plug converters, extension cord for my electronics, and bug net, suntan lotion, bike pump, cables and ties for transporting Blaze.

I hang my 3 liter water bottle to one of the flag posts; tie my pee rag to the back of the seat; tie my sac of night water bottle, eating dish with utensils and lid, and the days snacks and vitamins to a flag post, and tie on my trash bag. Then brush my teeth. Done. One last "stupid check" to see what I've left on the ground...after I've pushed Blaze away a bit...and we're off! Another day on the road. And my heart starts to sing!

It's now the next morning and I'm in a campground. There's good and bad with civilization: yes, I had a hot shower and power and people, but also street lights and barking dogs and roosters crowing...and I can't see the sunset or the sunrise:(.

I'll describe yesterday's ride, as best I remember it. The terrain is fairly flat, with undulations. Dusty pastures, scattered scrubby brush. A drought. The mornings have road trains and grey nomads. Then I find the road gets quiet. That's when I like it best. Then my mind starts to work. Hmm. Got this hike coming up. Yup the plan is to get to Longreach (about 200 kms away) then fly to Brisbane, spend a few days touring there, then fly to Perth where I'll store Blaze and extra gear and go hike the longest Australian track, the Bibbulmun Track. It's 1000 kms (600 miles) from outside Perth down to the southern coast at Albany. Much like the Appalachian Trail with shelters all along the way.

So while pedaling, I'm thinking about things like what can I be eating that weighs nothing and is healthy, not junk...nada...nothing. How can I carry so little that it all fits into this large day pack I have with me and used on the Camino and Kepler? What do I need to pack? I need to repair my pack because it's tearing from carrying too much weight. As I thing new things, new ideas, new to-do's, I stop and write them on the list on my phone.

Then I think about getting a flight out of Longreach. Don't want to book until I know they'll take the bike. These are small planes. I decide to go to the airport with it unloaded and ask. I think with it left unfolded, but the seat removed it would fit through any cargo door and I think they'll be helpful. It's the Outback, for crying out loud. Everybody helps everybody out here!!

I think about where to stay in Brisbane and what I want/need to do there. Warmshowers? Hostel? Near airport? In city? When should I book flight to Perth. When should I book it for? Decisions! Decisions!

I think about what I need to toss from my gear to get it ready to fly. All the food stuff. Anything else? What about that blood pressure monitor? Do you really need to keep that? Pressure's still up. Oh well. Maybe hiking will be good for it? Hmmm? Then I probably want to check it when I finish hiking. Give it up. It'll be what it will be. And you're not doing anything more about it out here. Tried all your old tricks and they haven't helped. Ignore it now. That sometimes fixes things:)

And on and on. I think about coming back to the States and try to figure out what I would do there. Do I come back for the winter and get my thumbs operated on? The basil joints are getting worse and worse. Quite inflamed. I wouldn't want to do they surgery in summer. Is it bad enough she would do it now? What's the criteria for surgery? I have two friends that have had it done. I should write them and ask. There must be a million other things flying through too. Oh, look at that eagle flying overhead! It's checking me out!! And watch out for the dead kangaroo. Oh the smell of the Outback is rotting meat. Yuck! Then I just stare across the expanse and feel the wonder of it all. Feel it in my core where there are no words.















Then I think about how far it is to Blackall, 35 kms. What time will I get there. Are there any campgrounds? Do I want to stay in a campground? I stop and check WikiCamps. Yup. Expensive. $25 for a tent site. Camp dinner for $23. They sounds fun. Why not check it out. No rush today. I like that. The Outback is winding down too fast. Only 4 more cycling days:( I'm not ready for the city again. But it's getting hot out here, so it's time to leave. The heat will be unbearable. Then I think that I shouldn't have stayed 3 weeks in Toowoomba. Guilt. Shoulda pushed on. But it was fun. A great break. Wonderful family. Kids to play with. Nope it was right. This is right. New things are a-coming!


I'm hungry. 10:30. Time for breakfast. Pull to roadside, in ditch. Lay hi viz jacket on ground for sit cloth. Get out apple half, peanut butter, tortillas, raisins and nuts. Makes a great breakfast wrap.

And away I go again. Until I see a rest stop where I can pull in for lunch around 12:30. There's a campervan that's just pulled in ahead of me. And a lady hops out. "Crazy lady!" Or something like that, she says. And that's how I meet Karaleen and Glenith (I think) from Perth. Such fun sharing stories. They told me I can get a stagecoach ride in Longreach. I'm doing that!! I got contact info so we can connect up in Perth after my hike. They probably won't be back before I start walking. After an hour and a half break, no hurry today, I pedal off.

And run into a mob of cattle and horses grazing "the long paddock". Because of the drought up north, some ranchers are having to take their cattle to graze the wide sides of the road. They have to keep them moving, about 10 kms a day. And they stay out here indefinitely. It was wild! Cows and horses wandering on each side of the road, crossing over. Cars and trucks slowly creeping through the mob.












And then I come into town:


Tambo entrance.


Tambo Public Library



Blackall hotel.

My day usually ends with me looking for a bush campsite. I like to find a side road I can go up a bit to get away from the noise of the road trains. I start looking about 5 pm now with it not getting dark until after 6. That's a relief.




So I pull up and set up my tent. I need to find a spot with dirt not pokers that could prick through my tent or clumps of dried grass. It's not easy out here finding a spot, that's for sure. If there are trees around I try and figure where the dun will set and rise so I can maximize its warmth. That's always a guess too. After it's up, I crawl in and check again for anything that could puncture my sir mattress and remove it. Then I unpack Blaze putting everything inside that I'll need for the night and getting out my chair. Ahhh! Funny how it feels good to sit down after fitting all day. But I'm not pedaling! I usually read a bit just to unwind. Now that it's lighter, longer, I usually do a quick wash up with a cup of water and my bandana, just to rinse off the grime and dust from the day. Then I change into my long johns for sleeping. Refreshed and warm as the day is cooling.

Then I start some dinner.



Veggies mostly. Either a cold salad or a stir fry over pasta or polenta. Simple. Tasty. My salads have egg and avocado and feta cheese mixed with chopped whatever I have on hand. A bit of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, some salt...oh, my mouth is watering now! My favorite supper!

If it's warm I sit outside a bit and watch the stars come out. It's so dark. And so quiet. And I'm so happy.

Then I crawl in, inflate my air mattress, put it in a silk sleeping sac, stuff my pillow case with one sleeping bag, fluff the other one over me, and grab my book to read or play games on my phone. And rest. And sleep 10+ hours!



Livin' the life!

BagLady

Roma to Augathella or the Outback Ride Continues

August 16, 2015
50 kms north of Augathella, Qld, AU

"You're not living up to our agreement. I said you can wander over my arms all you want as long as you stay off my face. Don't make me get out the bug headnet again!! You promised!!!!"

I can tolerate the flies anywhere but walking on my face, up my nose, in the corners of my eyes, into my mouth or ears...nope...that's not allowed. I figure if I leave them alone on my arms then they won't be on my face. And how the heck do they keep up with me pedaling at the blistering speed of 6 mph?!?!? Sometimes it looks like they're flying faster than I'm pedaling. Ok. It gets a bit boring pedaling all day and my mind struggles for entertainment do it analyzes things...like the speed of flies.



But I have to say I haven't tired of pedaling through this gorgeous country. There's so much variation of the foliage and the soil. I started to notice a week or more ago this funny looking tree across the landscape. It had a fat trunk that is shaped like a case or bottle and the branches all come out of the top. A Dr Seuss tree, for sure! I even took pictures of it. Then when I got to Roma, I found out they are known in thus area for this tree: the Bottle Tree. It's quite slow growing so I know the ones I saw around town and out in the paddocks are quite mature. I still love seeing them and trying to get a great picture. (Nope, can't post my pics because I took them as a portrait not landscape shot...and they won't load:()

In Mitchell I decided to stay at the campground and what a lovely one it was. Family owned and run. Well maintained. So nicely kept they had Grey Nomads who came back every year. (Grey Nomads are the retirees touring the country pulling their trailers usually. And they are aplenty out here! ). They were the nicest folks. It was so pleasant there, I stayed an extra night. Out behind the campground was an Aboriginal Interpretive trail out to where an old aboriginal community used to be. The whites were in one died of Mitchell creek and the blacks on the other. In town I had lunch with a guy who grew up in Yumba, the aboriginal community. He said it was great fun being there. They'd play ball every Sunday. And fish and swim in the creek. He had to walk to town to school after the government closed down their school. In the 1960s the government, who had set up the community in the '30s and supplied simple small houses (which they expanded on), told them to move off the land and then a few years later bulldozed down their homes. Sad time.

It's a couple of days later, it's 6:30 at night, the sun has set leaving a fiery edge on the horizon, and a new moon just above it. And it's warm...ish. Normally the chill sends me into my tent by now. Spring is in the air!!!



Without clouds, and there hasn't been for weeks, I'm not getting those great full sky sunsets.

Back to the Mitchell campground. The second night was most interesting. There's a fund raiser for children's charities called Variety Bash and some of them overnighted there and not at the showgrounds. This was 130 vintage cars (older than 30) driving from Cairns, through the Outback, and finishing at Fraser Island 10 days later. They got their route instructions in the morning before the took off for the day. They stopped at schools and other venues sharing gifts for the kids. Each day was a different costume. The day we saw them was Santa...300 people all dressed as Santa! Each car has to raise $8500 to participate and then pay for their own food and lodging. They are also fined along the way, so they have to bring extra funds for that. And most do it year after year. I've gotten the idea that there's a lot of fundraising for charities done here. I've been asked many times if I'm doing it for a charity.



It's been a bit if a challenge finding places to put up Spacey, my new Big Sky International Revolution 2P tent. There are a lot of prickly plants when I do find a patch of dirt without grass clumps. I don't want to puncture my new air mattress. ExPed had kindly replaced the replacement I got in NZ. It blew a gasket! Didn't go flat, went fat! But within a very quick time a distributor in Brisbane had one waiting for me at the Morven PO. So either the new one, I rub all around the floor of the tent trying to find anything that might poke through and remove it. One more nighttime chore.

I had a tailwind the day I rode to Augathella. I didn't think I could make it because I spent a lot of time chatting with a local rancher, then some Grey Nomads who stopped over while I was breakfasting. But when the wind switched to my backside and I could get up to the teens per km, I was sailing. It was Saturday and I wanted to get to the grocery store before it closed because I knew it wouldn't be open on Sunday. Pedal. Pedal. Whew! It's only 3:30. What?!? Closed? At noon? Dang! Do I stay 2 nights until it opens Monday or hope there's enough food in that pannier to go another 120 kms? I'll stay the night here and decide in the morning. In the morning it was a go. I always have extra food. What was I worried about?

Back to tonight. It's so quiet. No sounds except the rare car or road train. No light except the sliver of the moon. I'm sitting outside beside Blaze and Spacey and I'm in heaven. Why do I love being in the middle of nowhere all by myself? I keep asking myself that and I can't come up with an answer. It just feels right. Peaceful. Serenity. Home.











Got a couple of good roo shots one day as they crossed the road. They're only out early morning or at dusk so this was a delight.











A rancher I met yesterday said he killed 11,000 of them on his property because they are such a pest. Next he's planning on installing a fence that hopefully will keep them out because the eat too much if the pasture grasses and compete with his cattle. But they're so cute!

And some "a day in the life" shots:












Livin' the life!

BagLady

Pedaling to Roma

August 6, 2015
A road heading west, Queensland, Australia




Brrr! I wish that sun would break free of the clouds on the horizon and warm me up! It's a quiet morning except for the birds...a lot of noisy birds in Australia. The only one I recognize is the Kookaburra because he sounds like a monkey laughing. The nights are chilly out here, in the 30's, but the sun provides warmth as long as you're sitting in it. The air is very dry, no moisture molecules, so it never warms up. Scorching sun yet chilly breeze. And this week there've been southerlies bringing cold air up from the south. I'm camped next to a paddock fence and a gathering yard, looks quite new. I saw and heard some horses last night, and a few trucks. The trucks haven't started up yet this morning. These trucks are the road trains and the roads are single bitumen track with graded shoulders for the rest of us. And everyone goes deep onto those shoulders giving the road trains every bit of the pavement. No arguments here! I'm paying closer attention to what's happening on the road because the other day was a close call. I noticed an oncoming semi so as I do, I glanced in my mirror to see if anything was coming from behind...and there was...and he was right there...and I dive for the ditch...and he passed in a cloud of smoke from the brakes!!! Oivay!!! That was too close!! Why didn't he honk?? Please honk before you kill me! Give me half a chance to dive for the ditch. He had pulled out a bit to try and get around me, but I don't think he had room with the oncomer. It was the first day I've listened to music because it was my birthday. (Don't use my iPhone for music because it eats the battery but it has the best tunes...all the new music I loaded on my iPod doesn't move me so I never listen to that.).

For the last couple of days there's been only one small town with a gas station/cafe/grocery/laundry/showers all in one...and a caravan park and a pub and a motel. That was on my birthday. There were slim pickin's at the grocery for a dinner treat. Pretty are shelves. But I did find some carrot cake in the little bakery case. Yum. I thought about getting lunch there, but the menu was fried this or fried that. I'm trying hard to eat healthier, so I passed. Country food here is the same as in the States. It's amazing that people live as long as they do in that stuff. Must keep the doctors and drug companies busy.




Blowing out my birthday candle!

I got the most wonderful wishes on Facebook for my birthday and it warmed my heart and brought me to tears. I struggle with an internal loneliness and attention like that just makes me weep. It's such an unfamiliar thing. I've struggled most of my life with friendships. I'm always the eager one but the response is null. When I had a home, my phone never rang. It's always me that called others. Something I never understood and still don't today. But across the world I've made amazing friends and our friendships fill this lonely soul up!! I connect easily...just can't maintain. Don't know if I'll ever figure it out. Does someone have done crackers to go with this whine??? Enough. It was a glorious birthday: amazing sunrise and sunset - as there always is in OZ, and friendly encounters during the day.

Met an interesting bloke, Paul, in the small town, who loves cycling and does these 5 day tours around the South Island of NZ covering mega distances each day landing in cushy digs each night. He works for a company there but lives at the coast. A 6 hour drive each way. And he goes home every weekend. I told ya they drive long distances here! And think nothing of it. Not me. I'd rather pedal for days than ride for hours.

Well the sun has warmed things up, and the coffee's done, so I'd better pack up and cover some distance. Two more days until the next town. That'll be 3.5 days of water I'm carrying. Hope the 7 liters us enough. I've been rationing it. My bath water was saved to wash the dishes (all 1 cup of it!). It's not hot so I'm not drinking a lot. Just trying to figure out how much I need to carry fir how long. Hmm??




The Classic Australian windmill for drawing bore water.



Hit a bit of agricultural green. Don't know how they keep it watered though.



And agricultural brown!



And road kill. There are a lot of dead roos by the side of the road. Most have been partially eaten. And oh, the smell!!




Carcass remains. Lots of those too!



And birds!

Loved the quieter roads and wonderful bush camp spots I found. Pulling into Roma was a bit of a downer because it's quite an industrial town. Probably a hub for these outback stations. Laundry was, first on my list since it'd been 2 weeks. Found the laundromat easily. $6 for a double load! But I have 1/2 a load. I'll wash it by hand, the critical things. The rest can go without. I'm afraid I'm gonna be quite grubby before this outback adventure finishes!

Groceries next. Found a Woolies (Woolworths, big good chain here). "Never shop when you're hungry." "You carry your fears." Is that why I always seem to have a lot of food. But knowing it could be 2 weeks before I see a grocery store this doze again, everything was too tempting. Besides veggies weigh a lot. I. Trying to eat vegan. Trying. I still have a bit of dairy (butter, yogurt, feta...I try to goat instead of cow when I can) and eggs. So lots of salads and stir-frys over pasta. I made a road version of ratatouille over polenta the other night. Yummy! I'll do that again. And I need some quinoa. That cooks fast. There's no minute rice here so that's out. Lentils makes a nice fish too. And salads. Anything in the bag tossed with olive oil and lemon or lime juice. It's working out well. But I can't eat out. No healthy options.

Brrr. The sun is setting. The cold begins. Or should I say gets colder. Last night was 32*! Today was probably in the 50s. Hot with the sun on my face, but jacket, capris, hat and gloves on most of the day. Last night I found a pretty good spot in a town with lots of No Camping signs. I found an old sports field with a toilet and....are you ready for this?....HOT shower! Yes!! Yes!! Be still my heart!! No clean clothes, but a clean ME!!!!!!! And I did a small hand load of icky cloths and panties and a towel in the morning which dried before I broke camp. So other than the drummer...and dogs...and freezing temps...and a tweaked back with pain shooting down my IT band all night (but no pain cycling today, thank god)...LIFE IS GOOD!!

Tonight I did a first (because this "highway" I'm cycling has no cross roads or my usual nooks or crannies for camping)...I called the number on the fence for Scutto's Mechanical and asked if I could camp on his land. Luckily there was no locked gate. No worries, he said. I wish all the farms had numbers on the gates:))

And the last thing I want to mention is this gnarly outback grass. Hard to camp on. It grows in raises, spaced out clumps of prickly, crunchy tufted pokey stuff. So hard to find a flat unlumpy spot that won't poke my air mattress. But I manage. I always manage. Time for warmer clothes!



Livin' the life!

BagLady

Four Days at the Camel Races in Tara

August 2, 2015
Tara, Queensland, Australia





Really? Camel races? This weekend? Usually I see events either that were in the past or too far in the future. It's only Wednesday noon when I see this sign. But the town is 50 kms south of the road I'm on...wrong direction. I'm heading north. Too bad I didn't risks that road through Tara as originally planned. And after making a Facebook post about missing the camel races, I start to continue on my merry way. Wait! Why can't I go? Where am I heading that won't wait? I could be there tomorrow. Don't ya love how I talk myself into things? So glad I talked myself into this!

So I turned around and headed south. Where did these hills come from? It had been flat going west. A bit of terrain change feels good, actually. Spent another night vamped in the bush...a bit too close to houses though...because the dogs talked to each other all night long. Argh! Lucky I have earplugs! Getting smarter in my old age.

I arrived midday Thursday and got the low down. For $30 I can camp on the showgrounds and have 3 days access to the races and cultural festival. Deal!
Let's go find a place to put up my tent. Fairly open, mildly-treed, dusty-dirty, no grass field filling up with trailers and utes. Where can I out up my wee tent and not get run over? To the back on the edge I decide. Turned out to be a good spot. Then I went to chat up some locals. These two guys, Collin and Tony, are best mates and travel to various festivals together. They are part of a Queensland camping group and are expecting 40-50 campers in their reserved space. I heard 10,000 people attend this thing. It's held every other year. These guys offer to help me with anything I need and invite me over to their campfire later. Ok!

Things weren't beginning until Friday night so I had dome down time to wander, chat, get groceries in town, and generally scope things out. I must say I've been rather surprised and impressed with how well the whole weekend has gone. Johns and showers were clean and operative. Trash cans emptied frequently. Everyone I met...and I met a lot of people...were so kind and interesting. Most had gone for the first time.

So this weekend I've seen camels race









ducks herded




and yabbies (large shrimp) sold and raced




And I did a little betting...and won!




I ate fair food...just one sinful thing...this potato swirl.



And I got to hear didgeridoo and see some aboriginals share their dances and a bit of culture.



The camel racing was hysterical. These are one hump camels, mostly wil dines that have been caught. No, camels are not indigenous to Australia, they were brought here for traveling through the deserts and then either escaped or were released. Now if you need a camel, you catch a wild one and in a few weeks it's racing. And pretty much anyone can be a jockey. I was offered, but value my life and respect that it's been too many years since I was astride a galloping horse to accept his offer. But there was a girl this weekend that jockeyed her first time ever on a camel! And you have to understand that you gave no rains, no control, the camel does what ever he pleases. They zigzag across the course or spin in circles. Sometimes the just sit down. And they run until they come to the barrier carouse the course, the end. They are walked out 400 or 600 meters and run home. And the jockeys sit on pads behind the hump grabbing straps that are wrapped around it. Hold on tight!

They demonstrated the dog trials where working dogs compete herding sheep through an obstacle course, working at their owners commands. Fascinating to see. Then a guy herded ducks! That was hysterical!! Ducks don't want to be herded and these guys ducked under the fence and hid under a campervan. Eventually they also were put through a mini obstacle course but not as easily as the sheep.

But the yabby races beat all! These Aussies will bet on anything, and freely admit it:). So they "auction off" these oversized shrimp talking about their wonderful confirmation and how they were last years grand champion or something...just like the Keeneland horse auctions. Cracked me up! And the went for several hundred dollars. The money was put into a pool and the winner gets 60%. The remaining 40% goes to charity. They did the same thing with the camels before the final race of the day when the winners from the previous races competed. Only they bet up around a thousand dollars each.

Back to the yabbies. They then were released in the middle of a large 30' circle and the firs to over the outer rim was the winner. And they crawled backwards!

Sat around a campfire with new friends. Had happy birthday sung to me:). Heard the bush poets recite their tales. And had the time of my life!! A big shout out to all the wonderful people I met, too many to list them all here, and thank them for making me feel like a long lost friend!! Yooz the best!!

Everything can't be captured on film. Some things just have to be absorbed through the skin. I know I'm not the best at photography because I'm too busy experiencing. But I am posting videos to Facebook because it goes up easier and quicker than in my blog.

And they wear a lot of cowboy hats!




All good things must come to an end and so I needed to continue heading west after saying goodbyes, always the hardest part.



That's my guys (and gal)! Collin and Flash, Paul, Tony and Oscar, ?, Di, and Ian (who I think's nickname is Moose). They adopted me and took great care of me over the weekend!! I couldn't have camped near a nicer, more fun bunch of mates!!!!

Livin' the life!

BagLady