Australia Day 2016

The 26^th January is Australia Day, commemorating the founding of the colony of New South Wales on 26^th January 1788. The fact that it commemorates colonisation of Australia is obviously pretty controversial, but whether you agree with the concept or not the day is a public holiday here.

Amongst my cycling friends, a public holiday is an opportunity to get together and ride! At Easter time, my friends will be making the most of the 4-day weekend to do a longer cycle tour than you can normally manage without using up leave days. Therefore, Australia Day brought a chance to get together during the week and go for a longer day-ride to demonstrate to people what sort of daytime heat and ride duration to expect for the tour. With a destination of Hervey Range Heritage Tea Rooms, there was a nice incentive to make it up the killer hill at the end too.

I sadly can’t join in for the Easter tour as I will be back in the UK over that time to visit family and friends (so I guess it’s not entirely sad!), but that doesn’t mean I can’t join in with the training rides. So Australia Day saw me out on my bike, chasing down the group as I had arrived at our starting point slightly late and they had already left…

I didn’t take any photos during my ride out thanks to my objective of catching the group, but to be honest it doesn’t make for the most interesting ride. Following the road west out of Townsville, it is reasonably straight and barely even undulating right up until the big hill leading up to the Hervey Range. This gives a ride profile for the 42kms that looks like this:

What a hill!! The last time I tried it was for an overnight trip, and I had struggled up the hill taking many stops along the way. This time I really surprised myself, making a non-stop journey not only up the hill, but the whole way from Townsville to the Tea Rooms in 2 hours 20 minutes. I was very pleased to see that I have got so much stronger as a rider.

Once at the Tea Rooms it was easy to spot my group thanks to all of the bikes parked up:

We enjoyed our hard-earned breakfasts and scones and coffees, and having finally caught up to the group – I could see them from shortly before the hill, but didn’t manage to actually catch them – it was great to have some company at last. And while riding hard alone hadn’t been the most fun and was not what I had planned, it was good to know that I could make the ride on my own, and I feel it will be useful to have that confidence for future plans :)

The ride back obviously involves descending the same hill, and this is a far more joyous event. I flew down without even touching my brakes, and it felt goooood…

The long slog back to town is less enjoyable, but I made a really strong start sticking with the lead group for quite a way before I could no longer handle the pace. I did well considering I was carrying 3 panniers and am a less experienced rider than the rest, but eventually I had nothing left in the tank and I dropped off the back of the group. A while later the next group came past, but I was still recovering from holding a pace that was too much for me, and I wasn’t able to stick with them either. I ended up battling a brutal head wind at a slow pace for some time, before I was finally caught by the last group and managed to stick with them.

Steadily peddling on the rear of the group, we made it back to the edge of the city before poor Bec got a puncture when a nail went right into her tyre. I had overtaken her when she started to slow down, thinking she was just taking a new position in the bunch, but when I looked round and saw her stopping I pulled up and went back to help.

As Bec worked on changing her tube we were caught up by the final rider, and the 3 of us got the bike going again and made it the rest of the way back to the finish point. I was pretty much done in by then (rooted!), and the remainder of the ride back was not enjoyable – definitely type 2 fun! Thank goodness there was a good Aussie sausage sizzle at the Bicycle Pedlar's to look forward to!

So not necessarily an interesting route but certainly a good workout, and at about 85kms (approx. 53 miles) from my place to home again, it is by far . I did well though, considering e a way before i ous event. i  is time i l at the end too. the furthest I have ever ridden in one day. I am really glad I did it with weight on the bike too, as my aim is to develop touring strength and stamina rather than road biking speed. Finished off with fish and chips by the sea that evening, it seemed a pretty good way to spend a day :)

Also blogged by The Bicycle Pedlar here.

Walls of Jerusalem ~ Part 2: There and Back Again

The first night at camp passed without quite enough sleep – the pillow I had brought wasn’t really up to the job, the camping platform was dry but very hard, and I had been a bit too cold but also a bit too lazy to move and get an extra layer on.

I still didn’t feel too bad though, and was excited to explore further into the park with a day of hiking ahead of us. Getting up and dressed and boiling water for brews and freeze-dried fruity porridge, I also took the chance to chat to our neighbours again for information about the walks available to us in our time frame. Going over the map together we identified a few possibilities that were good for day hikes.

Taking map and compass, brew kit, lunch, snacks, warm gear and wet weather gear with us, we set off for the day. We continued on the trail we had followed to the camp site as it wound its way deeper into the park. A short uphill section to leave the camping area behind, and we were passing Herod's Gate and once again on more level ground in the central basin. The track here was a combination on board walk and natural path, and in the clear fine weather navigation was no trouble at all.

Passing more beautiful scenery of towering rock walls and picturesque tarns, our first little stop was to take a short detour off the main path to see the Pool of Bethesda. This would have been a glorious spot for lunch or even just a brew, but as we had not been walking long at all by this point we decided instead to push on before taking a proper break.

The Pool of Bethesda

Not much further along the boardwalk and we were at Damascus Gate, the saddle between Solomon’s Throne and The Temple. I had expected it to take much longer to reach this point, so we thought we might tackle one of these side tracks on the return.

Walking up to the saddle

Continuing through the saddle, the path passed through some more stunning scenery and beautiful tarns, before winding its way amongst gnarled trees and then depositing us in the vivid green beauty of Dixon’s Kingdom, another camping area on the trail.

Dixon’s Kingdom has its own historic hut too, although camping is not allowed in the hut itself. The landscape, the flora, and the hyper-real greenness of this place give it the feel of Tolkien’s Shire, and you almost expect to see Hobbits running for cover as you approach.

A fallen tree in the shade here gives us another perfect spot to sit and put the brews on, so we use the facilities here and have our first break. I try to read a bit on my Kindle as I sip my tea, but my gaze is constantly drawn back up to drink in our magical surroundings.

Rest time over, we continue along the path towards Mount Jerusalem. The track up to the summit is signed off the main track, and then marked with triangular markers on metal posts every so often. The track climbs through the rocky ground, until it starts to traverse another plateau area peppered with the most beautiful little tarns. Every angle produces another photo-worthy view, and these little lakes scattered around at different levels are simply beautiful.

Pausing frequently to absorb the new vistas that each turn of the track reveals, we eventually make it to the next uphill section. We follow the rocky path all the way to the top of Mount Jerusalem, and are greeted by views of the wilderness as far as the eye can see. Simply spectacular. We take a lot of time at the top just to marvel at this expanse of nature, and to dream of having the time and gear to be able to go off exploring for a few days. 

We can also see the track continuing into the park beyond where we left it to summit Mount Jerusalem, and I can’t help wishing that we were going to carry on further after descending. 

Easily finding a suitable spot for lunch, we fire up the Jetboil for more brews and tuck in to our supermarket lunches. I have opted for a readymade pot of pasta and veggies in a tomato sauce. Securely packaged and not requiring refrigeration, I had thought this would be a good option. You are meant to microwave it before eating, but the sun has warmed it a bit. That’s the same thing, surely?? I have a handful of my dried fruit mix and cashews as ‘desert’, and the hot sweet tea with this incredible view is just perfect.

A brew with a view ;)

Reluctantly, we of course have to leave this little spot and return to camp. The walk back down is trickier for me than the ascent as I get painful knees and my injured ankle is not yet fully mobile. Taking my time it’s nothing I can’t handle, and we get back to the main track and turn back towards Dixon’s Kingdom again. From there, we are at Damascus Gate again in no time. Knowing we are an easy walk back to camp, we decide to drop our kit and head up The Throne before continuing back.

The path up here is made mostly from large loose rocks that have been shifted to offer flat, level sides to your boots. It really is remarkable to think of the work that has gone in to making these defined, stable paths out of the loose rock piles up the side.

The view from The Throne

By the time we get to the top on this occasion, I am starting to feel a bit tired, so after admiring the views we head back down again and collect our gear, then hit the boardwalk back to camp.

On the walk back we encounter our first mammalian wildlife inside the Walls – apart from the possums that were scratching around our tent last night – in the extremely fluffy shape of these Bennet’s Wallabies. They look so cuddly to me with their soft shaggy fur. Gorgeous :)

Boots off, dinner on. Perfect :)

That night I improved the pillow situation by folding it in half and wrapping my microfiber towel around it to keep it doubled up, I wear an extra jumper along with my hat, gloves, socks and PJs, and suck it up that the ground is hard. I sleep great and wake up raring to go – if a little achy. I also had my next significant wildlife encounter on the way back from the loo, this handsome snake on the path. Fortunately I saw him in time to stop without getting too close, and the snake glided off the path to bask in the short grass nearby.

This is our final day in the Park, so we try to make the most of it by heading back to Damascus Gate to walk up Solomon’s Throne. The hike up is steep and rocky, but the views from the top are very much worth it. Spectacular.

The view to King David's Peak

I long to walk further along the ridge to the top of King David’s Peak, but it’s not sensible to do this with the walk out still ahead of us, so reluctantly we descend again and return to camp. Here, we make lunch and then pack up our camp and leave. Making use of the toilet one last time, we have yet another brilliant wildlife encounter in the prickly form of this cute little echidna snuffling around the path.

The walk out is as picturesque as it was on the way in, and I feel a little sad to be leaving so soon. 

I definitely plan to return!

Walls of Jerusalem ~ Part 1: Getting There

I just got back from a pretty short-notice trip to Tasmania – and it was fantastic!! I have definitely been bitten by the Tassie bug and hope to go back many more times to explore more of this island state (that’s an Australian state, not a sovereign state…)

The main aim of this trip was to do some hiking, but being short notice there was no time to particularly build up any load-carrying fitness, so I wasn’t confident of doing a point-to-point hike, carrying everything on each leg. Instead therefore, we opted for a basecamp style of hiking, setting up our tent on arrival, and making day hikes out from our base.

Deciding that the place to be was the Walls of Jerusalem National Park, within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, our brief research showed us that we had to buy a permit before heading to the Park. We would also need to make sure that we took a camp stove and cooking gear that would not interfere with the natural environment, and a trowel for burying anything we left behind when there was no access to toilets. All food and gear would need to be carried in on foot, and all rubbish would need to be carried back out again too.

Our trip began in Hobart, where we had a little time to top up our kit with things that were deficient or that we couldn’t bring on the plane – we needed to get our map, gas for the Jetboil, camping food, snacks, I needed some long trousers, and additionally we just browsed the outdoorsy shops and book shops in Hobart, enjoyed the Salamanca Markets, and took in far more hearty food and good beer than was necessary.

Before heading out to a National Park in the Tasmanian Wilderness with plenty of kit that we had never used before, I decided that it would be a good idea to camp somewhere with facilities, somewhere that we could use all our gear, but if all went wrong then we wouldn’t be actually stranded. For our shake-out camp we headed to the small town of Deloraine, much closer to the Walls of Jerusalem National Park and boasting a riverside camping area.

Slightly melodramatic sign at the campsite

We set up the tent (a 3 person Vango Banshee) with no dramas, all the appropriate sleeping gear was there. The Jetboil worked just fine, and we even tested out our experimental purchase of a tube of condensed milk for our brews. This worked surprisingly well I have to say, and I enjoyed my riverside cuppa very much. The evening was perfected by watching playful duckbilled platypuses – the first I had ever seen – swimming about in the river. They were adorable, and I absolutely fell in love with them. The happy memories of watching them in the river was even enough to sustain my good mood through the various times during the night that I was woken by ridiculously loud trains passing next to the camp site, their horns blaring continuously and their lights making it bright as day inside the tent.

A platypus, having a good look at me having a good look at him.

The next morning we repacked all our gear, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Vango Banshee was pretty easy to pack away again back into its original neat format and small size. Getting breakfast on the way, the next stop was in Mole Creek to find out exactly where to buy the Parks passes from. The lady I spoke to directed us to the visitor office for King Solomon’s Caves down the road, from where we could purchase passes. This was pretty straight forward too; the Ranger did a quick sanity check on us to make sure we knew we couldn’t just bumble around the Park for a day visit and had the right gear, and the passes weren’t too pricey either at $30 each - another nice surprise.

There was now nothing stopping us, so with all kit for living and camping for 3-4 days packed into our larger hiking rucksacks, we headed for the NP. It took a fair amount of driving on gravel roads to make it to the car park for the NP, and then the only way into the actual Park is on foot. Following a well-defined track from the carpark, we signed into the Park at the unmanned Ranger Hut and then continued through the woods, heading mostly fairly steeply uphill, towards the Park. 

The road towards the National Park

We went at a steady pace, and I was relieved to find that my pack didn’t feel like it was getting any heavier as I got more tired. I put this down to the 'Bioflex' harness on my 10-year-old 65+10 litre Berghaus pack, which was well padded, fully adjustable, and extremely comfortable. This is the first time I have properly used my rucksack for real active stuff rather than just backpacking trips, so it was great to find that the harness was really comfortable even with a heavy load over rough terrain for several hours.

Part of the first section of trail, heading into the National Park

A few steep sections of trail, broken by short less-steep sections and occasional small creek crossings that were almost dry at the time we were hiking, brought us eventually to the Trappers Hut. This is a small wooden hut which is part of the history of the trail, and contains information boards to tell its story. Just upslope from the hut was a fallen tree and some exposed rocks which made a very convenient spot for a sit down and a brew, so we took our first break and fired up the Jetboil.

The Trappers Hut

Refreshed, we carried on upwards through the trees along the defined trail, until the steepest part of the trek in was over and we had reached more of a plateau region. Here the trees thinned out giving bigger views, and the ground was dotted with pretty tarns, named King Solomon's Jewels.

The trail continued to wind its way over the landscape, now more winding and with shorter and gentler climbs and descents. Here the path was dirt, there it passed over a section of rock. Here it pushed through shrubbery, there it passed the edge of a tarn. Each short climb or bend produced new and spectacular views.

Eventually, after more winding and undulation, the path led through some hilly parts to a bit of a valley floor, on the other side of which you could just make out the brightly coloured shapes of tents. A boardwalk continued the path across the valley and deposited us at Wild Dog Campsite.

Relieved to have arrived – no matter how comfortable the pack was I still had my limitations – I picked the first free camping platform I came across and dropped all my gear. Removing my boots felt gooood!! Having lived in north Queensland for over a year now, I rarely wear anything but flip flops (or ‘thongs’) so am not accustomed to walking in boots.

Camping on a wooden platform presents its own challenges, especially when your tent cannot stand by itself, like the Vango Banshee which is a tunnel construction and so requires tension in the fly sheet to keep it up. Eventually though, with a bit of ingenuity, perseverance, and some advice and extra string from the family on the next platform along, our home was erected and it was time for a warm jumper, a brew and some dinner.

It felt fantastic to finish off the day’s walking with some warm food prepared with a camp stove (even if the only preparation required for the freeze dried food we had chosen was to boil up some water and stir…), and another hot, sweet brew.

As a bit of a luxury I had brought some entertainment in the shape of a pack of cards and my Kindle Paperwhite. Playing ‘beanie’ until dark and then tucking into my layers of sleeping bag and liners, reading until sleepy, I felt very content :)