Home Hill - The fifteenth step ... Four months in Australia - CycleBlaze

June 10, 2024

Home Hill

A short ride planned for today so we were in no rush to get away.  

The campground was between the  pub and some farmland in which there were some cattle that seemed to be quite accustomed to being fed over the fence.   Feeding them wasn't going to happen because we only had enough muesli for our own breakfast but that didn't stop them coming to beg.

Leigh seldom misses a chance to chat to the local livestock
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Coby came over as we were finishing breakfast and we had another long natter.  He's done no research on his route and is heading down to Victoria into the prevailing headwinds and shorter winter days.  Sometimes it helps to be young and enthusiastic. 

Discussing cycle touring stuff. Coby also has Hillebrand Staika tent but rides a Surly Disk Trucker.
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Graham SmithIt’s only 10 days (but who’s counting:) before the days start to lengthen down our way. But it’ll take a while longer before the morning temperatures start to increase, so Coby might experience a few frosty mornings if he’s taking an inland route. -2°C here yesterday morning.
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5 months ago
Jean-Marc StrydomTo Graham SmithThe Winter Solstice creeps up on one! Sunrise is is at about ten to seven here near Townsville and it is dark by six. I'm looking forward to longer days.
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5 months ago

We eventually started cycling after ten but stopped within a few hundred meters to take in the Big Pumpkin and the Big (slice of) Watermelon.

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After that it was forty kilometers of the busy Bruce with a few birding stops along the way.  Home Hill is once again sugarcane country and we saw the sugarcane railway in action for the first time transporting harvested cane.

Once checked in at the municipal campground it was a case of shower, laundry,  lunch and grocery shopping. 

Grocery shopping yielded some close-to-authentic biltong.
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While I was out grocery shopping Leigh witnessed a Pied Butcherbird taking out a House Sparrow.
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As the sun started to set, sugarcane fields around the town started to be set alight.
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Supper was enjoyed chatting to four young French speaking guys from New Caledonia,  Madagascar and France.  Really enjoyable because they were well traveled and broad thinking.  They are traveling and working,  currently picking passion fruit.

We've booked a couple of nights at a backpacker place on Magnetic Island off the coast of Townsville starting Friday so we'll make our way there over the next couple of days.

Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 4,001 km (2,485 miles)

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