Start:  Karuah

Finish:  Bulahdelah

Distance:  27

Total:  771

Today was a very difficult day. 27 miles is certainly near the limit of how far I can walk. Add to that the fact that it rained the last 19 miles so I was wearing my parka and getting blasted by road spray on the highway. The only saving grace; tomorrow is a day off. 

When I woke up this morning at 7:00 it was raining right down as forecasted. With 27 miles to walk, I needed 9 hours to get to my destination. I couldn’t take the day off because I have motel reservations already booked tonight and several more nights down the road. So I sat around for a while hoping the rain would let up. At about 8:30 things started looking better so I packed up and went across the street for breakfast. By 9:30 the rain had stopped but it was still very cloudy, muggy, and threatening looking. 

My first two miles out of Karuah were on a side road before getting on the freeway. Shortly after that, another side road started paralleling the freeway, much like a service road, so I took that for another six miles. Finally that good fortune ended, and at the same time the clouds opened up and it started raining again. It just so happened there was a small service station at the point where the service road merged with the freeway, so I ducked in there to eat my lunch, change socks, and pray for the rain to stop. I patiently waited 30 minutes but it didn’t look promising outside or on the radar on my phone, so I put on my parka and headed out onto the shoulder of the freeway to face the inevitable. Traffic was normal for a freeway, and wouldn’t you know it; the first 34-wheeler that gave me a bath with road spray was a truck load of chickens. Cattle trucks are bad, but a truck load of live chickens is the worst. 

The next six hours were pretty miserable. I stayed covered with my poncho, which now has a huge tear in it, and sloshed through the last 19 miles along the shoulder of the freeway in the rain.  I can only imagine what these truckers are saying to each other about me on their CB radios. I’ll admit it’s not everyday you see some guy with a backpack and walking stick covered with a poncho walking along the shoulder of the freeway in the middle of nowhere in a rainstorm. 

Tonight after checking in to my motel, I walked a few blocks into town to eat dinner. There I met Ricky and Thearn Fisher at the local pub, The Plough Inn. They live west of Sydney and were traveling through the area on holiday. We struck up a conversation and before you know it we were having dinner together. They were very nice and even gave me a ride back to the motel. 

So here I am in Bulahdelah, New South Wales. My motel room is adequate. The wifi is fast, the bed is soft, and they have a guest laundry. AND; it’s suppose to rain tomorrow on my day off!  I hope it does because I plan to sit, listen to it rain, and take it easy.   My next walking day is another 27-mile day. Ugh!  But I hit the finish line in Brisbane one month from today!!  JB. 

Start:  Raymond Terrace

Finish:  Karuah

Distance:  18

Total:  744

Today was forecast to be a hot one. So I did all I could to beat the heat and get to my destination as quickly as I could. 

Last night I saw the forecast; mid-90s for a high with no clouds until after 2:00. So I went to bed early with the intention of getting up and getting on the road as early as daylight would allow. However, I didn’t intend to wake up at 3 AM and just lay there looking at the ceiling. But that’s what happened. At 5:30 I got up, packed up, and walked a mile down the road in the dark to the 24 Hr McDonalds. A hand full of employees and myself were the only ones there that early, but by the time I had eaten breakfast it was daylight and off I went toward the 4-lane highway. 

The road I’m walking on, for all intent and purposes, is a freeway. It’s just like our interstate highway at home with a speed limit of 110 KPH (68 MPH). However, the nice wide shoulder has a bicycle symbol painted on it so that means pedestrians, like me, can use it. However, later on, this same road is designated a “motorway” and I can’t use it. So on the map now it’s called Hwy A-1; later it is called Hwy M-1. 

For the first 10 miles or so I was walking north. And there were trees along my right side. So the eastern sun was casting a shadow on my side of the highway and the temperature was still nice. However, as I walked farther, the road turned more to the east, and the sun got higher in the sky, and the temperature started climbing, and my shade went away.  By 12:30 when I got to my destination of Karuah it was 96 degrees. Tomorrow is suppose to be much cooler with rain. I need to walk 27 miles tomorrow on the freeway. Rain, poncho, trucks splashing road spray; we’ll see how that turns out. 

Tonight I’m in the little town of Karuah (ka-roo-ah), pop. 1400.  It’s a one stoplight town, but once again the town’s little motel has everything I require. Life is good here in Karuah. JB. 

Start:  Newcastle 

Finish:  Raymond Terrace

Distance: 15

Total:  726

As I have mentioned in previous posts, because I use Google Maps to plan my route, and I have no prior knowledge of the local area or road conditions, it’s really a complete surprise everyday what situation I will find myself walking in. Today I don’t think it could have been very much worse. 

After a good nights rest at the new Holiday Inn Express in Newcastle, I went down for breakfast and spent entirely too long chitchatting with two couples who were there for the Pink concert. Before I knew it I’d spent over an hour talking with them before I got out the door about 9:30. When I stepped out the door I could tell it was going to be a hot one. No clouds, no breeze, and plenty of humidity. My first 4-5 miles were spent just walking along sidewalks in north Newcastle. But eventually the sidewalk ended and the street turned into Pacific Coast Highway; a four lane highway with a median and thousands of tractor-trailer trucks. Notice I didn’t call them 18-wheelers. That’s because most of the big trucks here have 34 wheels!!  That’s right. 34-wheelers. Don’t think one of those will blow the cap right off your head?  

So there I was, walking along the 4-lane facing 34-wheelers going 100 KPH. Then came the real fun. A construction zone that took most of my shoulder away. Luckily the trucks had to slow down some so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The construction zone was about a mile long. After that, it was back to 100 KPH for the speed limit. By noon I needed a break so I stumbled into a McDonald’s that some how was built in the middle of nowhere with no town in sight. While eating I checked the temperature; 94 degrees with 50% humidity. I shouldn’t complain. It’s Day 45 and it’s my first 90+ degree day. 

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday in my post. You know you’ve been doing these walks too long when you can actually SMELL a Subway sandwich shop from the road without seeing it. Yesterday I was walking along and there were random businesses scattered along the street. Suddenly I got this weird sensation there was a Subway nearby. I could smell it. I looked back and about 50 yards behind me and tucked at the far end of a convenience store/gas station was a Subway shop. I think I’ve eaten way too many Subway sandwiches over the years. 

I made it to my destination, the town of Raymond Terrace at 3:00. It’s a quiet little place about a mile from the 4-lane. The motel is nice. Since I had to reschedule my day off that was suppose to be today in Newcastle, I really had nothing to base my decision on. If I’d known this motel was this nice I would have taken a day off tomorrow and stayed here two nights. Instead I’m off Friday after walking a 27 mile day. 

That’s all for Day 45. Thanks for following along. JB. 

Start:  Swansea

Finish:  Newcastle 

Distance:  15

Total:  711

Happy Super Bowl Monday everyone!  Not such a big deal in the land down under. However, one of the major TV networks did carry the game live, even though it was in the middle of the day on Monday here. 

I had a good day walking on up the coast to Newcastle; a major city north of Sydney. As you recall I was suppose to be here two nights and looking forward to a day off tomorrow but I’ve beat that dead horse enough so I’ll just say I’m enjoying my stay at the brand spanking new Holiday Inn Express.  It’s so new, it’s just a vacant lot on Google Maps. However, when I checked in, the receptionist said they’d had some cancellations for tomorrow night so if I wanted to stay another night they had rooms. TOO LATE!  I already have rooms booked every night for the next week down the road and I’d have to cancel all of them so TOO LATE!  

My walk up from Swansea was uneventful. I had a really nice bike/walking trail part of the way and believe it or not, the last three miles were DOWNHILL vs the usual uphill. The Super Bowl kicked off over here at 10:30 AM Monday and I already knew my CBS Sports App would not play the video live on my phone because I’ve tried to watch other sports events live on it and other apps and I get the usual pop up that the video is not available in my area. So right before kickoff I started to look for an audio streaming source to listen to the game on radio. No luck there either. So I resorted to keeping up with the game on my ESPN app and watching the gamecast. At least I could imagine what was happening, even though I really didn’t give a hoot about who won being a Cowboy fan and all. 

So as I was getting close to my hotel, and I mean really close, the game was in its last minute. 19-16; KC had the ball and was about to either win or tie the game. I walked into the hotel lobby and the game was on a big screen TV right by the reception desk. KC was lining up to kick the tying field goal. I stood there and watched as 5-6 other people who worked in the hotel were oblivious to what was going on. They weren’t busy with any other guests. They were just doing their thing and had no interest whatsoever in the Super Bowl. Probably the same reaction you’d get at the Holiday Inn Express in the U.S. if the Cricket World Championship were on. So after the tying field goal, I checked in and went to my room and watched the rest of the game. 

Starting tomorrow I turn away from the coastline for a few days. And no more big towns for a while either.  700+ miles down, 500+ more to go. JB. 

Start:  The Entrance

Finish:  Swansea

Distance:  24

Total:  696

After a good nights rest I got up and started early today because of the distance I needed to walk. Lucky for me the weather was good with clouds and temps in the low 80s. 

I left the motel at 7:15 and stopped at a cafe shortly afterwards for some breakfast. It was Sunday morning here and there was hardly anyone out and about. After breakfast my route immediately had me walking a backroad through swampy looking terrain paralleling the shoreline. I could hear the waves through the undergrowth but couldn’t see the water. This stretch of beach must not be too popular because there weren’t any places to park along the road and walk through the thicket to the shore. This stretch of highway went on for several miles until I came to a little town that had a small cafe where I had lunch at about noon. 

After lunch I picked up the Pacific Highway, a divided four lane road with nice wide shoulders, but it’s technically not a freeway so it was OK for me to walk on. My route on Google Maps gave me a couple of detours off the highway through the thicket, but when I got to the place it wanted me to turn the suggested route looked pretty questionable. So I decided to stick to the highway, which added one mile to my walking distance for the day. 

Tonight I’m staying at the Black Swan Motel in Swansea. It’s a nice little motel that fills my needs; shower, wifi, bed. And they get bonus points for doing my laundry, which has to be done some how, some way, everyday. 

That’s it for Day 43. Tomorrow it’s 15 miles to Newcastle. JB. 

Start:  Palm Beach

Finish:  The Entrance

Distance:  18

Total:  672

Today’s journey took a little longer than most 18 mile days because I had to take two ferry’s and the bus so it wasn’t just a normal get out there and walk kind of day. 

The day began at 7:45 when I caught the bus from my cabin in North Narrabeen Beach to the wharf at Palm Beach where I stopped walking yesterday. The ferry was scheduled to leave Palm Beach at 9:00, which it did, and took me to the town of Ettalong Beach where I started walking. The ferry ride lasted about 45 minutes and to say it was a thrill ride would be an understatement. The ferry is only for passengers, not a big ferry that carries vehicles. And it goes relatively fast; probably 10-15 knots. It was very windy this morning and the bay we were going across is exposed to the Pacific for a period of time, so combine all those elements and you get a wild ride across the bay. There were probably 8’ swells and the breakers were splashing over the windows of the ferry. At one point the Captain turned into the wind to minimize the tossing and turning, but for a little while I think some people were a bit concerned. Eventually we were protected by the shoreline and everything and everyone calmed down. 

My route took me through several small villages along the coastal bays, and I eventually got to another place where I needed to take another short 15 minute ferry ride across an inlet. The ferry only runs once per hour and when I walked up it had just left. So I had an hour to wait plus my day just got an hour longer. However, all was not lost. Sitting in the shade at a picnic table beside the wharf were two gentlemen about my age so I asked if I could join them. That’s when I met Harley and Santos. We sat and talked for the entire hour about everything. Well, everything except one thing. This is probably the 10th or 15th time I’ve had a chance to sit and talk to a group of adults like this since I left Melbourne. And this is the first time DONALD TRUMP has not come up.  I honestly couldn’t believe it. An entire hour talking about all things American and not one mention of politics. It was quite a pleasant hour I must say. 

I finally made it to my destination, The Entrance, at about 4:30. The town gets its name because it is located at the entryway between the Pacific Ocean to its east and Tuggerah Lake to its west.  

Tomorrow I continue straight north through more coastal towns and villages for 23 miles to Swansea. That’s all for Day 42. Hope you all have a great weekend. My Saturday was good. JB.  

Start:  North Narrabeen Beach

Finish:  Palm Beach

Distance:  10

Total:  654

I had a relatively easy day with only 10 miles to walk with a light pack and a bus ride back to the Caravan Park where I’ll be again tonight. The walking distance was short but the road was narrow and winding through the hilly terrain along the coastline so I once again found myself switching back and forth across the road to avoid oncoming traffic on blind corners. 

I was in no rush to get started today but still left my room around 7:45 and stopped at a coffee shop just down the way for a light breakfast. That put me on the road walking right at the time all the kids were heading to school.  Since school started back up after summer break a couple of weeks ago, I’ve had numerous opportunities to see lots of kids on the way to and from school. One thing I’ve noticed; all the kids are wearing uniforms. I was curious if this was just my imagination or if it was a requirement. Here’s what I found: “Students in Australia are generally required to wear a school uniform. The vast majority of public and private schools in Australia have a uniform policy in place, although there may be some variations in terms of the specific uniform requirements and dress codes.”  I say more power to them. The kids look very nice and I haven’t seen a single boy who needed to pull his pants up. (*Old guy comment). 

I wound my way along the coastline through one little village after another all morning, occasionally getting off the road onto a trail above the beach. The views were spectacular!  The beaches weren’t very crowded since its a weekday and school is in session but I’m sure the crowds will be out this weekend. 

I ended today at a wharf in Palm Beach. Palm Beach is at the very northern tip of a peninsula sticking out in a bay north of Sydney.  Tomorrow I’ll catch the bus back to the wharf and take a ferry to the city of Ettalong Beach where I’ll pick up my route on up the coast.  My next big city is Newcastle. I’ll get there on Monday. Pink gets there Tuesday. I’ll be out of town by then. JB. 

Start:  Sydney Harbour

Finish:  North Narrabeen Beach

Distance:  16

Total:  644

After a great day off yesterday when I got my batteries recharged, I was ready to start my exit out of Sydney and get the second half of this trek started. The weather was perfect, as was my attitude. 

My day started with some breakfast in my room which I bought yesterday on my errand run. I caught the 8:00 train across the street from my hotel which took me to Sydney Harbour. From there I walked to the base of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, took the staircase up, and picked up the pedestrian walkway across the bridge. The view was spectacular. Ferry boats going every which way, a cruise ship in the port, and on the bridge hundreds of people walking into the city to work. There was bumper-to-bumper traffic as well as the commuter train also taking people into town. I seemed to be the only one going north away from the city center. I stopped to take a few pictures and make a video, which is posted and can be seen on this website or YouTube. 

After getting off the Harbour Bridge I walked through several suburban neighborhoods. The area north of Sydney Harbour is very hilly with small bays and inlets where the neighborhoods have spectacular homes built on hillsides. I saw several yacht clubs in the bays and inlets around these neighborhoods as well. 

At about 11:30 I had reached an area of town called Brookvale. As I had been doing all morning, I was walking on the sidewalk along a very busy street when I heard a vehicle honk its horn from behind me. I turned around and a lady in a black BMW SUV sitting in line at a red light at a cross street yelled Gig’em Aggies to me. I returned the greeting and started quickly walking back to her car as her traffic light was still red. I asked if she was an Aggie and she said she was and she was originally from Austin but lives here now. I knew the light was about to turn green for her to go and there were cars behind her, so I quickly got one of my business cards out and handed it through her window. We didn’t even have time to introduce ourselves. So off she went. I hope she reads this post and comments on the website. 

The rest of the day went smoothly. I got to my destination, a Caravan Park 16 miles north of Sydney at about 2:00. The caravan (RV) parks have little cabins for rent. It’s the first time I’ve tried one but it’s actually pretty nice. I’ll be here two nights as I walk farther north tomorrow then take a bus back here for another night. 

That’s it for Day 40. Sydney was beautiful but it’s in my rear view mirror now. More adventures lie ahead I’m sure.  You keep reading and I’ll keep walking and writing.  JB. 

Start:  Sydney Harbour

Finish:  Sydney Harbour

Distance:  0

Total:  628

Today has been a great day off. Resupply and recharge were the goal for the day and both were accomplished. 

I slept in until 8:00 this morning, then lazed around and got the day started in earnest at 9:00. My official duty for the day was to find a place to buy some new shoes. Ever since I started these long walks back in 2015, I have worn the exact same shoe; Merrell Moab low top trail shoes.  In the U.S. you can buy them in any sports equipment store, and from a zillion sources online. They’re not expensive and last just as long as high priced shoes. With 628 miles on my current pair, they’re at the end of their useful life. So I needed to find a store that carried my shoes. After doing some research I discovered there was a very large shopping mall just under a mile’s walking distance from my hotel. The mall had an Athlete’s Foot store along with some other stores I needed to visit. So off I went walking to the mall, and lucky me, they had exactly the shoes I needed. Even though they were almost double the price I pay in the U.S., I had to have them so I got my shoe needs filled along with a few other supplies I had run out of. 

After returning back to my hotel, I started working on some motel reservations for the next couple of weeks down the road. I have been having a recurring problem over the last week with PINK.  Not the color pink; the entertainer Pink. I’ll explain. On Feb 12 & 13 I am scheduled to be in Newcastle. Newcastle is a city of 350,000 about a weeks walking distance north of Sydney. I was planning to be to Newcastle on 12 Feb, and have my next day off there on 13 Feb. So about a week ago I started calling hotels in Newcastle to make reservations for those two nights. The first three places I tried were national brands with toll free reservations numbers so I wasn’t actually talking to someone at the local Newcastle hotels.  After being told by three different hotel reservation attendants that 12 Feb was available but 13 Feb was booked up, but they didn’t know why, that I decided to call directly to one of the hotels to get the lowdown. That’s when I was told PINK was in Newcastle on 13 Feb for a concert and I wouldn’t find anything available for that night in town. Oh good golly!  Of all things. I don’t know Pink; don’t listen to Pink; can’t imagine why she calls herself Pink; but I did see a segment on 60-Minutes recently about her and she seemed nice enough. So Pink is standing between me and a day off in Newcastle, New South Wales; and Pink has won. I gave up after over a week of calling about cancellations to no avail and moved my day off to a new town down the road. 

Tomorrow I start the second half of this trek with a heavy pack, take the train to downtown Sydney, and pickup my route from there. My first task will be to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. From there I head up the coastline north of Sydney for 37 more days. I’ll be to Brisbane on 15 March. Wish me luck!  JB. 

Start:  Sutherland Train Station

Finish:  Sydney Harbour

Distance:  18

Total:  628

Today is a milestone in this Australia walk. I’m officially halfway, both in distance and walking days. Let’s hope the second half goes as smoothly as the first. 

Today’s weather forecast called for rain through the morning and a few hours of no rain in the afternoon. At 6:00 this morning it was pouring down. At that point I was thinking I would be taking my day off today and walking tomorrow. I needed at least six hours to cover the distance I needed to walk and I really didn’t want to split it up and not get a day off at all. But by about 7:30 the rain here in Sydney where my hotel is located began to lighten and the radar looked promising, so I got packed up and headed to the train station to ride south to my starting point. Unfortunately, when the train pulled into the station there about 8:30, it was raining right down.  I looked at the radar again and it looked like it would stop where I was soon. So rather than walk in the rain covered with my parka, I elected to sit tight in the dry at the station and wait for the rain to stop.  That took 45 minutes. 

Once I started walking, I basically went through one residential and business district after another until I got within about five miles of downtown Sydney. That’s where the Sydney airport sits in relation to the city. From there on it was continuous high rise apartments and condos and office buildings. It never rained on me while I was walking but it was very windy today. The local weather said the airport had gusts today of 78 KPH (48 MPH). Once I got right downtown the wind was crazy between the buildings. 

I made it to Sydney Harbour and the Sydney Opera House about 4:00. The area was somewhat crowded with tourists but not too bad. I hung around for a while and took some pictures, then went to the nearest train station to head to my hotel. I don’t mean to sound flippant, but I’ve been to Sydney at least three other times that I can remember, and I’m by myself this time, so it was cool and all but I already have the tee shirt. 

Tomorrow is a much needed day off. But I’ve got some things I need to take care of; #1 being I need to buy a new pair of walking shoes. My shoes usually last about 600-700 miles and since Sydney is my best chance to find the same shoe I always wear, I’ll replace them now if I can find a store that sells them. I have a few other supplies to buy and then I’m going to prop my feet up and rest. 

That’s it for Day 38 and that puts a bow on the first half of this adventure. Thanks for following along. JB.