Author: kvnrowe

17 November 2025

We have ended our three week journey through southern parts of NSW and Victoria and now it’s back to reality. Commitments need to be fulfilled, appointments made and the administrivia of life attended to.

We completed over 3000 kms in 20 days. This was one of our shorter trips. It was however full of new adventures not to mention new bakeries and new pies, pasties and other yummies to enjoy. We did manage to support roughly 13 local small businesses. Needless to say most in the form of providores of good coffee and baked goods. Did I mention wineries?

Our final day included a visit and tour of the Junee licorice and chocolate factory. An old flour mill converted to produce the sweeter pleasures.

Over these few weeks we saw the remaining snow in the Snowy Mountains, migrating whales, an amazing coastline, the rocky landscape of the Grampians and the wide open expanses of western NSW.

The people we met included a young Canadian woman who left Canada in -25c weather and arrived on a cattle station in 45c temps. She had finished her 8 months on the cattle station and was exploring the country on her own before her return to a another Canadian winter. There was the German gentleman who had created an online subscription service for sound engineers who were seeking sound files of unique sounds. I’m sure he recorded rain and wind sound clips in Port Fairy. There was the couple who were on a 2 year adventure travelling around Australia in their renovated bus. We met groups riding their bikes on bike trails and were inspired to return for more bike riding.

The weather ranged from freezing in the mountains to 30c on the beach and gale force winds and rain. All great fun.

Ideas for the next adventure have not yet germinated but I’m sure after a few weeks at home ideas will be forming.

13 November 2025

The rain followed us along the Great Ocean Road and onto Port Fairy. For variation and further entertainment the rain came with gale force winds, and we are camping!

We arrived in Port Fairy, a town I had visited with my family in my childhood. The small fishing village that was populated by generations of the same families is no more. Many of the old houses have gone and the ruined blue stone cottages have been rejuvenated. What were once the homes of the working class are now multi million dollar retirement and holiday homes. The vibe in the town has changed, or maybe that was just the wind.

The wooden pedestrian bridge across the river is now concrete. The walkway along the wharf is also now concrete and steel. The boats moored along the wharf are no longer wooden cray boats. Now it’s high tech cruising yachts and motor launches.

The swampy ground around town has been drained for housing developments, with more under way.

From Port Fairy we headed inland and hopefully away from the wind. We arrived in Halls Gap, travelling on excellent roads with hardly any traffic. Regardless of how good the roads are the locals still complain about the potholes! I think they need to get out more.

Halls Gap was brimming with visitors supporting runners doing the 100 mile Grampian Peak Trail Ultra Marathon. This is a world rated ultra marathon that covers the Grampians from north to south. This is seriously tough country to walk, much less run.

We enjoyed the Pinnacle Walk and a walk to the Mackenzie Falls lookout. As we have experienced so often, on our returned from the Pinnacles Walk we were confronted by a large group of very noisy walkers. Their footwear was wrong and they were so inappropriately dressed for what they were about to face. It’s a fair guess that most would not have made it past the first series of steep stone passages. In previous logs such walkers were awarded the title of butterflies.

From Halls Gap we cut across country to Echuca on the Murray River. Again on this section of road we hardly saw another vehicle. Our visitors from the UK were amazed at how empty the country is. Along the way there was the obligatory stop at a bakery in St Arnaud.

Today it’s a steam powered paddle steamer to our lunch destination which is of course a winery. Echuca has kept alive its paddle steamer history and it’s great to see so many old steamers in private hands, fully restored for relaxing times on the river.

This is our penultimate day as we head back towards home. The weather is warming up and no gale force wind or rain.

Our last night on the road is in Junee with a visit to the licorice and chocolate factory planned for tomorrow. After that it’s a direct route to home.

Current status: 12 days on the road and 12 bakeries.

7 November 2025

Variability in the weather has ceased, now it’s just rain with occasional gusts of wind. Camping in the rain is just one of those special moments that are etched into your memory.

We have left Apollo Bay and driven to Port Fairy via the Twelve Apostles and the Loch Ard Gorge tourist destinations. The coastal scenery here is quite stunning and it attracts a lot of overseas visitors.

How can you tell there are so many tourists I hear you ask. There are two critical pointers. To begin with along the road there is a constant reminder in the form of signage that says ‘We drive on the left in Australia’. The second example is the very useful instructions on how to use the public loos.

Tonight we met an interesting couple who live in Thailand. He comes from Germany and she from Iowa, and they have a US based business. Their business generates a passive income allowing them to travel the world. These were not 9 to 5 workers nor were they ‘work from home’ employees. A one hour commute to a city based office job was so far from their lifestyle. Their story was a fascinating commentary on what a business might look like in this connected world.

The rain has settled in and we will stay in place for a couple of nights. Maybe this weather pattern will clear, as said with a hopeful tone.

Current score: 7 days on the road and 8 bakeries.

5 November 2025

The variability of Spring weather is starting to test us. From gale force winds to squalls through to balmy days of 30c, we have experienced it all.

It seems there was a horse race in Melbourne which results in a four day weekend. Consequently just about every campground a three hour drive from the city was booked out. We were left with a next tier campground that was just ok, uncrowded with outdated facilities. No drama, just all part of the adventure.

A night in Foster followed by a day trip into Wilsons Prom and a boat ride to Skull Rock and the seal colonies. The weather was perfect, calm seas and no rain.

The boat ride involves wearing a ‘fits all sizes’ cape which looked more like a large red garbage bag as protection from the spray. You are sitting outside exposed to the weather and helmsman is not gentle on the throttle. The scenery was quite stunning. The crew advised that anyone who was a bit queasy or suffered back issues should sit at the back. We chose that pivot point where the ride is comfortable and you avoid the spray.

From Tidal River and Foster we headed onwards in search of our next bakery. It turned out Korumburra had an outstanding bakery with excellent coffee not to mention the pies. At this point as we got closer to Melbourne the traffic grew exponentially. Gone were the quiet and empty roads of NE Victoria. Bumper to bumper traffic was now the order or the day.

We arrived in Rosebud, on the foreshore on a 30c day. Kids were in swimming and there were lots of people sun baking. We had family and friends visiting and it was time to break out the sandals and shorts.

That night the heavens opened which has set the scene for the next several days. We caught the 11:00am ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff and enjoyed very calm seas but no scenery considering the rain and mist across the bay.

It turns out Queenscliff has a bakery that has won national awards for their pies, who knew! Yep, that was our lunch destination. Due to everyone in Melbourne camping that weekend we were left to stay at a campgrounds that literally had 100s of sites. A little overwhelming for this quiet soul. And more rain.

Next it was a trip down the famous Great Ocean Road. We drove via Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove, and I was a little overwhelmed how much these towns had grown in the decades since I was last there, but there you go it had been a while. Torquay and Anglesea were humming with weekend visitors. Here is the centre of the surfing world for Victoria especially when you consider the history of such locations as Bells Beach and Jan Juc.

We drove the Great Ocean Road and were constantly in awe of the scenery. My job of course was to watch the road for oncoming traffic on what can be a narrow road, cut into the cliff face.

We arrived at our destination at Apollo Bay just ahead of the rain and wind. Lunch comprised the celebrated Apollo Bay scallop pies, outstanding.

Today was dedicated to visiting the Cape Otway Lighthouse. The wind and rain were relentless. The high point was not just the lighthouse precinct and history but also the koalas we saw on the way in and heading out.

Our final escapade for the day was a walk through a section of rainforest filled with myrtle beech trees which date back to Gondwana Land and towering tree ferns and mountain ash trees, stunning.

Current stats, 11 days on the road and 6 bakeries.

Our travels continue……

31 October 2025

The Queensland bike riding trip is well and truly over and we are back on the road for another road trip.

Our Queensland trip covered 5794 kms over an eight week period. This trip will only be three weeks and a lot shorter distance. We are taking friends from the UK, who have joined us on many of our overseas adventures, on a road trip through southern NSW and Victoria and along the way checking out whales, mountains and of course bakeries.

Our first stop was to explore Mt Kosciusko. Unfortunately we arrived at that strange transition time between the skiing season and summer. The shops, if they were open, were stripping the ski gear from the shelves so that mountain bike clothing could be displayed. Now was not the time for skis but mountain bikes. The chairlifts were closed and there was snow flurries and high winds on the main range.

The 13 km walk was cancelled and instead we enjoyed a picnic in the cold and wind swept hills.

Next stop was the coast and whale watching. So much warmer by the ocean and of course we did manage a stop at the Nimmitabel Bakery which is under new management. The pies and various baked goods are all baked on site and not brought in by a truck!

We descended Brown Mountain to sunshine and warm temperatures. Next adventure was a whale watching tour to see humpback whales on their southerly migration back to Antarctica. I’m pretty sure the calves were complaining they didn’t want to leave the warm waters off the Australian coast. I think I heard ‘do we have to’ from a young whale.

In the spirit of welcoming foreign visitors to our shores, the proprietor of one campground asked if our companion had found his Liverpool football hat in the rubbish. It seemed he was a Manchester fan and did not like Liverpool. So welcoming to our visitors but the comment was offered with a smile.

Showers have been a challenge today but we did manage another bakery and good coffee in Stratford. Tomorrow it’s a boat ride out from Tidal River. Photos to come.

Current stats: 6 days on the road and 4 different bakeries! 😀

21 August 2025

We are in the final stages of this 2 month adventure. We have had a few days on the coast and are now in Brisbane. Next it’s the four day traverse of NSW and a return to normality and the end of winter.

Since the trip to Lady Elliott Island and snorkelling we have ventured further down the coast to quieter environs and fewer people. This is more our style, less of the big towns and more of trees.

The odd bike ride has continued along with the opportunity for paddling a SUP. I tried the ‘stand up’ bit but wind and waves conspired to bring me down. Sitting down allowed me to cover more distance. It’s amazing just how far you can go with the wind on your back. The scary thing is when you turn around for home and discover the return trip will be into the wind. You suddenly realise just how far you have travelled as the waves slop over your board.

The latest challenge we have risen to is understanding where stuff is in every new supermarket. You might assume the layout is the same as the last country store but you would be deluding yourself. And so the hunter gatherer DNA kicks in and in no time you are able to find the eggs and honey. They are never where you thought they would be.

At the risk of repeating an observation I made some time ago I feel compelled to again bring this issue into your consciousness.

In the past many country towns boasted 3 or 4 pubs. There was the Commercial, the Cricketer’s Arms, the Railway and the Royal Oak. Every town had a top pub and a bottom pub. This classification referred to altitude rather than quality. These establishments were very successful, catering to a large manual, agricultural workforce. Times have changed and many of these old pubs are struggling to stay afloat.

The replacement food service and hospitality businesses are now bakeries and coffee shops. No longer is it a midi or a schooner. Now it’s a flat white, a long black or a latte. Our grandparents would roll their eyes.

That old saying of he who has the most toys wins is very evident in our travels. Gone are the days of simple camping setups. Now it’s a satellite dish, more refrigeration, ebikes, SUPs, kayaks, more TVs, and a barbecue and that’s just one campsite. It’s amazing what the early pioneers achieved without Starlink.

Next week we are on our way home and so it is at this time I start thinking of the projects that await me. Of course these projects get rapidly forgotten when the pressures of daily commitments fill the available time.

9 August 2025

We have left the inland towns and the rail trail and are now on the coast. This is sugarcane country along with strawberry farms and all the summer vegetables and fruits we expect to enjoy year round. In one campground the owner was giving away her home grown avocados.

Every Australian knows Bundaberg is the home of Bundy Rum. Given the national significance of Bundy a tour of the distillery was mandatory. It turns out the whole rum process is simply a recycling industry.

The sugar mills produce a byproduct called molasses and they produce a lot of it. The sugar mills have no use for molasses and while some of it goes to stock feed a great deal is used to produce rum.

Molasses is the foundation of the spirit that becomes rum. The byproduct from the distilling process is then used by the sugar cane growers as fertiliser. It’s just one big circular economy. Of course the rum also is subjected to further processing often with coke, not the sniffing type.

We also visited the ginger beer factory which the rum distillery also utilises in the production of alcoholic ginger beer.

On an absolute whim we called the Lady Elliot Island eco resort and discovered they had a vacant room and seats were available for flights to and from the island. We are not good at planning too far ahead.

Lady Elliot Island is pretty much at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. It has no internet or mobile phone connection and so a great time for a digital detox and no news of the world!

The water at Lady Elliot is still warm but not quite as warm as the tropical end of the reef. Wet suits were deriguere. It does however boast amazing fish life along with turtles, whales and manta rays.

Lady Elliot has a laid back vibe with people wandering around in wet suits or their swimming gear. Hair is generally sun bleached and there is very little sign of high fashion.

We enjoyed two 50 minute snorkel dives off a boat and one off the beach. The off beach entry was very tricky negotiating an unpredictable rocky bottom and waves. Reef shoes were a necessity.

Whilst the entry was tough it was a doddle compared to getting out. The tide had dropped and we were forced to navigate up the gutters in the reef to get close to the beach. When the water got too shallow it was a case of dragging your body up and on to the rocks and then try to stand. This was all done while the waves were trying to knock you over. If you can imagine a beached whale trying to get back into deeper water you have the idea. Elegant we were not.

In our three dives and trip in the glass bottom boat we saw turtles, so many of different coral reef fish, manta rays and acres of amazing corals. It can be quite disconcerting to look to the right and see a turtle quietly swimming right beside you, and so close. There were hawksbill, green and loggerhead turtles in abundance.

Apologies, I did not buy the water proof wallet for my phone so no underwater photos.

After all the snorkelling and walks around the island we returned to the mainland and a day of rain. The rain has created an opportunity to take a break and rest.

4 August 2025

Sometimes with the best laid plans things just don’t go according to Hoyle. So it was a week or so ago when my bike separated from the bike rack and was dragged unceremoniously down the road for about 100 metres. A fellow bike rider rode towards our car waving his arms excitedly. I stopped and there laying on the road was my bike with both ends of the handlebars ground down several centimetres. That brought an end to our plans for a ride that day and for some days on.

We drove 80 kms to the nearest bike shop and left it there for the installation of new handlebars and a general check over.

It was about a week before the bike was ready. New handlebars are like having the drivers seat in your car in the wrong position. You can still ride the bike, it just doesn’t feel right. Time will heal that situation.

My second unplanned event was the dropping of my iPad and subsequent destruction of the screen. A new iPad was a better solution than repairing the outdated device.

We got back on the trails and have now completed the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT). All up its about 160 km long and one of the longest rail trails in Australia. We have also completed the South Burnett Rail Trail or at least the best bits which was another 44 kms.

We were sure these rides would be an excellent way to enjoy the countryside with the added advantage that it would be a healthy thing to do. These high minded ideals have been undermined somewhat by the wonderful bakeries that we have discovered in these rather remote country towns. There were so many wonderful pastries, pies and excellent coffee all of which were calorie free and had to be sampled.

It’s also been a great surprise to see so many older bike riders out there covering great distances. Many of these riders are loving their e-bikes and dare I say they probably would not be on these trails except for that electric motor and battery.

Over the years we have experienced special challenges unique to long term adventures. We have experience exploring new highways and byways, new landscapes and backroad country towns. We have also enjoyed some great surprises at bakeries, cafes and pubs that whilst they may be well off the well trodden highways they still deliver some amazing culinary delights.

The challenge we have become more aware of on this trip is finding a hairdresser or barber that is going to get it right. These services are quite personal and you generally stay very loyal to the professional you have been seeing for years. Unfortunately there comes a time when you have been on the road for many weeks that you have to chance it with an unknown barber.

If you are follicly challenged this may seem to be a trifle however some of us appreciate a decent haircut every 6 weeks. I have enjoyed one of the best haircuts that was provided in a campground in a remote town in the gulf country. The trim was provided by a boutique, professional barber who hailed from Sydney. He was travelling around Australia. I have also enjoyed excellent services in Charters Towers at half the cost I would pay at home.

And so it was I have recently tried a barber in Kingaroy and it was a success. Cost and quality of the service were outstanding. The other member of this adventure has not enjoyed the same success with the hairdresser she visited in the same town. The difference however between a good haircut and a bad haircut is just two weeks.

The other insight I have gained on this trip is the uniqueness of our camping kit. Others have observed that some of our gear is quite old. We have been camping for many years and if it still works why throw it out. Just to give you an idea of how old some of our gear is, much of it was made in Australia. Our electric heater, our frying pan, toaster, our electric jug and much more all hail from a time when this country made stuff. I agree that’s old.

The rail trail segment of our plans are complete and we are now headed for the Queensland coast and new country or maybe even the Great Barrier Reef to explore.

19 July 2025

We have arrived in warmer latitudes and are enjoying more of the outdoors. Our attention has now moved from space to wheels.

We have enjoyed bike paths in the Brisbane suburbs terminating at the beach or at a very nice pub for lunch. On the busier sections of the bike paths there were lots of little kids riding bikes. These kids had the amazing ability to turn their heads through 180°, to continue to ride forward in a straight line, while observing where they had come from rather than where they were going. Scary!

Following on from my experience in the Snowy Mountains I tried a local downhill MTB trail. It was only 2.5 kms, single bike width with some tight turns. I’m not sure I have the flexibility anymore for trails that are clearly designed for the thrill seeker.

The Samford Show was a highlight with wood chopping and a motorbike show. A typical small country town show with baked goods on display along with vintage tractors and vintage cars. This was the place to watch world champion axemen go through a log in mere seconds and where you could gain a deep understanding of the differences between the 1950 and 1953 Land Rover. There was a fully restored Grey Fergie and prize winning sourdough loaves.

We have now reached the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail our destination for the early stages of this adventure. The best thing about rail trails is that they are based on old rail way routes and as such they are never steeper than what a steam engine could manage.

We have completed several sections including from Yarraman to Blackbutt, Blackbutt to Linville and Toogoolawah to Esk. We have ridden about 60 kms with 100 kms to go.

It’s inspiring to see how many are out there riding or hiking along these trails. The towns are full of riders as are the bakeries, pubs, motels and camp grounds.

The weather has been perfect with the exception of one rainy day. The good weather is probably why there are so many riders out and about.

The only interruptions to the tempo of the rides are the creek crossings and cattle. The creek crossings, where there was once a bridge are steep and the cattle make up the spectator crowds beside the trail.

More tales of the trails to come…..

6 July 2025

We are on the road yet again. The motivation this time is to escape a cold winter and to find a more compatible climate in the north. We are equipped with e-bikes but our focus remains on warmer days.

This is the first long adventure in the new car. This means a new challenge with getting the best out of the space available. It’s a game of Tetris as you rehearse how best to use the space in the back of the vehicle ensuring everything fits in a fashion that it’s readily accessible when needed. This process took a series of three cycles of packing and unpacking.

Success, the space available accommodates our stuff and the new toys. The chairs are in along with all the bike bits including batteries and the ramp to load the bikes on the rack. Space is such an undervalued commodity.

Space continues to grab our attention as we visit the Parkes radio telescope. This instruments looks deep into a different type of space, well beyond our earthly limitations. The Parkes dish looks at pulsars hundreds of thousands of light years away, that’s a lot of space.

After Parkes we visited the Siding Spring Observatory outside of Coonabarabran. More space stuff and this time there is a scale model of the solar system with models of the planets spread along the highways. It’s quite a surprise to drive half an hour to a whole hour before seeing the next planet. They sure are far apart in all that space.

We did discover that Siding Springs Observatory has something in common with the Louvre in Paris. What could that be you ask? It turns out they are both closed on Tuesdays. So don’t try to visit either destination on a Tuesday, you are wasting your time.

The Warrumbungle National Park incorporates the remnants of volcanos that were active for about 3 million years and became inactive about 13 million years ago, that’s a long time ago. Within the park Tara cave is a place that was occupied by indigenous people for about 4,000 years. They were using this cave prior to the building of the pyramids and were last seen in the area in about 1830. Rocks used as grinding stones are evidence of their occupation of the area.

On a completely different note and having spent many hours on the highways I have come to an understating about other drivers. I have realised that the relationships between the various users of the highway is best illustrated as the game of rock, scissors, paper.

Let me see if I get this right. Car drivers beat cyclists, motorcyclists beat car drivers, truck drivers beat caravans and everyone beats the guy driving at 10 kph under the speed limit. Motor cyclists beat cars, caravans and cyclists because they present no obstruction to their journey but trucks beat motor cyclists because you can’t see around them. No one is happy with everyone.

There was however a break down in this known state of normality. Over the UHF radio we enjoyed hearing a truck driver abuse another truck driver for down right dangerous driving. We had observed a semi trailer weaving between cars at high speed and were impressed when a truck driver called out this appalling driving on the public airwaves. Talk about a glitch in the matrix! I do make it a habit to call up the truck drivers when it is clear for them to pass. It’s all about trying to manage perceptions and natural biases about caravans but I think I have a lot of work to do.

We will be on the road for several weeks so hopefully there will be more opportunities to write about what is happening out there.

Just a reminder if you touch or click on any of the pictures in these articles a full screen version will be displayed.