Julie and I were supposed to be hiking the 5,000km Continental Divide Trail in the US in 2020, but COVID-19 derailed that plan. Instead, we will have an adventure in Australia, circumnavigating the country on our bikes, a distance of about 16,500km taking approximately five and a half months. We will use minor roads where possible and occasionally catch ferries across rivers and inlets to avoid busier inland routes. We will camp some of the time and stay in motels, hotels, etc, at others. There will be stretches of up to five days with no accommodation or resupply available, so we will need to be self-sufficient.

Round Australia Bike Ride - Day 006 - Woolgoolga

Day:  006

Date: Tuesday, 07 July 2020

Start:  Woolgoolga

Finish:  Woolgoolga

Daily Kilometres:  0

Total Kilometres:  579

Weather:  Cool early then mild and sunny

Accommodation:  Vacation home (kindly offered to us by Julie's friends, Kerrie and Dennis)

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Quiche & milkshake/thickshake

  Lunch:  Scrambled eggs & bacon on toast

  Dinner:  Leftover lasagne, enchiladas & vegetables, apple crumble & ice cream

Aches:  Both of us complained about aching quads on our walk around town

Highlight:  A very pleasant walk through town and up around the Woolgoolga Headland on a mild, sunny and brilliantly clear morning.  We were looking out for whales, but only managed to see kangaroos.

Lowlight:  None really.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We took our time getting going in the morning and did a load of laundry before walking a few kilometres into the pleasant little town of Woolgoolga (known as Woopi to locals) where we bought a couple of quiches from a bakery and consumed them on a street bench in the sun watching the world go by.

We then walked up round the Woolgoolga Headland admiring the spectacular views north and south along the coast.  On the way back, we dropped in unannounced on Bo, the widow of a long ago work colleague, who I thought lived in Woolgoolga and whose address I had found in the White Pages. She was a little startled to find us on her verandah writing a note after we had tried the doorbell with no response.  After 33 years, it was not surprising that she didn't recognise me!  However, after self-identification, we were soon enjoying an animated catch-up and having a look around her beautiful coastfront home. (I had left a voicemail last night, but Bo hadn't noticed it.)

From Bo's, we walked back through town, bought a recommended milkshake/thickshake from a local cafe, a couple of new battery (not rechargeable …. too much trouble when we leave civilisation) taillights from a bike shop, and some groceries before returning to the home where we are staying to have a lazy afternoon and catch up on correspondence and some chores.

It has been an enjoyable day off, but we are ready to get back on the road tomorrow.

By

4 comments:

  1. UnknownJuly 8, 2020 at 2:42 PM

    Enjoying reading your updates each morning. I hope the niggles come good and that you have a lovely journey. May the wind be mostly at your back.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJuly 8, 2020 at 5:33 PM

    Hi Dave, Kerrin Turney here. As usual you are doing a brilliant job of recording your trip. Look forward to more in teh coming months.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dave ByrnesJuly 8, 2020 at 7:50 PM

      Nice to hear from you, Kerrin. Hope I can maintain the standard, physically and journalistically 😁

      Delete

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