Day 75 (Albany to Denmark)

Day: 60 km

This morning I folded up my freshly washed clothes, did my stretches and enjoyed the hostels free breakfast. Admittedly it was only bread and jam, but still enough to suppress my hunger.

It was raining most of this morning, so I spent this time inside getting all my gear ready. It's been very annoying with the weather as I haven't had a real chance to see much of Albany. As the morning passed the rain cleared up, or at least to a level tolerable for walking outside. The Taiwanese fellas and I headed down to another local farmers market. This farmers market was double the size of yesterday's and undercover. It was a great way to spend the day, enjoying few taste testers and sitting down listening to local music artists.

Following the market I went into the informations office to investigate information on the Aboriginal culture in the area. I received the same response as in Esperance, and the small towns on my way to Albany. They knew nothing, bar that "Surrounding towns are named after Aborigines", as if bearing some pride on this. Nobody could explain what the town names meant, and I realise just because every town ends in "up" they identify them as Aboriginal (Jeramunjup, Manjunup, Narrinup etc). I know from previous studies that many town names bear Aboriginal origins, but the origins sometimes originate as far as 500km away. These can be completely different Aboriginal nations to that of the towns traditional custodians. I would think that's not the case here but would be good to at least find some information on it.

I met up with the Taiwanese people again and said my farewells. I decided this morning I'd head to Denmark, 60 odd km's away along the tourist route. There is an inland route ten km's shorter but I have no time constraints and prefer to enjoy the beauty of the local environment.

On my ride to Denmark I have been in awe by how beautiful the landscape is. A lot of the landscape has been farmland, yet it's small scale enough to retain the beauty of the natural environment. Despite the fact it has been raining, and grey sky's, this has been perhaps the most enjoyable ride I've had on my trip so far. I was entertained by surprising and scaring the cows as I rode by, and also by the vast amounts of parakeets flying up above.

Pulling into Denmark I have been even more impressed. The town has a eco-friendly feel to it, perhaps spurred by stories I've heard from other travellers as well. I have no plans of paying for accommodation, so when pulling into town I kept my eyes open for a hidden area for my tent. I asked some locals and they couldn't recommend anything close by. I was selective with who I asked as I didn't want to inform the whole town that I'd be sleeping in my tent, in a public space. I saw a van parked in a park area and straight away identified it as some other travellers. I managed to find them, then asked where they've set up. They were sleeping in the park area and said it was hidden enough to not get caught. I've set my tent up at the back, on some discarded basketball courts.

Next to the park is a river, which contains much beauty for both its vegetation and bird species. I couldn't resist swimming here so I jumped straight in and had a good wash. The water was brackish, yet still quite clear, making me realise it possibly contained salmon and other tasty fish. Hopefully camp out around here for the next few days, spend my time making a spear and get some spear fishing in, whilst also enjoying the surroundings. This place really is incredibly beautiful. When gazing upstream of the river it looks just like a painting.

Day 74 (Rest Day - Albany)

It was great having a sleep in a bed, after having a shower and being able to wrap my self in clean sheets again. After talking with others and scoping out the cleanliness of the hostel I had no worries about bed bugs.

This hostel has a very unique feel, being two stories yet having a tight town house type feel to it. Fortunately I am sleeping on the second floor, as last night there were plenty of crazy drinking games going on on the first floor. I met some great people from Taiwan and enjoyed dinner with them. It was a real contrast. On one side of the room was I, being the only white guy, sitting with a group of Taiwanese people drinking tea and having a good conversation. On the other side, every single western person in the hostel was absolutely wasted, or at least acted like it. Thinking on this now, if this had of been a few years ago I probably would have been with them, purveying the same actions as them. I can definitely see a level of maturity that I've developed from this trip, and a nature I wish to continue with once this trips completed. I thought, perhaps I need to surround my self with more East Asian people, as finding people of this nature is quite hard back home. I then wandered, what if the Taiwanese people had more social confidence to interact with westerners, would they themselves be drinking with everybody else? I know culturally they are very different in regards to alcohol consumption. I hope that they themselves can maintain the will power to not socially conform to the mainstream ways of western living. They can certainly integrate without getting pissed and turning into a bunch of savages like most others.

The weather has been dismal, having poured down the whole day. I haven't had any real opportunity to see anything so far in Albany, as it has literally been pouring down the whole time. I managed to have a quick look at the local farmers market this morning, but that's just about been it.

It costs $27 a night here, and if it weren't raining I definitely wouldn't be staying here another night. Because of the price I was planning on tenting it somewhere tonight for free. As the rain hasn't stopped, and it looks like it will continue tomorrow, I have booked in another night here.

The upside to another night here is the good company, but also the free food bin. I was in absolute shock as to the quality of food that people have discarded, or left behind. In the box was two quarter full bottles of olive oil, yellow lentils, three perri-perri flavoured sauces, natural citrus rock salt, jam, garlic cloves, a bag of natural confectionary lollies along with many other things. All of those items mentioned I have consumed or stored away in my bag for the oncoming days. I took advantage of the full bag of lentils, garlic cloves, peri-peri sauces and olive oil to cook up a big feed to share with my new Taiwanese friends.

The dinner was delicious and has been great to share it with other hungry travellers. I was also happy as I realised, most probably, nobody else would have cooked these lentils and the cleaners would've otherwise thrown them out. I would almost describe it as a fear I have, when realising food will be thrown out (especially without being recycled in some fashion). This is an inherent feeling, perhaps developed after living with my Oma and her teachings, but also aided by environmental understanding (of both food production and landfill pollution).

After the feed I played a bit of table tennis with the others. I'm hoping the weather clears up tomorrow as I have told my self I definitely won't be staying another night here, despite how much I'd like to.

Day 73 (Wellstead to Albany)

Day: 102km
Time: 4hours 39minutes

All night and this morning the rain was still heavy. It was very nice being under shelter I can assure you.

The man went to work but left the house open for me to go inside. Very trust worthy man. I had my oats for breakfast and used the luxury of a kettle to make a quick and hassle free cuppa tea. Following this I wrote a thank you letter on a piece of discarded paper and left it on the kitchen table. It is these experiences that certainly add to my trip.

I took off in the rain, wearing the same wet clothes as yesterday. I didn't know where I'd be staying in Albany, and no internet service meant I couldn't look for anything on my phone. I knew no matter what I'd have somewhere to sleep, whether a hostel, caravan park or side of the road.

The road contained some heavily cleared farm land. I saw many big wheat processing plants, which looked incredibly unnatural and out of balance with the surrounding landscape. I saw many signs saying "poison - stay clear" "fumigation in process". I thought to my self, if this stuff is poison, and we have to stay clear, how the hell does it work that we end up eating the flour that has copped all the poison chemicals during fumigation process.. Even if it is perfectly safe for consumption it yet again provides me with a reason to eat local, non mass produced and normal (organic) produce.

The scenery on my ride to Albany is something that will be very memorable. I saw many beautiful farms, that really made me think about one day having something similar. I also saw desolate cleared landscapes containing all but one single tree, sitting all alone in the middle of a paddock. Whilst riding in the rain and pushing yourself to exertion these images really stick in your mind.

I pushed on to Albany, having to climb a few more big hills. I was wrapped when pulling into Albany, getting my self some fresh veggie burgers to cook up for tonight. I sat out the front of a shopping mall, drinking a self made banana milkshake while I looked on my phone for cheap places to stay. A lady working there said I couldn't sit in the mall with my bike, so I sat outside in the drizzle. I found my self becoming extremely frustrated at all the passers by asking me the same questions. "Where have you come from?" "You must be wet?". I tried to be polite just nodding my head and acknowledging them.

After calling every hostel in town and asking if it were possible for me to work for free accommodation (not having any luck) I've decided to head down to the cheapest hostel available.

Day 72 (Ravensthorpe to Wellstead)

Day: 196.83
Time: 8hours 02minutes

I was hoping to wake up early this morning, to try push out a long days riding. Ive been waking up naturally this whole trip, usually around the time the sun rises. My phone was running low so turne it off during the night, and I didn't want to use my battery charger as I thought I'd save it for the next few days. I got some biscuits in the town and charged my phone in the shop while I killed some time.

In the morning I put a bit of charcoal, from last nights fire, around my eyes to help stop the glare off the road through my glasses. This is a trick I learnt off some Aboriginal fellas in Broome and it really helps a lot. I can assure you I had many strange looks when I was at the shop this morning. I thought these type of situations, when you stand out from what the social norm is, provide a perfect example into social psychology. Every single person had their eyes glued on me. There was no chance of me wiping it off, and risk suffering heavy sun glare, just to stop people looking at me. I gave everyone a friendly smile as I waited for my phone to charge before I left.

Once my phone was half charged up I decided to get going. I looked at the weather and realised the next few days will be strong head winds and heavy rains. I have about 300km to go until Albany, so have planned on roughly 100km a day to take three days. After seeing the weather forecast I've now realised today's going to be the only descent day of riding.

I felt good when taking off and did about 112km without any breaks. I pulled into a small town having an IGA, caravan park and a roadhouse. I thought it would be easy to set up here for the night, especially if I were to go into a caravan park. I went in to the IGA, bought some food from the specials box, and sat down to recoup and plan out the rest of the day. I didn't want to spend money on a tent site, and now had extra energy from the food break, so thought I'd keep going.

I had a slight tail wind here and thought it would be crazy to not take advantage of this. If I had of waited around until tomorrow to have a straight headwind, at 30-35km an hour (as BOM predicts), then I will be extremely annoyed tomorrow for not taking advantage of today. It started raining slightly but I thought bugger it, I'll see how far I can get today.

As I took off, for the second time, the rain started drizzling very slightly. The whole sky was grey and didn't look like it was clearing up anywhere. I had a semi-tailwind pushing me just as much west as it was south to Albany. I managed to maintain a descent avg. and wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. I realised that I had done about 140km and that 200km was in reach. I thought this would be a good target to get done for today, as then I'll only have 100km to complete tomorrow, and even in a strong headwind this is still achievable.

The rain picked up and I ended up getting saturated. I saw a park bay just next to a beautiful river and was very tempted to stay there. There was no shelter and I had only done about 178km, so I decided to keep going until 200km or until I found a sheltered area. I started having to climb a few hills and then the fatigue starting setting in. I kept pushing in the heavy rain, yet it was very manageable and gratifying purely by having such a beautiful landscape to observe. I saw many beautiful birds and lots of thick green vegetation. I was hoping to find an area that had some thick tree coverage to settle for the night. The rain was becoming extremely heavy and I wasn't looking forward to setting up in the rain.

I saw a roadhouse and also a football oval behind it. I thought with charcoal running down my face, it would be best to wipe it off before entering the roadhouse. Imagine a small country roadhouse seeing a bloke from Melbourne, on a bike, with what would appear to be mascara running down his face. I would have looked like a mad man cross dresser. I wiped my face, making sure I got all the charcoal off. I went into the roadhouse to ask about any area to set up my tent but the lady working there had no idea and provided very little help. I thought the footy oval would be best bet. To my delight an older fella walked into the roadhouse and I asked him the same question. He explained he had an area at the back of his house where I could set up. When getting to his place he then told me I could stay in a bungalow out the back. The bungalow was used by a temporary worker who has now left to go back home. There was a bed, still with sheets on it, yet I wasn't keen on sleeping in it. The bed had cigarette burn marks through it and plenty of small bugs crawling around it. I brushed it of and swept the room a bit. I used my sleeping bag sheet to sleep in, and just wore my jacket to keep warm.

The man is a good bloke, he's down here from Perth, repairing a bridge near by. There's an other construction worker staying here as well who's also a nice guy.

The rain hasn't stopped, and don't think it will by tomorrow, but I'm set on getting into Albany!!

Day 71 (Bush to Ravensthorpe)

Day: 82.75
Time: 3hours 55minutes

The weather was kind this morning so I decided to sit down, enjoy my breakfast and do a bit more reading. It's around 85km to Ravensthorpe so I've thought I'll just stop there for today. I've been informed Ravensthorpe is somewhat of a ghost town, providing the luxury of a road house and hotel. I enjoy the luxury of time and have realise I need to take advantage of these conditions and the freedom of time while I can. I certainly have no qualms in doing a few km's less in order to enjoy the day. I often find I'm pushing my self to a point of exhaustion and discomfort when the reality is I can set my tent up anywhere I like.

In the morning I stopped at a roadhouse close by. At the roadhouse I saw a French man, also on his bike. His story is incredible. He explained to me that he had cycled from France all the way here, 80km off Ravensthorpe W.A. He told me stories from the countries he traveled through, including his time through Iran and also catching a ferry from Indonesia to Darwin. The guy had an erratic nature and was jumping from conversation to conversation. I thought, cycling this whole way solo you'd have to bear some type of abnormal behaviours. He was very polite nonetheless. He gave me a bag of cheese and bacon bread rolls. I declined them as I don't eat bacon, yet he insisted on me having them. I took them out of courtesy, and explaining I had nothing to return in favour. He said "no worries, anything will do". I thought, what's that mean??. I said to him that I only had a few mixed nuts with me to give, that's just about it. He said again "no worries at all, that will do" "do you have a bag to put them in?". I said no, then he grabbed a plastic bag and took over half of my nuts. I was surprised at his actions, as he will be in Esperance by the end of the day where he can load up, I told him this as well, and also he know the road I'm going along wouldn't provide the opportunity for food like this. I thought I'll let it go, repay his kindness, and leave it at that.

I took off and after around four hours of cycling I pulled into Ravensthorpe. I knew I wouldn't be paying money for accommodation, as my budgets getting low and will not use that luxury any more.i sussed out an area I could set up my tent, out of anyone's way and hopefully free of any disruption during the night. I set up camp at the back of a community centre, which has worked out very handy. I have been charging my phone in the building all afternoon, whilst sitting in the shade and reading more of my book.

In the night I've had my cooker going, burning of some surrounding plant debris and green matter to help deter the mosquitoes. I also love the smell of the fresh smoke. I have realised that if any locals were to see me they may possibly think I'm starting a fire, due to the thick smoke. My cooker is very well contained so am not concerned of anyone approaching me about this.

I still feel a little bloated, not sure why this is. I thought it would have disappeared now being a few days since Esperance. Hoping it goes away tomorrow!

Day 70 (Esperance to Bush (on way to Albany)

Day: 107.62km
Time: 5hour 20min

This morning as I woke up the weather was looking ominous, but I was committed to leaving. I've had a good rest here in Esperance and feel now its time to go. I have 560 odd km's to Albany, which I'm hoping to do in 5 days or possibly less. I never under estimate the time, as wind, rain or any unexpected issue could prolong the riding time. In addition I do this so not to feel low spirited if I can't reach a certain distance. All planning I do is based on distances that I know I can complete in any weather, being head wind and/or rain. Having a tail wind for instance could push me double my expected distance, thus bringing me much joy.

Waking up this morning I felt a little bloated, possibly from the excessive amounts of white bread I ate last night. This morning having a big breakfast, for energy, I felt even more bloated when leaving.

As I got all my gear together a few of the people from the guest house came out to say goodbye. This was very nice, yet sad at the same time. It's crazy as only a few days ago I felt the same with the French people. It was very funny as a fella in the room next to me also came out to wave me off. He's an African man from Nigeria, living in Sydney and working for the Red Cross. He travels around the country, with an other Nigerian man, selling products and fundraising for Red Cross. Since I've been in the hostel he has literally been on the phone the whole time. During the night when we went to sleep he was on the phone, during the whole day that we saw him he was on the phone and in the morning when we first woke up we could still hear him talking on the phone. He explained he had two girlfriends. The other guys and I made many jokes about this with him. I often joked around saying that us Aussies cant meet any nice girls because fellas like him keep taking them all!! If we weren't joking about this we'd joke around that he's organising Internet scams with his mates. He had a great sense of humour and made for a humorous couple of days.

I left with a full stomach and plenty of food packed for the next few days. My plan was to do roughly 100km, or until I could find a descent area to set up my tent. The head wind was very strong today, making 100km feel very hard earned. In addition to the head wind my knee was also flaring up again, in the same area as it was a few weeks ago. As the km's went on the pain became more bearable, eventually feeling like it went away. I fortunately found a nice rest area around 110km in. I pulled in at around 17:00, having plenty of time to get my cooker going and set up my tent.

I still felt a bit bloated from last night but was keen to eat my lentils and potatoes to get required energy and proteins for the oncoming days. I've managed to read a few pages from the voyage of the beagle, do my stretches and also rest up in my tent. Hoping the winds aren't so strong tomorrow!!

Day 69 (Esperance -Rest Day)

This morning I woke up and it was pouring down. I realised I wasn't going to get far on my bike so had no other option but to rest in. A little annoying as I had plans to keep moving, but certainly not something that annoys me in such a beautiful place as Esperance.

I wanted to go see some of the natural parklands, however without a car, being 70 odd km away and being very wet I knew going on the bike wasn't an option. I left my bike at the hostel and Greg and I decided to go together. Greg has a car so we decided to go in that, only until I met a French fellow in the morning who was also keen on coming. I had seen this French man yesterday but hadn't spoke to him as he seemed to keep to him self. This morning I approached him, only to realise he spoke practically no English. I figured out he was keen for the national park so Greg and I decided to go with him. As we were leaving a Japanese lad came into the guesthouse, and the lady knowing we were about to leave, offered him to come along with us. We didn't mind, I thought it'd be a good opportunity to practice my Japanese. In addition I thought it would help break up some petrol money for Jack, the French fella.

The national park was amazing. It's called Cape le Grande and contains many small beautiful white sand beaches, along with thousands of hectares of natural reserve. The Japanese guy took plenty of photos while Jack, Greg and I jumped straight into the beach. It was fairly cold with overcast skies but this only added to the experience. We explored the park and I kept my eyes tight on all the native vegetation. I realised that many of the species here are considerably different to those along the Nullarbor plains, although many bearing similarities, and many appearing to be of the same genera and family groups.

We had lunch and I felt a little disobliged to eat as I didn't bring anything with me. I already ate before we left so didn't go to overboard with the food here. The Japanese fella on the other hand got right into it. I sort of stepped in at one point to put the food in front of Jack, as it was obvious he was hungry and the food was going quick. I was very surprised at the Japanese guys behaviour as I haven't observed that from the other Japanese I've spent time with on this trip. As we left and went back to the hostel I was surprised again, as the Japanese guy failed to offer any remuneration for Jack driving us to the park. Greg and I went to give him some money but he kindly refused. I thought it certainly would have been an act of rudeness if Greg and I paid for fuel while the Japanese fella walked away.

Greg and I went to the supermarket and I loaded up on my lentils and couscous. I managed to get some cheap headphones as well. I was surprised back at the hostel as Rick (the Maori fellow) had appeared to be in low spirits and in his room all day. Must have been a big night for him last night. I've now spent the evening with the guys and am looking forward to making my next step. I must admit it is now an empty feeling as I realise it will be 5 or so days camping on the side of the road until any civilisation again. These feelings have been perhaps the biggest contributors to my experience on the journey so far.