Postman Pinko

To provide a fresh trickle of income while I conclude my thesis, I have recently occupied myself as a part-time motorcycle postman with Australia Post. The pay is ordinary but mostly people like the postie. I get paid to ride over an ever-changing obstacle course and wave to my fans.

From Xmas 2009

Jenny visited me at on my run over the northern reaches of Belconnen in the ACT. It's been sweltering out there; I consume litres of water "on the beat". Surely, this is better than riding during a Canberra winter, though.

From Xmas 2009

Here I am in action.

From Xmas 2009

One cannot avoid becoming a connoisseur of mailboxes when you spend hours dealing with them. It's great to deliver to those thoughtful souls that provide a roomy mailbox with a big slot and put it adjacent to that of their neighbour's box on the sidewalk. (In this way I can stop just once and don't have to deviate from my path). There are some shocking boxes out there though. Sometimes the box in just lying on the ground. One "mailbox" is just a hole in the wall with a piece of rubbish to weigh the mail down. Many mailboxes aren't even wide enough to accept a standard letter without it having to be folded. (Imagine trying to jam a Foxtel guide through there). Oh, and if you park your car in the way (or leave your bins there), you should be flogged. Ramming speed!

Emily Miller Beach Pleases Again

Roberts chased me along the scorching sand at Emily Miller Beach last Sunday afternoon.

From Four at the coast

In a shady spot, we did a little reading and snoozing.

From Four at the coast

Jenny brought a baby crab back with her from the surf. Roberts gently cast him back in to the sea.

From Four at the coast

The waboba ball must have hit a small wave and bounced out of my grasp.

From Four at the coast

I signalled that Roberto and I were sound after a very close meeting with a large ray in the shallows at the northern end of the beach.

From Four at the coast

My last-ditch effort to afford some shade underneath Jen failed to avert the substantial sun-burn that showed up later in the evening.

From Four at the coast

Our foursome took in some zydeco music in the shade at the Canberra botanical gardens as a cool breeze (and cool wine) provided further relief from the heat.

From Four at the coast

The Snowy Mountains Highway

After viewing the Jillabenan Cave at Yarrangobilly, Rimsy, Jen and I climbed along the Snowy Mountains Highway to about 1500m.

From Snowy Ride

Though the snow ploughs were stored away for the summer, the yellow road markings are a reminder of the snow that blankets this region for much of the year. Even then, Rimsy may have been okay on his big BMW with heated grips a plug-in electric jacket.

From Snowy Ride

Jenny and I eased out of the saddle for a stretch next to this treeless plain.

From Snowy Ride

Dotted about the high mountians are emergency huts in which to shelter in the case of a blizzard. This notorious hut was re-built after being destroyed by a forest fire.

From Snowy Ride

Dead forests like that behind Rimsy and I have a ghostly, still feeling about them. Of course, new growth is already becoming well-established.

From Snowy Ride

Our last stop before schnitzels in Cooma was at the Big Trout at (new) Adaminaby.

From Snowy Ride

After Cooma, we endured the Monaro Highway and arrived safe and weary in the Can.

The Yarrangobilly Caves

The Jillabenan cave is the oldest of the five caves at Yarrangobilly. Jenny poses here with some stalactites that are encrusted with crystals.

From Snowy Ride

The long, thin straws shown in the centre of the following picture are estimated to be ten thousand years old.

From Snowy Ride

The older caves are frequently the smallest; Stalactite growth, like that Rimsy is appreciating in the picture below, may have blocked or filled in parts of the cave.

From Snowy Ride

This veil looks very delicate.

From Snowy Ride

Green smudges at the bottom of this shallow cave pool are all that remains of copper pennies cast here in the 1950's and '60's.

From Snowy Ride

After the tranquility of the cave, we fired the bikes up and headed south along the Snowy Mountains Highway. It is from this point that I will take up the next post.

Jounama Creek and the thermal pool at Yarrangobilly

Jenny, Rimsy and I barbecued steak, sausages and some bacon at Jounama Creek campground. We took stops at pubs at Wee Jasper and Tumut. Though this pleasant campsite is only 200 kilometres from Canberra, we were out on the motorbikes for about three-and-a-half hours on Friday afternoon. Enjoyable twisty roads through farmland en route to Wee Jasper gave me a chance to grind off some of the unnecessary bits of my foot pegs. Beautiful winding logging roads greeted us after a gruelling slog up-hill along the rutted track out of Wee Jasper towards Tumut.

From Snowy Ride

By leaving behind a few adult diapers, Rimsy had ample space to bring a tent along. Jen and I opted for the simple joy of sleeping under a hootchie. We were (mostly) shielded from the thorough early morning storm.

From Snowy Ride

The Jounama creek is crystal clear and pleasantly refreshing after an afternoon in the saddle. Thankfully, Jen had rested a couple of long-necks of my winter ale in the creek and this aided in the requisite relaxation and rejuvenation.

From Snowy Ride

Having risen early, we rode about half-an-hour south along the Snowy Mountains Highway to the Yarrangobilly Caves. Kindly, the parks officer waived the park use fee for us because we were travelling on motorcycles. We booked tickets for a tour through the oldest cave, the Jillabenan Cave. We had just enough time spare to visit the nearby thermal pool.

From Snowy Ride

The water temperature is stable all year at twenty-seven degrees Celsius. This water is so clear that you ought to be able to make out the stony bottom of the pool from the following image.

From Snowy Ride

In my next post, I'll describe our tour of the ancient Jillabenan cave.