Been out Back o’ Bourke

In other words the outback,

Out past where the Darling River flows.

Where the roads are rough dirt and sand

The land is harsh and hot

That’s 45c hot on an early autumn day and the days in 38 – 45c range stretched on while I was there.

The recent floods meant that the inland rivers were flowing.

And in Wilcannia where the banks are 12 metres above the normal river height

But the high water line on the doors of the shower cubicals shows the flood got well over 12 metres.

The locals told me that in Bourke when the water was at its highest it was running over the old wooden lift bridge. A relic from the days when paddle steamers plied Australia’s inland rivers.

Water is life. Not just for humans, but for animals, especially birds.

The kites circling in the skies over the rivers.

The waterbirds in the river.

My favourite was the raucous Glossy Black Cockatoos that came down to the river to drink.

While there is always beauty there are also constant reminders of the harshness of the Outback.

There is also something quirky outback and for me this time it was an amazing stick insect.

The dry, dusty, sandy, and rutted roads

The dry red soil

The millions of fish that die when the relentless heat suck all the oxygen out of the water.

The dead Dingo hung in the tree. Supposedly to scare off other Dingos, but more likely a reassurance to the shooter that he has control of the environment. There is no controlling this wild country.

Not far on from.the Dingo Tree is Warnaaring -200kn out Back o’ Bourke. I stayed at the camp ground.

The owner just laughed when I said I was looking forward to a cool shower.

I turned what I thought was the cold tap. Scalding water came spurting out. I quickly turned the tap off. I turned on the other tap and heard the gas hot water heater burst into life as piping hot water came forth.- tap off. Back to my first choice of tap and let it run a bit.

Agh after a little while a nice hot shower from the cold water tap. I guess that’s how hot the sandy soil gets after long spells of 40c heat.0

There is always something quirky about the outback, everytime I visit. This time it was amazing stick insect

You have to look so closely to distinguish it from the tree twigs!

Each trip to the outback is a learning experience.

The Sub- Tropical Mountain Gondwana Land Rain Forests On the Great Dividing Range of Australia. -2 New England NP

The New England National Park sits at the top of the Great Divide above the Pacific Ocean west of Coffs Harbour.

The route south through the mountains was chosen to catch up with friends in the NSW borders and explore some beautiful rainforest.

Heading south from the Lockyer Valley in Queensland I take the backroads out through Peak Crossing toward Boonah. Then winding my way toward the border with NSW and down the wonderfully twisty Lions Road to Kyogle and the start of the Summerland Way.

A good place to stop overnight and for a swim. Although it comes with the risk of getting bombed by Patch the flying cattle dog.

The next day I headed along the Summerland Way to Grafton where I turned off and took the winding mountain road up to Ebor at the top of the Great Dividing Range.

Ebor is a good stop to top up the bikes fuel tank. Fusspots Cafe is also a good place for coffee and lunch. To refuel thy self.

The turn off to New England National Park is about halfway between Ebor and the Regional Centre of Armidale along the waterfall way.

There are campgrounds in the Park and lodges in and around.

The heavens had opened and luckily there was a local cabin vacant.

Clearing skies invited setting up camp in Thungutti campground the next day.

The damp weather and recent rains added an additional challenge to walking the steep rainforest tracks.

But there is something special to walking in a rainforest in the misty rain.

The fungus looks all fresh and shiny.

Frogs and toads have spawned in the puddles,

And the rains invited this orange Red Triangle Slug out to show itself. This slug was first identified less than two years ago.

The moisture caught in the moss, lychen and tree follage just beautiful.

With all the rain the waterfalls and small cascades were flowing strongly.

The walk and paths were tricky so it was good to do it in company.

Quite challenging for a piece meal adventurer

The Sub- Tropical Mountain Gondwana Land Rain Forests On the Great Dividing Range of Australia. -1

I take a few backroads avoiding the main highways and the traffic. Especially the big trucks. Ah the aptly named Black Stump Way.

Coolah is a small town a bit over half way on the trip and the hotel a good place for a night stopover.

The painted silos at Barabba are worth a stop on the Fossickers Way that leads up into Queensland.

The King and Queen Parrot giving me a welcome to Queensland.

Tambourine Mountain sits just west of the Gold Coast. Its a pleasant tourist destination and Queensland’s first National Park. Established in 1905.

A beautiful place to walk in some gondwana rain forest.

As well.as the parrots the kookaburras were a plenty.

And as the night fell the lights of the Gold Coast twinkled in the distance.

Definitely a very different place and seemingly a world away.

Australia’s borders are open, its autumn, and time to contemplate Northern Hemisphere Travel

Summer has flowed into autumn in Melbourne, Australia

At my local beach the water is cool and clear

So clean you feel like you could reach out and grab a handful of sea lettuce and just munch it

But in late February, Australia’s international borders opened post covid and my mind had turned to travel again to the Northern Hemisphere and the motorbike I have stored in England

Time for another European Adventure , and maybe with a touch of North Africa.

It was time to get used to riding my Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 again. The same bike as I have in England.

The Mighty Breva was 3,000 km short of its next service. Perfect for a return trip to NSW to enjoy that beautiful part of Australia and catch up with friends.

So it was time to hit the highway and byways.

Pick up some uninvited company on the way

Then head over the Waterfall Way

To the Northern NSW Coast.

I still believe the beaches of Northern NSW are the best I’ve seen in all my travels. Unfortunately due to the heavy recent rains the water was a murky brown rather than the usual blue.

The Arawarra Fish Traps are a legacy of the aboriginal aquaculture in this area.

At high tine the traps are hardly visible.

But at low tine the intricate stonework of the traps are revealed.

And a trip to this area is not complete without a ride in the mountain rainforest.

Unfortunately the changeable and wild weather that has been happening on Australia’s east coast cut my time and I had to come back to Melbourne early.

As I had a swim this afternoon this tern was flying overhead.

Its soon time for me to fly

In a couple of weeks its across the world to England to see my sister, collect my Moto Guzzi Breva 1100 stored there and then head across Spain to Morocco to recommence the journey of adventure there, which was cut short by pandemic in 2020.

The mountains and the sea in South East Australia. – part – 1 The Mountains

The south east corner of Australia is the cold place

The snow place

The icy Southern Ocean place

It’s been my place for many years.

There is an arc of mountains that follows the curve of the land almost parallel with the coast.

Th.e Australian Alps

The sandy yellow coastline

The deep Southern Ocean

All in a sweeping curve of nature.

At the top of the Australian Alps is the Kosciuszko National Park

The Park is one of my favourite places

To ride

To walk

To bath in the icy streams

Or thermal pools

My favourite camp spots are out on the Long Plain

Ghost Gully is my favourite camp site as it’s surrounded by the beautiful Ghost Gums.

The Aboriginal people say if you listen closely, when there is a breeze you can her the whispers of the ancestors.

It’s a place where I have rarely failed to meet an interesting character.

Louis is 79 and Ace his Palamino a big 15 hands tall.

Louis finds the big 16 and 17 hand horses a bit of a stretch now. So Ace is his companion.

Louis is a horse whisperer and been breaking and training horses since he was 15.

He attracted this mob of wild horses over to the camp.

He was getting the wild horses comfortable with him with the aim of capturing the foal, a young colt, to break and find a home for.

The horses are feral in the Alps and are displacing many native animals. It’s a contentious issue between horse lovers and those wanting to preserve Australia’s unique fauna.

Although it was autumn the wild flowers provided colour.

Toward the end of the Long Plain is Blue Water Holes, a series of high gorges and mountain streams.

At over 1200 metres altitude let me assure you the waterholes offer a bracing dip.

A far more comfortable swim can be found on the other side of the Snowy Mountain Highway at the Yarrangobilly thermal pool.

A beautiful 24c natural thermal pool and spa in the middle of the bush.

Down from the high altitudes in the low swampy plains the bush is thicker and kangaroos and other native animals abound.

From Kosciuszko National Park the Alps run West. Mt Donna Buang in the Yarra Ranges on the eastern edge of Melbourne is the last peak in the Alps.

It doesn’t get much snow these days. Unlike most of the other mountains it has not been burnt by bushfire and has beautiful tiers of rainforest topped by snow gums.