Coddiwomple

Kingaroy When Kerstin complains of a headache, and willingly takes some analgesia, you know she is feeling pretty crap.  It didn't take much convincing to stay in the home of Australian peanuts for another day.  Leaving her to nap, I took off to on a mission to retrieve our postal votes, which we had sent to the Kingaroy Post Office.  But the best laid plans never quite work out the way you expect.  So some weird AustPost rule, about it being a letter, not a parcel, they were sent directly back to South Australia.  Which kind of defeats the purpose of the postal vote, classic political misdirection!  After a call to the AEC, we have a plan B, fingers crossed. While the postal vote mission didn't quite work out, the plan to get our hands on some local peanuts was much more successful.  A trip to The Peanut Van , luckily colocated with the Big Peanut was a grand success.  The honey coated peanuts were fresh, large and delicious.  So we, like 17...

Kumbia - Kingaroy 32km After yesterday's bicycle hardship (holy smokes, did I struggle) I am grateful for every body part that doesn't protest in pain or ache when I crawl out of the tent this morning. And my mind is so busy doing a general health check that I almost forget that we are riding into wine country today. The South Burnett Region will be the last wine grape growing terroir until... well, I don't know until when and where.  The advertising for this wine region is very uniquely unpretentious and if it wasn't for a picture here and there, you would be hard pressed to guess, what they are advertising, other than "having a good time".  One of the more mentioned wineries in this region is Kingsley Grove Estate, a producer that prides itself for not only doing everything inhouse (from berry to bottle is in their logo) but they are also very proud of their wine icecream! Yes, you have read correctly. I can smell a segment in the Adventures in Wine column c...

Jandowae to Kumbia 72kms (or thereabouts as the cycle comp battery died) The atmosphere in Cabin 6 this morning was both nervous (Louise) and excited (Kerstin).  The mood of all sank when the sight and sound of heavy rain greeted us on waking.  But a little bit of patience and positivity paid off, and for a brief moment the sun was shining.  We took this as an omen and began pedalling, after two weeks of stasis, it was a liberating feeling to be rolling along another unknown road.   Farewell Cabin 6 The sun lasted about five minutes, and we had to pedal through some large puddles just to get out of the caravan park.  With the clouds low and grey above us, and the sounds of water all around, we both felt the similarities with our travels in Scotland.  I am happy to report that the temperature was distinctly dissimilar, so despite creeping damp, it was at least not cold.  While humidity ticked along at 95% and the very air felt heavy.   Wa...

The picture may suggest otherwise but the cabin crew is preparing for departure... Bandit comes over for a last visit After 13 days of unexpected rest and recovery due the health and (later) weather related events, and making new friends (see picture above), we plan to be back on the bikes tomorrow.  A little test ride confirmed that systems are almost back to run at full capacity. We are looking forward to starting a new chapter tomorrow, not without being a little nervous, but optimistic that the extensive visit to Jandowae was well worth its time. While the wet weather has caused alarming concerns for most travellers in the southeast, it looks - at this stage - that the road to Kingaroy is clear to ride. But we suspect wet feet will be inevitable. Big puddles  Before we take off, a heartfelt thank you to all of you who cheered us on through these last few days - our microwave cooking has never been better!  Look, a sunset!  ...

Out of the blue (van) they appeared!  Blue van with familiar faces Since being on tour, the sensation of being surprised by the unexpected has become a mostly pleasant side effect of Coddiwomple, ignoring the 'hitting the COVID pothole' (as SJ so matchingly put it) for a moment. Some of the encounters, sightings, viewings couldn't have been planned, even if you tried. When our dear friends and Watervale neighbours, Kel and Hayden, with their three kids Bridie, Archer and Percy and - not to forget - greyhound Billie, embarked on their, slightly more motorised, version of Coddiwomple back in January, we were hopeful that we would meet somewhen, somewhere under the big skies of this continent. So when Kel texted the night before yesterday, simply asking "are you up for a visit?" we clapped our hands in excitement! She had also added the comment "it took bloody COVID to finally catch you girls!".  It felt a bit like one of those 'airport moments', in...

You know where we are Our internal decision-making flowcharts were getting more complex by the minute as we, each to ourselves, try to figure out what the right thing to do was. I tune into the voices inside my body while staring at the packed panier bags. For a moment I contemplate the assistance of a whiteboard, which lies abandoned underneath the cabin opposite ours, to sort out the conflicting voices in my head. Whiteboard thinking But then Louise's voice of wisdom starts to fill the silent cabin. She then delivers a plaidoyer for extending our road to recovery that would have been envied by any advocate suggesting the same or making a case for the opposite. I feel my body sighing in relief when the decision is made that we would not only attempt full recovery before moving on but also sit out the worrying big wet weather front moving over most parts of QLD over the next few days. " No, I am definitely not fit for riding" , I admit to myself.  With that decision made ...

Palace de Malade no. 6 - Jandowae QLD After a few intakes of Louise's culinary delights by microwave, it is uplifting to notice that my body systems are acknowledging the efforts by signalling that we are moving forward on the road to recovery. We enjoy our breakfast müesli outside, absorbing an unexpected but welcome bit of morning sunshine.  Mother's Day! A perfect day to promote some of the little wisdoms mothers have in store for you in times of sickness, in addition to stressing the importance of home cooked food (more pronounced in families with Italian heritage). I resort to another of my mother's popular remedies when battling a cold... steam inhalation! Kerstin downunder. I don't know how many hours I have spent head over a bowl with steaming hot water, infused with a few drops of eucalyptus or tea tree oil, covered by a towel, but it works a treat every time. Hang in there for 5-10 minutes and imagine you are in some Turkish hammam, just without getting your f...

Jandowae, yep still here. With both my nursing and cooking hats on while Kerstin continues her immune battle with COVID.  I decide that what would really help this whole situation is chicken soup, even the  science  will back me up here.  Usually I keep a supply of home-made, to Nonna's recipe, chicken soup in the freezer at home just for those rare occasions of illness.  The question is can I make a chicken soup from the sparse choices at the local SPAR supermarket and a microwave? After a bit of wandering around the supermarket I assemble my ingredients. And with a bit of creativity it turns out you can make a completely edible chicken soup in  the microwave, and the whole process took about 10 minutes!   Of course Nonna's recipe will always be the best but that is a two day job.   Also, just in case you were wondering, you can totally make omelettes in the microwave!