Walkingman.org

Nice stay with Sophie and Garret in Hampton East about 15k south of the Melbourne city center. Sophie organized the Worlds Biggest Walk for organ donation awareness. Nice to get back on the road walking after staying 3 nights with a local family. It is nice to stay with with local people and get hot showers, home cooked meals, warm bed, and some local color. But I actually feel more comfy sleeping in my tent in the bush. Being able to see the stars and moon and hear all the animals around me feels more natural to me then sleeping inside a house that cuts you off from everything natural.

I walked up to the city on the beach bike/walking path. Pretty much every where you go in Australia the rivers and beaches are owned by the local government and have a nature strip of trees and bushes with paths, picnic tables, and public toilets for everyone to use. Houses and other buildings are set back 100 to 200 feet from the water. Unlike the USA where people try to build as close to the water as they can and exclude everybody else with fences and private property signs.

Meyer stores were having a sale on computers in the downtown area. So I stopped in to look at a Asus Eee Pc Notebook Computer for $499 Australian . With the Aussie dollar at .61 cents to the US dollar it only cost me $313 US plus a $30US refund on GST(tax) at the airport. I want to put all my weekly articles plus photos and comic strips into a book form and submit it to a POD(print on demand) web publisher at www.booklocker.com. For $500 set up fee they set up your book on their website and advertise it and when ever someone orders a copy they print one book up and mail it out. So hopefully next spring when I write my pre-walk article for next years walk and email it out to everybody I will also include a link to where you can buy my book.

Out of the city on a bike path and over the bridge towards Footscray. Hundreds of bikers passed me as they were commuting back home by bicycle. I then picked up the Federation bike path that follows the sewage canal through a industrial area. Near Werribe the path took me onto the M1 freeway shoulder for about 10k before I was
able to get back on a local road. The sign at the freeway entrance said no peds, animals, or farm machinery, but bikes were allowed. No other way to go, so I took a chance that no cop would stop me. I hardly ever see any cop cars around, they must all be inside watching all the CCTV monitors.

As I was walking through Geelong a couple stopped to chat and invited me home for dinner, hot shower, and a warm bed. Ashleigh was a sheep rancher and buyer, and Jessie was a school teacher. So in the morning they took me over to the Fyans Park Primary School to give a talk about my World Walk. About 50 third and fourth grade students sat on the floor and took notes on my talk as they had to write a book report on my talk. They had a computer and projection system so I was able to show some of my website and then answer lots of good questions. Have gotten a few emails from the students with some more questions.

South of Geelong I passed the Narana Aboriginal Culture Center and was waved in by the Director Vince Ross and his grandson. They wanted to invite me to join them for lunch in the cafe. They had family, friends, and a group of First Nation People(Canadian Native People) all together for lunch. I told them I might walk across Canada next year, and they gave me a couple addresses to visit. Nice lunch of sandwich's, fruit juice, and a warm muffin just out of the oven. I took a nice walk out back where they had a couple Emus and a bush walk with native plants and trees and a pond. Nice gift shop with Aboriginal arts and crafts for sale.

Into Torquay, the surf capital of the world according to the sign outside town. More surf shops in one town then I have ever seen with a couple of the big companies having their headquarters here. Sophie from Melbourne knew some friends down here, so she called them to have me stay with them. So I stopped in to visit with Mary and Ken Elliott right on the main road. Mary set up a free surf lesson, talk at local school, and an interview with the local newspaper. So another great hot shower, home cooked dinner and warm bed. Up early in the morning and down to Anglesea Beach for a surf lesson with Cory, Anna, and Brownie of Southern Exposure Surf School (www.southernexposure.com.au). Newspaper reporter from local paper came down to interview me in the parking lot before the lesson and take some photos. Perfect cool cloudy day with 1 to 2 foot waves to learn on. Down to the beach where we ran and stretched first to warm up. Then just a short instruction on paddling, arching up, then sliding both knees up, then up to a crouch. So a little simpler and easier then my last lesson. Out into the cold water with our surfboards and wetsuit to catch some waves. I did a little better and caught quite a few waves and got up to a low crouch a couple times. Still need lots of practice though. Back to Marys and Kens for a hot shower, lunch, and then over to the Torquay Primary School for a talk. About 200 third and fourth grade students on the floor in the gym to listen to my talk. No computer projection system. But I showed them all my gear and answered as many questions as I could until the bell rang. Nice group of students and already have gotten a couple email with more questions and one invite to stay with his family.

This is the end of my walk in Australia. 24 weeks and about 2900 miles. Had a great time and met lots of really nice people. Saw lots of great sights, animals, roadkill, and other neat stuff. New Zealand and Turkey have been my favorite countries so far, but now they are tied with Australia as my favorite.

One more week left till I fly home, so I will do some more surfing and visit a few people in Melbourne before my flight. Back to the USA to work and plan my next walk. Looking at either Canada, Northern Europe, or the Middle East. Have to do some research on weather, visas, political situation, and other factors. Also want to try an build a mini Conestoga wagon and test that out. I also just bought some Go-lite camping equipment from SierraTradingPost.com website. I got a 2lb down sleeping bag, 1.5lb tent, and 1.5lb backpack for half price. So I will do some overnighters this winter and test out if I should go lightweight with Go-lite equipment or heavier with mini Conestoga wagon.

Well I hope I inspired some people to get out and walk and bike and have an adventure. Nothing like fresh air and exercise and having an adventure to stimulate your mind and body and make you feel on top of the world.

Email me with questions or comments or if you want me to give a World Walk talk by clicking on reply, from my website at www.walkingman.org or at walking_man_50(atsign)pocketmail(dotcom) .

Keep on Walking, Life is Amazing, Singing Zippity Do Dah , All Day Long.
Gary "Walkingman" Hause.

Read Every Week From Australia