Just a little bit more on the Symposium - the day before it actually began, we had a public lecture from Chris Darwin, Charles's great great grandson who lives in Australia. A rivetting and entertaining speaker. Then that evening a reception at NT's grandiose Parliament House - it is a smaller replica of Australia's PH, just a bit over the top for a jumped-up shire council was all I could think. After that was a lecture - an introduction to Charles Darwin's life and work, very well done indeed.

Then came the first full day, and it began with four lectures from world authorities in the fields of Darwin's life; latest developments in genetics; ways viruses and other infections demonstrate the usefulness of Darwin's theory of evolution; and how the theory of evolution enables scientists to track the development of new infections. The afternoon was a panel discussion but it was less of a success, with numbers of flaky questions from audience members with their own agendas to push.

The next full day too was brilliant. One of the speakers did in fact mention that he had participated in 8 or 9 similar symposia this year but none of the others came near this one for quality of presentations. First we had 2 speakers talking about the struggle between Darwinians and religious defenders of a creationist theory of species origination. This argument began when Darwin published his work 150 years ago and continues. Then came the afternoon session which was to do with social Darwinism, often used as a justification for the extermination of primitive civilisations, but strongly opposed (cannot imagine why) by indigenous Australians. It was an eye-opener for me at any rate, I thoroughly enjoyed the points of view put forward and the whole thing has been a brilliant success.

Ahh, Friday. Time to leave Darwin. The Symposium finished yesterday. A full report on it later. I'll call this "the day of the heat". Early morning departure from my very salubrious hotel (Darwin Central) - at 6am, I rode off into the dark suburbs. Even then, it was very hot. All I had under my leathers was a tee shirt and boxers but still very sweaty. And that was at 6am! And it was interesting that it takes me almost an hour to break camp after a night in the tent - it took exactly the same length of time to pack up from my hotel room.

But I had the bit between my teeth and just kept riding - until I got to Renner Springs, about 840 km - a very long day. I was pretty whacked and had a drink. a shower, and meal, before setting up the tent and collapsing into bed at 7:30pm.

Slept not terribly well - extreme noise at this campsite, trucks thundering past a few metres from my tent, and I think I must have the worst mattress (inflatable) and pillow (mini camping pillow) ever put together in one uncomfortable combination. But I woke up somewhat refreshed, at 4:30 am, ready to break camp, and set off on:

"The day of the wind". Dawn was beautiful and much cooler this morning - wore thermals and a light jumper under the gear - and it was fantastic to watch the dark sky turn pale orange and then pale blue, everything bathed in an early morning milky light, before finally taking on its bright central Australian hues of reds and greens under a fierce blue sky.

Then, as the sun got higher, the wind came up. Never ridden so far in wind like it. Buffeting me all over the road and fuel consumption was up by 20% since there was quite a strong headwind component in it. This was particularly unfortunate today because fuel on this part of the trip was nudging $1-70 at most places... through grotty roadhouse after grotty roadhouse. The best was Aileron, intriguing name, the worst was probably Barrow Creek but competition for that title was strong...

But I hung in there, with frequent stops for brekky, drinks, lunch, more drinks, etc, until finally arriving in Alice Springs - 740 km approximately. Just in time to check in to a motel and watch the Grand Final on their ginormous screen.

Will have a good rest tonight before pushing on tomorrow, the target being Coober Pedy. I am a day ahead of where I thought I would be by now. so that's good. The T-Max is proving to be a comfortable tourer, although longer legs (more cc's) would be better. It cruises OK at 110 kmh but it is something of an effort with this big load.

Just a quick one today - no photos - bike sale seems to have fallen through so I will be riding home. Paypal informed me that the email I had purporting to be from them was in fact a fake. I have heard no more from the "buyer"...

Had lunch yesterday with Wiz and Sam's son, Edward, formerly of Culcairn (near Albury) but now of Darwin and soon to depart for another job somewhere out of town. Good to see a familiar face from home.

Yesterday the Darwin Symposium began with a public lecture from Chris Darwin, great great grandson of the Man. Chris's talk was very entertaining, including an account of his attendance at the "world's highest dinner party" in the Andes a few years ago. He and some companions climbed a snowy peak about 12,000 ft high, and set up the dinner table and donned their dinner suits; who should arrive in the middle of it all but a pair of Argentinian climbers who almost fell back down again in surprise at the sight. Their faces were something to see.

Then last night there was a welcome reception at Parliament House - supposedly a tie was necessary, and I went to a certain amount of trouble to get one from the Red Cross op shop, and also purchased a pair of shoes. Needn't have bothered - crocs would have been OK and out of about 200 people there I was one of about 5 who wore a tie. Oh well.

Today the Symposium began in earnest and it was a torrent of mental stimulation for me, such as I have not experienced for quite a while. Lots to think about, and in time I will put a fuller report on here somewhere. Today's speakers included Nobel Prize winner Peter Doherty, who had plenty to say about viruses and immunity, all mfascinating; unfortunately he also had a bit to say about "climate change deniers" and "people from Texas" which produced loyal applause from the politically correct segment of the audience but did nothing to enhance his own credibility. Since when did a molecular biologist become more of an authority on climate change than a geologist?

Running out of time, more tomorrow.

It's been relaxing here in Darwin. Hot, humid, but I like the pace, or the lack of it. I have so far done any walking early in the morning (before 9) and then spent the rest of each day checking email, trawling the shops, going to the beach, washing clothes, just hanging around I guess. Then in the evening it is time for a beer or 2.

Today I changed hotels. There was nothing wrong with the Cavenagh where I have been for 3 nights, but it was an emergency booking made when I realised I would be here 3 days early. So from tonight I am at my original choice of the Darwin Central.

The Cav is a terrific young person's drinkery, with live music most nights and a couple of sports screens in a lovely undercover bar with open sides next to the pool. A noisy but very buzzy bar. The Central is more of an international hotel and has no bar, but the rooms are good and there is a really good breakfast menu in a restaurant in the hotel foyer. I reckon I'll manage alright.

Today has brought something of a major glitch though - I thought I had the bike sold, which would make it possible for me to fly home at the end of the week after the Darwin Symposium. I have been negotiating by email with a man who claims he is on a boat at sea, so no phone contact; he wants to pay by Paypal - OK; but now the money he claims to have paid to Paypal will not be put in my Paypal account until I send a cash transfer by Western Union to an address in the UK, he says it is his shipping agent's head office, and until I send them $550 I cannot get my money from Paypal. Sounds like the oldest trick in the book to me. I have to pay money (to someone I have never heard of) before I can get what is owed to me (by someone else)! I don't think so! I have suggested (by email) that he might like to pay the shipping costs directly rather than getting me to pay it for him, but so far no response .... I've got a strong feeling that he may never contact me again. It seems quite likely his "boat" is really a desk somewhere in Nigeria.

Have just discovered that a friend's son, Edward, is in Darwin at the moment, enroute to a new job south of here. He is meeting me tomorrow afternoon for a drink. And Alice's friend Jane is meeting me tonight (I think, not arranged yet) for a drink too. Ah, the social whirl!

Today I went looking for a TIE which I have to wear tomorrow night to the reception at Parliament House, which kicks off the Darwin Symposium. Not an easy thing to find here, but the Red Cross op shop had a small selection and when I held one up in front of me several women in the shop nodded approvingly so that was that.

So - all goes well. But it looks as if on Friday I have to begin the Long Ride Home. I can get to Port Augusta in 5 days (it's nearly 3,000 Km to there) and then it will be easy... well, cooler anyway and possibly a tailwind. Maybe someone with cash will see the sign on the bike and think they just have to have it!

Well - it 's been a while - since I left Townsville, all the way across Queensland and up the track to Darwin there is not much in the way of internet cafes or even fast internet. So no posts for a week. Let me summarise what the last week has been like.

Saturday - left Townsville early and had a good day, reaching Julia Creek via Charters Towers (big old fashioned country town, everyone in big hats and RM Williams boots and jeans), Pentland (see story below), and Richmond (fossil central, with a good museum and plenty of description about the fossils that have been found in the former seabed around there). Camped at J Ck and turned out to have pitched my camp next to a couple of retired ag scientists (well one was actually an ag economist) so we had lots in common and plenty to talk about.

(In Pentland, which is a tiny former goldrush and railway centre, the old bloke at the servo (dirt driveway next to the pumps) asked me where I had come from. Albury. Mmmm. Where are yer goin? Darwin. On that? Yep. Mmmmm. Youse are goin a long way. End of conversation.)

Sunday. On to Camooweal. This was another early start and involved a long stretch with no fuel (265 km - right on the edge of the T Max's range, so I rode a bit slower and carried a small reserve as well - not needed.) This was the first leg of the day, to Barkly Homestead. Then came Cloncurry, then Mount Isa, where I found an internet place but it closed in 10 minutes so not much use really. Beautiful hilly desert country, will post some photos of it later; then after Mt Isa rode on to Camooweal. My goodness, I ahave been riding across the Barkly Tableland all day, it is an enormous area. Not a lot happening in Camooweal on a Sunday, but had a beer at the pub then pitched the tent.

Monday. From Camooweal, went on to 3 Ways in the Northern Territory (just north of Tennant Creek) then a relatively short hop to Renner Springs. Arrived there early afternoon and rested before camping for the night. Perhaps the nearest thing to my camp at RS would have been to pitch the tent on the piano keys at the end of the main runway at Tullamarine Airport. The whole night, trucks and road trains thundered past a few metres from my tent!

Anyway, Tuesday came, and I rode up the bitumen to Elliott ( fairly desperate little spot) and just past there live our friends John & Trish at a big station called Beetaloo. I stashed the bike in some scrub just off the road, and Trish came out to the front gate (40 km of terrible dirt road, no good at all for a T Max) to collect me for a couple of days' rest. It was wonderful at Beetaloo, good to see friends so far from home and it is a marvellous spot for a break. Early starts there are normal - brekky usually at 6am. On Wednesday I interrupted my snoozing on the couch to go for a look around with John, and was treated to a wonderful sequence of helicopter mustering (his son in law Scotty at the controls, J and I watched from the ute) - John said they had been rehearsing it just for me for weeks, and I must say the recalcitrant cattle played their part wonderfully well...

Thursday was a big mustering day so we started with brekky at 5am (curried sausages). Then John & Trish and daughter Jane drove to Tennant Creek to pick up some new tyres for the wagon, dropping me off at the bike near the front gate. I rode on in fierce heat (40 deg) to Mataranka. Or as it should probably be called, Bataranka. I camped at the thermal pool a few km out of town and it is utterly overwhelmed by fruit bats (flying foxes). The whole place smells, no, REEKS of bats and their droppings cover the ground. Nasty. The pool though is still wonderful and good for my old bones at the end of a day like that.

Friday: the last lap! Katherine (quite a town nowadays, lots of new building and probably owes a fair bit of its prosperity to the nearby RAAF Base Tindal), then Adelaide River which is a lovely spot. There I visited to War Cemetery where there is a number of servicemen from WW2 buried, and also a memorial to all those whose bodies were never recovered in the Timor/Indonesia/Coral Sea area during the war. The majority of those were RAAF persons.

Finally, on to Darwin. Arrived here about 1pm, and on checking the emails the latest one is an offer for the T Max! How very convenient!

Will post again tomorrow, maybe some photos too. Now for some lunch!

I can hardly believe I've made it!

Here are some more photos of the later part of the trip, from Townsville to Darwin. From the top, they are: Beetaloo garden; Brekky at 5am - looks a bit blurry, it could be the camera but just as likely the hour of day; the T Max at Beetaloo front gate, before hiding it in the scrub; hot springs pool at Bataranka; view over Mount Isa; pedal radio in the Flynn Museum, Cloncurry; and the reconstruction of a dinosaur in the Richmond Museum (this is the only only dinosaur whose entire skeleton has been found in Australia).

More from Townsville. This morning I made a Queensland start (6am) and by 7 was on the ferry to Magnetic Island. It's a very tranquil place - the island is very mountainous, with just 4 little settlements each with beaches, on the flat parts of the shore. I tremble to think what a decent cyclone would do to it, let alone a tsunami.

I hired a mini moke for a few hours. Have not driven one for about 40 years and they are fun but very primitive by modern motor vehicle standards. And this particular one was probably 40 years old itself - very worn. Pretty much worn OUT I think you could say. Never mind, it got me to both ends of the island and back to the middle again.

The best spot on the island is Horseshoe Bay. It is beautiful and so quiet - perhaps it gets a bit busier in holiday periods. But there were people there, and one can hire jetskis, kayaks, sailing dinghys, etc as well as a lovely beach with a netted area (no stingers). It's about 6km from Nelly Bay which is the ferry terminal and the main area being developed for holiday accommodation.

I had brekky at Nelly Bay but it was not the best. Nice looking little casual place. Thick sausages (not very well cooked), thin toast (cheapest possible bread) and eggs (just right fortunately). Then late morning - back to Townsville, an early pm snooze, and now I have found a great internet spot in the main mall. So here are some photos! The top one shows new houses in Townsville, with a waterfall cascading down the cliffside on which they are perched. And then there is the jetty at Picnic Bay (one of the settlements on Magnetic Island); then a typical scene near Mackay, showing flat to undulating canefields with mountains in the background.

So this is deep breath time here in Townsville. So far I have seen parts of Queensland I had never been to before, and have enjoyed the beauty of the unfamiliar landscape and wonderful hospitality from friends all the way up the coast. I just loved Airlie Beach, but then when I say that, Magnetic Island seems left out. Not to mention Woodgate, Yeppoon, Bellingen, and Avoca! My goodness we have an embarrassment of fantastic coastal life in Australia.

But tomorrow I leave for the second half of this trip, and I expect it will be totally different. Away from the coast it will be hotter - and more remote and lonely for a solo traveller. However, it will be experience and I am looking forward to the challenge of the bigger distances and smaller stopping places.

Darwin here I come!

Here I am in Townsville - half way (about 3,000 km). What a great ride it has been this morning, starting at Cannonvale (near Airlie Beach). Started early 7 am, not that early by Queensland standards I know, but it was so beautiful in the cool early air - through canefields, then little mountainous bits, then more cane. Then dry country with lots of cattle, all brahmans, then more cane as the terrain changes. Really lovely contrasts. And the cane farms are by no means the busted cane cockies that there were a few years ago - it all looks very prosperous indeed, new cars, new tractors, new houses ...

I thought there was a lot of cane at Proserpine but around Ayr - on the Burdekin River - goodness me. 3 or 4 sugar mills around the town. A spectacular long bridge across the river. Under the bridge this morning, waiting for unloading at the Inkerman Sugar Mill, were several fully loaded cane trains, probably a couple of hundred carriages altogether. Much of the cane there is irrigated, and it was interesting that although the cane was doing very well - tall, growthy, very healthy looking - all the small creeks in that area are choked with weeds (looks like water hyacinth) - obviously big problems developing with nutrient runoff. The irrigation seems to be from underground water - most of the rivers are almost dry at the moment, even the mighty Burdekin is pretty low.

Continued on to Townsville. Older parts of T'ville are a mess but there are some very smic new developments - lovely newer houses and they really are making the most of the beachfront, marina, etc. The big red stony bluffs that loom over the town make it look very dry and hot. But new places have been built right on the front face of some of the bluffs, and one has a waterfall gushing down it, all the way to street level on the beach. Not bad.

Did some washing; washed tar spots off the bike; repacked some gear; long walk along the seaside. Now it's back to the hotel for a rest. Tomorrow I will go across to Magnetic Island for the morning, on the ferry.

OK, time for some backdated info on those earlier posts - here in Airlie Beach I have a faster internet connection. Must be because of the age of the population here, about 18 I would say is the average. It's a beautiful day here and I will go for a swim shortly but before I do - here is a link to some stuff about Childers: http://www.exploreaustralia.net.au/Queensland/Capricorn/Childers

And also, on the way from Woodgate to Yeppoon, I spent a very pleasant hour in the Bert Hinkler Hall of Aviation, st Bundaberg (of course!) - here is a link: http://hinklerhallofaviation.com/
There was some pretty good stuff in there. At the age of 17, Hinkler built and flew in a glider on a local beach; in 1986 a small piece of the glider, a fragment of timber the size of a school ruler, was sent up in the NASA Space Shuttle, as a tribute to Hinkler's legacy as an aviation pioneer. That space shuttle was the Challenger, which disintegrated after launch. About 15 tonnes of debris was recovered, including incredibly the little fragment of Hinkler's glider!!!! And here it is, in the Hinkler Hall of Aviation.

Yesterday, I left Yeppoon and arrived at Mackay in the afternoon. One thing about Mackay I did not mention in the earlier post was the World War 2 memorial - possibly the best one I have ever seen - the wording humble, beautiful and apt - says it all:

"To the men and women of Australia - those who died, those who fought and returned, those who supported, and those who worked to preserve Australia during those difficult times. We are eternally grateful."

So - this morning a latish departure from Mackay, and a short (90 minute) ride to Airlie Beach, the coastal town for Proserpine. This place is humming, full of young people. Tonight I will stay with Johnny and Jo, at Cannonvale just inland a couple of km from here.

And from here down to Mackay - Cane is King. Bigger and bigger plantations as you come north. The terrain for growing sugarcane is quite distinctive - old dissected volcanic cones (jaggedy sharp mountains) with their flat volcanic plains in the middle, which provides the necessary deep
soils - krasnozems I think they are called, along with easy tillage and plenty of rain although cane is sometimes irrigated strategically - if there is a dry period just when the new plants are becoming established. Today I saw cane being irrigated; cane being harvested; mature cane ready for harvest; and road trucks loaded with cane as well as the cane railways in action. Tomorrow maybe some pics!

Off to the pool now for a swim...

Yesterday (monday) was a reluctant departure from Woodgate. It seemed as if the ride to get there had been enough - that Woodgate was in fact the major destination of the trip. But in the wind and the rain I set off for Yeppoon, the beachy attachment to Rockhampton, and there met up with Terry & Pam who had kindly offered me a night's accommodation.

It was good to see them. They live in a magical spot, high up in the hills a few Km from Yeppoon, looking at the town (and its lights, at night) and the ocean; and their house is one of the most beautiful I have been in - casual, contemporary, Queenslandy - just so comfortable and with that view!

And then this morning - as I was leaving - I was just manoeuvring the bike in their driveway - and I got into a drift of deep aggregate - and Bang! down she went, with me sprawling in the gravel. It happened so fast I scarcely knew what had happened. A bit of a scrape on the fairing and 2 sore knees is about the only damage, apart from my ego...

Then 425 km to Mackay. I was expecting a sleepy little banana town but it's nothing like that. Seems bigger than Rocky. Most motels are full (why?) but I found one and it's OK. The ride here went through miles and miles of scrubby cattle country and then right at the end near the sea it is all cane. Wall to wall cane because the sugar market is booming - about 2 years ago the government was paying cane farmers to not grow any, and now look what's happened! The lesson is that governments and farmer organisations are not much good at picking the best uses for taxpayers' money.

Tomorrow, on to Proserpine where my godson lives. I wonder if I will score a beer or 2?

Yesterday's ride from Maryborough to Woodgate (just south of Bundaberg) was begun in light rain, which became heavy rain, and then cleared just before reaching Childers. I recalled that my hosts Carol and Graham had been intending to go to the Orchid Show in Childers that morning - so I gave it a shot and there they were - we had a cuppa at the show. The bloke who made the tea remarked that my tea was "shamrock tea" ie 3 leaves. That name will probably stick!



Carol and Graham live on the beach at Woodgate, in a lovely house, it's just a paradise here really. A very friendly area, like East Albury everyone who walks past waves and says hello. Quite cold last night (jumper required) and this morning began with a fog, but will clear to a beautiful Queensland winter day. G is about to take me fishing on the beach. Unfortunately I must leave again tomorrow.

Good day today - Friday - left Gloria's at about 9am and headed north. Rain threatening, heavy traffic on the freeway to Brisbane. Only a few spots of rain though. The traffic remained very heavy all day.

Just went boring straight through on the M1, over the Gateway Bridge and on to the Sunshine Coast. Got off the freeway at Eumundi and phoned our old friend Richard who lives there. He has had some bad things happen during the last couple of years and instead of living with his wife and children in a nice house at Noosa, running his big tomato growing company, he is now camped at a friend's place near Caloundra and conducting daily negotiations with banks on How to Start Again. Not too good.

He was too busy to catch up with today, so I headed on to Maryborough where I have checked in to an old-style pub in the middle of town. Maryborough, which we liked so much last time we were here, is still a lovely place. But it is getting busy now, lots of overflow from Hervey Bay. The old Queenslander houses, though, are still a feature. Will try and photograph some later today.

Then tomorrow, will head to Woodgate (just out of Bundaberg). That's it for now - time for a walk and then maybe a relaxing beer...

Just some pictures. Ducati heaven (in Andi's garage); Louis & Andi; Andi & Mal at the Coffs Jetty.

Well yesterday (Wednesday) started out not so good. I needed a pair of new tyres for Mr T (max) so the day before, I had phoned the Yamaha dealer in Coffs - no, not in stock but we can get them for you overnight. Bring the bike in first thing tomorrow and we'll put them on. So Andi rode in to Coffs with me on this magical North Coast morning - got to the bike place at 9:30 but the courier had not yet arrived with the new tyres.
So - down to the Jetty for a coffee. Sat in the sun for a while, then back to the bike shop. Andi went home while I went to check on the tyres - not here yet. This went on for a fair while. I had some lunch. Read the paper. Finally the bike was ready to go - at 1:45. So much for first thing!

Anyway, it's all good. I rode straight up the highway to Coomera, where our friend Gloria lives. Late but not a bad ride. Andi had suggested the inland loop from Coffs to Lismore and back on to the highway at Murwillumbah - no traffic - but it would have been a bit further and by the time I got going I just wanted to cover the kilometers...

Some photos will go here, but I am at a kiosk and did not bring the memory stick with me, so will post them later.

Weather report: from the Gold Coast - well what do you expect. PERFECT! But rain predicted for tomorrow when I ride on to Noosa.

Don't know what happened to the previous post that I did a couple of days ago - no sign of it - so will give a brief rundown on the last few days.
After staying in Goulburn on Friday night, rode on to Barb and Mike's at Avoca, just north of Sydney, on Saturday. Weather dismal until north of the city, from then on just about perfect. Spent the day with B&M entertaining other friends of theirs for lunch and dinner. Sunday was a lay-day.

Then on Monday, lunch with a group of friends - Jenny, John (another biker) and Lyn, and Rob (or Rod?) and Yvonne - all from the Woy Woy Gosford Avoca area. Very pleasant (see photo above), then onto the bike and off to Bulahdelah, a couple hours further north.

Tuesday - first day of spring! A great ride today, stopping at the National Motorbike Museum at Nabiac, where 700 bikes on display brought back a lot of memories for me. A few of them are quite familiar to me.

The Pacific Highway has certainly improved a lot in recent years, at least as far as Kempsey - and the ride along this beautiful coast in perfect weather was great. The ease of freeway riding makes it possible at last to truly appreciate the spectacular landscape it is set in.

But the tyres on the TMax are doing that motorbike thing - no sign of wear and all of a sudden the tread is evaporating by the kilometre - must get new ones ASAP which means Coffs Harbour tomorrow. So I call cousin Andi at Bellingen and organise to stay with him tonight. It was good to see him and relax with a beer on his verandah.

His son Louis is just home from school now - so I must stop blogging and start socialising - will update again in a day or two.