Vast – no picture

Vastness
How do you capture it
In a picture
With a camera.

Riding along
To the east the Great Dividing Range
Stretching the length of eastern Australia
South to north

To the west
Rolling pastures
Turn to desert
To mines

To Pasture

To coast again
The vastness of Australia.

I sailed once
On the Tasman Sea
And the powerful vastness of the sea was awe inspiring

So vastness can’t be captured
And that is its beauty.

( no picture added)

Back on the road again, I’m now in Mundubbera on the last day of June. A near full moon has risen on a mild evening in the Queensland sub tropics.

Escaping north to Cooktown

Cold escape
Long ribbon of road north
Look to the tropics
From the winter gloom
To a burst of warmth

Along the way friends
Friends old- reacquainted
Friends new- discovered
Friends not yet imagined- anticipated

Times alone in contemplation
Warmth
Distance
Understanding
Loneliness
The moment
The place
Self.

Natural Bridge National Park Queensland Aust

I’m sitting on a veranda of a friends house in SE Queensland in the warm winters sun. Melbourne was cold and wet as was the ride through central NSW. But from Coffs Harbour on the sun and the breezes are warm. A taste of what is to come as I’m heading to Cooktown in the Queensland tropics – 4000 kilometres north of the winter cold.

Impressions of South Australia – Fleurieu Peninsula

It was getting hot in the Flinders Ranges and the prediction was that it was going to hit 40 celsius.

Bike loaded and ady to roll at the back of the Blinman Hotel — Bike loaded and ready to roll at the back of the Blinman Hotel

I couldn’t wait to get on my way south through the Clare Vand the Adelaide Hills and down to the Fleurieu Peninsula (http://fleurieupeninsula.com.au/) where the cool breezes off the southern ocean keeps the temperatures down.

There was an overnight stop at the Barbed Wire Pub at Spalding just north of Clare then through to Port Elliot where the over 100 year old Port Elliot Beach House is totally friendly and cheap.

Port Elliot Beach House accomodation — Port Elliot Beach House accommodation

The night at the beach was good to do some shopping. The Fleurieu Peninsula is so fertile and with 100 ks there are all types of foods. Yoghurts from the local dairy farms, dried grapes and wines from McLaren Vale and Langhorn Creek, fresh fish from the sea and lakes and tomatoes and over vegetables from Murray Bridge. All local and fresh.

The aim was to stock up them camp in one of the beautiful coastal parks that are just of the road to Cape Jervis.

Looking out To Kangaroo Island on the road to Cape Jervis — Looking out to Kangaroo Island on the road to Cape Jervis

The road from Victor Harbour to Cape Jervis is listed in the top 100 rides in Australia and is a pearler, with optional detours down gravel (oh no not again) roads to beaches at the number of conservation parks along the coast.

As a 40 degree day (in October!) approached I slipped down one of those gravel roads to find a camp spot just over the dunes from the beach.