Got home safely on Sat night, riding into the Entertainment Centre in Nowra at 6.30. Really stoked and humbled by the crowd cheering me in. Thanks to everyone who came along…it was great to see you all there. It was especially wonderful to see my sponsors Anne Sudmalis, Mayor Jo Gash, Bob Ducie from VIP Home Maintenance Services and Emo form Ultimate Cycles, Paul from Bob Jane T Marts, Ian and Cath Strathie for Wray Owen Funerals and Simon Apperley from SET Consultants.
I just had a radio interview on Power FM and we should be on WIN News tonight so check it out.
A huge thank you to everyone who supported us including our sponsors and those who made a donation…we raised over $25 000 for the Kids With Cancer Foundation. Speaking of sponsors, we we given $4500 for petrol and the money ran out in Goulburn so we only had to fill up once from our own pocket….having put our lives on hold for six months it was absolutely critical to have this support, so thank you once again to our sponsors.
A few interesting facts/tid bits of my ride
Best steak sandwich….dead heat between Nerriga Pub NSW and Green Head WA
Cheapest beer……….$4.90…Bridge Tavern Nowra NSW
Most expensive beer….$11.50 Carnarvon, WA.
Most expensive fish….snapper fillets $49 kg, Carnarvon WA.
Most expensive petrol..$2.05/L Barkly Homestead, NT.
Cheapest petrol……..$1.45/L Melbourne, Vic.
Most welcoming church..dead heat between Gerringong Anglican, Lutheran
Rockingham and Mandurah, and Barossa Valley Christian
Centre.
Best radio presenters..Loz and Jack, Power FM, Nowra NSW (had never met b4)
Best TV news int…… dead heat between WIN News Wollongong and Bendigo.
Most beaut spot……..Shark Bay, WA.
Greatest moment……..dead heat between riding 301 km in a day on Nullarbor
Plain, WA and riding 2400 km from Broome to Perth in
just 14 days.
Most impressive camp…dead heat between Kimberleyland Caravan Park at
Kununurra, Hamelin Stay Station at Shark Bay in WA and
Streaky Bay Caravan Park, SA.
Funniest moment……..in the outback Capitol of Qld we went to this very
Aussie restaurant called the Woolshed Restaurant. I had
a hankering for some roast lamb, but the only thing on
the menu was Thai food.
Closest call………..dead heat between getting run off the road by a road
train in Mt Isa, going over the handlebars in WA,
ending up in hospital and almost being bitten by a
snake in outback Qld.
Hottest place……….outback Qld particularly Cloncurry.
Coldest place……….Bendigo…it was freezing!
Most desolate place….Nullarbor Plain.
Most picturesque…….Shark Bay, Esperance and Katherine Gorge were stunning.
Most interesting person ..Mike Pauly walking around Australia and Marica Van de Meer riding a pushy unassisted from Holland to Melb.
Most challenging aspect…the heat in Central Qld and the top end in the NT.
Most rewarding aspect…..helping kids with cancer.
Friendliest people……..anywhere in the country…the further from the city
the more friendly people were.
Best drivers…………..Sydney and Melb.
Best truckies………….Eyre Hwy and Hume Hwy.
Total distance…………13 580 km.
It’s great to be home 🙂 but I must admit we are feeling a little lost 🙁
There is an extraordinary sense of enjoyment and reward in riding hundreds of kilometres a day in some of the most beautiful places on Earth.
However, we thank God it all went so well and that we returned safely 🙂
Cya