Bike adventures through my childhood, young adult years, and now in my sixties

More Adventures

I travelled a lot when I was young. As a teen, our family lived in a pop-up caravan and roamed the Australian outback, fossicking for gemstones, fishing, and swimming in rivers. One of those rivers had crocodiles, though we didn't learn that until later. Thankfully, we survived the much-needed swim after spending a week without power and water on Mt Surprise while fossicking for topaz gem stones.

Whenever we stopped at a caravan or a clearing, we'd set up camp. As soon as my brother, sister, and I finished our correspondence schoolwork, we'd hop on our bikes and explore the caravan park or the bush. We encountered huge spiders, kangaroos, and scorpions, but had no mishaps. After a year of travelling, we settled at Biggera Waters Caravan Park and attended Southport State High School on the Gold Coast. 

In my early twenties, wanderlust struck again. I packed a backpack and flew to England. I worked bar jobs there, then became a nanny and waitress in Greece, and a grape picker and even a shepherdess in Israel - to keep travelling. I took trains and boats through Europe, Israel, and Egypt. I was often at risk of being robbed or kidnapped, but some sixth sense always got me out of trouble.

I travelled throughout India, including Kashmir, a place you can't easily get to now. I stayed on a house boat, rode donkeys into the hills and camels through the desert. I happened to be deep in southern India riding an elephant when Prime Minister Indira Ghandi was assassinated and survived some harrowing days, fortunately inside a wildlife park. 

On my way home, I stopped in China, just as the country was beginning to open to foreign travellers.  I naively expected to find  people who spoke English .- none did - but I encountered some lovely French travellers and the Chinese people were friendly and helpful. My Lonely Planet Guide became my lifeline as I navigated  planes, trains, boats, and bikes from Beijing to Guilin. 

Back home, I went to university, married, had two children, and limited my travel to occasional trips to Australia to see family. For work, I have driven all over New Zealand visiting schools and encouraging children to enjoy reading and writing, but my wanderlust had been largely stifled.

In 2024, while writing 'Epic New Zealand Adventures', I realised my travels had been rather tame by comparison. After interviewing Mark Watson and Hanna Black who cycled throughout the Americas, I wondered why I'd never thought to bike across a continent. I've always loved biking - from cycling around caravan parks as a teen to pedalling through the streets of China, and back to university when I couldn't afford carparking. So I began cycling daily: first 5 kilometres, then 20 kilometres a day. Last year, I biked from Ngāruawāhia to Cambridge. Later that year, I biked the Dunstan and Otago Trail. In 2025, I planned to cycle Nancy Wake's famous route from Saint Santin to Chateauroux in France to research a new book. More on that soon.

Don't put off your travels. Get on your bike, walk the trails, fly to the places you've always dreamed of. 
Find a way to make it happen. Fifi Colston and I paid for our bike trip in the South Island by doing school 

visits. I hoped to receive a grant to make my research trip to France happen, but more about that later.

So, if you're longing for an adventure -  make an intention and take active steps toward it.

Good luck and safe travels!