Its hard to believe 12 months ago I was in Cooktown
Vast savanah plains
Tropical rain forest
The iconic tale of Captain Cook saving his ship in the Endeavour River
The marvellous aboriginal rock drawings

And now I’m at the site of another iconic Australian story at Villers Bretenneux in northern France.

Today rode a bit over 400 kms today visiting three countries. The Netherlands, Belgium and France
What a contrast to last year’s trip.
Densely populated villages
Fields green at the end of summer
In northern Queensland
Maybe one or two roadhouses on the parched dry land was all to see in 400kms.
The Villers Bretenneux is a significant story from a couple of aspects.
Firstly the village, in the Somme Valley was liberated by Australian soldiers in WW1.
It was a scene of vicious fighting were far too many died.

So the oh so many young men who died were collected and buried near Villers Bretenneux.
But the story doesn’t end there
And I believe this is the most moving part
The people of Victoria, Australia, many of whom had lost family in the war,
Raised money to by donation to raise money to help build a new school in Villers Bretenneux
The school still stands today
And the kangaroos at the entrance show the eternal connection across hemispheres.
Hi Mic and Mez – your blog is off to a great start. Looking forward to the next chapter! Pauline and Swanny xx
Been on the run so an update soon
I was there several years ago.
The average age of the fallen diggers was about 17-18!
The tears flowed freely.
Thanks Barry yes extraordinarily moving