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Just when you think you're a battle hardened adventurer, and nothing can phase your
iron-clad resolve, Australia jabs you with one more fist. This little bugger was enough
to make us move our tent.
I shouldn't say little. She was actually pretty friggin' big. I mean, she casts a
shadow, and the web was almost strong enough to take off Kevin's hat (yes, Kev discovered
it by stumbling through the web).
By the way, can anyone out there identify this nasty mother? If you know what it is,
tell us if it
was worth moving. Give us all the dirt: poison, dripping fangs, huge gnashing
teeth, the works.
(Forgive the poor quality of the photos: Flash, focus, distance, and direction was
a little sketchy.)
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We just got even more interactive!
say hi to me mum for me!
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it's getting hot in here...
Spiders aren't the only things that are coming out of the woodwork. It's slowly dawning
on us that we are truly approaching the tropics, and thus, the end of the trip. Here
are some of the warning signs...
How to tell you're approaching Queensland
1. You spend most of the day sweating, and some of the night.
2. More shirtless backpackers shout "Loser!" out of their cars at you.
3. Your drinking water is warmer than your saliva.
4. Poppin' Fresh Bitumen!
5. You can't forget to leave a magazine on your seat, or you'll burn your ass when you sit down.
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these are the people in our neighbourhood...
Beavertails!
Ah, a classic Canadian treat! Deep fried crunchy pancakes covered in melted butter and
cinnamon! Believe it or not, they've opened up a Beavertails franchise in downtown
Newcastle, and it's doing fantabulous. Maybe even better than Krispy Kreme!
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The Forrests
Remember this crazy family from waaaay back before the bike trip actually started?
John and Trish and Jamie and Leighanne and Tayla and Vickie and Brieanna and Teigan
were thrilled to see us again (Braden, Simmy and Dean were thrilled to meet us for the first time).
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Teigan's School
We always love to drop in on a school of eager Year Sixes. We took up their afternoon
by answering a barrage of questions about Australia, the trikes, spiders, snakes, and
a trick we taught Teigan last year where you twist up your hands and touch your nose.
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The Port Macquarie Times
Here a publicity generating tip for anyone who would ever want to travel like us: You
might not be big enough for Big-Smoke Newspaper News, but medium sized towns are always
on the lookout for a good story. Forget the Sydney Morning Herald, call the Port Macquarie
Times!
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Lucinda, Casandra, Chloe, Damon, Kieran & Blake
Boy, sounds like a law firm, doesn't it? Just one family, though, who kept themselves
entertained during a traffic jam by riding our bikes... at the same time!
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Serena & Leslie
Two Canadians with matching bikes, vests and helmets had just set off from Surfers
Paradise (of all places) on a bike trek to Melbourne! We were going to tell them,
"You're doing it hard!" but we knew they'd hear it enough in weeks to come. Good luck, ladies!
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meet dean, the bb4 housemate
Okay, so Big Brother 4 hasn't started yet, but Dean's taking notes and
paying rapt attention to Gretel Killeen's tips on how to get in. The
question is... |
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wally's amazin' facts!
Rugby was invented in 1823 in the English town of Rugby. Should have
seen that one coming! Ha! Another easy one: Who's the Webb Ellis Cup named after? Why,
the schoolboy inventor of Rugby, William Webb Ellis. Yes! A schoolboy! I guess it's
a good thing it wasn't a schoolgirl, because then we might be all watching the World
Cup of Red Rover! Maybe then the All Blacks would have stood a chance! Hee!
This Week's Amazin' Fact: On Saturday, we cycled through Kempsey Shire,
which contains the infamous country town of Tamworth. If you knew anything
about Australian Country Music, you'd know that Tamworth is not only home to the
largest annual country music festival in Australia, but is also the birthplace of
Slim Dusty! And if you don't know who Slim Dusty is... well, there's no hope
for you, is there? Go back to your Rage Against The Machine.
In other music news, who is the longest enduring music artist in both Australia,
and the UK? Think I'm going to tell you now? You should be so lucky!
Don't forget to look for Wally this week!
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| Distance this week: 379km | Distance since Day 1: 15735km |
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What is Bikeabout? Click here to find out!
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Day 436: What's this doing here?
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82.0km
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32°
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8.0h
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6.5L
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Sweaty
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Paddy's Rest
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 and the thunder rolls
Sure enough, you're likely to meet people from your own country while you're riding around Australia, especially when you've got the flag from your country hanging off the back of your bike. You may even be lucky enough to meet someone from the same province. We're always a little surprised to find out that someone knows where Thunder Bay is, or that they've actually been there.
Imagine our surprise when a cyclist pulls up beside us wearing a "Thunder Bay" t-shirt. Hang on, it gets better.
I mean, here we are, on the road between Brisbane and Sydney, about as far away from Thunder Bay as you can get without going back, and who do we meet? Another cyclist who happens to work as an MNR Fire Fighter in our hometown! The freakiness continues: After a bit of interrogation, it turns out that his crew leader for the MNR is none other than Ryan Johnson! WUH!
Who the heck is Ryan Johnson, you ask? Perhaps you'll be more familiar with the Beimers.com five timer, Dean Johnson? Ryan is Deaner's big brother! Holy Frickin' Frack!
Why three nice kids from Thunder Bay are spending their time riding through Oz beats the heck out of me. (By the way, the previous freaky story occurred back in Week 6, when we met schoolmate Jamie Rodgers' cousin in Julia Creek. This tops it!)
"You've bugged me up every single hill today."
- Aimee.
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ridgey-didge:
(adj.) fair dinkum, true blue, the real deal. If something is ridgey-didge, it's the
pure 100% home grown Aussie truth. Also, a damn fine pie in North NSW.
pineapple, anyone?
fond food memories
blow on this!
not an emu in sight
we be jammin'
last time, i promise
