NZAU News & Updates

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Update Day 64 (last day) Apr-2-2026 (US)

Added post for Day 36. More will be coming this week.

We are home. Left Brisbane at 5:15 AM on April 2, and 26 hours later, we landed at BWI at 5 PM on April 2. We gained back the day we lost on our way to NZ two months ago! Dave and Kathy picked us up and we packed the bikes and our gear bags and us into Dave’s truck and headed back to their house to decompress. Rest would wait as the first law of overcoming jet lag is to get right into the new time zone. Champagne all around, then a delicious meal of lobster ravioli and bean salad by Dave & Kathy along with generous servings of vino.

We had some very intermittent sleep on the various flights on the way back, so we weren’t completely exhausted, but I only lasted until 10 PM before Dana and Dave hauled my drooping self upstairs to bed. We stayed with Kathy and Dave for another night and left early Saturday morning for State College. We’re now there and reassimilating. Only started out on the left side of the road once!

As I said above, more blog entries to come detailing our tour from Melbourne north to Brisbane.

Update Day 63 1-4-2026 (3-31-2026 in the US)

Added posts for days 32-35. Spent a lovely couple of days with Natalie in the Clayfield section of Brisbane. Long story, but we were originally going to connect with Rebecca, a friend of Dana’s friend Lynn in St Clg, but she wasn’t able to host. She kindly set us up with her cousin Natalie. We were close enough to cycle to Brisbane, and/or take the 50¢ train back and forth. More on our stay when I get the other 29 days of March done.

Natalie was so kind as to take Dana and all our stuff to the airport and I grabbed an Uber (it’s a $1000 fine for everyone in the car for anyone not wearing a seat belt, and there wasn’t room for a third person). Fortunately, Natalie lives 15 min from the airport, so the Uber was more than cost effective and avoided two trips. Also avoided getting up at 2 AM.

Now we’re at the airport and the Qantas counters are closed until 3 AM. So, we set up or own little sleeping “fort” in hopes of getting a couple zzzzzs before our 5:15 flight to Sydney.

Update Day 60 29-3-2026 (3-28-2026 in the US)

Well, we rode all the way to Brisbane from Sydney, save for a light rail bit to finish off yesterday.. Got here yesterday evening, and we’ll be here for the duration-flying out the 2nd. Have a kayaking/snorkeling trip to Moreton Island planned tomorrow, and we’ll do some cycling tours of the city. Sorry I’m so far behind on the blog, but we’ve spent a lot of time on the bikes: 4000km (2500+ miles) since Jan 30, and a lot of nice evenings with our Warmshowers hosts. I will finish it, for sure – lots of great stories and pics to come.

Update Day 53 22-3-2026 (3-21-2026 in the US)

Added posts for days 30 & 31. We’re in Bonny Hill and doing a short ride today to Port MacQuarie. Along the way, we’ll visit a Koala hospital. We have Warmshowers hosts tonight who will hopefully help us figure out the train system to get on to (or closer to) Brisbane. Only 11 days left for this adventure.

Update Day 51 19-3-2026 (3-18-2026 in the US)

Added posts for days 29 & 30. We’re in Tea Gardens at a hotel. Our tent and sleeping bags were still wet from the drenching we got two days ago, so we spread everything out and managed to get everything dry. Heading along the coast to the Forster area today, hoping to camp, then on to Port Maquarie to catch a train to Brisbane.

Update Day 50 18-3-2026 (3-17-2026 in the US)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Stephen took us to Sydney and we spent the afternoon with him there, then stayed another day. Saw a lot, but there’s a lot more to Sydney. We “celebrated” St. Pat yesterday at a small pub in Avalon Beach. We had already missed the last ferry from Palm Beach to Ettalong, so took our time getting to Palm Beach where we camped in a park next to the ferry dock. Poured rain, but that’s a story for later.

Currently in Newcastle, NSW, and will be heading up the coast to Brisbane, eventually getting a train to get there with some time to explore that area.

Update Day 45 14-3-2026 (3-13-2026 in the US)

Added posts for days 26-28. Our friend Steve picked us up in Cudal (Cuddle) on Thursday morning and drove us back to his place in Coolah. On the way we stopped for a late lunch (and refreshments, of course) and picked up some necessities at the chemist and groceries. We’ve been on two cattle roundups at his neighbor’s and hiked in the Coolah Tops National Park, and have been thoroughly enjoying his hospitality.

Update Day 41 10-3-2026 (3-9-2026 in the US)

Added post for day 25. We are in Cootamundra with Warm Showers hosts David and Anna-Maree. They are off to Sydney to get visas for a trip to France and we are enjoying breakfast at their lovely home. Heading north today and we will be meeting up with Steven who is going to pick us and the bikes up and show us the Outback and Sydney. Current plan anyway. Stay tuned as we don’t know what’s coming either!

Update Day 39 8-3-2026 (3-7-2026 in the US)

Added posts for days 22-24. We are in Wagga Wagga (the “a” sounding like our short “o”, pronounced Wogga Wogga). We are staying with Ian and Janet, a lovely couple we met at the campground in Princetown a week and a half ago. It’s a rest day for me, but Dana went for a ride with Ian’s & Janet’s neighbor while I relaxed and caught up on the blog. More about our encounter when I get to that post.

Update Day 36 5-3-2026 (3-4-2026 in the US)

Added posts for days 20 and 21. Currently in Yackandandah after three days of riding and two more great Warm Showers hosts in Seymour and Wangaratta. Actually, 3. Tonight we’re staying in a house of a women who lived in State College for 4 years in the late 80s/early 90s while her then husband worked on his PhD. Just a random request, but Kirsten saw our profile and sent a message that she wasn’t at home, but her neighbors would let us in. We talked to her on the phone about her time in SC and getting to the house, etc. So, here we are and heading to bed for a good rest.

Update Day 31 1-3-2026 (2-28-2026 in the US)

Added post for day 19. We’re on a train from Warrnambool to Melbourne after completing The Great Ocean Road. Nice stay in Warrnambool with Maggie, our WS host, and got to see the finishes of the annual men’s and women’s Melbourne to Warrnambool race. The race is 267km (165 miles) for the men and they finished in under 6 hours. The women’s race is 156 kilometers (100 miles) for the women, and they finished in 4 hours. Quite impressive and one of those chance moments we didn’t know anything about until we got there!

Update Day 29 27-2-2026 (2-26-2026 in the US)

Added posts for days 17 & 18. We’re in Princetown VIC, heading a few short miles to Port Campbell as I’m battling a cold and not up for a long day. Plan is to camp tonight, then ride to Warnambol on Saturday then catch the train to Melbourne while it’s raining on Sunday (91% chance they say).

Update Day 28, 26-2-2026 (2-25-2026 in the US)

Added posts for days 15 & 16. We are in Lorne, Victoria, after riding here on The Great Ocean Road (GOR), partially in the rain. We must be some kind of human dowsing rods, because we seem to bring rain to areas parched for weeks or months, including here and Devonport, Tasmania the other day (and good ol’ State College last year!).

Ended up in a hotel, dry and warm. Not sure what’s coming next — we were headed for the 12 Apostles on the GOR, but storms are forecast for our return day. And we got an invite from Steve, who we met in a rainstorm in Valentine, Nebraska last summer, for a personal tour of the Outback, just a little west of Sydney. Don’t know if that’s going to happen, but we’re trying to fit it in our plans. We were going to take a train or rental car from Melbourne to Sydney anyway, as even with a month left, there’s just not enough time to ride everywhere we want to go. Stay tuned.

Update Day 24, 22-2-2026 (2-21-2026 in the US)

Added posts for days 13 and 14. Currently in Devonport after a short ride from Sheffield to avoid what is supposed to be a rainy day — it is but not downpours. All good, though. I can use some time off the bike.

Update Day 23, 21-2-2026 (2-20-2026 in the US)

I’m going to keep this post at the top for progress reports about where we are and what’s going on since I’m so far behind on the blog. Currently we’re in Tasmania, heading to Sheffield and eventually Davenport l and then sailing back to Melbourne on Monday the 23rd. Still having a blast!

Update Day 20, 17-2-2026 (2-16 in the US)

Well, still massively behind on the blog. Some of you may have heard of the storms in NZ. We were camping one night with rain and 40 mph winds, but stayed dry in our tent and had a good place at the campground to cook and get everything packed for a wet and windy ride back to Christchurch.

Those winds pushed us up the one big climb twice for about 20-30 secs. Felt like we were on an e-bike for that little period. They also hit us around some curves and along the shore where they became crosswinds we had to fight to stay in the bike lane. All good though. We got to our hosts’ and they were so kind as to let us clean up, had picked up bike boxes for us and we packed the bikes and our bags in their dry garage. After showers, Sheralee warmed us with hot tea as we watched Jean’s videos of Paragliding all over the world. When the airport shuttle was unable to pick us up, they let us sleep, and got up at 3 AM to take us to the airport.

We’re all checked in at the gate and waiting to board the plane to Melbourne and more adventures! Stay tuned. I should be able to get a couple days done on the plane.

I did get one post done on the plane between naps. See Day 10 \/ \/ \/ \/ (below or “Previous Post”)

Update Day 13, 11-2-2026 (2-10 in the US)

Hi Everyone, very far behind on the blog so here’s a quick update. We’re in Christchurch and hanging around here until our flight leaves early Tuesday morning for Melbourne. We have been putting miles on and will be getting some hiking in today and tomorrow. So many pictures to go through, too, which I hope to do on our flight. In the meantime, here’s a link to our Photos Album for this trip: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xUwss5zA7MBJqy8G7