Camping and Guesting from Sydney

January 10, 2019

The tour has gone into short day riding mode. This may be because there is now two of us. We could knock off 60 miles a day but it would be mostly the Pacific Coast Highway which it not quite the same as it’s American namesake. The Australian version is slightly inland with no stunning views once your a days ride from Sydney. For this reason we have taken it only sporadically and instead have been on the quieter but less direct side routes. The places we have slept at since Sydney have been a mixture of camping and hosts. 1st was a previous host of mine from 2015 Rod and Deb in Wamberral. Possibly the house with the best view on Warmshowers. Here we were served vegetable lasagne and had the run of the house. Next was another previous host, Kedan and Kath in Newcastle. This is the Bike Bag Dude and all round Masterchef. We stayed two nights as on the Saturday after I did the hardest Parkrun so far is was just to hot to cycle. We had 42 on the thermometer, not cycle friendly kind of weather. The first night was stuffed mushrooms, salad and grilled cheese. The second night was 3 different homemade pizzas and watermelon desert. 

Once we were back on the bikes we made it to Nelson Bay and the first rain for me since the mountains 2 weeks earlier. It was time to show Norman I actually did have a tent and wasn’t just a Warmshowers hog. We pitched in the local park under a welcoming gazebo and slept out the rain to wake up to a sunny day. Norman wanted to do some camping off the beaten track next so we cycled to Shelly Beach along the Lakes Way Road. This was quite an easy distance and the camp ground was stunning. Camping on the the shore of a warm water lake with only a few other campers has been one of the many highlights so far. Most recently we pitched up next to a town hall in a rural village called Johns River. I spotted a plug socket on the outside wall of the hall which luckily was under a roof area with toilets near by. Norman didn’t even bother setting his tent up. He just slept outside. I told him he was welcome to the mosquitoes as I had had enough for one trip and set up the inner part of my tent only. Another perfect spot.

Riding into the next town of Lakeview I pulled up outside a bank to log into the WiFi when Norman started talking to a local guy. A few hours later we were at his home with him and his wife eating food and drinking wine. I slept in their caravan in the garden and Norman put us tent on the lawn. More amazing Australian generosity.