Melbourne (Victoria) to Eden (New South Wales)

06.01. to 17.01.2015

Melbourne - Stony Point - Ferry to Cowes/Philip Island - San Remo - Wonthaggi - Inverloch - Leongatha - Foster - Yarram - Sale - Bairnsdale  - Lakes Entrance  - Rail Trail to Orbost - Cann River - Eden

bike days: 9

kilometer: 688

No worries, Mates , I took no train :-) Stony Point is the start of the ferry to Philip Island .

departure

Cowes/Philip Island. too many tourists, insane expensive due to peak season. an unpowered tent site for 68 AUD......   I rode to San Remo. unpowered site for 40 AUD. yes I like to have a shower after a hard days work :-)

http://www.visitphillipisland.com/category/explore/ 

short stop after Inverloch with snoopy guests :-)

only for statistics reason :-)

view over Gippsland

very hilly, and often very steep.

a big exception: a very friendly roadbiker :-). was a nice conversation.

wetlands

Joana and Michael from Vancouver/Canada. short but great meeting in Bairnsdale

Mingling Waters. 

I only took a pic, and some big surprises .  read the full story about this amazing artist here :

http://www.minglingwaters.com/big-root.html

cycling on the Rail Trail.  

rest of the destroyed bridge. what a pitty :-(

Craig does a great job, but the track needs more maintenance. always a matter of money...

Jason from Wollongong, cycling from Melbourne to Sydney. I met him again in Eden :-)

why being very slow can be life saving ;-)
crazy day: on the way to, 15k after Orbost, to Cann River, an ambulance car overtook me. I supposed, later I will see an accident on the road. after 6k I noticed a person lying in the grass (pic, on right). I stopped and went to the person. It was a young man. I asked him , if he is all right. he was quite disorientated and he told me that he is very drowsy, not feeling well. he wanted to walk from Orbost to Cann River (75k), with a small bag and some books and no water. well, he was very bad equipped and quite dehydrated. he already tried to call the ambulance but his mobile did not work. I called the "000" , and after quite half an hour the paramedics arrived. they were very glad to see me together with the guy, because they already were searching for him !
by the way: the Princess Highway (A1) was very crowded, there were many cars on the road and no one stopped before or while waiting for the ambulance. what a shame. all busy with holiday or going for fishing. this is the big difference to the Outback, people there are much more helpful.

Brazilian couple.

I found "Animal" from the Muppetshow on the road. he asked me for a lift :-)

Melbourne twice

Dec 11th - Dec 12th 2014
Dec 27th - Jan 06  2015

after 2007 and 2010 I visited Melbourne again. I like this city very much. full of life and nice people.
I joined a cycling trip with Melbourne Cycling, a "Meet-Up" community.
awesome route and big fun !
Some friends from Germany are living in Wheelers Hill , and it was great to see them again.

Another big highlight was an interview from SBS German Radio, with Oliver Heuthe.
The Interview is in German language.
(http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/german/highlight/page/id/379811/t/Cycling-for-the-soul/)

I met some other cyclists from Bavaria. Alex and Steph are cycling around Australia on a tandem bicycle. Was a big pleasure to meet them :-) .
If you want to follow their blog: http://tandem-down-under.de/

New Years Eve was quite relaxed. I do not like big crowds so I took the public transport to Footscray Garden and watched the fireworks.

On Jan. 6th I hit the road again, heading South to Philip Island. 

Kite-Surfing (but not me)

Tasmania later, I am more focussed on the East coast.

Melbourne Cycling!

vending machine for bicycle gadgets

foldable bike for commuters

after-cycle meeting at Federation Square :-)

Flinders Station and Federation Square

Interview with Oliver Heuthe from SBS Radio German

Alex and Steph from "Tandem Down Under"

crowds at Footscray Garden, waiting for the fireworks

Happy New Year and all the best for 2015 !