New Year – piece meal adventurer

Melbourne has a strong and vibrant community of Chinese Heritage.

A large influx of Chinese migrants arrived in Melbourne in the mid 1800s as part of Victoria’s Goldrush.

Little Bourke Street is Melbourne’s Chinatown, and was the centre of the 2024 Luna New Year Celebrations on 11 February.

An event full of noise and colour.

From head to tail, the main dragon was half a city block long.

And superstition says that it brings good luck to touch the dragon.

The Antipodes Festival, which commenced in 1987, celebrates the Greek diaspora in Melbourne.

Melbourne is said to have the largest Greek speaking population outside of Greece and Cyprus.

The festival takes part in Lonsdale Street in the Melbourne CBD. The spiritual hub of the Greek Community.

The closing band Xylourides had the whole audience up.dancing.

Such vibrant music from young performers.

Even the Greek flag was up and dancing.

It was a beautiful summer day. Id ridden back from the rain forest, swapped urban cool for nature.

Hit the beach:

Before a night of Greek Culture.

New Years Day 2023 is a good time to reflect on some of the beautiful places I has the opportunity to visit.

Beautiful places in Australia, Europe and the UK and in Morocco.

It’s hard to believe that Australia still had its borders closed this time last year.

So January 2022 started with friends in Queensland as part of a road trip 1,900 km north from Melbourne. A PCR test had been needed to get into Queensland to celebrate the New Year

The travel highlight of February was the Snowy Mountains National Park in New South Wales. The Alps of Australia for some camping and trail riding.

Toward the end of February, Australia’s international borders re-opened and the possibility of international travel became real again. April

March offered an opportunity to explore the Snowy River National Park, the famous McKillops Bridge that spans a small gorge cut by the Snowy River as it makes its way to the sea at Marlo.

In April I headed up to the beautiful beaches of Northern New South Wales to catch up with some friends and catch some late Australian Summer before flying to England.

I had been touring my BMW adventure bike most of summer, so it was a good chance to riding the Mighty Moto Guzzi Breva before collecting its English Sister!

I’d swapped Australian late summer for England’s April showers. But in April I had May on my mind. May was for Morocco a dream trip that became the victim of the pandemic in 2020.

So May was just Morocco. Could have been many months what a trip.

It was back to the Iberian Peninsula in June. Spain and Portugal.

July I was back in the UK for the summer heat wave and a bit of culture.

August it was back to the Continent landing in Brittany to commence my trek to Mandelo del Lario for the Moto Guzzi 100th anniversary celebration. So August was France.