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Today I had to make a significant change to my original itinerary because of the prohibition of pedestrians on the motorway.
My day started with a 6:30 wake-up to catch a 7:30 bus from Maclean to a rest area along my planned route that had a bus stop. Taking the bus to that point kept me on schedule but took out several miles of my walk that had no other route option other than the motorway. It’s a bummer that I’ll miss walking those miles but the rules are the rules.
By taking out the motorway miles that I didn’t walk I only had seven miles left to walk to my destination of Woodburn. I got here and checked into the Rod-N-Reel Motel and Pub. It REAL basic. I’ll leave it at that. Thankfully it’s a one night stay and I’ll be down the road to greener pastures tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, it’s a 21 mile day on backroads with a ferry ride at the end. I’ll also be back to the coast tomorrow. That’s it for today. JB.
Day 66 was an easy 10 mile stroll down a backroad with almost no traffic.
The day started with some breakfast at a local cafe in downtown Maclean near the bus stop. Then I caught the 9:45 bus back to Tyndale where I stopped walking yesterday. The skies were overcast and it looked like it could rain at any time, but never did. The road I walked, called The Big River Way, runs right beside the Clarence River which runs through Maclean. Just off to my right about a half-mile I could see the freeway which also skirts the edge of Maclean.
I reached town around 1:30, just in time for some lunch. After that it was back to my cozy motel at the Bowling Club. By the way, that means lawn bowling, not the kind of bowling we know in the U.S.. This Bowling Club not only has a lawn bowling area, but a bar, bistro, and casino along with the nice motel.
Maclean is a small town of about 2800 with a nice downtown shopping district with many little cafes and shops. It is known as the Scottish town of Australia because it’s earliest European settlers in the 1860s came from the Scottish Highlands. Near the heart of the business district is a grocery store that was opened in 1883.
Tomorrow I go to the town of Woodburn. I can only walk part of the 27 miles required to get there because part of the route is on the motorway and there’s no alternate route.
That’s all for today from Maclean, NSW. have a great day. JB.
Maclean, the Scottish town of Australia. Maclean’s downtown grocery, established in 1883.
Today’s walk did not go as planned because of weather problems but I have time to recover over the next couple of days.
Today was planned to be one of the longest days of the trip at 27 miles. With that in mind, I got out the door at 6:30 and made a quick breakfast stop at McDonalds which was right on my route out of town. The road I walked today was a busy two lane highway and it was especially busy early this morning with people driving to town for work and kids being brought to school.
By the 10 mile mark I reached a small town with a gas station that had a snack bar so I stopped briefly for a quick break and a milk shake. Not long after that the clouds began to thicken and around 11:00 I had my first rain shower for the day. I wore my poncho for about an hour until the rain stopped and the road dried out enough that I wasn’t getting wet from road spray.
At around 1:30 I was within a mile of the little village of Tyndale. By that point the skies were looking very threatening and thunderstorms were eminent. Lucky for me there is a bus stop in Tyndale with a small shelter to stand under. I stopped there to assess the situation. As it turned out that was a good decision. Soon after I got there a thunderstorm hit. Also, it was my luck that the bus that runs from last nights town of Grafton to tonight’s destination of Maclean was arriving at the Tyndale bus stop in another hour. So I decided to stay put and see what happened with the weather for the next hour and if there wasn’t significant improvement I’d take the bus when it came by. As it turned out, the weather didn’t look like it was going to improve soon so I took the bus up the road to Maclean.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning I’ll be taking the bus back to Tyndale and walk the eight miles I missed walking today to Maclean. Then on Wednesday I’ll be taking the bus part of the way to my next destination of Woodburn. I have to take the bus part of the way there because part of the route is on the motorway (M-1) and pedestrians are prohibited on the motorway.
That’s all I have to report for today. It seems like it rains here everyday. I’ll just have to deal with it for the next 10 days. JB.
I’m staying at the Maclean Bowling Club for the next two nights.
Today was day two of me not knowing how I was going to execute my walking plan, because if you’ll remember, I planned to take the bus, but the buses don’t run out in the countryside on weekends. Today I needed to get back out to the place where I was picked up on the shoulder of the freeway yesterday, which was 17 miles away.
Back about a week ago I was walking along on a backroad and came upon a road construction site. The crew was working on a bridge over a river along my route. Most of the time I just stroll right on through construction zones like I don’t even see them and no one says anything. But this time it was a narrow bridge and the flag guy wouldn’t let me walk across the bridge where they were working. But they did give me a ride through the construction zone for about a half mile in their truck. So the truck drivers name was Jim (not really, I made that up to protect the innocent). Jim said he and the whole crew were from Grafton, where I’m at now, and where I’ve had a logistical problem this weekend with the buses not running. So I told Jim about how I needed a ride from my hotel out to the freeway on Sunday, 3 March because the buses aren’t running. He said “No problem. He’d be glad to give me a ride since he lives right here in Grafton” and he gave me his cell phone number to call. So yesterday afternoon I gave Jim a call to see if he was still willing to give me a ride this morning. He said sure, that he was at the beach at the time, but he would give me a call back and we’d set up a time. Well, I waited the rest of the afternoon and last night, and finally went to bed and Jim had not called. I thought maybe he’ll remember and call this morning. After all, I’m not in a big rush today. But no call this morning either. HUM? I think Jim just blew me off.
So I got out the door at 8:30 and walked 1 1/2 miles across town to the point where the highway leaves the city limits and cars are most likely going out of town in the direction I need to go and started trying to hitch a ride. After about 20 minutes and probably 75 cars and trucks, a nice couple picked me up and took me out to my drop off point at Halfway Creek on the freeway. When we got there it was showering so I put my poncho on for about 3-4 miles until the rain stopped and the roads dried up.
I made it back into Grafton just before the thunderstorms got cranked up for the afternoon. That’s a daily occurrence around here it seems. Now I’ve got my laundry in the washer and I’m sitting with my feet propped up listening to the thunder and rainfall outside. I wonder if I should call Jim? I guess not because I don’t think I’d have anything kind to say. JB.
If you read yesterday’s post you’ll recall I was concerned about how I would get from the end of my walk today on the freeway to Grafton where my motel is located. I made the comment that it would work out; it always does. Well, it worked out. I’ll explain.
After checking into last nights motel in Woolgoolga, I noticed a couple sitting at a picnic table just outside my room. I went over and introduced myself to Al and Julie Mildred. They were traveling in the local area, were originally from Victoria where I began my walk, and recently moved to Grafton. That’s the same Grafton where I’m staying tonight and needed a ride to. They said they’d be glad to pick me up along my route today on their way home. So we traded cell phone numbers to call each other this morning and check in, and just like that I had a plan for getting from my stopping place today to my motel. By the way, while chatting with Al and Julie they mentioned their daughter lives in Tyler, Texas. Small world.
I got up and was ready to step off at dawn so as to get as far as I could down the road before Al and Julie caught up with me on their way home. I left at 6:20, 30 minutes before sunrise, and it was just light enough that cars could see me. By 10:00 I had finished the backroad portion of my route and it was time to get on the freeway. I called Al’s number to see if they were close to my location. They were close enough that I elected to walk on the side of the freeway with the flow of traffic so when they caught up with me I would be on their side of the road. After about another hour Al and Julie came up behind me and picked me up and off we went to Grafton and my motel. Thanks Al and Julie for the lift!
Earlier in the morning, before I got on the freeway, I had a neat experience. I was walking on a bike/walking path that was a few yards from the road and suddenly I thought I saw something peaking it’s head above a bush up ahead. I thought it could be a kangaroo so I stopped long enough to get my phone camera ready, then started slowly walking again. A few steps later I saw it was two kangaroos and they didn’t seem to be startled by me. Once I got even with them I stopped and started taking pictures and they actually started wrestling with each other. I kept taking pictures until they stopped and started hopping in my direction. That’s when it dawned on me that I had no idea what these two adult roos had in mind, but if they wanted to involve me in their wrestling match I wasn’t interested so maybe I should just mind my own business and head on down the road. So I finally got some up close pics of a couple of frisky kangaroos and I guess this entire walk has been worth it.
That’s all I have for you on this Saturday in Aussie Land. Have a great weekend back in Murika. JB.
My close encounter with the wrestling roos. Al and Julie Mildred from Grafton, NSW. I think I’ll just be moving on down the road now.
I had a great day walking along a road called Solitary Islands Way today. It kept me near, but off of the freeway all the way.
I was in no rush today to get started as there was no bus or train to meet. I just walked from motel to motel. With no firm schedule to meet, I left the motel at 8:00, stopped at a sidewalk cafe for some breakfast, and started walking from there at 9:00. The first few miles were on sidewalks along busy streets, but eventually I transitioned onto Solitary Islands Way. This winding two lane road weaves its way along the coast, zigzagging back and forth from one side of the freeway to the other. For the most part I had a nice shoulder to walk on and very little traffic to compete with.
It was a relatively easy 16 mile walk to Woolgoolga, a nice little town of about 5000. I got into town about 1:30 and stopped just short of my motel at the Subway for lunch. Believe it or not, this Subway had five bags of chips for sale. That was a first for an Australian Subway. I bought one and took a pass on the cookie.
Tonight I’m staying in another one of these little locally owned motels. It’s super-nice inside. Kelly runs the place and was very pleasant to talk to when I checked in. She gave me the rundown on local businesses and places to eat dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. When I asked her if there was a guest laundry, she insisted on doing it for me. I tell ya, these Aussies are really hospitable.
Tomorrow will be a bit of a challenge. First, the forecast says a high of 96 degrees with thunderstorms starting at 3:00 PM. Second, I’m suppose to walk to a bus stop tomorrow that’s at a gas station halfway to my next motel town approx 40 miles away. However, when I planned this all out I didn’t realize the bus doesn’t run on weekends to that bus stop and tomorrow is Saturday. So I’m not sure how I’m getting from that gas station the rest of the way to my motel, which is another 20 miles down the road. I guess it will work out. I always does.
That’s all I have to report on this Friday from Woolgoolga, New South Wales. Have a great Friday yourself. JB.
Kelly runs the Seaview Tavern Motel in Woolgoolga.
Today was a much needed day of rest. It was my last day off before I finish my walk on 15 March in Brisbane.
I can’t say that I slept in late because I still woke up around 6:00, but I refused to get out of bed until 8:00. Then I needed to find some breakfast. I’ll admit I’m not a big breakfast eater. On walking days I force myself to eat something good. But on days off I’m really not looking for much. I remember the receptionist when I checked in two days ago saying something about room service. So I walked down to the lobby to check that out. The lady there was very nice and said I really didn’t need to order room service; she would just give me some things to take to my room. I thought SWEET! So I got some cereal, milk, juice, and fruit for this morning and tomorrow morning.
After breakfast it was laundry time; my favorite thing in the whole world. Luckily the motel has a guest laundry. The washer was free and the dryer was $3. That’s a little backwards if you ask me, but whatever. I didn’t do laundry two days ago or last night so for a change I actually got to put the washer on the MEDIUM LOAD setting! LOOK OUT! After doing laundry I was wasted from all that work so I sat around and read all the accurate and reliable information on “X” (formally known as twitter) for a while. Finally lunchtime came and I had some leftovers from last night’s Italian restaurant.
By mid-afternoon I had one last official duty to take care of on my day off. I needed a haircut. Or at least I’ve been told I could use one from several thousand miles away. So I walked a few blocks to the business district and found a barbershop. The barber did a great job. So good I’m surprised I wasn’t getting stopped on the street by random strangers complementing me on my haircut. But not one person said a word all the way back to my motel.
So here I am now. Totally rested and ready to get these last 15 days and 267 miles completed. I’ll start tomorrow by walking 16 miles to Woolgoolga; another coastal town straight north from here. That’s all for today from Coffs Harbour. Sorry if this entry was a little heavy in sarcasm but it just starts flowing if I sit too long in one place. Have a happy Thursday. JB.
My home in Coffs Harbour for the last three nights.
I was back on the bus this morning, returning to the small town of Urunga where I ended my walking day yesterday. However, this bus ride was quite different than my trip yesterday with Damien and the empty bus.
My day began with a scheduled 8:19 pickup at the bus stop about a 10 minute walk from my motel. As I was waiting on the bus a couple of middle school-aged kids, dressed in their uniforms were also waiting. When our bus pulled up and I got on, much to my surprise, the bus was packed full of kids going to school. They were all dressed alike in their uniforms. I went toward the back of the bus looking for a seat. I finally asked a young male student if he would move his backpack and share his seat. He was very nice and said of course. The kids were all well behaved, but of course were doing kid-things like playing games on their phones, giggling and laughing, and generally just being kids. After riding along on the bus for about 30 minutes, I got curious why these kids were riding so far on the bus. I asked the boy I was sitting beside and he said they go to a private school in the country.
Once we got to the school, all the kids got off and there were only three of us left on the bus. The driver said his bus holds 46 students with the elementary kids sitting three to a seat, and the high schoolers two to a seat. This all helps explain why all the city busses have “School Bus” posted on the front around the time school starts and ends. There are no school busses as we know them in the U.S.. The city busses are used as school busses. Also, the whole bus system in Australia is government subsidized. I guess that’s how they can afford to run me around for an hour yesterday on an empty bus.
After the morning’s school bus ride to Urunga, I had some breakfast at a cafe across from the bus stop and then started walking about 10:00. Most of my route was on backroads but the freeway was nearby. The last 5-6 miles found me on a bike trail beside the four-lane.
Tonight I spend my second of three night in Coffs Harbour. Tomorrow is my last day off before the finish line in Brisbane. I’ll get there 16 days from today. JB.
Getting photo bombed on the school bus. Aussie entrepreneurship at its best.
Today got off to a very early start because I had a bus to catch at the end of my walk to Coffs Harbour where I’ll be staying for the next three nights.
Yesterday in my blog I said I would be walking to the town of Urunga and then catch a train. Unfortunately I was not able to make a train reservation on my phone app last night and the train does not stop at these small town stations unless you have an advanced reservation so they know they have a passenger there to pick up. So instead of starting my walk this morning in time to catch a 3:30 train, I had to leave in time to catch a 1:27 bus in the same town. To ensure I got there on time I started walking at 6:30.
The walking route was very good. I followed the old Pacific Coast Highway which basically paralleled the freeway most of the way. There was far less traffic on the old road. However, the old road tends to go to the top and bottom of all the hills unlike the freeway that has a more level route.
I made it to my destination of Urunga with 45 minutes to spare. That gave me time to grab some lunch at a cafe across the street from the bus stop. The bus was right on time and I was the only passenger, so I sat on the front seat and for the next 45 minutes the driver, Damien Pell, and I had a great conversation about everything; except politics. We must have gone by 25 bus stops and never picked up another single passenger. A few times there were customers at the bus stop, but each time Damien would stop, they would only have a question for him. So we kept going down the road with me sitting on the front seat talking to Damien on an empty bus. We finally got into Coffs Harbour where my motel is located. The bus stop was a few blocks away from the motel which worked out good because if I had taken the train, the station was two miles from the motel.
Tomorrow I have two options. Either take the bus 18 miles back to Urunga and finish my walk here to Coffs Harbour, or take the day off and wait until day after tomorrow to walk. Either way I’ve got one day of walking and one day off coming up.
That’s all for my Tuesday in New South Wales. Thanks for following along. JB.
My new friend, bus driver Damien Pell. An early morning start in Macksville, NSW.
After a good night’s rest in the Mandarin Motel in Macksville last night I had an easy day of walking today, though it was mostly back on the freeway.
My day got started with a 5:45 alarm. I bought my breakfast goodies last night at the local grocery store and ate in my room so I wouldn’t have to get up even earlier. I was packed and out the door at 6:30 for my one mile walk to the train station to catch the 7:15 train back to Eungai where I stopped walking yesterday. The train was right on time and it took 15 minutes to get to Eungai, which you’ll recall is out in the bush off the main road.
Immediately after stepping off the train the flies attacked. When those suckers are around, they’re persistent. I put my net over my face and that solved the immediate problem, even though there are hundreds hitching a ride on the backside of my backpack that I can’t do anything about.
After about a two mile hike to get back out of bush country, I was on the freeway. It was quite cool this morning (68 degrees) and I had the shade on my side of the road so other than the humidity, it wasn’t too bad. I walked about eight miles on the freeway until I came to the Macksville exit, then another two miles into town to my hotel.
Here’s a quick human interest story. Every day I do laundry. That’s because I only carry two sets of walking clothes and I don’t want to run out by not washing every day. In these small town motels, they usually have a guest laundry. Sometimes it’s free. Other times it’s coin operated and costs maybe $2-3/load to wash and $1/load to dry. Sometimes the owner/manager even volunteers to do my laundry for me for free. So yesterday I checked in to this motel I’m staying in now in Macksville. As I always do, I asked if they had a laundry. The lady said yes, that it was $10/load to wash and $10/load to dry. Now I’ve been known to overreact, but I don’t usually just blurt it out right then and there. But I did this time because this was quite a deviation from what I was accustomed to and it caught me off guard. I said “$10? Are you kidding me? That’s $20 to wash and dry one load of laundry.” She said that’s right, but I could take my laundry into town to the laundromat if I wanted. So yesterday I didn’t do my laundry. I waited until after I walked today with my second and last set of clean walking clothes on, and went five blocks into town to the laundromat and spent $9 total to do two days worth of laundry. And I feel really good about that.
Tomorrow I pack up everything and walk 19 miles to another train station where I’ll hop the train and ride into the next big town, Coffs Harbour. That will put me back on the coast again and I’ll be in a motel there for three nights, including a day off on Thursday.
That’s all for my Monday. I hope your weekend was a good one. JB.
