I stayed for three days in this town .

view the broad map with a meters above the sea level graph

It is cool and fine today. The temperature this morning will be 10 deg C.

I pedaled 17Km to the starting point for the climb, and walked up to the Mount Warning which was 1156m above sea level.

Because the mountaintop was sacred to the Aborigines, there were four lookouts around the summit. I saw a double outer rim of a dead volcano.

I was able to saw down to Murwillumbah where I stayed.

When I came back to the town and did shopping, somebody called out to me. It was Cipollini whom I had ridden together with in Japan! We were going to meet at a hotel, but stumbled across each other. I went to Chip and Lisa's house and I was served spaghetti with Italian cheese. Chip lived in Surfers Paradise, but, for the education of his children, moved to a country town last year. 33.73Km, 2h38m, 12.7Km/h , 4h for climb

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I rode heading north along the shore from Ballina today.

I arrived at Byron Bay via Lennox Head in the early afternoon. The Byron Bay station, which was used until 2004, became CountryLink(Train and bus company) travel center. Even now, the railway tracks are left.

I rode a bit inland and got on Pacific highway (Route 1) from the interchange. When a sense of Japan; there was an expressway.

I went down the interchange and made a turn into Tweed Valley Way. There was an old wooden railway bridge. It was only seven years ago that it became the abolished line.

Across some hills, I arrived at Murwillumbah in the Tweed River midstream. It is a fantastic beautiful town. 92.77Km,5h56m,15.5Km/h

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I moved by train from Brisbane to Casino.

It was for the good of the real experience of the Cougal Spiral. The spiral line is not unusual, but without tunnel section is rare.

At Casino Station, I unfolded the bike and began cycling. The route to Ballina, it is 60km.

I saw road signs which alerted for koalas and kangaroos many times.

Ballina, located in the river mouth of the Richmond River, was a quiet town. I used DIY GPS on the iPhone. This software does not need traffic of maps data. It was helpful for the cycling in the foreign country.(a montage of images)

66.73Km,4h02m,16.4Km/h

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Brisbane has the population of 2 million and is the third most populous city in Australia. The Brisbane River winds through the city. The bike roads was made on the both sides of the river. In the center of city, without the embankment, the long viaduct on the river.

Brisbane had many slopes. There was a steep slope of 25% in the suburbs.

I cycled up Mount Coot-tha. It offers a superb outlook over the green city.

39.04Km,3h11m,12.2Km/h

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Today I cycled Mount Tamborine, which is 30km northwest of Surfer's Paradise. I joined Trevor, whom I had ridden together with from Yokohama to Enoshima in Japan.

We ate breakfast at Rob and Sue's house. There was a fixed cycling roller with a monitor at the garage. We had a superb view of the mountains on the wood deck.

I rode behind Peter on the plateau and enjoyed a downhill to Camungra, and many wineries were dotted along the way in the forest. After that we moved to Brisbane by car, and pedaled along the river with Gus. The house of Mago was a sylvan quiet house. 48.37Km,3h19m,14.5Km/h

view the broad map with a meters above the sea level graph

My impression of Australia was beaches and desert, so I felt it would be unsuitable for cycling. However, the Australian cyclist Gus, whom I met at the Misaka Pass in last year, said "There are green mountains and the huge caldera !", so I decided to go. I arrived at Coolangatta Airport in the south of the Gold Coast at 6:30. Gus pedaled in the rain and arrived at 9:30, just as promised. This is the dry season, so rain is very rare. I rode behind Gus all day and lodged in his home at night.The rain eased off. At first we rode on the cycling road along the beach. Because I carried a bike-packing bag on the steering bar and three sets of clothes on my back, I was heavy-armed for cycling. The Gold Coast is appropriate to ride around by bike. It became clear in the evening.

A secret base of Gus's house. The per person GDP in Australia is 10% higher than in Japan, but it is a big difference of the richness that added value brought in a garage, does not appear in the statistics. 63.62Km,3h55m,16.1Km/h