Preceeding the Crocodile Trophy, Pieter and I had three weeks leading up to the race during which we drove almost 3,000km from Brisbane to Cairns, sidestepping frequently from Bruce Highway in order to cycle in National Parks and to visit beautiful coastal towns and islands.

It was a fantastic tour exploring the highlights of Queensland, which included scuba diving and snorkeling on the outer Great Barrier Reef from a platoon located 100km offshore from Airlie Beach and the Whitsun Islands, and a microlight flight over the rainforests of the wet tropics. From the air we spotted schools of sting-rays, huge water turtles, and Pieter even got to see sharks. We also visited Frasier Island; the largest sand island in the world and cycled though National Parks like Girringum were the nightlife was particularly exotic (snakes, kangaroo, wallaby, poisonous frogs, spiders, etc.). On our bikes, Magpie birds regularly attacked us from behind until locals told us about their territorial behavior during breeding season, and the simple defense solution of cable ties sticking out from the helmet. I have video that proof the vicious attacks!

Active as we were, we stilled our immense appetite by savoring through pastie shops, restaurants and the tiny kitchen of our camper. Our favorite discovery was exotic fruits from the friendly farm stalls along the road. Custard apple and sapote, aka the chocolate fruit (no kidding), turned even Pieter into a fruit lover.