Coddiwomple

It's slow going writing this particular blog post as I am doing it with only one functional hand.  After almost 7000kms on the bikes, injury found me while running.   I wish I had a fantastic story to tell, but I simply tripped on a rocky trail and fell over.  You know that meme that goes "If you want to know if you're old fall over.   If people laugh you're still young,  if people panic then you're old!"  I can confirm, I am definitely old! It probably didn't help that two of my fingers were quite obviously either dislocated, broken or both.   I begged Kerstin to remove my wedding ring before the finger started swelling, being three hours from the hospital I was imagining the worst case scenario of the ring tourniqueting my finger and its subsequent death and amputation.  Poor Kerstin, this kind of thing makes her faint, but she gritted her teeth and pulled off the ring.  I then gritted my teeth and asked the ex-army maintenan...

Without our daily bike rides, Kerstin and I were soon feeling grumpy and sluggish, our bodies and minds needing some movement, flow and positive energy.  So, just as soon as our new trail running shoes arrived on the mail plane, we laced up and headed out. Fitting a run into a day that starts at 0430 and ends at 2030 sounds impossible.  But a commute of less than a minute means that once breakfast is sorted, usually by 0630, we can head home, put on some running gear and head straight out again.  And as we are already into weather that means you need the air conditioner on by 1030, running at dawn works out just perfect.   Here comes the sun It's a beautiful time of day out here, the early light brings out all the subtle colours of the landscape which are lost once the sun is bright and hot overhead.  We use the 'Rory loop' a five km circuit, using some of the old Barkley hwy, which is now pretty much just rubble, a route shared with us by Rory, the helicop...

There's plenty of things I anticipated learning when we accepted the positions at Avon Downs.  I thought I'd learn a lot about cooking for groups, about different cuts of beef and how to prepare them.  Maybe some stuff around the logistics of running a community which is 260km from the closest centre, and even then, its still Mt Isa... But I didn't really expect to learn a new language.  To be fair, I haven't spent a lot of time in the Territory.  But they really do speak their own dialect here.  Much different from costal Queensland, which is a slower, relaxed kind of Australian drawl.  Here it's fast, brief and usually mumbled.  I think I spent the first month constantly asking people to repeat themselves, answering the phone is always a diabolical risk.  And trying to understand the radio chat, impossible! Then there is all the slang and local shorthand.  To be fair some of the slang I suspect has been created by the Ringers themselves, as...

Q:  "Which is more important, the journey or the destination?' A:  "The company." Introducing the team at Avon Downs Station.  This video was made as part of a competition between AACo Stations for the Employee Challenge.  It's a great way to show the outside world what life on Avon looks like.  It will change your perspective on who works on Cattle Stations. There is a lot to be said for keeping company with Generation Z.  The stockcamp (the staff who do all the stock work) are all aged between 16-23 years old.  We feel pretty privileged to be given access and insight into their world.  They are generous when asked for explanations of everything from the work they do, to how the social system between them as individuals, as a team and as a Station works.  I'm pretty sure the education is going both ways!  If you want to be reassured about the future, then I recommend spending some quality time with it.

I recently took a phone call from one of the ringer's mums. Not quite sure whether she had dialed the right number, she asked "are you the new cook?" and I replied "I am the other half that came with the new cook, I am more the (kitchen's) helping hand". We then continued to have a lovely chat. She was kind enough to enquire whether we are settling in okay and then she asked "are there still frogs in the toilets?"  Ha! I laughed out loud. I told her that almost every toilet we have cleaned on the station so far has come with a "froggy" surprise. Fortunately, they don't make themselves known while you are "in business" but once you proceed to the flushing part of your toilet visit, they jump or slip-and-slide into your vision. God knows how they get into the system in the first place, but once they are in there, they are hard to get out. This is not so much of a worry if they reside in the staff toilets. But when it comes to ...

It is probably a bit overbearing to say that the Coddiwomple blog is back by popular demand. We are sure everyone's life was just fine without the daily posts from two middle-aged ladies riding their bicycles around the countryside of Eastern Australia, trying to circumnavigate the potholes of menopause and midlife while following the endless backroads of this nation towards unknown horizons.  But after what could be described as a four-week crash course in "working and living" on a remote cattle station in the Northern Territory, we have built an appetite for sharing some of the anecdotes and experiences of Kitchen Coddiwomple with our family and friends. In only a month, we have enough material to share stories until the cows come home (literally). There is a fabulous saying in German: "das geht auf keine Kuhhaut" - which freely translates to "you won't fit it on a cowhide". And if we all thought that riding a bicycle from Melbourne to Cairns the...

This is just the briefest of notes to let you all know that we have landed (in the middle of nowhere). A flying start, hitting the ground running, jumping into the deep end of the pool - it is all of the above. The Coddiwomple Bicycle Tour feels like a ride in the park at this point.  We have been warmly welcomed by the entire crew here at Avon Downs. And given how young the team is, Louise has already nicknamed us "The Agony Aunts". A couple of important notes: we DO NOT HAVE mobile phone reception out here! Unfortunately all your beautiful and encouraging text messages will end up in digital nirvana. But we do have internet access (most of the time). Shortly we can also be contacted via the landline which is 08 8964 5551 (same time as South Australia).  If you would like to know a little more about where we ended up, please find following a brief introduction into the Avon & Austral Downs Station duo.  Avon Downs and Austral Downs Stations Mail is delivered once a w...

After riding our bicycles 6,666km (+/- some unaccounted mileage to get a cold beer or an ice cream) from Melbourne to Cairns, our year of Coddiwomple is getting a culinary twist. If the definition of coddiwomple is "to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination" then our travels are now through the kitchen landscape at Avon Downs Station and the destination is hopefully less vague but more defined and comes in the shape of tasty food.  For the weeks and months ahead, our bicycles are parked at Avon Downs in the Northern Territory and we have swapped bicycle shorts for aprons.  If you wonder how we got here, please feel free to read the previous 133 blog posts or simply skip to  We are alive and cooking! Welcome (back) and let's get cooking!

Cairns - one sleep to go... The alarm is set for 4am, the bags are packed but I doubt we find the good night sleep we are hoping for. And that's not because I need to watch the Men's Wimbledon Final! So I try to find a bit of calm and peace by letting a few thoughts percolate through the darkness of our hotel room. Now that the big toes have been dipped into the Pacific Ocean on a beautiful sunny Port Douglas day I am at peace with the ending of Coddiwomple. For a while everything happened so fast. Our story written while travelling on a bicycle for most of the first half of 2022 seemed to disappear in the excitement and planning of the next adventure. And I wasn't ready to let it go as yet. But now I am. Spending time with Mick and Fran at their little caravan kingdom in Cairns allowed us to recharge, relax and reconnect. We are so grateful for every conversation shared, for the encouraging messages and the kind thoughts. We take them with us, way out West, whe...

What on earth are they going to do next???  We could practically hear you all pondering this question since we announced the end of the ride in Cairns.  To be fair, we've been pondering this too. It is finally time to reveal 'The Plan'... We will be sharing a new job/s on a cattle station in the NT.  Working as cook, gardener, first aider and administration assistant for Avon Downs Station.  I'll let you guys work out how we will divide that labour.   Avon Downs is 250km West of Mount Isa, just over the Northern Territory border on the Barkly Hwy.  The Station is owned and managed by the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo), and is a breeding station for Wagyu cattle.  We will be cooking for a staff of 16-18 people plus guests/contractors. We are quite excited by this opportunity to learn new skills, work together and to become members of an isolated team.   The logistics of getting 'the plan' off the ground have been involved and comp...

Without wanting to make this sound like a cheesy and awkward sounding thank you speech at the Logies, this is a heartfelt attempt to express our sincere thanks to everyone who came along on the ride with us. We never felt alone.  Whether by reading the blog or by sending a kind message, whether by inviting us to join you for a glass of wine or by donating the spaghetti bolognese leftovers, whether by giving us a friendly wave or a wide berth, whether by stopping for a friendly chat or by asking curious questions, whether by inviting us into your homes or by offering us your advice, Coddiwomple 2022 became a little kindness revolution because all of you.  Freewheeling 6,666km across parts of this country is a very special privilege, not for the reasons of the physical endeavour but for the lessons you learn along the way. The bicycle can be icebreaker or peacemaker. It allows you to explore the horizons of natural beauty and human diversity in most invigorating ways. It exposes...

"Everything will be okay in the end.   If it is not okay, it is not the end".      [John Lennon] There are certain fundamental things you can plan for when bicycle touring: the route, the choice of gear, when to get up, what to eat (to a certain degree). But there are more variables (weather, traffic, people) than there are constants. While in the unplanned can lay great and unexpected beauty, we are certainly people who lean more towards 'having a plan and being prepared'.  But planning for the "perfect" last day on your tour is a tricky beast. Emotions are running high, body energy is running low and your determination to reach the finish line with a matching attitude is running somewhere... The memories of our last day on the 2011 Across the US Tour are still crystal clear and they reminded us to be, let's say, be cautious.  We ride out of Mareeba at 0730 hoping to at least partly beat the Sunday traffic but Highway 1 is already thumping with motorise...

Mareeba - Redlynch (Cairns) 63km  There is plenty to write about today but we just wanted to let you all know that we have made it to our final destination Cairns.  We are floating somewhere between excitement, exhaustion and relief. The welcome committee formed by Dad and Frances was world-class and so was the immediate post ride care.  Family reunion after 6,666km Please stay tuned for more! The Coddiwomplers

Herberton to Mareeba 58km Ever since walking into the Herberton pub last night looking for a room we have been on the good karma train.  And today the train stopped at quite a few stations.  Sure the first 18kms into Atherton were steeply uphill, followed by screaming downhill, then required the patience and good driving of everyone on the road as we wound through the valley on a very narrow road.  But the drivers were patient, the bikes and the riders survived the hills and we rolled into Atherton to discover a rail trail! Stopped at the trail head, and pursuing the map, a ute mounts the curve and drives straight over to us.  On board is a MTB freak, keen to share with us what the trail is like and where to stop along the way.  He tells us that we can take the trail all the way to Mareeba, however the last 16kms the trail is not maintained.  He checks out the bikes and assures us that we will be able to ride it, no problems.   We needed supplies ...

Mt Garnet to Herberton 66km (810m of elevation gain) The elevation profile of today's ride looks like a bread knife, constantly carving up and down.  We decided to risk taking the Silver Valley Rd to Herberton as it both shortens the overall distance to Cairns, and gets us off the hwy.  We have been sharing the highway with road trains, four wheel drivers and caravanners since Rolleston (Day 114).  And cows, who have proven to be both the most curious fellows on the road and surprisingly good fence jumpers, like they are show jumping in the Olympics.  This sign would suggest they are also capable of eating cars... Things to watch out for... The hill carving starts immediately on leaving the caravan park, the main road through Mt Garnet is an 8% grade, which sure, on a road bike is pretty cruisy, but on a fat tyred, fully loaded touring bike is a bit of an effort.  The hwy takes us uphill to Innot Hot Springs, naturally occurring 74-85C geothermal hot water....

The Lynd Junction Roadhouse - somewhere in the bush 85km Somewhere in the bush - Mount Garnet 84km The approach into Cairns via the west, meaning the Atherton Tablelands, implies some heavy gear shifting. I never really believed that we would get all the way to the Tropical North without a single pedal stroke on the Bruce Highway. But it looks like we will make it happen. Of course there is always a flip side, in this case some heavy lifting in the mountain climbing department. I often joked to people along the way that we Europeans have this false idea that Australia is a flat continent with a big rock in the centre. Well, this myth has been busted many times on this trip, including on the last two days, on which we climbed almost a 1000m over 164km. I know, that's nothing in Tour de France terms, but we are in Queensland!  We leave the Lynd Junction Roadhouse in weather that we do not really associate with Tropical North Queensland. It's grey and a little drizzly,...

From Truck Stop (1) to Truck Stop (2) 91km From Truck Stop (2) to The Lynd Oasis Roadhouse 102km We continue to be well entertained on this Gregory Developmental Road or the Inland Way. It's either the cows, the changing landscape, the lookout for caltrope or, a new addition, the traffic control workers at the many road work sites we are passing today.  It's just after seven pm and we have already retreated to our tent. With two big days throbbing in our legs, we feel it is totally legit to call it a day while half the nation is watching the seven o'clock news.  Yesterday morning we woke up to a beautiful sunrise and the sound of nearby cattle making their first moves into another day out on the land. Louise is glad to be up at the crack of dawn after a bad night sleep, tossing and turning while the mind is racing. It didn't help that I enjoyed a fairly good night's rest but in my sleep kept kicking my leg which delivered undesired sound effe...

Charters Towers to Truck Stop, 70km North of Charters Towers! The Gregory Developmental Road might not be the most direct route to Cairns, but this Sunday it proves to be both peaceful and surprisingly beautiful.  We suspect the school holiday traffic is all on the coast, so it's just us and the occasional caravan or road train out here.  The road tracks NW out of Charters Towers, heading, well, to a couple of road houses, a lot of cattle stations and a few out of the way National Parks. The road is often closed by flooding, as it is crossed by multiple creeks and rivers.  We were shocked to ride past the 12m high post marking the 1946 flood level of the Burdekin River.  If we were here a month ago, this whole area was underwater.  Now we just get to appreciate all the green growth juxtaposed against the red rocks.  The colours of this place are gorgeous, and constantly change with the light.  I wish I knew the names of the trees, shrubs and grasses I ...

Charters Towers - recovery day 0km It's that thing with first impressions, you can never make them again. There is no second try. It felt a bit like that with our arrival at Charters Towers. Which wasn't the most charming and welcoming entrance to an anticipated town, with rude drivers and riding past construction sites for commercial estates. Quite a few travellers en route have raved about this place, how pretty and well worth a visit it is. When I wake up with a body signalling that some relaxation may be required, I look forward to exploring the town by foot and hopefully get a different perspective. We are both too tired to engage anything touristy (museums, guided tours), but are not afraid to take the 3km stroll into the centre.  It seems that the town has a few identities that are visible through different features. It's certainly a town that at some point suddenly had a lot of money running through its veins. The 'gold rush' era architecture is beautifully ...

Campaspe River Free Camp to Charters Towers 102km With such a long distance, the wind still against us and the QLD school holidays starting, the pressure was on to get to Charters Towers as early as possible.  This required the alarm going off at 0445, packing up camp, cooking and eating breakfast in the dark, cold (5C) and damp.  We were glad for the hills to warm us up as we rode into the dawn.  I can't decide what feels worse, the icy numbness of frozen fingers or the stinging when the blood starts flowing again!  So no sun rising photos today, it was too cold to stop pedalling. Recently my Aunty Fran, asked me about enduring memories of my mum, and her sister.  It feels appropriate, since today would have been her 70th birthday, to say that the skill to see AND appreciate the beauty in nature was certainly a lesson taught by mum.  The number of times we were forcibly shown a sunset, a tree, a leaf or flower... It all rubbed off and now Kerstin listens t...