Goon bags and glamping

Jules — Tue, 20 May 2014 01:35:44 +0000

Another day setting off from Walpole towards a cyclist only hut 55km further east along the Munda Biddi
trail. We had slept the night by the inlet in the shelter of a gas BBQ picnic spot, happily dry packing up as the rain set in. The Munda Biddi is a mountain bike track crisscrossing through beautiful karri forests of giants, and scrubby sandy plains and mysterious grass trees …..on a fully loaded touring bike this is slow hard work. The rain became heavier in sync with the heaviness in our legs. When not slipping the track sucks at our tyres depleting us of energy. Downhill the rear tyres fish tailed and slid….on steep inclines the tyres slipped in pea gravel and sand. Maybe pea gravel is a mountain bikers delight…..it makes me quiver. There was a lot of determination, pushing….and yet incredible reward for every movement forward. South Western Australia is a cycle tourists’ dream….beautiful beyond imaginings.
After 10 km we decided to change course and head for the highway. We have to make Albany in time for Nick who has joined us for a stint, to catch a bus back to Perth and his return flight to the UK. So we will take the highway and head for a much recommended camp site on the rugged coast. We are drenched but increase our speed dramatically. It’s warm enough and our spirits are high as we leave a trail of spray lost into oblivion by overtaking vehicles.
Nick suggests we ask a campground if we can use their kitchen for shelter. Li and I are not that keen as it’s early and we want to make a few more kilometres towards our next home for the night. We reluctantly agree to our friend’s request….and quickly become soft. A wee bit of luxury quickly consumes. We meet Gareth the caretaker and share our meals. He whips out some wine and we are easily persuaded to join him. But we decline his wine in preference to depleting our own supply and to shed some weight….maybe 6 litres of wine is what slowed us down on the Munda Biddi? Yes we still carry the equivalent in water. Our route avoids towns for many days at a time and we like the luxury of a tipple at the end of a day. Aussie prices have proved expensive so we have found a taste for cheap sweet red in a “goon bag”….my sister says I have morphed into a bogan…..4 plus litres of cheap wine in a box and plastic bladder….we are fond of our goon bags. Less glass, more liquid. Anyway I am blissfully happy to go slow and merry amidst mother nature’s finest.
So we drink wine, share bread and are offered Gareth’s luxurious carpeted tent…..what the heck….let’s stay…..the rain will hide our pristine coast until another day and time is less precious having gained 2 days via the highway.
Merino sheep stare, we stare…. Sip wine, use a washing machine, shower and put on blissful clean clothes warmed in the dryer.
No need to pitch the tent we enjoy glamping with electric lights under thick watertight canvas and with carpet under our warmed feet.

Perth Western Australia

Jules — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 09:44:51 +0000

We are in Perth, Western Australia….an Australian, after 11 years absence I am in culture shock. As we slowly cycled border to border, country to country from London, more or less South East, the differences were gradual or when not gradual they were somewhat expected.
To arrive at Perth International Airport, and be greeted “g’day….ow ya goin?”. I was amused…..and very much delighted. I am certainly not the Aussie I once was. I hear the Aussie twang everywhere and it is as exciting as listening to the multiple languages of our past year of travel. I’ve forgotten how to use my bank card in stores, forgotten how to order a beer….midi, schooner, pot…..pint? I speak the same tongue, but I feel foreign, I feel as visible as times when kids chased us screaming ‘tourist tourist’ in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan! Well, no matter…you don’t cycle half way across the world and be bothered by feeling different. Perth is a place I have only visited, I have never lived in the most isolated city in the world.
Being back in Oz is like being a child again, learning, listening, new, new, new, everything is new and alluring and I love it. We’ve seen kangaroos, cockatoos, galahas, magpies and funny sounding crows, the bush, sunsets and magnificent white beaches….for me it’s all pleasant deja-vu.
We are taking 3 weeks off cycling, reuniting with long missed friends and family, reuniting with our camping gear, reuniting with the hum drum of sorting visas, banking and replacing very worn clothes. I am behind in my blogging and may find time to recap on Thailand and the amazing welcomes we received cycling the west coast of Malaysia. And next..we head south…..1000km off road on a path through the forest…the Munda Biddi bike trail.

Bamboo Odyssey » Munda Biddi Bike Trail | Bamboo Odyssey

Goon bags and glamping

Perth Western Australia