Fifth Report

Friday 27th March - Byron Bay to Peak Crossing
Through the tropical mountains again in the Gold Coast Hinterland, heading for my Unlce's farm at Peak Crossing. Another stunning ride and the trip just keeps getting better. Crossed the border into QLD and set our clocks back 20 years. The roads were small backroads winding through rainforest. We stopped for a walk and an explore at Natural Bridge where a waterfall spills into a glowworm infested cave. It was quite beautiful. We arrived at Peak Crossing at about 12.30. It was a trip down memory lane for me being at the farm again. Steve and his son Michael called in and I haven't seen Steve for about 40 years. We spent the night at the farm and took Colin to the Peak Pub for tea, cut his lawns and fixed his Smoke alarm. It was a great night and he is a great character. I saw a side of him that I have never seen before. He is really an 81 year old rascal, and is still working the farm. All continues to go well for us, and best wishes to all who are following our adventure.

Thursday 26th March - Casino to Byron Bay










This was a real short run to Byron Bay, and we arived just before lunch. The lighthouse marks the most easterly point of the mainland, and we took a number of photos there. The town is very trendy, and we had to walk around for half an hour just to find someone fully dressed or over fifty! We camped in among a bunch of young revellers, and the cops turned up at about 1.00 am top sort out those who were climbibng trees and making a racket. I'm clearly too old for all that stuff, as we were in bed by 9.30. We heard that Marcelo arrived safely home today, after two long days.

Wednesday 25th March - Armidale to Casino
We left Armidale in fog, but it soon cleared, and the temperature quickly rose. Once again great roads and magnificent scenery. We stopped at the huge and spectacular Wollombi Falls and again at Ebor Falls, which are bioth on what is known as Waterfall Way. After Gafton we knew that we were in the tropics. Vegatation became lush and the humidity picked up. It fanttastic to see so much greenery again. At Casino we stopped overnight in a park established on an old airfield, where they run speed trials on the old runway. There's a bike meeting there next weekend. I'm sorry to report that Teddy who is accompanying us played up on the night that we were at Casino and got quite smashed. We have pictorial evidence of this shamefull episode, and I've had stern word with him. Steve has has some drama at home, but as I type this on Saturday, all has been resolved. He hasn't been in the spirit of the trip over the last couple of days, but is back with us now.