Category Archives: Bike the Outback

Fifth section from Darwin to Alice Springs

TO 2014 Dinner

The Trans Oceania 2014 Cycling Expedition and Tour ended with a final Dinner for all riders and staff members in the dining room on the 25th floor of the Sydney Bayview / Boulevard Hotel.

to2014-dinner

Here Andreas and Team awarded the full tour riders with Finisher Medals and surprised almost everyone on the tour with a personalized gift, characterizing her or his special appearance during the tour. A great event to complete this fantastic trip after 4 months. Even Sponge Bob ‘reincarnated’ after being missing since the blast in the Bromo Crater on Java back in September.

Finisher!

After 120 days, thereof 93 days of cycling and almost 11000 kilometer on the odometer, I reached the final destination of the Trans-Oceania Bicycle Expedition 2014.

Sydney and suburbs, are the perfect place to rest and relax after such a long and exhausting tour …

DSC_0227_02

Dry Weather Road Only!

DSC_0622_01You often find this kind of road sign in South Australia.

Why do you think a road in some parts of Australia is only passable during the dry season and not recommended to be used, once it has rained? 

Sure, the road might be flooded, but most 4×4 can run though it, if not too deep. Usually there are depth marker in flood areas, which indicated the water level. So there must be some other reason.

Well, it was all dry when I cycled passed it, thus I could not check it myself.

DSC_0551_01_01However the following road sign, which I saw soon after, may explain why it is dangerous to enter the road in the rainy season!

Can you see from what the motorists are being warned?hammerheadSo better don’t leave the car, when you get stuck in water on a flooded road  Winking smile

Progress

In 25 cycling days we covered the distance of 3169 kilometers to travers the Australian continent from north to South.
darwin-2-adelaide

But it is not over yet. Twenty more challenging and exciting days wait for us  to ride along the south and east coast of this vast ‘island’ to finally get us to Sydney.

73 cycling days since starting in Medan on Aug. 18th, with 8714km on the odometers for the full tour riders.

Dead Man’s Pass

What kind of test was this? We all survived the Outback, the warm coke and beer, the dangerous bugs and critters, the road trains, the brutal heat and gusty head winds, hangouts in roadhouses, cold and hot pools, … Why are we being sent over this pass, instead of riding the much shorter and flat road into town? Are we cycling zombies or still considered to be alive?

06-DSC_0626

If the Indonesian road builders had been trained by Australians, the whole country would be plastered with these ‘walk your bike’ signs.1-DSC_0627

No way I push my bike, unless it is to cross a river or alike.

Certificate

A TdA Surprise.

Today, everyone received a certificate to document the successful traversal of the Outback via the Stuart Highway on a bicycle. Starting in Darwin in the Northern Territory all the way south to Port Augusta, a 2786km journey in 22 cycling days through the dry and hot Australian outback.

certificate

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.
kangaroo-sunset-0

Days and days went went by. The sun rise, the sun set again, but no kangaroos around, until … CLICK!

kangaroo-sunset-1

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.

DSC_0426a

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

20141119_094449a

And it was DRY out there, TOTALLY DRY!

Backed Out

A final look back to where I rode the past 4 weeks and a farewell to my bouncing friends. This marks the end of the Outback.

image

With only 20 kilometers to go to reach Port Augusta and the south coast, running over probably the last cattle grid on Stuart Highway I can say that we backed out from the harsh and deserted Australian interior.

image

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.
image

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.

image

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.

image

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

image

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?