Category Archives: Misc

Outback Adventure

Renting a 4×4 in Coober Pedy and driving it into the outback is as easy as this:

Ask for a car, pack it, find some partner to come along with you, set your alarm clock, go to bed, get up at 3:30am and drive into the desert …

However, getting out of the desert can be much more adventurous and difficult, when the unexpected happened. But one thing after the other.  Coober Pedy, our rest day location, should be the starting point for a trip to the Painted Desert and other locations around the opal mining town. Mike and I wanted to go there for sunrise the next morning. 24-DSC_0618All we needed was a car to drive around, because there was no tour offered, which covered our plans.  So I stopped at the Mud Hut Hotel on arrival in town, and made a reservation. A nice and shiny looking Toyota Patrol 4×4 was the only choice. Credit card and drivers license was quickly exchanged and the baby was ours for a day. A brief introduction on how to use the 4×4 and off we went for grocery shopping. Back in camp we found Mary, Ursula and Rae who wanted to join us for the trip. 01-DSC_0532All seats were now occupied for an early morning start at 4am, as the drive into the painted desert is about 170km on gravel and sand. At 4am we started into our adventure. Mike drove the car into the black darkness. Mile per mile ticked down on the odometer getting us closer to the Painted Desert. Mike did a good job driving the car in this environment. It was a perfect timing, just when we03-DSC_0562arrived at the lookout the sun showed up in the horizon, starting to cover the desert, which was up to now dark and 08-DSC_0575grey, in a carpet of colors. Everyone was taking photos of this spectacular event or simply enjoyed the moment. The nearby mountains and plains changed their colors almost every minute, as the sun rose higher and higher. We were the only ones in the desert, besides some cattle. Soon ‘the show’ was 12-20141114_064716over and it was time to return to the car. Mike, Rae and Ursula went ahead, to find it in a different condition than when we left it. the16-DSC_0595 left rear wheel was totally deflated. So they started to get the tools ready to change it with one of the 2 available spare tires. Their faces showed great disappointment when I arrived and they told me, that there was no jack in the car. They had searched all corners and started to lift the floor cover to see underneath. I found the toolset in a compartment in the rear door, but the other compartment, which looked as if it was used to store a jack, was empty, confirming their search result. So what to do? No car around, no phone signal, the UHF radio also not receiving anything. Wait? The GPS indicated a homestead with campsite, ‘only’ 12 km away. Walk there? All rules say ‘never leave the car’ … so we decided to drive slowly to the homestead on the flat tire. However we only came about 5km further down the road, when we recognized that the flat tire will not last much longer on the rough road. So we had to 17-DSC_0604come up with another solution. Having 5 intelligent persons around it took not long and we setup the car on the raised edge of the gravel road, such that we could dig out the flat tire and replace it with the spare one. Collecting wood and rocks to secure the car and dig we worked a good 60 minutes before the 2 wheels changed their position and we could continue with our trip. Having only one spare tire 22-DSC_0612left and no jack, we decided to take the shortest way out of the desert to the Stuart Highway, where changes are much better to get help, if we happen to run into more problems. This said we headed west towards Cadney Homestead, where we camped 2 days ago. Still 70 km to go on gravel and sand, through a beautiful desert. 31-DSC_0638Remembering the good fries at the pub we pulled in for an early lunch stop. It felt so good to have made it back to civilization. Our enthusiasm didn’t last very long. When we returned to the car we found, that the right rear tire was running low on air. What the f… is going on here? We got air at the gas station, pumped it up and hurried down the 160 km to Coober Pedy to return the car as soon as possible. There was no way to visit the other locations which were on our tour list, with this car and the luck we seemed to have today. Mike dropped Ursula, Mary and Rae at the campsite and we returned the car, prepared to complain about sending us into the desert without the right tools. The owner couldn’t believe what we reported. 2 flat35-DSC_0651s on a single trip has never happened before. And a missing jack, absolutely impossible. The car was checked before and it was there. So we went to the car and he opened a small compartment behind the left rear lights and pointed into a dark corner. Guess what we found hidden behind a string of electric wires?? A small hydraulic jack! Which has replaced the one, which was provided with the car by the manufacturer. We were so pissed. Why didn’t they tell us when we rented it? Why is there no label in the old compartment saying ‘Jack was here before, now he is elsewhere’! So, all for nothing, but a nice adventure and good teamwork to rescue ourselves from the outback. And finally the highest one day car rental bill ever and a good story for the bush camp nights ahead of us.

Find more pictures of this fabulous adventure in the gallery below.

Nov. 14, 2014

Kangaroos at Sunset

I always wanted to get a nice sunset photo with a kangaroo just skipping passed the setting sun. I patiently waited every evening at the campsite with my camera ready to catch this special moment. I got nice shots of sunsets, almost every day, but not the one I was hoping for.
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Days and days went went by. The sun rise, the sun set again, but no kangaroos around, until … CLICK!

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well, the above needed a bit of a ‘rework’, some call it ‘photo-shopping’Winking smile

However, I never give up my dreams.
Minutes later, I got another shot with an object passing the setting sun. This time it wasn’t the original version of an Australian KANGAROO, but a Japanese remodeled type, named a …

kangaroo-sunset-2 SUBARU!

It is so True!

This morning I arrived in Port Augusta with a nice welcome and a reminder of what I and the other cyclists have achieved … It was a long, dry way from Darwin to here and even longer from Medan on Sumatra, the start point of the Trans-Oceania.

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Medan to Port Augusta:   8331 km
Darwin to Port Augusta:   2726 km

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And it was DRY out there, TOTALLY DRY!

Woohoo! Kangaroo!

Today, the second to last day in the outback, I had the luck to finally spot a group of big red kangaroos. Riding solo again I had the time and opportunity to deviate from the road, when I wanted to. 1-DSC_0283I had to walk about 1 km into the bushes to find and follow them. I was walking into the fields away from Stuart Highway, to get a better view of the salt lake this morning, when I recognized a movement ahead of me. I just saw a bouncing long tail disappearing into a valley and followed it. I 2-DSC_0292readied my camera and followed the ‘tail’, when I spotted a big ‘rock’ on the other side of the small valley, in front of me. My zoom lens revealed the ‘rock’ was another kangaroo. Soon there where 4 of them ahead of me. I continued to follow them, funny to see them hopping away whenever I moved, then stopping and curiously watching my next step, when I stopped, too.

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This continued for quite a while. I made a step, they jumped ahead. I watched them equally amused as they watched me. Eventually the kangaroos disappeared in the horizon, as if they were diving into the white, salty lake.

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My extra walk and time spent paid off. I had my photos and an awesome experience, no other in the group had, as everyone was just riding into the wind and to next camp.

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Turn Head- into Tailwind

Did you ever enjoy an all day ride into a blowing wind? Well, cycling through the Australian Outback from north to south doesn’t offer real choices. The wind mostly blows from south, south-east or east.

What options do you have, if you do not have a headwind riding clone, the avatar who rides for you into the wind, once it gets stronger and facing you?

20141110_101911Like my clone, whom you can see leaving from lunch just at the time when I arrive at the lunch stop!

How to turn a headwind into a tailwind!

No matter how much the wind in your face will serve to cool you down in the glowing outback heat, the energy needed to ride against the wind heats you up more than the breeze can cool you. Since we can’t change the direction of the wind and there is no alternate route going south, we must find a different way to overcome the everyday headwind problem. Luckily TdA always guarantees to have some smart engineers amongst the riders, which ought to help resolve problems that are beyond standard cycling tour issues. One night at a desert camp a brainstorming session was started to come up with possible solutions to Turn a Headwind into a Tailwind

A clever rider came up with the following solution, which helps him to always ride with joy, regardless of the obstacles the gusty wind does inject. The idea behind his solution is as simple as this. The human brain can always be cheated or programmed to recognize things that are actually different in nature or even not existing at all. So it just needs a way to make the brain think a headwind is in fact a lovely tailwind …

Look at the two photos below and see if you can find out his solution:
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The left photo clearly shows, that he is not really pleased with the wind situation, certainly a strong headwind. Whereas the right photo, taken just after a slight modification to one if his cycling gears, make him ride with pure joy.

Did you get his idea?

Yes, you are right. Simply turn the back of the helmet into the wind and the airflow through the backside of the helmet to the front does the job to fool your brain. Give it a try! Let’s see, if we can see many more riders on the road, applying this great solution …

Me and Me2 in Kings Canyon

Second day of the rest day trip to the outback’s most famous sites. I am feeling good even without my bicycle.
My ‘wind cycling clone’ and I are lazing on the rim of the spectacular Kings Canyon in the Watarrka National Park.
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This canyon is considered one of the most spectacular sights in Central Australia. The 7km, 3.5h hiking loop started with a short but steep climb up to the canyon rim with fantastic views into and over the canyon. The heat turned on and reached a high of about 41°C before noon.

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We left Uluru at 4am to be early at the entrance to the canyon for a breakfast and before it is been closed for hiking due to the burning heat.

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Garden Eden provided shade and water, not only for us but also the, plants, birds and other animals in this boiling oven.

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Now on the way back to ‘Alice’ for one more day of real rest and longer sleep? Or do I have another tenting surprise after leaving my little home unattended in ‘French’ territory for 2 days?

Leaving for Uluru & Kings Canyon

A new perspective on Stuart Highway.  Usually nose deep down, almost into the tar, to break through the wind we now have a high raised and comfortable seat in the coach that carries us 1300km over the next 2 days, through the major sites of Ayers Rock, The Olgas and Kings Canyon.

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At the Stuarts Well Roadhouse we were served the Soup of the Day.

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Probably some of the riders who decided to spent 3 boring rest days in Alice Springs, rather than to go with us on tour, will regret to miss this special.
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Later at Curtin Springs, the view of ‘Fooluru’ – Mt. Conner or ‘the world largest toothbrush – and Lake Amadeus. Mt. Conner is often thought to be Uluru (Ayers Rock), which is still 100km further to the west, and it is said that some people even turned around here after taken their photos, not knowing that they were fooled by a similar looking rock.
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Now at ‘The Rock’ for a quick daylight photo before this pkace gets crowded.

Leaving for Uluru & Kings Canyon

A new perspective on Stuart Highway.  Usually nose deep down, almost into the tar, to break through the wind we now have a high raised and comfortable seat in the coach that carries us 1300km over the next 2 days, through the major sites of Ayers Rock, The Olgas and Kings Canyon.

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At the Stuarts Well Roadhouse we were served the Soup of the Day.

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Probably some if the riders who decided to spent 3 boring rest days in Alice Springs, rather than to go with us on tour, will regret to miss this special.

Alice Springs

After a hell of a ride – all day into gusty headwind – I setup my little castle in Alice Springs for 3 well deserved rest days. Most of the riders gave up the struggle in the morning. I organized a small group if 5 and we shared breaking the wind in an efficient way, to arrive in camp shortly after 1pm.

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This is the end of the ‘Bike the Outback’ section. I will leave tomorrow morning for a 2 days Uluru and King’s Canyon trip.

Navigation Challenges

Navigation Challenges in the Outback

The Northern Territory Outback introduces some difficult navigation  and unforeseen challenges for the riders to get from one camp to the next. Although we are excellently briefed every evening before dinner with the next stage details, it may happen that one gets lost or feels she/he has gotten lost in the vast and hostile outback. One day I was already cruising along for hours, not seeing a human soul. I wasn’t sure whether I still was on the right path and almost considered to u-turn and retrace from the last known correct  location, when I eventually spotted a bright shining something on the horizon ahead of me. I accelerated to close up to the still little moving neon spots in the far distance. It took me a while on these long straight roads, which make it hard to estimate a distance. Approaching closer I was so relieved to see that it were 2 cyclists. Shirley and DanGOPR6400-001, who were cycling into the same direction as I am, and could confirm, that we were still riding on the correct track and we continued our little  ‘odyssey’ through the dessert and eventually reached the lunch stop from where it was easy to get to the next campsite and reunited with the rest of the group.

Find below the short instant interview I had with Shirley and Dan about the navigational challenges and what difference a ‘Navigational Expert’ can make …

 

and the briefing information on the white board for the day, which caused us some difficulties to remember and follow  Winking smile:
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