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Report of a self-supported and self-planned bicycle tour on the famous Birdsville Track, Australia. Monsoon rains added an unexpected degree of difficulty...

Summer, Sun, Sand and Mud - cycling the Birdsville Track, Australia

Waltraud
2004-03-05 13:53:55

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area.

The Great Dividing Range almost at the coast

Until Moura the road is pretty boring: straight ahead, small hills, and fields on both sides. An aprupt change in landscape happens about 20 km before Moura, as we pass through a State Forest: many grass trees, and a nice Eucalypt forest. Ideal for the lunch break, although we no longer need to spend four hours in the shade. Temperatures now only reach 35°C maximum, so that we have a two hour break only. Moura welcomed us with advertisements for golf course, camping, barbecue and other activities. However, we did not need any "activities", and were looking for a cheap and quiet place to put our tent. Thus, we decided to look for something suitable behind the town. Moura has big coal mines, and also a fertilizer plant. The surrounding did not invite for camping, so that we ended up putting our tent up in immediate vicinity to the railroad track – the only place we could find before sunset. At night the coal trains kept us awake passing directly next to us at low speed. We will probably remember his monotonous deep sound and the vibrating soil for a long time…

Now there is one more mountain range to cross, before we reach the Pacific – the Great Dividing Range. We are looking forward to be cycling to forest again and to leave the boring farm country behind. Some of the ascends are quite steep, but luckily the truck traffic was sent on another road to pass the mountain range. So we basically have the street to ourselves. Our effort was rewarded by fascinating rugged mountain landscape and a wonderful road through Eucalypt forest. And effort we have: our shirts are sticky, sweat is running down our cheeks. The road seems to take the hills in a straight line. In the afternoon we pass the sign "Gladstone 100 km", and decide to take it easy and spend the night under grass trees, cycads, and Eucalypts and have a nice panorama view.

"No swimming" in the Pacific Ocean

We had spent our last night in the wilderness and now have a long downhill stretch from 450 m to sea level. The morning welcomes us with a spectacular sight almost to the ocean. After 70 km we reach Calliope and we are still at 100 m above sea level. Downhill to be continued… An then, after about 3000 km on the road, we reach the Pacific Ocean. The last 10 km we cycled through the city of Gladstone – amazing dimensions, if one considers that this town only has 30 000 inhabitants.

At the beach we are welcomed by stinger alarm signs – no swimming for us. What a disappointment. We then head for the house of Maria and Dieter who had invited us to spend a few days before returning to Germany.

Such a trip can not be summed up in one sentence. The impressions and adventures were too diverse, and too many different challenges had to be met during the trip. However, there is one sentence which came up in the planning phase of the trip, when we were discussing also with local Australians:

"The impossible becomes possible by doing it!"

For more information: http://www.mountainbike-expedition-team.de