We continued towards Dungog, the landscape was getting hillier and we had nice views over fields and grassy hills along the way. Passed Paterson which we found was a very beautiful and small village halfway to Dungog. Stayed for the night at the showground in Dungog. Had the morning of and went to a cafe for some coffee and internet. 

Planned to roll out of the town after lunch but after just 5 km my chain break, first it just jumped off and when I put it back I probably twisted it as it snapped of as soon as I began cycling again. First more serious bike problem we had on the tour.

I am definitely not a bike mechanic and after have tried an hour to fix it myself I gave up. I couldn't get missing link to click in. We were lucky to get help at a tire store and even if time were late now, around five pm, we decided to cycle out of Dungog again and look for a camp spot. Already then it felt like the movie Groundhog Day- where Bill Murray finds himself living the same day over and over again...and in our case, how hard we tried we could never leave Dungog.. And it turned out to be more true then I could imagine. 

When we had cycled a handufl of km out from Dungog a car stops and asks if we have a place to stay for the night. It's Steve and we happily accepted his invitation. We had a lovely night with drinks and BBQ in his and Jen's house. They live in on fantastic place with an amazing view. It was a very long and steep last kilometer to get there, but worth the effort :) 

The day after Steve and Jen took us for some sightseeing around Barrington tops NP. Visited some very nice camping spots and saw beautiful nature. Glad to be able to see all the places that we otherwise would have missed.

Continued the cycling later on afternoon and the next day we arrived in Glouchester. A minor town, and tidy town winner. We liked the city, a nice little town with a main shopping street, nice park areas and a supermarket. Got supplies there and headed on.

Soon we noticed that the road was getting steeper. But we pushed on and just before it got dark we came to Bretti Reserve. A free camp site with big grass fields along a river.

Next day we set out early to try to climb up to Nowendoc, the top of the pass. From what we heard we would have to do about 800 vertical meters of climbing. We thought it would be hard to do but still doable. The Thunderbolt way is quite narrow and the road was quite busy so it was not a relaxed ride. The temperature was also high, over +40 in the sun so we soon got very sweaty. It was not a slow climb as the other we experienced so far. Sections of the road here were 12 degrees, and they seemed never ending.

Was really hard for Phim and she was soon very far behind me. I continued to climb but was struggling in the heat. So warm and the cycle felt so heavy. And no places at the side of the road to stop at to have a rest too. 

Eventually I could pull a side and park my bike and walk down to see where Phim was. She was a couple of km behind and was really tired. No chance that she would be able to make it. We considered our options and came to the only conclusion that we had to turn back. The Thunderbolt way was to hard to cycle, given the gearing we now had. Prior to the trip I thought a 26th chain ring in front would be small enough. But with all our packing we needed lower gears and we could only get it if we turned back.

A bit disappointed that we start to cycle back to Bretti reserve. Could enjoy some downhill now but it was not worth all the previous struggle to enjoy it. The weather was really hot now but we found some shade where we could cook our lunch. +30 degrees so early in spring, and we had been worried about that it could be a bit cold cycling NSW in September.

We have just completed our first month of cycling in Australia and here are some statistics.

Trip distance: 1393 km
Ride time: 103 hours
Avg speed: 13.63 (travel on minor roads so pace is slow, two days of pushing the bikes on the Womerah range trail also contributes to the slow speed).

Bicycle problems: Break of chain. Also replaced front chain rings in Tamworth, Phim had a 22 and 32 teeth chain rings fitted, and I had a 22 chain ring fitted. Gave us a very much notable improvement in climbing power:) 
Flat tires: 0
Number of times to pump tires: 0 (filled the tires to max pressure in Sydney and they have stayed that way so far). 

Rainy days: 1

Camping:
Hosted by invitation : 4 nights
Couch surfing/Warm showers: 1
Paying camp sites: 3 (total AUD 54, (25 + 15 +14))
Wild camping/ free camp sites: 27

Animals seen, (the alive ones, not all the road kills we seen or smelled..)
Kangaroos,
Wallabies
Fox
Hare/rabbit
Brown snakes
And a lot of different birds. 

We are now in Hunter valley, a region full with beautiful farmland. A perfect area for cycling and we enjoyed so much nice scenery. 

On the road we are usually alone, not so much traffic, and almost no other cyclist. But there are heaps of cattle. 

The cows are funny, usually when they see us they react in two ways. Either they just run away like crazy or they just freeze and look at us. If there are some distance between me and Phim they look like a tennis crowd. When they turn their heads to have a look on Phim then me then back to Phim....

The horses are much cooler and they totally ignore us. 

We turned north again after leaving Barry and his family. Passed St Albans, Buckety and a couple of other small villages. The landscape was farming land with cows grazing the hills. Very picturesquely and we enjoyed cycling on roads again. The weather had been really good since we arrived in Sydney and continued to be so.

Normally it was about 5 to 7 degrees in the morning when we waked up (normally about 5 or 6 AM). Then the temperature would quickly raise and by the time you were ready to begin cycling it was about 15 degrees or so, perfect for shorts and sandals. And we feel very lucky that we left Sweden just before the autumn began there. 

Midday the temperature would normally by +25 or so and clear sky. So pretty hot in the sun for a Swede. Heard it has been an unusual dry winter here and that warmer then normal now. Thought before we got here that it would be much cooler.

Chessnock was a bigger city compared to the other villages we passed, so we could buy all the things we needed to continue our tour. 

I use an app called Wikicamps Australia and according to it there was a free campground in Maitland. We headed there and arrived there just before it was getting dark, but it turned out to be a not suitable campground.. So needed to get a plan B. Went to a rest area only to find out that it was closed. But were then saved by John and Dianne who invited us to their home in Oathampton, So instead of some night cycling we enjoyed a fantastic dinner with them. Another example of some the hospitality we met this far in Australia.

We continued the ride through Wollemi National Park and had some very nice cycling through the forest. Nice dirt tracks and we thought the trip had started perfect. We then got out on the Putty road, tarmac, but not much traffic and not much houses along the way. 

Our plan was then to turn of and cycle the Momerah Range trail which on the map was marked as an unpaved road and I also had read that it was a cycle trail. Was hard to find where the trail began because there was no sign showing where to turn off from the main road. But we found an unmarked road that we assumed to be the Womerah trail. But we had little water left so we decided to continue on Putty road to the next place where we could fill our water tanks.


It was a 20 km ride to Grey gum cafe, where we met some motorcyclist,had a chat with them about our tour and then filled up our water tanks. Pedaled back to the beginning of the Womerah Range trail.  We found a nice camping area some hundred meters off Putty road where we could pitch our tent. Some kangaroos jumped away just  in front of us and it was the first we saw in Australia. It actually took me almost total a year in Australia before I spotted the first ones... 

The following morning we continued on the trail, it was still quite easy cycling and it was a lovely morning. After a km there was a sign that confirmed that we were on the Womerah trail. The trail got a bit rougher as we continued but the scenery was so lovely that we didn't mind it. Stopped for lots of photo seasons. Heard kangaroos jumping next to us in the forest but the bush vegetation was so dense so we could never see them. 

By lunchtime the temperature had risen to the mid twenties and the trail had also got more challenging. The surface was now more sand with elements of rocks and more solid elements. This meant that we also had to push our bikes, we could maybe cycle for a hundred meters or so then we needed to push the bikes for about the same distance, when the surface got too soft. There were lots of smaller hills, not long but quite steep and the sand and loose gravel meant that you couldn't get a good grip for your shoes. Was really hard work pushing the bikes as they almost weighted the same as us. 

The trail goes through real wilderness area, and except from the trail you felt that you had untouched wilderness on your both sides. Got some beautiful views on top of the hills and could also see that the area consisted of lots of hills, hills and hills. Beautiful but tough terrain. We passed some rocks were we could see Aboriginal rock art.

In Australia they call bicycles for push bikes and we joked that it was a very suitable name as we continue to push our way through the Wollemah range trail. We made 28 km the first day, and camped right on the trail on top of a hill. We were rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

Next day the trail got even more rough and we had to help each other pushing the bikes up the hills. We were really tired when we came to the Heartbreak Hill rest area. Happy when it meant that we only had about 15 km left before we would reach a more road like trail.

And about 3 Pm we were glad when we finally made it out to the St Albans road after 50 km of off road trail. Took some photos of the sign as a proof of us having made the trip and when we were getting ready again to cycle a car stopped. 

It was Barry and his kids and they invited us to stay with them down the valley. We accepted it happily. Had a nice rest there 

We started to roll out from Kirrawee on the morning of 25th August. Our first stop was going to the Botany Bay NP to see where Captain Cook and his man landed 243 years earlier (28th April 1770). 

There is a monument marking the landing site and we also went to see the memorial stone for Daniel Solander which was erected by Swedish immigrants. 

After some sightseeing around there we went to Caringbah train station to catch the train out to the north western outskirts of Sydney. The Sydney train system is massive and due to some maintenance work our intended line was out of service. But with a tree hour journey and two changes of train we finally could step out in Richmond. 

It was actually easy to bring the bikes on the train, lots of spaces in the cars and no extra fees to bring them. Our bicycles attracted some attention and I spoke with a couple of friendly old ladies. The first was a lady from Greece, she had been living in Australia for 50 years and had a big family here now. She had got here when she was 26 years old but she still missed Greece a lot. But she also said Australia is a nice land to live in.

The other lady was from Britain and she had come to Australia by one of the immigration boats in the late forties when she was 10 years old. She had traveled with her family of 8 people and the total cost had just been 10£. The trip had taken 5 weeks she said. Compared to that our 28 hours on flights was nothing. But the travel had been alright she said. 

From Richmond we took the road 40 and then turned off towards Colo Heights Reserve. The road 40 was a very hilly road and lots of traffic so it was a relief when we could turn of the big road. We continued to climb for a hour into the reserve and could roll into our first camping spot just before it would be getting dark. The evening was really chilly and we had use of our down jackets. The camping spot was nice and it was a great feeling to finally have started the tour that we began to talk about 18 months earlier.