We gathered with the other Crocodile Trophy riders and supporters on October 19th in Cairns to begin what would be a true adventure throughout Queensland. The riders were greeted by pouring rain, which came after a long spell of drought in this region of Australia. The actual race start at the esplanade in downtown Cairns was low-key with a strangely quiet atmosphere. The odd silence at the start made me think that the 80 riders must feel worried about what they had signed up for: facing stiff competition, changing weather and a very long way ahead. Then I realized that the organization had simply forgotten to arrange for any accommodating, heart pumping music such as “Highway to Hell”.  Meeting superstar Milan and other competitors in the Master class, Pieter invariably knew that he was in for 10 hard days.

Each day started at 5 am with a vociferous and bizarre wake-up call of exotic birds including parrots, brush turkeys and all sorts of kookaburra. Never to be seen on this trip, however, was the elusive cassowary that worried us all after many cautionary tails. As Pieter’s personal supporter I drove our bush-camper over rugged terrain, through sandy creeks of the outback, and rivers of the rainforest and certainly brushed up on my 4×4 skills! It is impossible to imagine how difficult and hard it must have been to ride the race distance of 1,250 kilometers on a mountain bike in temperatures over 40° Celsius. Since I simply don’t have the means to describe Pieter’s exerting yet rewarding experience of coming in 5th in the Masters, and cannot tell the experience of any of his competitors, I hope they will post here as well and share some of their thoughts.  From my perspective, it was a fantastic experience and I will never forget the amazing wilderness of the outback including an up-close and personal meeting with wallabies and their pouched babies in Granite Gorge. Most fondly I remember, however, having met some really great people from all over the globe, like Milan, Chris, Sam, Terry, Anne, Mo, Brigitte, Alison, Abby, Scott, Eugen, Duri, and many others. My fondness of the continent down under has grown even further and I tip my hat to all Aussies who let us enjoy their exceptional comradeship and warm hospitality.