Sydney-Byron Bay Update

Alright so here's the scoop, and it's a big scoop so brace yourself!

Day 1, Friday Feb. 16th: Cycled from Sydney to a small town called Kincumber (46.03 km). Lots of traffic as it was a Friday, so didn't quite make it to where we wanted that day. Stopped and asked a guy for the nearest accomodation, and he told us it was a ways away. He ended up offering us a bed at his house, so we took him up on it. Really nice guy - gave us a bed and let us do smoe laundry and stuff.

Day 2, Saturday Feb.17th: Had a nice 7am start and cycled from Kincumber to Swansea (68.2 km). It was a good day, and great roads. Lots of pretty ocean scenery. Bought supper at Coles (comparable to Safeway or Co-op back home) and went and ate it at McDonald's outdoor area. Ended up chattin with a Scottish guy who has been living in Auz for 30 years. Spent a good while cahatting about travelling and what not and guess what? He ended up inviting us to his place to spend the night! Really nice gentleman, and took care of us splendidly! Fed us lamb and prawns for supper, and made us a big omlette for breaky! Also hooked us up with some dandy reflectors for our bikes! We're starting to become overwhelmed by people's generosity.

Day 3, Sunday Feb. 18th: On the road again early, and cycled from Swansea to Nelson Bay (64.85km). It was a nice day again, but a bit on the warm side. Also had a couple flat tires, which made the day drag on a bit. Ended up parking our tent in a park at Nelson Bay, and hoped that we wouldn't get caught!

Day 4, Feb.19th: Took a ferry from Nelson Bay to Tea Gardens, and saw dolphins in the process!! Pretty cool cause they were pretty much right up beside the ferry! Camped at a caravan park that was right on the beach, and spend the rest of the day lazing in the sun! It was a beautiful beach - 14km long - and only a handful of people on it! Fantastic! There were also some really nice people at the campground, and evryone's always interested in what we're doing and where we're cycling to. The bikes make for a great conversation starter. Also met a couple from Canada on the beach.

Day 5, Feb 20th: We were told from some locals that the roads up to Taree weren't all that great, so we decided to spare ourselves some tires (hahahaha) and catch a bus from where we were to Taree. So we caught the 4pm bus, ended up setting up camp and a horse showgroudns for $6 each, and went ten pin bowling!

Day 6, Feb 21st: Had another really early start and cycled from Taree to Bonnie Hills (70.24 km) and had ourselves another couple flats! Went to the post office to ask about where to find some tubes, and one of the women there, Elizabeth, offered us a place to stay at her house for the night! So we stayed with her and her husband, Steve, and they were a super laid back and friendly couple. Steve is a potter and had some stunning work. He also built their house, and it was super unique.

Day 7, Feb 22nd: Slept in and then went to watch some kite surfing at a beach near Bonnie Hills. Never even heard of kite surfing before, but Elizabeth told us we should go check it out and we were really glad we did! Spent the whole day on the beach, then we went with Steve to watch Elizabeth play net-ball, a sport that we don't really have back in Canada. After Liz's game they took us around to do some sight-seeing, and then we had a BBQ back at their place. Just an all-around great couple, and we really enjoyed their company!

Day 8, Feb 23rd: Cycled from Bonnie Hills to Port McQuarie (30km) and decided to beach it for the rest of the day!

And that brings you up to date! We have 8 more days of planned cycling before we get to Byron Bay, and we hope to be there by the 4th of March. We're really enjoying ourselves - the cycling is great, and you sure can't complain about the beaches and the weather!!

Hope all is well with all you back home, and we'll talk to you again soon!