Monday 29th Oct. 2012 Denmark, Western Australia

We have made our way slowly from Sydney across the Nullarbor to the delightful little town of Denmark. Route: Sydney - Wagga Wagga - Mildura - Port Augusta - Ceduna - Eucla - Norseman - Esperance - Albany - Denmark.

We had to dispose of our fruit and vegetables as we approached the Mildura area, due to the anti-fruitfly regulations, and then after restocking, we had to stop and eat our fruit and veg. before crossing the border at Ceduna.

We went for a ride around the outskirts of Port Augusta, which reminded us both of the Zambian copperbelt - dry and dusty, but somehow not unpleasant.

On the Nullarbor, we came across two separate sightings of emus, and surprisingly saw a lone dingo. We also saw quite a few cyclists making the big trip. We felt sorry for them, because the winds were not blowing in the right direction.

Esperance and Albany are both peaceful and beautiful with lots of good cycle tracks, but so far Denmark has the most appeal.

Sunday 14th October 2012, Mosman, Sydney.

We have had a most enjoyable four weeks relaxing in Sydney. The area around Mosman has a huge range of walks that take you all around the harbour. We haven't done any cycling, but lots of walking. We've walked into the city a couple of times and enjoyed all the sights and the Art Gallery.

Tomorrow we are leaving and heading back in a westerly direction towards Wagga Wagga and then on to Mildura , slowly making our way back towards Western Australia.

Friday 7th September 2012 Gold Coast, Queensland

We left Causeway Lake, and stopped off at a town called Gin Gin on our way to the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast (pop. 500 000) is a real surprise to us, because we expected a brash, noisey concrete jungle and it has turned out to be a very pleasant destination. It has about 30 km of very good clean wide beaches, which are not at all crowded. There are a lot of high rise buildings, but they are not offensive.

We cycled up the coast from Southport to Sanctuery Cove (very tastefully designed gated suburb), and then on another day we rode down the coast all the way to Coolangatta/Tweed Heads on the New South Wales border (70 km). The bike network here is very good. Tomorrow we are heading down the coast to Sydney via Byron Bay.

Thursday 30th August 2012, Causeway Lake, Yeppoon

Yeppoon is just outside the main Central Queensland city of Rockhampton, and Causeway Lake is just down the coast from Yeppoon. We've had a very relaxing week at Causeway Lake Tourist Park. Everyone here is so friendly and seem to be enjoying life. The change of tides here are very dramatic, and consequently the lagoon/lake has a waterfall into it at high tide and a waterfall out of it at low tide. The beaches are also very wide with millions of tiny blue crabs making the most of the big tides. They seem to burrow into the wet sand as the tide goes out and then spit wet sand balls out of their little hide-out. It's quite a sight.

Les went for a walk along the wilder side of the beach and promptly came across a Tiger Snake which reared up at her, giving her a real fright. Tiger Snakes are very agressive and not at all afraid of humans, so she was lucky to escape unscathed. We were also lucky enough to see a Jabiru Stork on the beach. They are much bigger and more colourful than I had realised.

Wednesday 22nd August 2012, Ravenshoe, Queensland.

We left Port Douglas and drove up into the Atherton Tablelands to the east. It's stange to experience cooler and mild weather when we are so far north into the tropics. The average altitude on the Tablelands is 700 metres. Atherton is a nice little farming town.

We've had some excellent rides around Ravenshoe to the local waterfalls and along quiet back roads. We came across a Dutch couple also cycling along the road to Tully Gorge, who happened to live on a smallholding just out of Ravenshoe, and joined them for a drink at their place afterwards. We also managed to see some platypuses in the little creek at the back of our motel. You have to sit motionless for quite a while before they will come out of hiding, but it is worth the effort.

Wednesday 15th August 2012, Daintree Region

The Daintree Rainforest region is the oldest continuous rainforest in the world. We were amused to see that some wag had used a black marker pen to change a road-bump sign to appear as a dead cassowary bird, with a 'before and after' notation. We returned to Port Douglas for a few more days before heading up to the high country again.

Sunday 12th August 2012 Port Douglas

Port Douglas is the perfect place to visit in the middle of winter. Four Mile Beach is very flat and wide, and fringed by groves of coconut trees which give afternoon shade.All the beaches are littered with coconuts which people crack and eat. The town is really charming - a bit like a colonial outpost, with lots of beautiful architecture and big trees everywhere. We visited Mossman Gorge and walked through parts of the rainforest, and spotted a Pied Imperial Pigeon which is two thirds snow white and has a haunting melancholy call. The birds here are amazing.

Thursday 9th August 2012 Kuranda

We stopped off at Kuranda on our way to Port Douglas. You can catch an old fashioned colonial-style train from Cairns up to the town which is at a much higher altitude, and then return by cable car. The Barron River Gorge is quite a sight.

Wednesday 8th August 2012 Cairns, Queensland

On our way from Townsville, we stopped off to visit friends who live in Halifax near Ingham. They're building a nice house which has a view of Hinchinbrook Island. We then went on to have lunch at Mission Beach. We were lucky enough to see a cassowary come out of the forest. I was surprised to see how big they are, and how beautiful.

Cairns has a nice waterfront area and CBD, with a very good bikepath network. We have been enjoying seeing all the birds. I found a Bush Stone Curlew wandering about outside our cabin one evening. I'm told that they are very shy birds whom are not often seen. I took a picture of it which turned out to be too dark, so I'm borrowing a picture from Google.