Heading North Again

 My last afternoon in Horsham, there was actually a little thunderstorm.  Lots of thunder and lightning to the south, some wind, but not much rain.  The lawn tennis players played right through it.  There was even a nice rainbow.

The next day, I rode through part of the Grampians National Park, through an area that had had a big bush fire just a year ago.  (The Grampians are a small mountain range in western Victoria.)  You can see the new growth on the trees already in the photos below.  These eucalyptus trees are very well adapted to fire.

Grampians Trees

Grampians Trees

Before the big climb over the mountains, I came to a small caravan park at Wartook, where I stopped.  The proprietor told me that the fire the year before had destroyed his house and general store, but right next to them the other buildings were unharmed.  There was even a restaurant just down the road.

The next day I did the 500 meter climb over the Grampians to Hall's Gap, a small tourist town.  The caravan park there still has a huge kangaroo population, which provides lawn mowing and fertilization.  I could be wrong, but I don't think anyone in Hall's Gap owns a lawn mower.

Halls Gap Kangaroos

The campsite was actually quite pleasant, as it was right next to a little stone shelter with tables and even a fridge.  I spent two nights there.  In 2006, the fire came just to the edge of Hall's Gap, but spared the town.

Halls Gap Campsite

Halls Gap Campsite

Sulfur Crested Cockatoos

Leaving Hall's Gap heading south through more of the park, I rode through the area which burned in 2006.  I stopped at the campground where Roger, Wendy, and I stayed in 2001.

Jimmy Creek Campground

Scorched Trees at Jimmy Creek

After a night in Dunkeld, at the southern end of the Grampians, I had planned to go the the coast at Port Fairy, but an equipment failure forced a change of plans. Warnnambool was the only city around big enough to have a bike shop, and I needed to get there before it closed Saturday afternoon.  From Dunkeld I rode to the little town of Penshurst, where I had a table at my campsite, and a free washing machine.  

Mount Abrupt

Then on to Koroit, another tiny town, but just 17 km from Warnnambool, on a rail trail to the city.  Just as I was finishing dinner, another cyclist rode in.  She was from Melbourne, just out for a few days.  Probably the last touring cyclist I'll see.  It rained most of that night, but conveniently stopped before I got up in the morning.

It was a short ride on the rail trail to Warnnambool.  I find Australian rail trails frustrating, because of all the obstacles. Every road crossing has a bunch of barriers which, with a loaded bike, usually requires dismounting.  I did get to town early enough to buy a new pair of bike shorts, though.  The next day, I planned to catch a late bus to Colac, where I had a ham radio contact to visit, so I had the whole day to explore the town, beach, etc.  It was a rare warm Sunday on the coast, so there were lots of people at the beach.  There's nothing but ocean from there to Antarctica, so the water is always cold.  Still, a few brave people were swimming.  I just waded in a little and confirmed that it is indeed cold.  

That morning, while I was working on reeds in the botanical gardens, a German couple stopped by to chat.  (One of them spoke English far better than I speak German.)  I learned that the eucalyptus trees survive fire because the water to the leaves flows in the center of the trunk, not near the surface, as it does in other trees.  

Warnnambool View

Warnnambool Beach

Warnnambool Beach

It was an uneventful bus ride to Colac, where I met Steve (VK3JA) and his wife Alicja.  

With Steve, VK3JA

Steve is a transplanted American who grew up in Minnesota, while Alicja is from the Colac area.  There was a radio contest going on, so I observed Steve operating for a while. The next day, Steve took me on a tour of the area.  Much of southwest Victoria is a land of extinct volcanoes, a couple of which we saw from a viewpoint.

Old Volcanoes near Colac

Some of them were active as little as 10,000 years ago, not that long ago.

That evening, I gave Steve and Alicja a very short oboe recital:

With Alicja

After a very pleasant visit, and lots of great food thanks to Alicja, it was time to hit the road again.

Leaving Steve and Alicja's

On the Road Again

The train to Terang cost all of $7, and I wheeled my loaded bike right into the baggage car.  From Terang, I rode to the little town of Mortlake, where I found a very nice campsite. The next day, I took a more major road back to Penshurst, but it wasn't too bad.  I left the road voluntarily a few times for trucks, but there was no drama.  The weather was getting warmer.  The next morning, I found a really great oboe spot at the sports grounds in Penshurst, and got some reed work done.  Then I rode on to Hamilton, a city of 10,000, with computers in the library.  At the campsite last night, my neighbors were a Dutch couple touring on a motorcycle, carrying even less gear than I.  I had to loan them my knife. With two people on a Harley, there isn't much room, even if the weight doesn't matter.

Now I'm off for the hinterlands, so I don't know when I'll get to update the blog again.  I may ride over into South Australia for a bit, as it looks like a good route, and I'm still in no hurry to cross the border into New South Wales.