On the waterfront from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Some scenes from along the waterfront, Cairns, northern Queensland
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On the waterfront
January 26th, 2011Around Cairns
January 25th, 2011Bit of an airing…
January 24th, 2011Back in China I’d written a piece about a young chap who’d decided to join me on the road. Laudable enough. But I’d felt uncomfortable. For one thing, how old was he? Late teens perhaps. And very persistent. In the end I’d had to be a little cunning. Eventually shaking him off. Cruel to be kind.
Intriguingly, it was this very story that an online cycle magazine – www.Bikemagic.com – has picked up. A further airing. Perhaps one day I’ll actually find out who the young rider was. You can see the full article at Round-the-world-cyclist celebrates 500th day
[Please note that Ken isn’t responsible for the content of other websites]
Awakenings
January 24th, 2011
Awakenings from Ken Roberts on Vimeo.
Dusk. Grounds of Cairns Central Library. In the trees. Fruit bats. Awakening. Gathering in the evening sky.
(In)decent proposals
January 24th, 2011Nil. The number of marriage proposals. I’d been asked to provide a few statistics for some cycling magazine websites. Offered the usual favourites. Punctures. Tyres. Brake pads. But couldn’t resist sneaking in a few less conventional ones. Bribes paid. Bizarre places slept. And offers to become my next wife.
Beginning to feel a bit nervous that my humour might come back to haunt me. Good job I’d not mentioned some of my more tongue-in-cheek criteria. Like no beards. Bit picky I know. Life on the road does strange things to you.
Suppose I’d better head off now. Stake out. Cairns Public Library. Dusk. Darkening skies. Mustn’t forget the umbrella. And it’s not to shield me from rain or sun. No. Something far more unpleasant. Meanwhile, you can always take a look at the latest online article at Road.cc magazine.
Salient lesson
January 23rd, 2011Kicking myself. Actually I wasn’t. No need. Enough discomfort without resorting to that. I’d made it across two whole continents. Across the blazing Kazakh Steppe. Through the Gobi desert. Liberal use of sunblock. Swapping helmet for wide brimmed floppy hat. Light tan. Nothing more.
But just forty five minutes swimming in an outdoor pool. Mid-morning. Few hours later. Reddened back. Surprised – stunned even – just how quickly you can burn. I’d sensed the damage a few hours later. Nothing serious. But sufficient to make me think. Realising that, for the all sophistication of Cairns, this is the Tropics. Much of the town built on reclaimed mangrove swamps. Dense rainforest enveloping the surrounding hills.
By late afternoon I’d some heavy duty water resistent sunblock. Approved, it said, by the Australian Cancer Council. Dug out my floppy hat. Toying with acquiring a cheap golfing umbrella to shelter from the sun. Something I’d often seen the mainland Chinese do.
A chat with Rowan, the hostel’s manager, yielded some other local hints and tips. Long sleeved shirts. Liberal application of lotion each morning. Making it as much a part of your daily routine as cleaning your teeth. A salient lesson learnt.
Springs and neaps
January 22nd, 2011"A king tide", the reporter explained, had Brisbane residents worried there might be further flooding. Something to do with the combination of high water and a still swollen river. Still, didn’t justify the abusive language. Children might be watching.
Bit of a washout
January 22nd, 2011Tropical downpour. Intense. But warm. And very humid. Cairns. Northern Queensland. Stood in the middle of a car park. Sheltering beneath a large umbrella. Feeling frustrated. Desperately trying to get a signal on my satellite phone so my local radio station could call me. With little success. Too many buildings around perhaps.
Back in the first world. Should have been straightforward enough. But, alas, pay phones don’t accept incoming calls. And the land line number I’d eventually found hadn’t worked. New Years Day so the internet cafes in town had closed early. And I’d not got WiFi access where I was staying. So, no Skype. Out of options. Tonight at least.
In truth, Anton and Jon at the radio station had spoken to me a little earlier. Reasonably clear line, bit of a time delay but workable. But, as soon as the live interview started, the signal began to fade. I’d tried to ad-lib, second guess things. And then the connection was lost. I didn’t want to even begin to imagine what was happening back in the studio in Somerset. Some frantic filling in.
I’d felt particularly bad about it because, in a way, it was may fault. We’d a well-proven method for pre-recorded interviews, unaffected by the now significant time difference. But I’d run out of time for that in Hong Kong, suggesting instead we did it live. After all, how difficult could it be to find a landline they could call me on? Now you know.
[The author is particularly indebted to presenter Anton and interviewer Jon at 10 Radio for their patience and understanding. Much more appreciative of why radio stations try and avoid live interviews…]
Tropical times ahead…
January 21st, 2011Cheese toasties and ice cold Aussie beer. After forty hours on the move, no finer welcome. I’d finally made it to a small hostel in Cairns, Northern Queensland. Few hours to spare before the New Year. Greeted by Rowan and Yuki. Shortly before landing at the nearby airport, the pilot had quipped it was raining. Smirks from the locals. For this was the wet season. The town up in the tropics. Very humid. Only the unwise wander out without an umbrella. Torrential downpours frequent.
Emma, my trusty steed, and I had come to Cairns, far up on Australia’s eastern seaboard, ready to ride south back towards Sydney. Chosen on the advice of Australians Brian and Savannah we’d stayed with back in Azerbaijan. A much better idea, they’d suggested, than Darwin I’d been toying with. Crossing the continent north to south.
I’m assuming that, unlike Central Asia or China, most people are at least familiar with the basic shape of Australia. Working on the assumption that if you’re struggling with that, you’ve yet to discover the internet and read this. And you probably do think Fooknose really is a town in China. Despite seeming to crop up quite a bit when asking for directions. So no hand-drawn maps. For the moment.
My route straightforward, conceptually at least. South along the east coast towards Sydney and Melbourne. City of Brisbane roughly half-way along. Tropical in the north. Just plain hot in the south. The latter familiar territory after the Kazak Steppe and the deserts of Western China. The former presenting new challenges. Hot, humid climate. Snakes. Poisonous spiders. Mosquitos. Dengue Fever. And not forgetting the old favourite. Crocodiles. Luckily they’re not venomous, so their bite need not be fatal…
The accidental tourist
January 20th, 2011I’d half expected to spend New Year’s Eve in Sydney baby-sitting Emma, my trusty steed, and all the kit. Sitting sleep-deprived in Domestic Departures. Waiting for Check-In to open. Caffeine my only companion. But no. Fortuitously choosing to fly Virgin Blue north to Cairns meant I could offload my bags and bicycle at International Arrivals. Using Virgin Atlantic from Hong Kong had probably helped. Captain helpfully explaining the arrangement just before we landed.
An unexpected day on my hands. Just after nine in the morning. Flight north not until gone seven pm. Cabin baggage – one of my front panniers – secured in Left Luggage. Even managed to find a free shower in one of the toilet blocks in the International terminal. And an adjacent shop that did a good trade in razors. My own having to be checked in. Refreshed. A bit. Or at least enough to head for the heart of Sydney. It’d be criminal not to. Like so many earlier visitors.
A short train ride into Circular Quay. Emerging to see Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Along the waterfront people staking out their places early for the night’s celebrations.
[With especial thanks to my Dad for researching the airlines, their rules for bikes and excess baggage, and finding the best deals. Virgin Atlantic from Hong Kong to Sydney. Then Virgin Blue to Cairns. Flying Cattle Economy but still very impressed with the standard of service. A relatively painless experience, even with a bicycle. Assuming you’ve properly packed up all your kit of course…]
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