We had fine weather and very low temperatures to greet us as we left the motel room in Grafton. In hoping for a good run to Macksville, we were met first with a three degree chill which only rose above 5 degrees after an hour on the road.
Soon after leaving Grafton, I was climbing amongst beautiful, natural bush-lands of gums, small grasses and the occasional wattle tree in bloom. The filtered light of the sun cast interesting shadows across the road and the occasional break in the trees provided a burst of warmth from the sun, only to be stolen away with the next section of bush-land. It makes a difference when you are riding through bush-lands of eucalyptus, as it tends to open your airways and breathing always seems easier. For Grant, on the other hand, the change of flora has led to hay-fever. I think the wattle looks superb, Grant couldn’t get rid of it quickly enough today.
There were fences about two metres high running for nearly the entire distance of our ride. Dotted along the road side are small ramps with a cut in the fence about one metre high and a drop into the bush on the other side. My first thoughts were of the animated movie Over the Hedge where the animals dare not venture beyond the hedge. In Australia, we just put up ring lock fencing. The animals can see the road but can’t get to it. Seriously though, the ramps have been installed to assist Koalas, Possums and other animals to get back to their side of the fence and away from road trains, caravans and cars. Further along, there came a sign to look out for wild horses for the next 25km. Nope, I don’t want to hit one of them!
Banana plantations on the hills were an imposing sight and they seemed to crawl all over the mountains and hills throughout this area. Previously, in North Queensland and Northern NSW, it was cane fields across the flats. Now every hill seems covered in bananas.
Arriving on the outskirts of Coffs Harbour, we made the customary stop at the Big Banana. Having completed 80km, it was time for lunch. I figured given that I was wearing a fluro yellow long sleeve and yellow shoes that I would be B1 and the iconic Big Banana could be B2. Whilst having lunch here, we were approached by a gentleman, Simon Hay, from Ability Links NSW. He was advised by Darrel, from Amputees NSW, that we’d be rolling through at around 11.30am. Jason stopped and chatted about the purpose of the ride and we gained a brief insight into his work here in Coffs Harbour and the Mid North Coast. It has been these interactions that have made this trip worthwhile.
Back on the road and having navigated through Coffs Harbour, we were out on the open highway again. Thankfully we have been able to remain on the M1 which has greatly assisted our travelling times but, equally, has provided us with smoother and wider roads. Well…not all the time. The old Pacific Highway is still used in sections and these runs are a little tight and scary at times. Once the M1 is finished, it will be a fantastic drive. The loss will be for the small towns throughout this area who rely on the passing trade, much like America’s Route 66. Time will tell if they will survive or reinvent themselves.
Now a great donation has been received for the Queensland guys and we are excited that this has come through to support more youth being able to attend Amp Camp next year. If you’re a NSW supporter, now is the time to dig deep. The boys lost the State of Origin, the girls won! Lets see what we can do in regard to raising the funds for Amp Camp. Can’t let those Queenslanders get the upper hand.
Please donate to Amputees NSW via the following address, http://ozcrowd.com/campaign/3959 or through visiting their website http://www.amputeesnsw.org.au/
If you are a business owner or involved in a large corporation, please consider Amp Camp as your ongoing charity to support.
Tomorrow we will be heading to a work colleague’s home in Mooreland as we have now reconfigured our run into Sydney. As we make our way down the coast, we have been afforded great weather and pray it remains that way into Sydney.
Until tomorrow,
Mike and Grant
The land of the giant icons! Love it.