Around Australia by bicycle

Odds and ends:
Total distance: 9,652 miles (15,530 km)
Total number of days on the road: 179 days
Days riding the bike: 122 days
Average mileage per day: 79 miles (127 km)
Longest daily distance: 141 miles (227 km)
Average cost per day: A$ 2.80 (fl. 11.20)

The photo on this page was part of the piece in the regional newspaper in Holland. The article is on the next page.
General luggage I carried with me:
1 complete tent
sleeping bag
hurricane lantern
1 pair of shoes
2 pairs of socks
1 pair of long grey slacks
black biking shorts
swimming trunks
1 grey sweater
1 shirt
2 underpants
2 singlets
3 handkerchiefs
plastic rain coat
sunglasses
hat
camping stove
1 extra gas tank
set of light-weight pans
knife, fork, spoon
can opener
pocket knife
10 plastic bags
scissors
needles and thread
comb
soap
shampoo
band-aid
iodine
address book
bank passbook
wallet
matches
study books etc
fountain pen plus spare ink tanks
2 ballpoint pens
pencil

Repair kit:
sand paper, linen, cement, rubber patches, tyre levers
40 spokes
1 chain
1 freewheel
light bulbs
4 brake cables
3 gear cables
1 tube
1 tyre
4 pump valves
4 forelocks
selection of nuts and bolts
shifting spanner
various spanners
screwdriver
1 hammer
pliers
tool to loosen the freewheel
tool to loosen and tighten spokes
1 front axle
1 back axle
1 pedal axle
ball bearings
lock
1 oil container

Dutch Australian Weekly

Melbourne. 26-year old Nico Daams has left Melbourne for the last stretch of his bicycle ride around Australia. Nico mentioned that he had had some trouble with birds. Especially on the east coast where he had been attacked by magpies. Nico has worked for 6 years in the Dutch merchant marine, followed by a 7,200 km bicycle ride all around Europe. He said that in Australia he had already covered more than 14,000 km. He had spent some time in Broome and Mt Isa while waiting for replacement parts for his bike sent over from Holland. While he is riding, Nico is also studying for his matriculation through a correspondence course in Sydney.

Het Parool Dutch news paper

Amsterdam Tuesday (ANP)
Yesterday the 26-year old Dutchman Nico Daams has completed a bicycle journey through Australia of almost 15,000 km. It took him 6 months and in that time he had 1800 punctures.

(Note about the 1800 punctures: This originated from the article in the Illawarra Mercury on the previous page. The journalist had asked me how many punctures I had had, and I answered: "Eighty, a hundred." He heard 1800, and that's the news that was picked up by the Dutch newspaper.)

De Telegraaf

Agressief. Be careful if you are ever riding a bicycle on the east coast of Australia, and especially watch out for magpies. 26-Year old Dutchman Nico Daams who made a 7,200 km bike trip around Europe has now already clocked 14,000 km in Australia. He claims to have been attacked by these birds.

(Article in the Gooi en Eemlander, written by Trudy Marx, Loosdrect)

Nico Daams from Loosdrecht has managed to ride a bike all around Australia in 6 months. A large map of this large continent hangs on the wall in the home of his parents. Mr Daams Sr (one of the aldermen in Loosdrecht) has drawn a map of Holland in the centre of this continent, to show the truly amazing distance the young globe trotter has covered. Black ink traces the exact route he covered. Every week or so an aerogramme with the latest description of his journey rolled in the mailbox at the Nieuw Loosdrechtsedijk, so the home front was kept up to date on all that the indefatigable traveller was going through. In 1970 Nico (26) said good-bye to Europe after first covering 7,627 km taking him through a good number of European countries. He did this because, he had seen very little of our own continent, although as a merchant navy deck officer, he had seen plenty of places around the world. Life at sea had lost its attraction for him, as ships often don't stay much longer than a day or two in port, and Nico had become a seaman because he wanted to see something of the world. "So", he thought, "if not by ship than some other way." And he chose the bicycle. His sea legs proved to be strong enough to make a good number of miles each day. The trip around Europe was just a foretaste of what he would accomplish a year later in Australia. In September 1970, he left our country to seek his luck in sunnier regions. He did not go alone: his trusted bicycle went with him. He was planning to see lot of Australia, and figured that to get a good picture of the country touring around by bike was the way to go. But first he had to put some money away, so he worked for half a year in a bread factory in Sydney and saved as much as he possibly could. He first made a practice run from Melbourne to Sydney to get a feel for riding in Australia. In Melbourne he was the best man for his cousin who had also emigrated to Australia. Then came the big tour: 17,760 km (actually it was 15,530 km) right around Australia. Does Nico now know Australia? Not at all. The inland part stayed "terra incognito" for him, as he followed the more civilised route along the coast. Although civilised is a big word. Many days the only living creatures he saw were kangaroos and wild horses (this is a bit of an exaggeration by the journalist) Kangaroos have grown used to cars, but consider a guy on a bicycle a danger to race away from. Nico's mother asked Nico several times in her letters if he had seen any snakes.
Company
He did not answer her questions about snakes until after he had safely returned home. Snakes, scorpion and poisonous spiders were his daily companions (more exaggeration by the journalist). "Dangerous?" Daams thinks this is a matter of how you look at it. He find the civilised world with the "idiots behind the wheel" a lot more dangerous. His most troublesome companions were the millions of flies who seemed to consider him a delicacy. His remedy was to let his hair and bear grow so they could not get in his neck and most of his face. Towards the end he looked like Cadwezel, the magician famous on Dutch children's TV. Other nasty companions were the magpies along the east coast who often dived and attacked him from behind. For defence he used his bicycle pump and that seemed to work.
On average Nico covered about 140 km per day. The longest day was 227 km. But there were plenty days when things did not go so well. Sometimes the road was of such bad quality that he had to patch punctures, up to 12 times in one particularly bad day. Another hazard were the so-called grids: a net work of steel bars at right angles to the road, to keep cattle going into the neighbour's field. They are a nuisance for a bike, and he had to walk across and half-carry the bike.

Study
In the evening he put up his lightweight tent, cooked some food, and then it was time to study. Among his luggage he carried his study books for modern languages and maths. Daams is well aware that he cannot keep on traveling around the world forever, and at some point he will need to get a proper job. His aspirations are higher than working in a bread factory, so he is following a correspondence course that, after passing his exams, should open the doors to a university. He is interested in computer study. For six days he was riding his bike, but on Sundays he took a day of rest. Time for some rest, washing his clothes, and going to church if at all possible. In one small town the minister was overjoyed to have him attend, because he was the only one there.

Monotonous
Australia has many beautiful parts, but some areas are pretty monotonous: long straight roads going through terrain with very little if any variation. Every now and then a car would pass, with the driver looking like he had seen a madman. The nicest meeting was with a young man from Wales, who had been cycling around the world for two years. "Finally someone who understands what you talk about", sighed Nico from the bottom of his heart. He himself seemed indestructible, but that cannot be said of his bike. At one point the bike said, "You do it yourself, but I give up." That meant three weeks delay waiting in a little town where life seemed to revolve around the water pump in the middle of the camping. Screaming kids playing in the mud and even harder screaming mothers trying to get their kids to come back to their caravans. Nico was yearning for the quietness of the outback. Friday the 13th became his lucky day: the parts he had ordered from Loosdrecht by telegram had finally arrived. Then he quickly fixed his bike, and got going as soon as possible. He reached Perth after travelling for weeks through the deserts of the North west and western part of Australia. He stopped there to visit his cousin. (the same one he had visited in Melbourne.) He also met some friends from Sydney, and he told them that he would be back there on a certain day at 6 pm. At that point he still had to go all the way from west to east through Australia, but his calculations were perfect: he only arrived 20 minutes late.
Nico Daams is now back in the bread factory, but not for long. He is planning a trip through South America, the States to Canada and Alaska. And then the big reward: Before going back to Australia, first a visit home to Loosdrecht. There will be plenty to talk about!

Great grandfather
Nico Daams: Not a flying Dutchman, but a bicycling one. Proof that "an apple does not fall far from the tree" (a Dutch saying indicating someone is a lot like his forefathers). Maybe his love for bicycling can be traced back to his great great grandfather, a simple blacksmith in Loosdrecht who had made a bicycle, possibly the first one in Holland. No rubber tubes or tyres in those days, but he had put some elastic around his steel wheels, and it was a bike without pedals. Those were not invented until 1855. The 20-year old Loosdrechter went on a ride to Huizen (a fishing village 18 km north of Loosdrecht) where he was accused of riding a vehicle made by the devil, and was summarily chased out of town. His great-great grandson has broken his ancestor's record by a good margin!

Sunday 17 October 1971. Kiama

A nice warm day. I spent most of it on the beach. A bit windy though, so I did not go into the water. In the afternoon I first had a nap, then walked around town a bit, including to the lighthouse and the blowhole (on the picture in my journal) Then off to the Methodist Church where they had a combined service with the Presbyterian brothers and sisters. Only singing hymns, so no sermon, and coffee with snacks after the service. I had too many questions to answer, which kept me from getting the most out of the snacks. Pretty late before I went to bed.

Monday 18 October 1971. Kiama to Sydney: 74 miles

I got up early on this my last day of the journey around Australia. Had a quick breakfast and got going. Soon I was nice and warm again. When I got close to Wollongong I got stuck in early morning peak-hour traffic and the accompanying exhaust fumes. At nine o'clock I went to visit a Dutch family I had met a few times in West Australia. Received a second breakfast. Because the man of the house had decided to especially come home for lunch because I was visiting, and also because the local newspaper had been alerted, it was after many cups of coffee and much shaking of hands that I was finally able to leave. By then it was 1 p.m. First I had to climb a pretty steep hill that I had to take in my lowest gear. The descend was very gradual all the way to Sydney. I left my bicycle with Coen (a former radio officer from my merchant navy days) and then on to Ineke Kwaytaal, who I had met in Perth where I had told her that I would be at her place at 6 pm on Monday the 18th of October. I was 25 minutes late, not bad really. We had sauerkraut with sausage. I slept in Coen's place that night.

Wednesday 13 October 1971. From Camp 57 to Camp 58

It was a cold clear night. Got up early as the fastest way to get warm is to get on the bike and start riding. The wind was light and from the North and soon it became a nice day. I finally re-connected with the Pacific Ocean in Lake's Entrance, a picturesque, fishing town. Then it started getting hillier again. Giant trees kept me going without being bothered by the wind, but I did have to climb a lot. The hills are steep but short and the road is winding all over the place, which makes it pleasant riding.

(I did not explain to my parents why that is pleasant: being able to see ten of miles or more ahead is rather boring, but these winding roads continually make you wonder what you will see around the corner, especially if the road is going uphill or down hill.)

At noon I had already arrived in Orbost, on the Snowy River. Took a bit of a break here and then in one go to Cann River where I arrived four and a half hours later, not bad considering the terrain. Did another 7 miles, and put up my tent at a fire place kind of place. I had the same excellent menu as last night, but without the bacon. Tonight it isn't quite as cold as it has been.

Thursday 14 October 1971. Camp 58 to Camp 59: 107 miles.

When I woke up, it wasn't cold either. Made a camp fire and breakfast and then got going again. Still up-hill and then down-hill. The highest hill was about 350 meters high, which isn't very high but every down hill stretch brings you pretty much back to sea level. I had a coffee break in Genoa. A quiet farmers' town. Then in one go to Eden. It was getting warm and clammy. By early afternoon a strong, cold NE wind started to chase large grey cumulus clouds in from the ocean. So, by the time I got to Eden, the weather wasn't exactly pleasant. A little past Eden I actually had to walk up a steep hill, as the wind was blowing straight in my face. Up till here the road had been protected by large sub-tropical rain forests. A lot of trucks with tree trunks and cut timber on this road. Every now and then a hamlet with a saw mill. Also some tourist traffic and close to the towns some local traffic. After some more time, I got into a large green valley with beautiful long distance vistas and lower hills. The wind died down, and the dark skies and countless mosquitoes told me I could expect some thunder. By the time I got to Bega, it was already getting dark, mostly because the sun was setting. I found a patch of green grass a little past the town, put up my tent quickly, made a camp fire and started cooking. I was just able to warm up the soup, but the wind picked up, the rain came down and lightning and thunder told me to finish my cooking, so I killed my fire and crawled into my sleeping bag. The thunder sounded nice among the mountains. I was pretty tired.

(Note: I remember this evening well, as I did not have too many other nights with thunder and lightning. The thing that worried me was my metal tent pole: it sticks up into the sky, and seems to challenge the lightning to find it. Even though it was sitting on a rubber footing, I did not trust it, so I put my shoe up side down over the tip of the pole. This fear of lightning was strong in me as the son of our baker in my home town had been struck and killed by lightning while standing guard in the army during a thunder storm with his gun and bayonet pointing up into the sky.)

Friday 15 October 1971. Camp 59 to Camp 60: 91 miles

I finished cooking the half-cooked rice from last night this morning, and left my camp with a full tummy. Soon the weather improved, except that the wind was now against me. I am still going up and down this road but not as hilly as when I was going through the endless forests. That gets very tiresome because it is so boring. After a while the hills got higher again and the views got more spectacular. I had lunch in Narooma. Mostly fishing villages on the section, and the traffic mostly tourists. I rode the entire day in my swimming trunks. Temperatures well above 30 degrees centigrade. But no flies. The last part before Maruya was a rather flat valley, so more trouble from the wind. Did my shopping and then quickly got going again because I wanted to make it to Bateman's Bay today. I arrived there just as the sun was setting. A town very similar to all the other towns like Lake's Entrance and Narooma. Kept going in search of a good place to camp. After three miles, I found a spot in a dark forest, and it was good to get off the road as it was getting unsafe in the dark. I made a small camp fire because the wind was blowing my cinders all over the place. Altogether a pretty heavy day. I did not put up my tent, just rolled it out as a bit of a mattress. (This was my last camp)

Saturday 16 October 1971. Camp 60 to Kiama: 98 miles

The same nice weather as yesterday, but the wind was a bit more from behind than against. That makes a huge difference, especially when you also have to climb. I got up very early as it had gotten cold during the night. Milton was an agrarian town, just like Orbost, Genoa and Bega. Did some shopping there. They call this part of the coast the Australian Riviera. The beach is usually at quite a distance, but the ocean comes into view on a regular basis. The part between Nowra and Kiama was very pretty. I arrived in Kiama well before dark, and I was allowed to camp in a caravan park there at a heavily discounted price. The camping is close to the city on top of a cliff (See the illustration in my journal) with the beach just a few hundred yards away.

I am grateful and content about this week, because I am right on schedule, both distance-wise as money-wise. But I do need a revision because I don't have any extra money for things like new pedals (my current ones have rubber bits falling off) new shoes (large holes in the soles) gas tank for my camp stove, etc. However, I and my bike are in a good condition.

Sunday 10 October 1971. Melbourne (Kew)

I slept late, had a shower and spent the rest of the day in a cosy and warm living room reading and watching TV. Outside it the wind was howling and not very inviting to go out. In the evening I went to the Scots Church in the heart of Melbourne, the same church I used to go to when I was in port during my seafaring days. The service was well attended as I remembered it, and the same excellent minister. The choir also was as good as ever.

(Note: Years later when Pam and I were living in Melbourne, we visited the Scots Church for the Christmas Eve services and the choir was still as good as ever, but a different minister, I'm sure.)

Once back in Kew, I went to bed early after a nice bowl of soup.

Monday 11 October 1971. Kew to Moe/Newborough: 85 miles

I got up at seven, had a hearty breakfast and said my goodbyes. The first 25 miles took me through suburbs and industrial areas and therefore heavy traffic. (To this day I remember the distaste of having to ride in such heavy traffic after all the weeks and months of very light traffic) Finally the four-lane road changed into a two-lane road and the traffic was greatly reduced. The road was winding itself through hilly area with high mountains on both sides of the road (that's written by someone from Holland writing to fellow flat-landers). A breeze was blowing out of the West, and large cumulus clouds kept the sun hidden. In Newborough, a small town just past Moe, I looked up a fellow Dutchman I had met in Carnarvon when I went to church there. I was treated to a very warm welcome, and invited to stay overnight at his place. Glad to accept! After a delicious meal, we watched TV for a while and then I had another good night's rest in a warm bed. This concluded a day without any problems.

Tuesday 12 October 1971. Newborough to Camp 58: 88 miles

Another delicious breakfast. Loaded up with sandwiches I took off again. A heavy overcast sky and no wind, so not exactly ideal bike-riding weather. After taking some secondary roads past huge, brown coal burning, power stations, I made it back to the main road. In Stratford I looked up the Presbyterian minister. Mr Gobius, my host last night, had asked me to look him up and pass on his greetings. Nice all this getting up late and drinking coffee, but it eats up a lot of time while I could be riding my bike. I had planned to make it to Lake's Entrance, but did not make it. Four miles past Bairnsdale I camped by the side of the road. I made a nice large camp fire and boiled a pan of soup, fried some bacon and a kind of very light pancakes: crumpets, followed by custard for desert. I put up both inside and outside parts of my tent.