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Runner’s Log 93

Miles: 3, 5

Park: Forest Rec, Forest Rec Parkrun

Dogs: One at Parkrun. Seriously, where are the Nottingham dogs.

Notes: 5 miles down, 21 to go..! Urgh, you know? Motivation to plod along the pavements is low, but at least my mileage has gone up since last week? I saw my first #VRWatch since moving house, the most exciting thing, and went to my first Nottingham Parkrun. It’s in the park that I’ve been to previously which is a bit less exciting but I usually work on Saturday’s now, it was kind of nice to go and exhaust myself on the miniature hills and still not get a pb.

New bad habit which is eating into my running time: watching Elementary from the sofa. Even though it’s summer, I’m wearing my sweatpants and I have a blanket. Totes comf.

#lazy #runnersnotrunning #marathon training #parkrun

Runner’s Log 92

Miles: 2, 3, 3, 3.5

Park: Forest Rec (I live in Nottingham now)

Dogs: None?! Where do people walk their dogs in Nottingham? I must know.

Notes: So, marathon training is back on and this time I sort of mean it. My head remembers but my legs and lungs do not. Scraping out tiny miles very slowly feels like a lot of effort, and I’m impatient to get back to where I was this time last year/three years ago.

Instead I think I’ll go back further, to 2013 (!!) when I was training for my first marathon, starting from scratch, and exploring London in a new way on foot. I’ll try and do the same here too.

#running #marathon #training #marathontraining #runner's log #runningblog #runblr

Cairns to Sydney: A Motorised Journey

Previously, on the Frankie Show…

I had stowed my bicycle in Sydney and taken a flight to Cairns, and felt weird about it. Joke question, ‘what’s my instagram about now?’ Half-joke question, ‘what am I about, any more?’

Answer: walking by the ocean, taking photographs of trees, swimming in town-lagoons and ocean pools and the sea, watching birds, taking a day trip to the Daintree Rainforest to see some crocodiles, snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef (!) and in the Whitsundays (!!), looking for crabs, attending a wedding, trying paddle-boarding for the first time, going for a second time, visiting koala sanctuaries, getting up for the sunrise, running a couple of Parkruns, dipping in rock pools, meeting new people and making friends… everything I did before, without my bike.

I still had a great time, a different time. More time sitting down. I spent approximately the same time travelling in a day, I just got a lot further (and felt grottier, see previous motion sickness complaints).

From Cairns, I went up to Cape Tribulation and the Daintree, then down to Mission Beach, Magnetic Island, Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays, Bargara, Hervey Bay, Noosa Heads, Brisbane to meet up with Mulley’s parents.

There’s no way I could have pedalled all of that in the time that I had, so I do feel better about my decision to get the bus because I went to so many places and saw so much, spent some quality times with some grand people, and I’m entirely caught up with my work projects with a week to spare. Snorkelling at the coral reefs was so worth it, especially in the Whitsunday Islands. What a dream.

With Mull’s parents, we went to the Sunshine Coast, then Mount Warning National Park for the wedding (to be clear, not my wedding), Coolangatta, Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Umina Beach, and now back in Sydney.

I enjoyed sharing a slice of my lifestyle with them, I hope they understand more why I’m drawn to life on the road, and how that informs the decisions I’ve made, and will continue to make. I was listening to Women on the Road ep 53 with Rachel Hill a few days ago, and on it, they talked about travelling as a gift you could share with people, and that hadn’t really occurred to me before this fortnight. I feel selfish a lot of the time, so even though I’m not entirely convinced that this applies to me on a blanket level, and it feels very self-indulgent to think that I’m impacting people’s lives, it’s nice to think that actually I have, even just for a little bit.

#travel #road trip #australia #east coast australia

Two thirds of the way through our Sydney laze, we went to the Blue Mountains National Park. I decided we’d be based in Katoomba as it looked central to the most hikes. My legs were ready. I felt better and if we weren't going to do any cycling, I needed to do something else.

It took nearly 5 hours to get door to door, because there’d been a landslide and we had to get a rail replacement bus. So our first day, we arrived after dark and saw nothing. Whoops.

The next morning, I awoke to a heavy, low mist. I couldn’t see anything from the hostel window. It was eerie. But a bit of cloud wasn’t going to stop me from taking a walk, and it was atmospheric and a bit spooky in the woods, and I really liked it. I went to the Katoomba Cascades, then took the Prince Henry Cliff Track to Reid’s Plateau, passed Witches Leap, on the Underfalls Track to see Katoomba Falls, down the Furber Steps to Vera’s Grotto and Katoomba Falls View (but it was too overgrown and I didn’t see anything there). I stopped off at every viewpoint on the way along the escarpment, and was greeting with thick mist blowing in the wind. I could see a few trees poking out of the cloud, but not the valley floor. I wasn’t sure how big or deep it was, there was no perspective. Only mist.

I went back to the hostel and collected Mulley and we went to Echo Point. The mist had cleared a little in the afternoon sun, and we could see the Three Sisters. We went down to the Honeymoon Bridge and got a bit more of a view of the valley. The cliffs were enormous and so straight. Mist was rolling back in, swallowing the Sisters. We walked back on the Cliff Walk, unable to see anything of the views. The cable car appeared and disappeared at close range. I could hear waterfalls, but I couldn’t see them. As long as the sun came out at some point, I said to myself…

And it did! For the rest of the trip, it was brilliant sunshine.

I hiked every day, back to Echo Point to get a proper view, then carrying on in the opposite direction towards Bridal Veil Falls. Being at the base of this waterfall was my favourite waterfall view, it was huge, and the shape of the rock reminded me of a cartoon beehive. We returned via the Leura Cascades. Then we watched the sunset from Cahill’s Lookout; hazy beautiful.

The next morning I was in work mode, then got a bit lost/overwhelmed in Leura Park because it was pretty wild in there and then I thought I saw a snake. Maybe I did see a snake! I made it to Lyrebird Dell in one piece and only a bit flustered, then walked back to the Leura Cascades on the Cliff Walk. I would have continued on the same track back to Katoomba Cascades but some chucklehead (me) had not factored in the clocks changing to their afternoon, meaning I had an hour less of daylight than I thought, so I took the quicker road walk back.

And then for my final day in the Blue Mountains, it was time for a big one. I wanted to hike to Ruined Castle. Mulley had said he’d do this one with me, so I waited, then gave him a prod, was he going to come with me? He was not. It was 10:30am, and I had 20km to hike. The poster said it would take 6-8 hours. I had 7 ¼ hours of daylight left. I ummed and aahed on the power-walk to the trailhead on Glenraphael Drive. I decided then that I would not commit to getting to Ruined Castle, but I would hike for 3 hours or so, have my picnic, and then head back, even if I hadn’t gotten to the rocks. OK, fine.

I felt unduly nervous, and I wanted to get to Ruined Castle, so I rushed. I descended the staircase, passed Botting’s Lookout, and stomped onto Federal Pass. The walk was a descent through the woods and there wasn’t much in the way of views at this point. I saw two other people, we said hello. They also said they weren’t committed to going all the way, but I suspected they had a car at the trailhead.

Ruined Castle is a natural rock formation in the middle of the Jamison Valley. It’s a rocky island, in the sea of eucalypt trees. I arrived with plenty of time; once I’d descended into the valley, the path was pretty well flat, until just before the rocks.

I wasn’t sure how to climb up, but a guy said if I went round the corner, that was the best spot. There was another couple climbing up, so I just copied their route and I sat on the nearly-top, above the treeline, in the middle of the valley. I could see the escarpment around, the big cliffs, and the hundreds and thousands of trees. It was kind of surreal. I even said ‘wow’ aloud. It was huge, and I was tiny, and I was chuffed to have made it. The couple I’d spoken with earlier arrived and we ate together on the unlikely rocks. It was great! I didn’t want to leave. But time was marching on, I was nearly at my 3 ½ hour point.

On the walk back towards the staircase, I definitely saw a snake. It was lying still across the path, and I only noticed it when it moved, just as I was about to step over it. It even had it’s head up. ARGH. I did a weird hop dance and ended up on the wrong side of the snake. It froze. I froze. I willed it to move so I could pass. It didn’t. I remained frozen. So did the snake. I’m not afraid of snakes like I’m afraid of spiders. But I do know that they could kill me. No chances to be taken. It eventually slithered away into the bush and I did a long jump over the spot where it had been in case it ambushed me (of course it didn't, but still). I spent the rest of the track stomping loudly and looking at the ground. Everything on a forest floor looks like a snake! The adrenaline boost meant I got back to the staircase really quickly, though.

What if I just carried on walking, on the Federal Pass, and joined the Cliff Walk by the Furber Steps? I got out maps.me and decided I had time. It was only 500m longer to go this way. Done! Soon after this decision, I saw three Lyre birds. Yes! They reminded me of pheasants.

I crossed the landslide from years ago, and tramped through the woods, gaining height slowly but surely until I reached the Scenic World railway station. There I was, sweaty with frizzy hair, probably pretty stinky, having stomped for hours already, walking behind normal tourists in sandals, smelling very much like soap and perfume. I wondered if they assumed I’d been on the train as well, and was just a mess. They didn’t follow me up the Furber Steps.

I had better views this time around, with no mist. The waterfalls seemed smaller, though. I could be imagining it. And I made it back before dark too, hooray.

A great day. I was really pleased to get out and do one big hike, I really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed my short time in Katoomba. I didn’t do half the things I’d read about (Blackheath, Wentworth Falls, any of the walks that had a 5km pre-walk to get to), but I feel like I got a good taste of what the National Park was about. And when the sun is shining, the mountains really do look blue.

#Blue Mountains #Sydney #Australia #National park #Hiking #Seen on my walk #Pennyfaceworldtour

Sydney

I spent a lot of time in Sydney, more time than anywhere else in Australia. After Tasmania, I was tired and I wanted a rest. So I rested, and did some work. I had free and unlimited wifi so I downloaded weddings for editing. Wedding season has begun in the UK, so I'll be editing until I get home to film as well. So far, I like working from the road except for one thing: the internet is Australia is so slow. Like, 29kb/s slow sometimes. Painful. And time-consuming.

My Sydney routine became waking up, and drinking coffee and downloading and editing for a few hours, before getting annoyed at the internet and going off to do touristy things, before returning to downloading.

So it feels like I spent a heck of a lot of time sitting on a kitchen chair fuming at the internet, but when I actually think about it, I did do some good things!

I saw the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. I went to a Parkrun and didn't get a PB. We went to the Contemporary Art Gallery and I really really enjoyed the Janet Laurence exhibition. We got a posh lunch with our hosts A & J at the Grounds of Alexandria then went to the flea market. I went to Watson's Bay, and Camp Cove and pottled around Vaucluse. I walked from Bondi to Coogee, and from Manly to Spit Bridge. We saw the shipwreck at Botany Bay, and the SS Ayrfield on the Parramatta River. I swam in the Bondi Icebergs, and we went to the Taronga Zoo for Mulley's birthday. I went to Darling Harbour, and the Chinese Garden of Friendship. I went hiking in the Blue Mountains too, but I’ll do a separate post for that because I have lots of photos.

We watched a lot of crap on Netflix, too, and I tried to befriend the cats I was cat-sitting. They remained unconvinced, except for when they were hungry. Cupboard love is better than no love, I’ve decided, but only when it comes to cats.

And I organised the next stages of our trip/my trip/our trip again. I spent a week or so looking between my map, my calendar, and my bank account trying to find the sweet spot of not running out of money/trying to cram in too much and not really enjoying it/taking too long and missing out on some really good stuff. The FOMO was real.

I could cycle from Sydney to Brisbane. Or fly to Cairns and then cycle to Brisbane. Brisbane dates are inflexible because I’m attending a wedding. Going to the Red Centre was sadly taken off the list because it was a bit too big of a commitment for both time and money. I’m sure if I’d gone, I would have said it was worth it but what swung it for me was the chance to see to the Great Barrier Reef. I hope to make it back to Australia, but I always say that and so far it hasn’t happened with anywhere, and even if I do make it back here one day, the Great Barrier Reef might already be fully dead. So to Cairns it was.

Mulley was on the fence. I told him I was going to do it anyway and started googling fun places on the Queensland coast. There were a lot. With the extra bits I wanted to see and do, that left me with just under a month to cover over 2000km, and the tent is Mull’s, so I opted for a Greyhound hop-on-hop-off ticket with my YHA discount. Then Mull said he would come to Cairns after all, so he bought one too. Honestly, I do feel sad to leave my bike in Sydney. But: I’m not sure I can ride 2000km in 4 weeks, as well as do all the sightseeing and side trips, and it’s coming into the wet season, I don’t have my own camping or cooking stuff here so I would have had to buy it again, and I need to keep on top of work more regularly now which is more difficult in a tent, and it all just seemed a bit much to take on in one go, solo, and then not. But then the voice in my head is like: that’s only 300 miles a week, it’s not thaaat much, is it? That averages to 50 miles a day and one rest day per week? Just because I haven’t done it yet doesn’t mean I can’t do it. What are my priorities, the destinations, or the journey between them? At this point, the destinations. Also I didn’t want to risk being late to the wedding. I’m no purist, I never have been. I prefer cycling, but I accept that I can’t pedal fast enough to get to everywhere I want to go in the time I have.

I’m on the fence about my decision, I guess is the point about this waffle, even though I know it’s the right one.

So yeah, Sydney was a time.

#pennyfaceworldtour #travel #sydney

Last time on the #pennyfaceworldtour … I was the most tired I have ever been, crashing out in Hobart, feeling like it was The End of my ride.

We had our ferry tickets booked to go back to Melbourne, which gave us 11 days to get from Hobart to Devonport, a distance of less than 300km if we took the most direct route. More than enough time. But: that would mean missing out on a lot, pretty much everything else that I wanted to see. My original route plan was over 800km long. I couldn't average 80km a day, and do all the sightseeing, which including quite a few walks. I didn't think I could cycle 80km in one go once, never mind 10 days in a row. Plus, Mulley was out for the count too. So we had a choice to make. What was more important, cycling or sightseeing?

We chose sightseeing, hired a car, and headed north west.

Our first stop was Mount Field National Park, where we looked at the waterfalls and the tall trees. We went to Lake St Clair National Park, walked some more, and looked for platypus (platypi?) in the lake, and went to Nelson Falls. We camped at Lake Burbury and the sun went down behind the mountains and it was gorgeous. We went to the Iron Blow Lookout and Horsetail Falls on the outside of Queenstown. The landscape looked dead, tarnished permanently from the former heavy industry. It was ugly, but interesting to see. The Lyell Highway made me feel motion sick. It was so twisty. Some lives are meant to be lived at 8 mph! Definitely mine.

We went to Macquarie Heads to see Hell's Gates, which I probably wouldn't have done if I was on my bike. Having a car is so fast, but we weren't going big distances. Some days, we drove less than our biggest bike day (154km). We continued on to Waratah via the Reece Dam, driving past some fire damaged areas. It spooked me. The trees were dry and black, and it still smelled of smoke. I wouldn't have enjoyed riding through that section, I think I'd have felt very vulnerable. At Waratah, we saw a platypus swimming in the lake. My first one!

Then we went to Stanley, via Rocky Cape National Park where we walked along the coast and visited Wet Cave and Lee Archer Cave. The rocks were great, I really enjoyed it. The coastline was beautiful, and so quiet.

In Stanley, I hiked up The Nut. One thing about being up The Nut is that you can't see The Nut from the top. I was too tired/lazy to find a second hill to hike up. But I did get really nice views of the bays.

Feeling travel sick every day was taking its toll. I don't usually feel this rough in cars, but the roads seemed to be all corners. I also wondered if it was psychological. I felt tired, and still pretty sick so I hadn't been eating properly. Looking back, I think running out of gas and not eating properly was what caused the crash in the first place. I wasn't drinking enough water. My head felt thick. We had an afternoon in Burnie where I just lay down in the tent and read the Bourne Identity.

There’s different kinds of tired too. Just because I wasn’t cycling doesn’t mean there isn’t a trip to organise - we still needed food, water, somewhere to pitch the tent, and now petrol.

And then it was time for my no. 1 sight: Cradle Mountain National Park. It was wet and cloudy when we got there so we stayed low, walking the King Billy track, the Enchanted Walk, and to see the Pencil Pine and Knyvet waterfalls. It reminded me of Stenkrith, at home. But with more exotic wildlife! We saw some pademelons, currawongs, and even a daytime wombat! So exciting. The next day was perfect hiking weather. Sun, blue sky, dry, no wind. I had a loop planned, and managed to convince Mull to join in by saying the views would be worth it. We started at Dove Lake and the views were already amazing. Little Horn and Weindorfer’s Tower loomed overhead. We went up Marion's Lookout first, and then headed up to the Cradle summit. We saw two tiger snakes, eusshhhh. The boardwalk gave way to a rocky path, which in turn gave way to a boulder field. There was a false summit of sorts, we scrambled up, then down, and then up again. It felt like proper scrambling, hands and feet. It was really steep in parts, and felt very exposed. If I slipped, I could have fallen really badly. I tried not to look down too much! I was glad that I'd done that kind of terrain before, on Mount Amos in Freycinet, and on Scafell Pike. This was like Scafell Pike on steroids. It was warm and still on the summit plateau and we had our picnic looking at the panoramic layers on layers of mountains. It was great. I was so glad to be up there. It was so worth the nausea of the car rides to get there. I love mountains.

Getting down was harder than going up. I went down forwards and my bag sometimes caught on the rocks, and my legs weren't always long enough to reach where I wanted to go. But I made it, phew. As with Mount Amos, my confidence held out and I knew that I could do it, I just had to do it.

We sat down at the junction of the Face Track with three hours before the last bus back to the campsite. I didn't want to miss the bus, we would have to walk an extra 10km if we did. So we didn't go by the Twisted Lakes and over Mount Hanson, but we took the Face Track underneath Weindorfer's Tower and Little Horn until the turn off for Wilk's Lake. The Face Track was pretty rough, with loose rocks and roots. When we got to Wilk's Lake, I quite wanted a swim, but we had only two hours left before the bus, and Mulley reminded me that snakes can swim too. So, no swimming for me. Joining the Dove Lake circuit, on flat boardwalks with no hazards underfoot, our pace picked up considerably and we probably would have had time. What a great day!

That night was cold, it got down to 4c. Brrrr. The campsite kitchen had an open fire, like an alpine lodge, which was lovely so we warmed up over morning coffee while we stretched our stiff legs.

And then back to Devonport to drop off the car. I felt so travel sick that I had to lie on the grass for half an hour. Ugh, I am broken!

I missed my bike, but the trip north was so good that it was worth getting a car. I couldn't have done on my bike what we drove in the time that we drove it. It would have taken me weeks longer, time I don’t have at the moment. Also, some of the roads I would have found quite stressful. They were steep, narrow, and had logging trucks on with nowhere to pull off. And very steep, too!

I would have been really cool to give it a go, but never mind. Maybe another time. Even with the car, we didn't go everywhere I'd planned to go. We didn't go to Corinna, Arthur River, or the End of the World. We haven't seen any penguins, or gone kayaking. We didn't do the Overland Track (we were never going to, I just pie-in-the-sky want to). A return trip to Australia, or two, gets more and more likely each time I think about it. When I have the time, when I have the money, when going somewhere new or cheaper doesn’t take priority… I’ll make the time, I’ll make the money.

Segue, my next challenge is finding some temp work in or around Sydney. I'm not that jazzed about it, after my New Zealand jobs ended up being kind of horrible, but that’s OK. I’ll figure something out.

#pennyfaceworldtour #travel #cyclistsnotcycling #australia #tasmania #discovertasmania #travel blog #road trip

#pennyfaceworldtour Swansea to Hobart (The End?)

We had a few extra days off in Swansea. We had camped out the back of a hostel and could use the kitchen and common room, so when we woke up to heavy rain three mornings in a row, it was too tempting to stay another night. It cleared out by the afternoon on two of the three days, but by then we had already paid to stay. Any excuse…

When we did finally get back on our bikes, we rode our 5000th Australian kilometre! It's a bit incomprehensible really. I was a bit on the fence about celebrating; on one hand, I’m so chuffed for myself that I’ve managed to ride so far, but on the other hand it’s just a number. Would I feel happy about riding 5000km round and round in a circle at home? I wouldn’t. It’s the journey that I like here, and it doesn’t matter how long that is, but how full it has been. Very!

From Orford to Buckland was the worst bit of road we have had the entire trip. I was so glad when we reached our gravel road turn off to go through the Wielangta Forest where there's a sign saying that the road is unsuitable for large tourist vehicles. BYE, CARAVANS. It felt like the middle of nowhere. No towns, no houses, no tarmac, no phone signal. It was greying over and I thought I heard thunder.

“It's just a plane,” Mull insisted. It rumbled again, and again. An invisible squadron of planes, maybe? We dropped down into Copping just as the clouds burst. We were staying at a Warm Showers that night, so getting soaked to the skin didn't seem so bad. Hot shower, cup of tea, stroke a cat. Sorted.

And then southwards, onto the Tasman Peninsula. I was looking forward to this! Eagle Hawk Neck was a bit of a disappointment (I'd been expecting The Neck which is on Bruny Island, my bad!) but the tessellated pavement was amazing. We walked right down and poked around the rock pools. Water sat in the pans and reflected the clouds back at us.

We turned off the road to go to Doo Town, where all the houses have Doo-related names. Must Doo, That'll Doo, Doo Mee, Toucan Doo. I wasn't there for the wordplay though, I was there for the rocks. There was a blowhole, an arch, and a giant gulch called the Devil's Kitchen. And then we rode on to Fortescue Bay. The gravel road in was a bit grim, I walked up bits of the ascent and had my brakes on for the whole descent, my wheels slipping on the wet rocks and thick gravel. We spent the evening playing cards and Bananagrams with a Canadian couple who were here climbing.

And then: hiking! When I’d suggested hiking to Cape Hauy together, Mull wasn’t keen. That’s OK, I figured I’d go on my own, like in Freycinet. But then our Warm Showers host told us about a 25-mile loop that took in Cape Pillar and Cape Hauy, and would have us camping in the bush. Mull was convinced. So we left our bikes behind the ranger’s office, and took our tent and two days of food off into the woods. We started on the Old Cape Pillar Track, which hiked up and up through the trees, and then joined the Three Capes Track. We hiked through forests, until we met the canopy and tread the boardwalks across the plateau. We saw skinks darting under rocks. We pitched the tent at Bare Knoll, had a snack, and walked out to Cape Pillar. It was one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen. There aren’t enough superlatives in the world for this place. The sea cliffs were upto 300 metres high and we were perched on top, able to go climb right up The Blade. The path goes that way, and my legs started to shake as I looked down to the waves. I looked at another skink to distract myself.

It was wild and rugged, exactly the kind of place I’d wanted to see when I thought of Tasmania. We were the only people up there which added to the remoteness. Alone in the wilderness, I always feel like everything will be alright. Whatever else is going on in the world, as long as there are pockets of wilderness, all is not lost. On the walk back, we saw two venomous black snakes which skewered this naive notion entirely.

We ducked into the posh hut to fill up our water bottles, and headed to our campsite. Our gas can had been running lower and lower for days, since before Swansea, but we hadn’t been able to find a new one yet. The nearest outdoors shop would be Hobart. So we were stoveless, and I didn’t like it. No hot drinks, no hot food. For tea, I had a cheese sandwich and a peanut butter sandwich, and loads of biscuits, but it wasn’t satisfying like a proper meal.

Chilly and tired, we went to bed early, only to be woken up by a possum having a fight with a Tasmanian Devil. My first Tasmanian Devil sighting! So exciting! We shone the torch to see what the racket was, which startled the Devil and saved the possum. The Devil sounded kind of horrendous, with it’s jaws clamped around the possum, it was breathing with a really high-pitched gasp. It sounded like someone was being murdered. I can’t think of a more Tasmanian thing to be woken up by though.

The next day, Mull headed off back to Fortescue Bay the way we’d come, and I took the detour to Cape Hauy. I went on the smaller path through Wughalee Campsite which was steep and narrow, and I enjoyed bush-bashing to begin with, until I remembered about the black snakes from the day before and I got a bit scared. I tried to stomp my way through the fairytale woods to scare any away. Either it worked or it was too early and cool for them to be up and about. I didn’t see any snakes until I was on the main path, past Mount Fortescue. I didn’t get a view from the top as the summit was shrouded in thick white cloud. It burned off as I walked towards Cape Hauy. I joined the Cape Hauy track and saw the first other people of the day. They asked me why I had a big bag on, what was I carrying. Food, water, camping stuff, pyjamas, woolly hat… Not any sunscreen though, so my shoulders got a bit pink from wearing just my vest.

Cape Hauy was smaller and less dramatic than Cape Pillar, but I maintain that a lesser Cape is better than no Cape, so declared the detour worth it. I also saw an echidna up close! I crouched down and stayed still so it would poke it’s head out and I could take a picture. I think they are so cute! Especially the Tasmanian ones because they have less spines and more fur #evolution.

The last 5km from Cape Hauy back to Fortescue Bay seemed to take forever. Now that I’d seen everything I’d wanted to see, I got tired. I was rationing my water, taking my last sip with 1km to go. Mulley had already got the tent up, so I could just crash out and eat my remaining biscuits when I got back. My kingdom for a cup of hot coffee though!

Here, I hit the wall. We rode to Port Arthur but didn’t take the expensive tour around the old buildings. We crawled to Richmond in a killer headwind and rode over Australia’s oldest bridge that’s still in use, but didn’t get off and take a picture. I stood in the supermarket and couldn’t for the life of me think what we needed to get. We rode into Hobart in the rain, and a rainbow spread across the clouds; pathetic fallacy weather indeed.

Hobart feels like the finish in a way that Melbourne never did. I’m tired. Tired in a way that a rest day doesn’t touch. My brain is tired too. Being responsible for everything (apart from the 5 Warm Showers we have stayed at) for five months, more than if I count the pre-trip planning, is taking a toll. Which is fair enough, I think. It’s time for a break.

Perth to Hobart, though, flippin’ ‘eck. What. A. Ride!!

#pennyfaceworldtour Australian Miles: 3295 (5302km)

#Pennyfaceworldtour #Cycletouring #Cycling #Tasmania #Australia #Discover Tasmania #tasman peninsula #Cape Pillar #Cape Hauy #Hiking #Landscape photography

#pennyfaceworldtour Australia: Bay of Fires to Swansea

With the bush fires still burning further south with no forecast of rain, I planned a little detour from St. Helen’s to the Bay of Fires to stay north for a bit longer. We rode north to The Gardens, the end of the road, and looked at the rocks, grey and rusty looking with lichen. The water was turquoise, the sand was so pale it was nearly white. It was beautiful, it felt serene and tropical. It was hazy, we couldn’t see the Eddystone Lighthouse. We beach-hopped our way south, though I was too scared to swim because the waves were big and the sea was rough in the wind. I had a paddle, and it was chilly.

We took the coast road south, passing through St. Helen’s again, and the views were great. The road wound around the hills and headlands, and compared to the previous week, was relatively flat. What a dream! My legs were tired and after a few days of free camping in the muggy summer heat, I wanted a shower. We had a day off in Bicheno, walking up to the Whaler’s Lookout, and going on the beach. The beaches are so lovely here. There were loads of maroon anemones on the rocks, and I saw a crab. I feel a bit like a kid, poking around rock pools, getting excited about shells, and jumping over the waves as they break. Tasmania is much warmer than Northumberland, though!

Taking our time had been a good idea; Freycinet National Park had been reopened. Hooray! We stayed at the Richardson’s Beach campsite, complete with a view of the Hazards. I couldn’t wait; after setting up camp and going in the sea with Mulley, I got back on my bike and rode (and pushed, a really steep hill took me by surprise..!) to Cape Tourville. It’s one of Tasmania’s great short walks, despite being less than 1km long. The views were great from the clifftop boardwalk. It was overcast, everything looked grey. Layers of hills blended into the sky. I grinned into the wind, it felt wild.

At Sleepy Bay, I took the walk down to Gravelly Beach, somewhere I hadn’t read about before, I just saw the sign from the road. The beach was gravelly, and the bay was surrounded by giant red rocks. No one else was there. Slabs of granite were peppered with the lichen I’ve come to associate with this stretch of coast. It was great.

The next day, I hiked up Mount Amos. The most fun! It’s more of a scramble than a hike, the sign said it was grade 3. The route was way-marked with yellow arrows, and took me up sheer granite faces and passed enormous boulders. The views were incredible. On the ascent, there were several points where I stopped and looked down at the bays, I could Richardson’s Beach, Coles Bay, and Great Oyster Bay. I felt so high up, and quite exposed, and it was exhilarating. It was a grey day, I can only imagine how stunning it would have been with a blue sky and a bright sun. Some of it I could walk normally, some of it was a hands-and-feet job. It all felt do-able. I’d researched the route, checked the weather. I’d seen in the logbook at the start that someone had turned around before the summit that morning because it was wet. I was fully prepared to do the same if I felt unsafe. I was asked by a few people on the way up if I was by myself. Yes, I was. If I didn’t go on my own, I wouldn’t have gone. I wanted to, and I have the confidence now to give it a go. A year ago, me and my mum were in New Zealand and I was squeaking that I wasn’t sure we were good enough for the ‘expert’ routes, so it’s nice to have a marker of how much more confident I am now. I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with going on a hike solo. Do the research, know your capabilities honestly, check the weather, write in the logbook, don’t let ego override safety.

The weather was on my side, the rock was dry. The summit views were hazy, with cloud moving in from Mount Freycinet in the distance. I could see Wineglass Bay below, and Hazards Beach and the isthmus. The hike up there was better than the view, I thought, as scenic as it was. It felt very wild up there, again I had a place to myself. The mist began to move in towards Mount Amos, so I decided to descend. I wanted to spend more time up there, have an explore around the top, but if it was going to get wet and slippery, I wanted to be on safer ground.

I went down the steep bits on my bum, but it wasn’t slippery in a dangerous way, just a steep way. I probably could have stayed up longer and been fine. Never mind, it’s better this way than risk falling off a mountain.

Mulley met me in the carpark with a picnic, and then I went with him on the Wineglass Bay Lookout walk. It felt tame and busy in comparison, and the view wasn’t as high. I kept looking up to Mount Amos, trying to figure out which bit I had stood on.

The next morning, I woke up stiff, especially my shoulders. I guess I haven’t used my arms all that much lately, and then spent a few hours hauling myself up and down some big rocks. Extremely worth it, though. Even with the new 100 mosquito bites. I hope I don’t get Ross River Fever?! The sky was clear, with just a few wispy clouds high in the sky. I wanted to go up Mount Amos again.

But I knew the forecast, rain was coming in at 2pm. It came earlier, on the road to Swansea. In an attempt to beat the rain we bashed out 60km with just one snack-break. This is a big deal for me, especially by Tassie-standards. Looking back, the Hazards were completely blanketed in cloud. And now, with 95% chance of thunderstorms, it’s time for another rest day. I don’t mind the rain today because I want it to help put the bush fires out. And selfishly, I want to charge my electronics (too grey lately for the solar panel!) and then eat my bodyweight in doritos. To help rebuild my shoulders, you understand.

After struggling a bit last week, I feel like I’m getting back into my stride. I’ve lowered my expectations, lowered the distances, and my perma-grin has returned. I feel like I really made the most of my two days in Freycinet, and I’m excited to crack on with the rest of my ride. I’m still not sure if I’ll be able to see everything because of the fires, but now I’ve been able to do some of it, I feel like I’ve got some peace with whatever happens next.

Australian miles: 3094/4980km

#travel #photography #writing #pennyface #cycling #cycletouring #landscape #travel blog #hiking #pennyfaceworldtour #cyclist #Cycling holiday #Australia #Tasmania #Bay of Fires #Freycinet #National park #Travel blog #Travelblog

#pennyfaceworldtour Tasmania: Devonport to St Helen's, or Ow my Legs! Ow my Ego!

After spending 10 hours on a ferry, I was very ready to set foot on Tasmanian soil. Unfortunately for me, that was all I was about ready for. In short, Tas is kicking my arse. I knew it would be hilly, intellectually, but I hadn't really thought about the consequences of that. Some consequences are: being really tired, being really slow, and doing much shorter distances than before. In short, ow my legs, and ow my ego.

I don't think I'm that ego-driven most of the time, but I've definitely had to readjust my expectations of what I'm able to do in a day. I had felt like a much stronger cyclist compared to at home, and in NZ, so it feels a bit like I'm going backwards. I tell myself that not all miles are created equally, but I still sometimes look at my phone and think ‘as if I've only gone X far, and it's already Y o'clock!’ and feel a bit bad about myself and my trip.

Our first Tasmanian ride, I routed us over the Dazzler Range up a gravel forestry road over a big hill to get to York Town. Whoops, but it was also pretty good fun and very scenic. We followed the Tamar Valley inland on the C roads to Launceston which was really pretty, then rode eastwards on the A3. The first few days, all anyone said to us was that the roads were all terrible. The highways too busy, the B roads too narrow, and the gravel roads too poor quality. We couldn't just stay put, we would have to ride on something. I got really worried about it, we hadn't been warned about any other state like this, especially from other cyclists.

So far, the roads and drivers have been absolutely fine. It's been better than the Great Ocean Road! Everything is A-OK on the roads so far. The A3 was pretty quiet, even on a holiday weekend.

As soon as we left Launceston, up a 22% hill (I got off and pushed), I wished we'd had a rest day. It was hot, hilly, humid, and headwind-y. We flaked after 30km, and would have sooner if there'd been anywhere to camp. We crashed out in the tent. We had had enough, and decided we would finish the climb up the Sideling the following day. Phew, it was slow going. I'm just not used to hills, especially if it gets a bit steep!

One highlight from this week has been the North East Rail Trail, from Scottsdale. It's only 26km long, but it was really shady and leafy, with the trail cut into the rocky siding. We saw an echidna too.

We camped in Branxholm and Mull was stung by a Jack Jumper, a kind of giant jumping ant.

We had a half day to the pub in Weldborough where we treated ourselves to ginger beer and burgers in the bar. We played tri-ominoes, I lost 1-4. And then we had a day of mostly tailwind to St Helen's! It was mostly downhill too, after a big up, which I stopped halfway up because I wanted to go on the Weldborough Pass Rainforest Walk. It was really quiet and calming, a very good decision. The views were amazing on this stretch of road. The hills and the forests went on for miles. It was extremely Tasmanian and definitely what I'd had in mind when I imagined it. It reminds me of New Zealand, a bit. Including going back in time and feeling like I'm out of my depth.

We are having a day off in St Helen's, to rest and recover and launder. And listen to the radio for updates on the wild fires. So far, we aren't anywhere near them. THANK GOODNESS. The route I have in my head does go that direction, though, in a few weeks time. They might be under control by then, roads might have reopened. Or maybe not, or maybe just to residents. So we are going to keep and eye on the weather forecasts and I'm ready to change my plans if it looks like going south/south west might be too dangerous.

I've never been near a fire before, it feels terrifying. No one else seems terrified, so I'm trying to be chill, but it's me, so that's not working very well. I'm very ready to go back to the mainland early if it even begins to smell like smoke.

I think my feelings of unease are being compounded by Brexit too, thinking about what I'm going to be going home to. I try to keep up with the news without being thoroughly depressed by it, but it's hard. I know that I worry endlessly as default, but everything feels so grim right now. Projected food shortages, and medicine shortages. The ferry deal given to a company with no titting boats. I worry about the NHS being gutted and privatised. I worry about refugees being turned away. Benefits getting cut. Racism, misogyny, transphobes. Climate change is going to drown us, or roast us, and we're going to run out of drinking water. I have no idea what to do about any of it.

Anyway, I thought this was meant to be a cycling blog, jeez. I should probably take a nap.

Australian miles: 2942 (4736km) 🚲🇦🇺

#pennyfaceworldtour #travel #photography #writing #cycling #cycletouring #landscape #travel blog #cyclist #holiday #Tasmania

When I was back in Perth, I wrote a list off the top of my head of the kit I was taking with me across the Nullarbor to Melbourne. And then I rode my bike to Melbourne! How did my kit get on? Ugh, it’s so heavy, and I still can’t decide what to throw away. I’m writing this post to procrastinate repacking my panniers. I’ve used most of what I’ve got. I haven’t worn all of my clothes, but I’ll be stopping riding to work soon (wehhh) so I don’t want to cull my wardrobe down to cycling clothes and pyjamas just yet.

I’ll recap the main items, or anything noteworthy, and like last time, there are a few affiliate links because #blogging.

My Red Loon Panniers are great. I can fit a lot in, they’re still waterproof, and the clips haven’t broken. They allow me to remain bad at packing. My front panniers, in comparison, are tiring. They’re not waterproof any longer, and when we had the rainy weeks, my clothes went mouldy in them. Grim. They need replacing, but really, I kind of want to throw away half my stuff and just have back panniers. But you know, without getting rid of any of my stuff, or even trying any harder at packing.

With the Lomo Roll Bag, I like having the extra space, but I just don’t use it efficiently. The bag fabric itself is waterproof, but water gets in through the zip if it’s exposed - there was a coating along the zip fabric, but it peeled away over the first few weeks. If I fold down the bag to cover the zip, it’s fine, but this means I can’t fully pack the bag and make the most of the 15 litres and have everything stay dry. The side pocket lets water in through the zip too, so I don’t use it at all. I found this out the hard way with my phone once, but it was OK after it sat in some rice overnight. But still! I get that not everyone will be using their bag in the same circumstances though, it’s not as if I’ve been really looking after it. I can’t fully recommend it though, because I haven’t treated it that badly, all it’s done is sit on the bag of my bike and get leaned against trees and fences, and Mulley’s has the exact same problem.

I keep my electronics in my 1 litre drybag within the Lomo. Originally it was just to keep it all together, but now I know that my Lomo isn’t was waterproof as I’d hoped, this has proved invaluable.

Tent: I said last time it was the MSR Hubba Hubba, but it’s not, it’s the Elixir 2. It’s waterproof, hooray, and held up through some massive thunderstorms. I am impressed, and dry. At this point in New Zealand, our poles had started to snap, so aluminium poles > fibreglass poles.

I was a bit unsure about the head net, and I haven’t actually used it that much, but when I did I was very glad for it. The flies drove me crackers when they were out! Up my nose, in my ears, behind my sunglasses, crawling down the neck of my t-shirt… ugh, the worst. It weighs basically nothing, so 10/10 would recommend having, just in case.

I love our little stove, it’s still going strong, I’m very happy.

As well as ye olde mess tins, we ended up buying a bigger billy can as well. It’s inconvenient to carry because it’s large, but convenient to cook with, mostly. The handle sometimes gets really hot, and the metal is thin so if the heat is too high, the food will burn, but we can cook two-cyclist’s worth of food at once now, and it has a lid.

We relied on the RAV Power solar panel in the Nullarbor and beyond, and on a sunny day it worked great. We used it to charge our Anker power banks in the day, which we charged our phones/bike lights with in the evening.

We haven’t used the Life Straw bag as much as I’d thought we would. The water in the Nullarbor was so salty that even if it was safe to drink, it was gross. We ended up mostly buying water from the roadhouses, where it was as expensive as we’d feared only once. I like that we have it though, I don’t have to worry about drinking water as much, as I know as long as there’s some kind of tap, or river, we’ll be fine.

I have quite enjoyed my OLFI camera too. I’ve even made a couple of videos. It’s very different from the cameras I’m used to with my wedding work, but it’s fun.

The best thing, though, is my new bike. My Surly Disc Trucker from Cycles Bespoke in Perth. It has so many gears, and brakes that work, and it fits! I love it. I got a new seat in Whyalla, a big squishy one which is much more comfortable. Oh, I just love it. I was a bit on the fence about making such a big (for me) investment, but it’s been great. It’s more comfortable, I feel like I can ride further and faster. It’s got wider tyres which feel much more stable on the bits of sand and gravel we’ve ridden. All in all, a very good buy.

I’ve been reading books on my Kindle too. I cancelled my Kindle Unlimited subscription just before I came away so I’ve been reading the books that were left on it by it’s previous owner. I got really into the Roy Grace crime books by Peter James. If I can join a library at some point, I’ll be checking out the rest of the series. I must know what happened to Sandy (without googling it, that ruins the fun).

Next stop: TASMANIA.

#cycling #cycletouring #packing #australia #pennyfaceworldtour #panniers #cycling kit list #nullarbor #cycling the nullarbor

#pennyfaceworldtour Great Victorian Rail Trail

Perth to Melbourne. Riding my bicycle from the location of Perth, to the location of Melbourne. Beginning in Perth, and ending in Melbourne. An easy fact to understand. And yet…

I arrived in Melbourne, deep in the suburbs, and there I was. Was I? At the end? We saw the NYE fireworks, we got dumplings from HuTong, we went to Hawker Chan, and Lord of the Fries. We went to a museum, and the botanic gardens. But it wasn't the end, it couldn't be the end. There was some major denial on my part about the possibility that my giant bike ride might be even nearing an end.

So I decided that we would head north for a little bit, and ride the Great Victorian Rail Trail. I'd seen it on the map, it looked nice and long, and we could make a loop at the end and see a national park. We'd see some hills too, a new Australian landscape from what we've ridden through so far.

We got the train to Seymour, where there was a campsite and a supermarket. Plus, it got to 44c, and it was nice to coincide that with staying somewhere with a pool. I've never been so hot. Holy crap.

The trail starts at Tallarook, but I didn't want to cycle on the freeway to get to it, so we rode the B-road for 10km until the trail crossed it and we hopped on there.

The trail was wide and smooth, sometimes a bit sandy. We rode past farms, through woods, over bridges across rivers and an arm of Lake Eildon. We camped in Mansfield at the end of the trail, and then took the road towards Jamieson, and onto the Eildon-Jamieson road. It was so much fun; the road was all corners and hills, with big views through the trees. We gained a lot of elevation, comparatively, and I was slow and tired and hot, but also really pleased to be able to ride all the way up, and down. Compared to my first tour in NZ, I feel like a much more competent rider.

We camped by Big River, at Horseshoe Bend. It felt like all of the ‘best day cycling’ boxes had been ticked: great views, a tough but manageable ascent, a fun descent, free camping spot by the river, sunny weather, and no wind. I felt like I’d achieved something. I felt great.

We had another, smaller, hill the next day, and my legs were feeling the lack of up-hill practice. They were tired and a bit empty. We got hot chips from Thornton, and cruised down to Alexandra where we camped, and then joined the Alex-arm of the rail trail, and rolled back to the main trail. We got to go through the Cheviot Tunnel for a second time, which was fun. I was feeling really tired, so we camped at Yea. We got a icy pole from the supermarket, and called it a day. Later we saw that it had been 39c. Vindication!

From Yea, we had the other half of our ride back to Seymour. It was hot again but we knew that once we got to town, we could get a frozen fanta for $1, and then go in the campsite pool. Which we did, and it felt amazing. A great end to a great week of late starts and early finishes, and ice lollies in between. Life on the rail trail was very good.

One downside of being a person who usually wants to do more with a person who usually wants to do less is that there’s an added pressure of making sure whatever extra I want us to do is really good. The Great Victorian Rail Trail was really good. It was safe, mostly easy, but challenging enough in parts to feel like we’d sunk our teeth into something and come out on top. We stayed at caravan parks, and free camped too. The terrain was varied, the scenery was new, and we kept the mileage chill because we had the time. A holiday within a holiday. What a joy. What a luxurious, joyous treat. I love it when a plan comes together.

#pennyfaceworldtour Australia Miles: 2750 (4426km)

#pennyfaceworldtour #Cycling #Cycletouring #Australia #Victoria #Great Victorian rail trail #Great view #Cyclist #Travel #Travel log #Ridehighcountry

Mount Gambier to Melbourne (kind of?) - the Great Ocean Road

Last post, we had just left Mount Gambier after three nights and two solid days of rain. It eased to a drizzle and we made a dash for it. The clouds lifted, the sun shone. We stopped in Dartmoor for our picnic and we were even a bit hot. Great! We saw a koala too, quite close in a tree! I liked Australia again, thank goodness!

Approx 15 minutes out of Dartmoor, dark and heavy clouds seemed to appear out of nowhere. Uh-oh… I saw a flash of lightning somewhere, and thunder rumbled a few seconds later. It was far enough away for me not to worry about getting struck. And then the clouds just burst. We were soaked within minutes. Everything was dripping wet. We were wearing waterproof jackets, but the rain was getting in down our collars, dripping in from our helmets, up our sleeves, through tiny gaps in the zips. At least it wasn't windy! The roads were really quiet too, thankfully, and they began to flood. Our trainers soaked up the wake. It was kind of fun, in the zone after saturation point but before the cold set in. When the rain eased off, we could see the roads steaming. It was really eerie.

I was getting a chill when we got to Heywood, so we got a cabin with a heat pump and lay our wet clothes and tent and Mull's sleeping mat out on every available surface. But we had done it! It was a comparatively big day (90km, more than we have done for a few weeks!), and we had made it to Heywood before the shop closed, even though we lost half an hour crossing over the border into Victoria. Our third state! It was a confidence boost, and it felt like we were getting back on track after floundering in the weeks after Adelaide.

We rode on to Warrnambool, another big-ish day. Confidence was high. It hadn't rained for more than 24 hours. Excitement was building; we were going to start the Great Ocean Road!

That morning, it was grey and drizzly. Atmospheric, I guess. We had 50km of plain road riding before we reached the ocean, but when we did I made us stop off at every view point. Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs, the Grotto, London Bridge, the Arche… I loved it. It was dramatic and not even that busy. Bad weather is good for something!

We camped in Port Campbell, near the river mouth. We walked around at sunset, it was pretty. The next day, we would ride past even more lookouts and viewpoints, so we planned to ride just 20km and have a really good look around Loch Ard Gorge and surrounds, the Twelve Apostles, and Gibson's Beach. Mull was coming down with a cold, so having a restful day was the best of both worlds.

I'd half expected to find the Great Ocean Road to be overhyped, and a bit of an anticlimax but I really enjoyed it. It was dramatic and beautiful and some parts weren't even that busy. The driving was sometimes bad, and lots of people took photographs of us which I found weird - and scary when it was the driver. We didn’t see any other cyclists, I thought we would.

We stopped in Princetown for the night, but Mulley felt worse the next morning so we had a rest day. Getting wet was taking its toll.

I went for a token pootle on the Great Ocean Walk but I got scared by a tiger snake so I turned around and went to the beach instead.

The next day we rode through the Otway National Park to Apollo Bay. We had two hills to climb, and it was raining again. It was really pretty though, riding in the forests, on tiny roads with a tree-covered incline on one side and a cliff-drop on the other. I enjoyed the change of scenery. We couldn't see the bottom. We got a cafe treat from Lavers Hill while it pissed down, and when it eased off we had some great downhill to Glenaire, then another up that didn't have a name so didn't feel as much of an achievement. I only like doing big hills if they have names. We ended the day with 10km of downhill, wheeeeee! I had developed a sniffle as well by this point, but luckily, it had stopped raining and we could camp in our dry tent.

The next day, it hammered it down again. We hid in a cafe in Wye River for a few hours but it didn't let up. The roof of the cafe leaked. A couple of road cyclists were sheltering too and I was quite jealous when they got picked up in a car. We stayed the night in Wye River. We got a cabin again, and it rained all afternoon, off-and-on overnight, and again in the morning, before eventually clearing up. We both had colds, and even though it was really expensive, the cabin was the right thing to do.

We rode to Lorne the next day, the holiday traffic making its first chaotic appearance. The road was stunning, a narrow asphalt ribbon wound around the jagged coastline, but with no hard shoulder and some really crappy driving, it was sometimes scary as well. If I get squashed by a car driving around a blind corner on the wrong side of the road, do them for murder. No excuses!

We pulled in to see a couple of waterfalls, which were nice. One good thing about the rain is the waterfalls are rushing! We stopped at the tessellated pavement too, and looked in the rock pools. I love being by the sea. This section reminded me of New Zealand, it was rugged and dramatic.

We camped in Lorne and felt ripped off. “Holiday prices” were very high and the campsite didn't have a kitchen, and I wish we had just camped in the bush somewhere. Mull was still feeling under the weather so we didn't see any more of the waterfalls, but did walk 1km to Erskine River Rapids. I really liked them and we had them all to ourselves. A haven compared to the busy main streets!

And then on to Torquay for Christmas! Our place to stay in Melbourne over Christmas had fallen through quite last minute so we decided to stay in a backpackers for a few days instead.

We swum in the sea, and again, and again, riding our bikes luggage-free from Torquay to Point Impossible. I got chatting to a really nice Dutch guy who was a strawberry scientist and it was one of the most interesting conversations I've had in ages. Everyone else was a drunk teenager who was messy in the kitchen, so we were less social than we thought we would be. This meant that when it came time to leave for Ocean Grove, we were toting a lot more food and drink than strictly necessary. I had a box of wine, Mulley had 12 beers, we had olives, pickled onions, some cheese…

In Ocean Grove, we stayed with one of my instagram mutuals, and it was 10/10 lovely. Richelle drove us to the beach, we went swimming, had an ice cream, and then had some of my box-wine and ate snacks as the sun went down. I felt like we’d known each other for ages, and in a way, we have! I know not everyone is honest on social, but I feel like we both are and we knew we’d get on. Social media gets a bad rap sometimes, but this kind of scenario wouldn’t have happened without it!

Me and Mulley then made our way towards Melbourne. We’re staying with a York-era friend who lives here now, north of Melbourne in the deepest, darkest suburbs. So we rode along the Bellarine Rail Trail into Geelong, and then hopped on the train. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure where I am. I’m a drive away from the end of the Melbourne metro line, and the wheelie bins don’t say Melbourne Council, they say Hume, which I will confess to having not heard of. It’s all in the same sprawl.

Anyway, it was one day shy of 3 months since we set off from Perth, and I wanted to get to Melbourne and here I am - kind of!

#pennyfaceworldtour Australian miles: 2538 (4084 km)

#australia #perth to melbourne #overlander #travel #travel blog #cycling #cycletouring #cycling australia #victoria #pennyfaceworldtour

I’ve been well slack with the updates - but I’m taking a bit of time off over the New Year in/around Melbourne, so here is a novella from the past couple of weeks! I’m on instagram a lot though, @penny_face.

After a few days off in Adelaide, we struggled to get going again. We set off late, and underestimated how slow we we would be getting over the Adelaide Hills. Spoiler: very slow. Crafers Hill felt very steep. It was so good to have a dedicated cycle path though. I usually hate hate hate getting in and out of cities, but Adelaide was so easy. Cycle paths everywhere in the CBD, and then car-free almost all the way to Crafers. Good one Adelaide.

We weren't even at the top of Crafers Hill when Mull got his phone out and organised a Warm Showers which would stop us shorter than we had planned to go. It was really really lovely, and having chats with the hosts made me feel great. They were so kind, and encouraging, positive and enthusiastic - they were cyclists and sailors themselves, had travelled all over the world, and were so great to talk with. I got a real boost from them. I didn't realise I was feeling a bit low until I felt better. They had a beautiful home, and three dogs. I helped walk the dogs, and we moved some bricks and Mull got to drive the tractor. Wonderful.

From the Adelaide Hills we rode towards the Coorong National Park. We had gnarly headwinds, and the going was slow. After the beauty of the desert and then the coast, I found this section a bit… I don't want to say boring. But it was not on the same level as some of the places we’ve ridden through.

In the Coorong itself, a couple of kangaroos bounded across the campsite (where it was more expensive for two cyclists to camp than a car with up to eight people!? We lied at registration, and no one checked anyway!) at sunset and it was Extremely Australian.

I enjoyed the giant lobster at Kingston too. We had a few more days off near Nora Creina, then a half day to Beachport because I wanted to see the coast - worth it. We crawled to Millicent, and had an extra day there too. We didn't plan on it. I think we were both struggling a bit, in different ways. I got a bit frustrated that we didn't seem to be getting anywhere, doing short days, getting shredded by headwinds. But my legs couldn't keep the pace. We wanted to get to Melbourne for Christmas, and I'd look at the map, look at what we were currently riding and think it probably wouldn't happen, which was disappointing. I wanted to keep chipping away at the distance. Get up early and start riding before the winds got too strong in the afternoon. But we didn't.

On the ride from Millicent to Mount Gambier, we stopped off at Tantanoola Cave. It was great, I loved it. It was so full of formations! Loads of stalactites and stalagmites and curtains and columns, and even a few fossilised shells. After, I walked on the clifftop and noticed that the clouds in the distance were building up. I thought I heard thunder. Oh no… It was behind us, and maybe if we pedalled really fast, we could get to Mount Gambier and put the tent up before we got soaked! We got a few spits, and then somehow the clouds were in front of us, having skirted around us. What a stroke of luck! Thank you, Weather Jesus. It was roasting hot and very humid, but we were dry.

We got chatting to another cyclist who had ridden from Sydney. He was nice, and warned us not to take the C-road to Portland because there were loads of logging trucks and no hard shoulder. Duly noted.

Mull joked about not liking cycling, or camping, and I didn't laugh, because if he's having that crap a time, then what's the point?!

That night, it began to rain. The inside of our tent was dry, and we didn't want to drench our stuff or ourselves, so we stayed put in Mount Gambier for two days. We went to Natural Born Grillers and I had Southern fried seitan in a burger. It was amazing. I went to see the Blue Lake in a crater, and the Cave Gardens which had an impromptu waterfall in. We went to the art gallery, and to Natural Born Grillers again. We sat in the tent and sulked. The kitchen in the caravan park only had three walls so we found it difficult to warm up. I'd left my towel out on the first night and it got drenched so I couldn't have a shower to warm up. We sulked a bit. We woke up the next morning to find our tent-neighbour had gone, leaving his tent and sleeping mat next to the bin. Morale was not high. Mull mentioned getting a car. I haven't got enough money for a car even if I wanted one too (which I don’t). And it wasn't going to rain forever, and even if it was, Melbourne was not that far away. We could do it!

This section, less beautiful, less sights to see, less going on, seemed to take forever. The headwinds knocked our confidence as our rides seemed to get shorter and slower with every day. We took more rest days. We didn't do a single 100km + day. It's sometimes difficult travelling with someone when you run out of steam at different times, in different ways, and have different reactions, and then they make jokes about hating every part of the trip that was their idea but you've ended up trying to to plan and execute almost entirely.

But what else were we going to do, sit in Mount Gambier forever? Sounds: not great.

So after two extra days, which felt two weeks, when the rain had eased to a light drizzle, we packed up and set to ride east. We were so close to the Great Ocean Road, and I wanted to see it from my bike.

Even though the past few weeks had been tough, I didn't want to stop. Looking back, the overall time was difficult but I was enjoying parts of every day at the time. There was always something good going on, so I wasn't going to give up.

I swear I’m not always this melodramatic, it just felt like a hard few weeks...

#pennyfaceworldtour Australia miles: 2205 (3548km)

#travel #cycletouring #bike ride #cycle australia #cycle across australia #travel blog #pennyfaceworldtour #world travel #explore #outsideisfree #adventure #adventure travel

#pennyfaceworldtour Port Augusta to Adelaide

After staying up late drinking vino de boxo, we weren't exactly putting our best feet forward in the face of our first Australian hill. It was only 500m elevation gain, but it felt like a bit of a melodrama. After leaving Port Augusta on a cycle path - yes! - we took a B-road towards Quorn for a bit, and then turned off onto the Old Wilmington Road. It was narrow, bumpy, and gloriously quiet. We saw one car the whole way back to the Horrocks Highway. The Flinders Ranges were direct in front of us, the road disappearing. I genuinely couldn't tell where we would make the pass. It was hot, and getting hotter. The temperature topped out at 39c, too hot really, and there were loads of flies. We both have head nets which we tuck into our collars. We look silly, but the flies get in our ears, up our noses, in our mouths, crawl on our sunglasses… it drives me to distraction. We had a gentle incline until we joined the highway, where the hill started in earnest. I managed to ride up the whole way! I stopped in passing places on the way up, for water and a rest, and thanked my Surly for having easier gears. I think I would have got off and pushed if I was on my old bike.

We cruised down to Wilmington and I got to stroke a puppy on the way to the servo. I love you, Hammy.

We called it a day early and sat in the park drinking iced coffee. We had the next day off because one of Mull's eyes had swollen shut. We made a salt water wash and hoped for the best. It had improved by the next morning, but the weather had taken A Turn for the Worse. It was raining, blustery, and really cold. The weather had fallen from 39c to 7c. I didn't even know Australia got that cold. We were wet and cold and a bit miserable. In Melrose we stopped for a cup of coffee and some cookies in Over the Edge. Sitting down is a mistake we keep making. Once we sit down, the ride is over. So we stayed in Melrose, even though it had stopped raining.

The next morning it was pissing down again. We got as far as Laura, and called it a day, but I did manage to squeeze in a little sightseeing detour to the Wirrabara silo, to see the art. It stopped raining as soon as we had paid our money, typical. We stayed in a caravan this time, with a heater so we could dry our clothes and trainers. I loved the caravan! It had an annex on too, so it was huge! I could happily live in something like that. It had two bedrooms, a wee kitchen, loads of plug sockets, and a heat pump! We charged everything and lounged around being warm and dry, like royalty, before having garlic bread from the oven. An oven!! Honestly.

Recharged, we then followed the B82 to Clare. I was a bit sad to miss out on the Mawson Trail but we have a bit much luggage, and neither of us have mountain bikes. I also don't have any of the maps, and I have a tendency to fall off when gravel riding.

So we got to Clare by road, it was really windy and it took us ages and seemed to be uphill all the way. We had a day off to go wine tasting, it was my birthday a few days prior and this was a really nice treat and extremely budget-friendly. We visited three cellar doors, Kirrihill, Tim Adams, and Shut the Gate. I had a really good time, we had reislings and roses, and some shiraz too. I don't know anything about wine, but I enjoyed drinking the different ones.

From Clare, we rode the Reisling Trail and the Rattler Trail southwards to Riverton, then joined the road to Gawler, where the sprawl of Adelaide sort of seems to begin.

We couldn't decide which way to ride into Adelaide. I would have been happy to skirt around it entirely, but Mull wanted to come in to the city proper. He wanted to take the main road, fast and direct, while I, always worried about getting hit by a car, wanted to take smaller, quieter roads where there would be less traffic. In the end, Mull bashed his ankle on the tarmac and we took a $3 train ride instead.

And then we were in Adelaide! Hooray!

We are being hosted via Warm Showers, and are having a few days off to see some sights and do some laundry.

Getting here from Ceduna, heck even Port Augusta seems to have taken forever. We looked at the map in Ceduna and thought ‘less than 1000km, no dramas!’ but it has taken us weeks. Much longer than we thought it would. Not because of any big reasons, just small ones that add up. On one hand, I'm not worried about progress. I want to enjoy as much as I can, not pedal as much as I can. But on the other hand, there is so much to see and do, and I look at the map of Australia and already feel, with months and months still left on my visa, that I don't have enough time so I'd better pack in as much as possible.

So with that attitude, it's time to head to the Great Ocean Road! 🚲🚲

Australia Miles: 1883 (3031km)

#Cycling #Cycletouring #Australia #South Australia #Travel #Cycling blog #Cyclist #Pennyfaceworldtour

Eyre Peninsula

From Ceduna, we had a choice. We could stay on the main highway and zip across in a straight-ish line to Port Augusta. We would cross through Kimba, the halfway point of a highway road trip from Perth to Sydney. There is a sign I have seen a few times on instagram. Or, we could go on the B-roads, and do some sightseeing on the Eyre Peninsula. I liked the idea of spending some more time by the ocean, so we chose the latter, and turned off onto the B100.

Our first stop was Streaky Bay. The landscapes were so different from the Nullabor. There was agriculture, there were trees. There was more traffic too. We weren't in the desert any more, and it will take a bit of getting used to.

We camped by the bay, where there were a smattering of mangrove trees in the mud. We took a sightseeing day and rode the Cape Bauer Loop. The coastline was amazing, it was so rocky and rugged. The waves crashed. There were blowholes and whistling rocks, and Hally's Beach sprouted jagged peaks in the golden sand. Boardwalks led a down to the water's edge, over sand dunes, and through them.

We had another rest day. Our heads weren't really in it. We struggled to find motivation. We were tired. Dan and Kim were well ahead, and gaining more and more miles of tarmac as we lounged in the tent and read. We were never going to catch up, which added to our general malaise. Cycling through the Nullabor had been A Thing and in some ways, it was easy because there was one way to go and no decisions to make. Leaving the desert, we had to organise things, decide on things. Even though we had our visas lined up for months, we got pretty last minute flights and I hadn't planned anything further than Ceduna. It was a bit overwhelming.

Before we left Perth, when we were jetlagged in our Airbnb room, we watched a lot of Parts Unknown. In one episode, Anthony Bourdain said something about ‘staying loyal to the nightmare’. I thought that that might be how I'd feel about the Nullabor. It was easier than I imagined, there was no nightmare to battle to stay loyal to. I think the challenge starts now, in between the ‘routes’, where we aren't completing A Thing, just are cycling on a way.

That's not to say I'm having a bad time, far from it. We rested, and I ate a lot of pasta, and we hit the road again the next day, heading south.

We took a detour to Murphy's Haystacks, which were amazing. They were enormous, and really interesting shapes. They were a bit like rorschach tests. It looks like a shark's mouth, it looks like a dinosaur egg..! We had planned to go to Elliston but it was so hot that we flaked out halfway at Port Kenny. Our camping neighbour said it got to 38c. Too hot. I was so tired that I fell asleep in the tent/sauna in the afternoon sun and woke up at 7pm feeling groggy and very dehydrated. Whoops.

We made it to Elliston the next day, taking another detour, to the Talia Caves. The Woolshed was amazing! It was a huge cavern, with swallows nesting and swooping. It was well worth the extra miles.

From Elliston, we rode inland to Lock. The original plan was to ride the coast all the way down to Port Lincoln and then up to the Lucky Bay Ferry Port near Cowell, and get the boat to Wallaroo. But the ferry wasn't running, so we would have to ride the long way round via Port Augusta anyway. We decided to do a few less miles so we have a chance at making it to Melbourne this year, and took the shortcut.

The road was called the Birdseye Highway and I loved it! It was the quietest bit of road yet, and in such good condition. Probably through lack of use! The first section reminded me of Cumbria, beige and bleak with heavy grey clouds. It was soon tamed into wheat fields and the tiny towns we passed through all had giant silos. Lock, and Rudall, and Cleve, and finally arriving in Cowell. It was cold and grey every morning, until the sun burned through around 11am and it was suddenly roasting hot. At Cowell, back by the coast, it was really cold again and I slept in my woolly hat and big jumper. The temperature differences felt massive! We went on the boardwalk to look at the mangroves which was really neat, and then rode up the coast to Whyalla. The road was busier still and a bit stressful, but eventually some hard shoulder appeared, and when we got to the outskirts of town, a cycle path! Yes! The drivers in Australia are generally very good, but. Not everyone, not all the time.

I slept badly each night in Whyalla, the windiest place in the world. We didn't see the famous dolphins in the marina.

And then on to Port Augusta. We nearly stayed an extra day, having been kept awake by noisy neighbours (I hate big towns!) but then left late and were riding in the heat of the day. It wasn't even hilly, we were just knackered and sweaty. We had planned on riding further but the lure of the Foodland was strong and we got cold lemonade then camped in town. It was a good decision, we got a shower and some cold water, and got chatting to our tent neighbours. I had said prior that I was going to get an early night, loads of sleep! I was going to be fresh for our first Australian hill, the Horrocks Pass, and be over it before the sun got too hot. But our tent neighbours were really friendly and chatty and had cool travel stories and a box of wine, so we prioritised the holiday part over the cycling part, and had a really nice evening.

It seems to have taken us a really long time to get to Port Augusta, and the summer heat is fast catching up to us.

I'm not sure we are ready for an Australian summer, but I am ready to give it a go.

Miles/Kilometers: 1695/2792 🚲🚲

#travel #writing #travel writing #writers on tumblr #travellers on tumblr #travel australia #eyre peninsula #streaky bay #whyalla #port augusta #tourist #cycling #cycle touring #cyclist #adventure #cycle across australia #australia #southaustralia

#pennyfaceworldtour Australia

Nullabor to Ceduna 🚲🇦🇺

I have less photos of this section because my phone went in a bag of rice. That massive storm from my last post soaked my bags in longterm ways I hadn't quite understood until I found a mouldy toilet roll in one in Penong, and my phone wouldn't turn on.

*Wendy Zuckerman voice*

So.

There we were, at Nullabor Roadhouse, in the 6am dark, fannying on making muesli, daydreaming about Kim and Dan, and how we might be the kind of cyclists that could catch up to them. We rode past where we thought they might be camping and saw no sign of them. Maybe if they had a long lunch..? A German guy cycling in the opposite direction stopped for a chat, he had run a few Australian marathons and was now cycling to Perth from Adelaide. Had he seen a couple of cyclists already this morning..? Yes, he had, and he waved his hand vaguely. They must be miles away. Mull and I stopped at a rest area with a bench and shade for our picnic. We would make other friends. Just not yet!

And who should roll in as we were wrapping our first wrap! They said they had a late start, and we must have hit the road before they did. We had a long lunch, chatting over coffee, sharing food and trading stories. Yes, life on the road!

It was a lovely ride too. We were back in the trees, little to no roadkill, and rolling hills. I somehow kept my momentum going on the ups and we got downs I could go "wooooo!" down and we rolled into the Yalata roadhouse forecourt to find our new pals shading under a tree. They invited us to camp with them, 10km east after the Nundroo roadhouse. Getting to the roadhouse was already going to be our longest ever day. I said yes, but privately, did not commit. They zoomed off and I did my usual afternoon slowdown. In the grand scheme of 150km, 30km is but a tiny fraction. Buy after 9 hours of cycling, I can confirm that I found it long enough. Approaching Nundroo felt like nearing civilisation. Instead of scrub, or woodland, or general bush, we instead rode through farmland. It seemed tamed. We got a burger from the roadhouse and my brain sort of stopped working. I was tired. We had left Nullabor a full 12 hours ago. I'd just eaten a giant veggie burger after cycling further than I'd ever cycled before. I did I really want to get on my bike and do 10km more?

Yes and no, at the same time. Then a bit more yes, and a bit more no. Then a bit more yes. We turned our lights on, and pedalled away into the dusk. It was pretty much pitch black by time we got to the rest stop. We wheeled around trying to spot any tents in the trees. At the back, we found them.

"Oh my god, you made it, you're here!"

We'd made it, we had caught up to them! Peer pressure is sometimes a good thing. Our new longest ride is 154km.

Surprisingly, I did not feel like garbage the following morning. I thought that I would. Dan and Kim were heading straight for Ceduna, the official end of the Nullabor section, but I wanted to stop in Penong to see Lake MacDonnell. My compromise with Mull was that I would find someone in town ("town") to ask re. it's pink status before we commited. I wasn't bothered about riding an extra 30km and taking an extra day to see a normal blue lake.

Algae Jesus must have been smiling on me and Penong that day. As we rode into the village, we found Dan at a bench chatting to. French guy who lived in a van. He had been down to Cactus Beach that morning, he liked surfing. And the lake..?

"Yes, it is pink!" He showed us some photos on his phone and it was decided. The lake was beautiful. A soft, but clear pink, like Robinsons squash. The rocks near the shore were crusted with salt crystals. Clouds were reflected on the glassy surface. Mulley let me take a few snaps on his phone. I thought it was well worth our detour, and I even managed not to fall off on the gravel road. Well done me. The nature here is amazing, honestly, I have never seen anywhere like it. A pink lake!

Our final Nullabor day was warm and wet. We had a tailwind and then a headwind, swirling around us as we passed farmland, and electric pylons. Riding into Ceduna we had a roundabout.

The desert was well and truly over, the plains were behind us. We had done it, and I was (and am!) chuffed as heck, but I was also a bit sad. The Nullabor was good to us, and I could happily have done a few more days. The living was easy, simple.

I found the supermarket a bit overwhelming and we spent too many dollars on junk food and pizza. Dan and Kim were having a rest day, and we sat at the same bench for six hours eating pretty much constantly, sharing a couple of beers, playing cards, chatting. It was really nice to have someone at the finish line for us. Even if we are only about 1/3 of the way, probably less.

It doesn't really feel real. Perth to Ceduna is incomprehensibly large. I can't get my head around it. Maybe that will come with time.

Or maybe not, maybe I'll say the words because I know they are true, but not really feel them. Or it'll be like New Zealand, and everything else I've ever done, and I won't talk about it much at all.

But I have done it, I've ridden my bicycle across the Nullabor.

Miles: 1264 (2034km) 🚲🚲

#travel #cycling #cycletouring #australia #south australia #western australia #nullarbor #bicycle #cyclists #cyclist #cycling holiday #bike

#pennyfaceworldtour Australia 🚲

Madura to Nullabor

After a rest, I always expect to feel fresh, but often, I don't. Leaving Madura was no exception. We miscalculated the time difference and set off late, then we had filled our bottles from the tap and the water was salty. It was hot and humid and I couldn't slake my thirst. One of Mull's spokes popped out of the rim. And we had a headwind. I think the wind did drop in the afternoon, but the damage was done and I couldn't pick up any speed. Then it started to rain, but at least that cooled us down. Then the sun went down and I got cold. We got to Mundrabilla in the dark, our first night riding. It wasn't as scary as I thought. We have really good lights, and we can see vehicles coming from miles away. A tough day, but it proved my theory that if you just keep pedalling, you'll get somewhere eventually.

The following morning, I met a great dog! He tried to get in the tent and I had to stop it because he was wet. It was really raining. Our tent was wet, but we had managed to pack our sleeping bags away just damp. We decided to stop early in Eucla. We were soaked, and getting cold. We wanted to see the sea, and the ruins of the jetty and Telegraph Station, but the clouds were so thick and low that the top of the phone mast was covered. I had a giant bowl of pasta for tea and felt better.

The following morning, the weather was much more clement and it was so worth waiting to see the beach. It was beautiful! We had the whole beach to ourselves, and a jelly fish. Seeing it was enough to put me off paddling. I don't know how to identify the dangerous ones. Who am I kidding, I'm scared of the ones at home too! It was so interesting seeing the ruins, the wood and bricks worn smooth and pale. The sand overtaking what humans had built. There were enormous dunes in the distance. Everything here feels so vast.

The headwind was so strong we stopped in Border Village and slunk around by the pool. No snake this time! I went in. We were joined by swallows, wheeling and diving into the pool to dip their wings. I loved watching them, and got a bit homesick thinking of the swallows outside my old bedroom window, perching on the telephone line waiting to migrate.

If you've seen my instagram (www.instagram.com/penny_face) you may know that leaving Border Village, I was in a bit of a sulk because I'd been called slow. It's true, I can't deny that. But it still stung. Up to this point, I was really chuffed at how the cycling was going. I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't good enough. Was it worth it, cycling across Australia for months, when I could be at home carving a pumpkin for my nephews, filming weddings, maybe even getting around to writing an ebook about New Zealand, or applying for a Masters degree? What was I trying to achieve? What was the point? Then to top off my bad mood and hurt feelings, I fell off my bike after a tangle with a bush on some gravel, and I just wanted to crawl into the tent and go to sleep with an emergency snickers and a cup of tea.

We camped on the cliffs in the wind a few km down the road, and it was so beautiful. The sun was going down and the sea was soft and hazy. It was great to see some natural sights. So much of the sightseeing has been man-made; the jetty, the giant statues, the signposts. We are surrounded by nature everyday, but the landmarks have been largely artifical. The cliffs were huge and stunning, the sea and the sky were so blue.

More headwind accompanied us to the Nullabor Roadhouse. Oh, how I missed the tailwind! Of course I had slowed down, I'd gone from 40km/h tailwind to 50km/h headwind. It was either full on, or a bit cross, and when a road train went past I had to wrestle with the draft and by the end of the day, my arms were as tired as my legs. There were less trees, but still bushes and long grasses. It was much greener than I had imagined it to be. Much more alive. The kangaroos were nowhere around and there was a lot less roadkill (good, it made me sad). We saw more snakes and lizards, and no mammals or marsupials.

That evening, miles and miles away across the flat land, we saw a storm. We could see the lightning but were far enough away to have no rain. It was heading towards us. I could see the cloudburst in the distance, in front of the setting sun. The light changed colour, orange and then purple. Everyone camping was out taking photos until one at a time, fat drops of rain plopped onto the baked dust. The galahs were going crazy in the trees. We scuttled back to our tent, and the storm erupted overhead. It was directly on us, zero hippopotamuses away. The thunder was so loud my ears hurt. The ground was so dry that the rain couldn't saturate and the standing water rose higher and higher. Please don't breach the zip, I thought. The tent held out amazingly and we managed to keep dry inside. It rained heavily for hours, the wind pummelling the sides of the tent. We didn't get much sleep. Mull was still awake at 5am, and my alarm went off at 6:45am. We elected to have a rest day instead of riding towards Yalata. I read a book and lazed around. In the evening, we got chatting to another cyclist in the roadhouse. He had ridden from Eucla that morning, and was carrying on for another 15km that night. Over 200km in one day. I was so impressed. He had stared solo and had met another guy on the way, who turned up a few minutes later. Kim and Dan were so friendly and funny and we spent ages talking with them. They were going to Nundroo the next day, and said that maybe they would see us on the road. I laughed and said I hoped so, but we weren't sure if we could catch them up. We weren't sure we would make Nundroo in one day (145km). We said goodbye as they rode on, and later in the tent, we looked at each other and decided, maybe if we set off really early, we might be able to get to Nundroo in one day, and meet up with Kim and Dan again.

After a low few days, which I didn't really realise I had had until writing about them just now, this was spark we didn't know we wanted.

As the sun went down over the Nullabor plain, I set my alarm for 5am and hoped for the best.

#pennyfaceworldtour Australia miles: 1057 (1701km)

#travel #cycling #cycletouring #landscape #bikepacking #travel blog #pennyfaceworldtour #sunset #clouds #holiday #Australia #western australia #south australia #Eucla #Nullabor

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