I'm aiming for 59kg

Thursday 28 July

Note on pictures: I started taking pictures of my meals during my trip. Unfortunately i skipped a lot of the yummiest ones and lost some too. I've started doing it at home but i wo'nt always remember. I haven't got organised enough to post today's lovely salad lunch but i did take the shot.

Somewhere i think i may already have said that i lost a bunch of shots from the first part of my trip including my meal shots of course. Bummer, hey.

Weight was 57.4kg. This is a new low in terms of what i’ve actually got to see on the scale. I think i’ve been down this low on my trip but not had a scale to weigh myself on.

6am Breakfast -
rice pudding with prunes and sultanas as per last night.
served with 1/2 cup of full cream milk
1/2 cup of natural full cream yoghurt

9am: coffee with 1/2 cup of milk

11.45pm lunch -
old pomegranate that was delicious anyway
Salad of 1/2 cup red lentils, tomato diced, boiled potato diced, coriander, parsley, tatsoi leaves, salad dressing with probably about 2 tsp of olive oil.
small handful - probably about 2 tbsp scroggin - dried fruit and nuts.
tea w milk

6.30pm dinner -
A fairly fucked up dinner experience on several fronts.
First, I was trying to make hummus but screwed it up.
Although it was edible, eating it was unjoyable because my sister and i got into one of our characteristic argument things. And finally i probably ate too many calories worth of hummus because i was so distracted by the discussion.

Anyhow, this is what i ate.
Hummus with one sorba wrap bread. I don’t know how much hummus i ate exactly. It wasn’t a great deal but it would have had a lot of calories in it given the recipe below that i used.
nescafe

Hummus made with about 1 cup of chickpeas, soaked then cooked til i just about burnt them, 1/2 cup of stale tahini, about 1/2 cup of olive oil and juice of a lemon, plus some cumin.
ITs about the worst hummus i i’ve ever made and i am not totally sure what went wrong but because of the dynamics going on, its no wonder it went wrong. Even though i burnt the pan, the chickpeas weren’t burnt. Even though i put in so much tahini, it was still dryish and so on. Anyway it must have been a dud recipe and it was from the Weekend Australian, although i had to add the olive oil because it was too dry before that. God knows how it turns out when they make it.

Exercise:
weeding and walking about the garden from about 7am to 8.30am
cleaning caravan from 9.45 - 11.15 - I felt a bit worn out after that oddly.
more walking about the garden and such and work but not too heavy.

Because i am still quite off with my cold and cough i don’t think i will start regular exercise til next week. Also i still need to catch up on my trip.

I'm going to start reporting my sleeping hours. I am sure its utterly irrelevant to many readers but its tres meaingful to me.

Sleep
Get up 6am
Last night bed at 10pm
Nap today - none


KIMBERLEYS TRIP BELOW
________________________________________________________________
Date 21 May 2011 Saturday

A lot of eating events today as yesterday.

2am Arrival in Darwin Caffe latte
Finish breakfast food - 2 dim sims, rice, mandarine

4am: cafe latte

It was a long night. I got some uncomfortable sleep on the plane but when I tried to sleep at the airport wedged between some chairs sleep didn’t come. So I got up and leisuerly put my bike together.

I rode out in the dark about 4.30am. I rode at least 20 kms this morning in a futile search for a camping ground. The first place was no longer operational. The second place wanted $30 a night and I thought I might as well stay at a backpakcers in town in that case.

So I rode back to town with a plan to find a bed for the night, go to the market for breakfast and then head back out towards the airport where there was supposed to be a bike shop.

9.0am Breakfast at Parap Markets - good brekkie much to choose from
Raw paw paw and prawn salad - thai style with peanuts, sugar, lime and fish sauce dressing, Very yummy. From the cambodia stall. I had a picture of this but somehow i managed to wipe out the first week of my photos from my laptop.
Berry juice/smoothie medium size - boysenberries, cherries, cranberry juice, blackberries.

The markets were bustling. There were a lot of food stalls. I checked out what other people were eating and then chose my food with the aim to try to eat yummy but not ruin my diet. I think I did ok. The food was definitely yummy. See pictures.

I was able to leave my bike in the workers shed which wsa good since I didnt have a lock at that point. The woman there also told me to go to a bike shop in town and I didn’t regret it. It wasn’t the one I went to last year. This one was pretty low key and not fancy with gear all over the place. Brian was really helpful. He fitted my bike stand and sold me some bits I needed and didn’t charge too much as promised by the woman. I still need more bits though. And he told me to buy a shifting spanner for my truing needs instead of a truing tool. He said I shoudl get a chain whip (but that’s the wrong term i think). And showed me how to use it. He said I didn’t need new break pads.I spent $40 odd on bike stuff. Bugger its endless. But its stuff I think I have to have.

fruit snack: A mandarine

I had a quick look in a couple of galleries. Then I went to lunch

It was tempting walking past my old cake cafe from last trip. The display looked good as ever but I resisted


1pm: Lunch at Yum Cha restaurant, cavanagh st, Darwin - excellent
Quite a nice restaurant with a good number of diners, mostly chinese. I had
1 plate (3 pieces) stuffed deep fried tofu in a dark sauce, either musrooms or black bean - yum It was stuffed with a little bit of fish stuff. Wasn’t strong but it was yummy
1 plate steamed prawn dumplings (4 pieces) good but smallish with soy sauce
1 plate sticky rices stuffed with mixed meats and steamed in lotus leaves. (2 large servings - I brought one home) delicious except for one questionable piece of meat. Eaten with sweet soy and sweet chilli sauce
Pot of green tea

I just found out that breakfast is included in my hostel. This gets better all the time. So that’s great.

I tried and failed to have an afternoon catchup sleep. It was simply too hot.

After my failed sleep and chatting with the other girls in my room, I walked up the road to Woolies to do some shopping. I spent $113.74 on food for the trip and worry that i won't be able to fit everything on my bike. I seem to have an enormous amount of gear and now a ton of food. And of course my laptop and camera take up a lot of space and weigh a lot. Its going to be heavy work cycling.

For shopping, decided to buy some almonds and have 50g servings for lunch for my protein fix. With pita bread. They are a lot lighter than cans of tuna. I bought multivitamins, fairly expensive shampoo which I hope will be good. Everything here is a lot more expensive than at home. Oats cost $1.74 a kilo instead of $0.99. I bought a big jar of coffee and hopefully it will last the duration of the trip.


7pm: Dinner at the backpackers kitchen
Leftover sticky rice dish, steamed and sauteed broccoli and mushrooms which were very good to my surprise and tomato and a bread roll. So quite a big meal

1 lid ful of olive oil - maybe a tablespoon full even
1 clove garlic
A whole small head of broccoli, .lightly steamed
3 large mushrooms, sliced
Ground black pepper

Saute the garlic in the olive oil on a low heat, add the mushrooms and cook. When almost done, add the steamed broccoli and cook some more.

I probably ate a bit too much today, but at least I basically stuck to three meals. I should try not to get complacent but the thing is, I am feeling tempted and its better to eat more low cal food and get satisfied than resort to junk and over eat by a long shot.

Its just after 9pm and I am ready for bed. There’s music playing outside but its not bad. And the talk is ok too. If it stays like this I can live with it.
 
I'm fascinated by everything aboriginal. Did you get to talk to an aborigines? Or is there a language barrier?

I would LOVE to see some photos of your trip.

I bet its feels great to finally sleep in your own bed :)

Don't feel guilty about splurging on a hair cut and colour, your worth it!
 
GEEEZ you wake up so early! I'm not an early bird AT ALLL!!!!

It's great how you are sorting out your diary at the moment. I love reading about your trip, but also interspersed with how you are doing right now.

CONGRATS on reaching 57.5! This is some kind of a fantastical magical number for me - I probably weighed that when I was eight years old, haha. But it is awesome that you are still doing so well!

So how are you adjusting your food habits now you are back home ?

Thanks for taking the time to catch up with me and my diary. I am sure that no one expects you to go back and read through every little thing we have written while you've been away - especially people like me (AKA forum addicts) that post a thousand times an hour ;)

x
 
reply to rainbow

I'm fascinated by everything aboriginal. Did you get to talk to an aborigines? Or is there a language barrier?

I would LOVE to see some photos of your trip.

I bet its feels great to finally sleep in your own bed :)

Don't feel guilty about splurging on a hair cut and colour, your worth it!

Morning dear. Yes me too im' fascinated by aborigines. Yes i had some lovely experiences (but not enough) with them and they will be in my diary. Most do speak English but the quality of their english varies greatly depending on their background. They also can be difficult to understand because of their accent.

My own bed? I don't really have one. I need to find a good mattress. I've just moved into a little caravan that someone has given me. I have begun cleaning it out but still a bit to do before its comfy and homey.I sort of camp at home too because i don't have house as such. Life is pretty rough here at home too but its still great because its our place and sure it is easier. Not having to cart bits of food in plastic bags all the place as you do in a back packers and being able to stand up to cook food instead of squatting by a fire and eating whilst sitting on the ground all make it much easier.

I will be putting photos all over the place. The first hurdle is to find my external hard drive and get it to the same location as my laptop. Perhaps I could make that priority for today. :)
 
Reply to DM Joh

GEEEZ you wake up so early! I'm not an early bird AT ALLL!!!!

It's great how you are sorting out your diary at the moment. I love reading about your trip, but also interspersed with how you are doing right now.

CONGRATS on reaching 57.5! This is some kind of a fantastical magical number for me - I probably weighed that when I was eight years old, haha. But it is awesome that you are still doing so well!

So how are you adjusting your food habits now you are back home ?

Thanks for taking the time to catch up with me and my diary. I am sure that no one expects you to go back and read through every little thing we have written while you've been away - especially people like me (AKA forum addicts) that post a thousand times an hour ;)

x

Morning mate. I am trying to become a better early bird. I am not by nature and have spent most of my life being a midnight oil burner. I want to be more productive in life and this is the way to do it - getting up early that is. Its not been an easy transition and its taken forever to develop but the other year i made a good advance and now i am jsut trying to kick it up a notch.

Thanks for liking my diary thing. I like your 8 year old joke Made me smile.

Adjusting to food back home. Yes its the present challenge but so far so good and i think there are some reasons for that.
1. i had the big crisis with eating not too long before i got home and so was able to pull myself back in line and recommit to my good patterns.
2.I like my diet eating habits and really WANT to keep on doing it.
3. I've been through this several times before - ie losing weight whilst on the trip and falling back into bad habits and increasing weight when i get home. This time i am more prepared and committed to sticking to the plan. I think this forum is really helping me.
4. My sister is here and that is always challenging as she is skinny and eats lots of yummy things. And there are some sibling rivalry issues too. But this time i am determined not to fall into that old trap.
5. i think having set up the routine before i left on the trip has helped.
6. one of my new resolutions not to ever go above 60kg again will help me i am sure and weighing every day to keep track. I have to remain vigilant. I am also determined to be more active so that i can burn off easily whatever i consume that's a bit of a slip up etc.
7. So its a matter of eating less and eating more vegies. Whilst on my trip i could eat lots of low cal meals like pasta, rice, beans with good enough flavours but not much fresh foods at all. Now i can afford to eat more fresh foods. I need to take the time to make food yummy so that i enjoy cooking and eating and don't want to go and eat crap sugar foods. When i start eating desserts and sweet things is when it all goes to pot so i have to keep away from that stuff.
8. The quantity issue doesn't seem to hard now. I think i've prepared for it by doing the diet before i was away and also by the way the trip came to an end - winding down gradually a bit rather than a sudden switch from long cycling days and big meals to no cycling or activity at all.

I'd like to catch up with most of the regulars i used to visit all teh time. I'd like to see what's gone iwth them over the period. I will try to avoid making new friends so keep it under control. I need to avoid spending a lot of time on the forum. This morning by now i should be out in teh garden but i had such a bad night last night that i am taking it easy this morning. HOwever, i need to get off the computer and do some stuff if not in the garden.

haircut is booked for today. I've been quoted $160 minimum. Yikes! Its such a fucking lot of money for me. I'm still hoping that M will give me a better deal. It wasn't her who quoted.
 
Random trip picture - first pic posted on this forum :hurrah:

This is me in the last week of my cycling trip holding a snake for the first time in my life. It immediately started crawling up through my legs. It was rather a lovely experience holding this snake though i didn't get long enough. The snake had been a pet since very young and is very used to being handled and so i didn't feel threatened.

More pics coming soon...
 
Friday 29 July

Weight was 57.4kg. unchanged.

6.30am
Nescafe

8.30am Breakfast
Porridge made with 1/2 cup rolled oats, 4 prunes and 2 tbsp of sultanas, 1 cup milk
I’m stewing the prunes first. These are quite hard and dry.

I just cancelled my haircolour reward. Its just too much money at the moment and i found a hair colourant box in the bathroom that i should use up first. Maybe things will be more financially settled in a few months time and maybe i can find some other reward. I wish i could find a reward that i really wanted that didn’t involve money. If anyone has any good ideas, please share.

Had a terrible time with sister last night and didn’t sleep so much last night but this morning, i am going to try to mend my ways. I wonder if its all my fault after all and taking the responsible approach means, not pointing the finger at her but trying to change my ways. I need to be more calm, more quiet and less rushed. But the hardest thing of all is to not react badly if she doesn’t respond the way i expect or even hope for.

12 noon lunch -
Hummus and salad wrap - 2 tbsp hummus as per last night, rocket leaves, parsley, coriander and half a tomato. Sorba wrap.
large pink lady apple with 1/2 natural yoghurt - YUM! I must exclaim!

I’m not too fussed on this particular sorba wrap bread but i’ve got to eat it up now that i’ve got it here.

Its so lovely to have fresh apples again. I haven’t been eating many yet as i am using up dried fruit in my breakfast but i think an apple a day is definitely on the menu for me. Or maybe nearly every day.

I’ve had another dreadful morning with my sister though not as bad as last night. We’ve made an appointment with a councellor. We need to learn better ways to communicate with each other. I’m feeling somewhat threatened in my way of life here right now. I’ve put so much effort and money into this place. It would be devastating if things cannot be worked out better so that we can all live here happily.

6.30pm dinner -
glass home made lemoncello with soda water which was not so good so i added 3 tbsp of my homemade lemon cordial. I had better buy tonic water if i am going to keep drinking this stuff.

Fried rice made w 1/2 cup basmati rice, small bunch of tatsoi, 1 sheet nori seaweed, 1 duck egg fried in 1 tsp canola oil, 2 cloves garlic, about 1/3 onion fried in 1 tsp canola oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce.

I was in a hurry and there’s not a lot to choose from in my fridge yet. I’ve been putting off shopping until its necessary for financial reasons.

Exercise:
Because of a buggered up sleep last night, i didn’t go in the garden this morning but i am sticking to my no internet or computer work in the morning and working on clearing up and organising my home space. Lots of walking involved as I trek all over our 1 hectare block between the three dwellings to move belongings about and also to attend to the poultry.

Sleep:
*bed last night eventually, 12.30am. Tried to go at 10pm but the evening’s upset ruined that.
*Get up 6.30am - a late start but good under the circumstances.
*nap - 2.30 - 5pm i usually prefer only to have an hour i need the alarm. When i woke up at first i thought it was very early in the morning. I often don’t realise i’m afternoon napping until i open my eyes properly and look outside.
________________________________________________________________________

Day 2 of Kimberly Trip - Date 22 May 2011 Sunday
No pictures available yet unfortunately. I lost some.

8.30am Breakfast: included in room fee
2 weetbix - yum!
1 cup milk
1 cup nescafe with ? cup milk
1 apple (bought)

I can’t find my room key. That could be a deposit of $20 down the drain.

I slept well last night. It wasn’t hot and now I have to change rooms unnecessarily. Early in the evening, a manager told the guests in no uncertain terms not to make a noise during the evening. Phew. That was great. The girls in my room were good. None of them woke me up once i fell a sleep and I slept right through till atleast 7.30 this morning, though I thought it was much earlier.

I’m trying to pack now. I have so much gear.

1pm: Lunch at Nightcliff Markets

2 vietnamese spring rolls - one with prawn and one with chicken (though I asked for prawn only) served with hoi sin sauce, chilli sauce, carrot in vinegar and crushed nuts.
1 large cafe latte

To get to the markets, I rode along a bike path for a few kilometres, passing by some lovely beach scenes, stopping to talk to some tourists who’d driven over from the kimberleys in a van. They’d camped there the night by the sea. The beach lookoed lovely even. That was near Fannie Point.

At the markets, I bought a lovely silk dress deciding to make this a key part of cycle clothing gear becuase of its low weight. I could now leave other clothes out of my gear. That made me happy, then I realised I’d lost an earring. As I was leaving the market, I saw a great shirt for riding in - a nice phyamai shirt for only $1. Then I bought a jumper as well. So whatever weight I had saved by throwing out the dresses, I was making up for with my new purchases!!! Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh! But both items I think will be used a lot so they are necessary adn also bargain priced.

On the way home, I stopped in at Bunnings to see if I could get some camping gaz but they don’t sell it.

The markets at nightcliff didn’t have a lot of food but a lot of balinese clothes. I saw some nice crocheted bikinis $20 and some good shoes that I saw again at mindil in the evening. $60 platforms. They were very tempting. There was some tropical fruit on sale too and a few vegies. Very well frequented by the locals.

I rode back to town and the backpackers. Had a shower, checked in again, moved in to my new airconditioned room. I did some handwashing which was good usuing the hot water in the shower to do a better job using my sards wonder soap.

I still haven’t had time to do a few things like look at my maps, or work out my mobile phone or my cycle computer.

I headed off to the mindil beach sunset markets at about 5pm. I walked and wore my new dress which felt cool and comfy though I had it on inside out which I realised when I was halfway along the route. What a nung!

7pm: Dinner at Mindil Beach market
The food was disappointing here. Lots of fried foods and oily foods. And I wasn’t happy with what I chose.
Mussel salad with thai dressing - was ok but not great.
Crumbed barramundi was overcooked
Pineapple milk smoothie - $5 very good. Probably about ½ cup milk and 1 cup pineapple pieces + ice

I was tempted by a lot of things at the markets but only bought a pair of earrings to make for those I’d lost.

I walked home at about 8pm but sitll had time to go to the supermarket and get back to the BP before the kitchen closed so I could have a nescafe.

I bought some extras chewing gum and I am eating all of it. It was an impulse buy and I forgot all about it until I found it again and now I am eating it all. But it has no sugar in it so not many calories.

I spent $20 on food at the markets. It might have been better value to eat at a restaurant. So next time I will do that.


I need to figure out how to locate the pics in the right position in the post. Any quick tips please?
 
Saturday 30 July

Weight was 57.4kg.

I forgot to mention yesterday that last night i had a can of soup and milk at about 10.30 or 11pm when i realised i wasn’t going to bed.

1.15am
Cup of warm milk

Computer stuff

3.20am snack
half a sorba wrap w 2tbsp hummus and half a tomato (see picture)

Tried to go to bed but couldn’t so i got up again. I’m feeling very crappy.

4.45am
Coffee w 1/2 cup milk

I’m still feeling very crappy.

And then i felt better after i’d read something interesting and took my mind right off the family problems

6.30am breakfast
1/2 cup rolled oats in porridge w 3 pieces of dried pear stewed and 1 tbsp sultanas + 1 cup of milk
small handful of scroggin while i was waiting of the porridge to cook

8.30am coffee w 1/2 cup milk


10.20 small lunch because i was heading out to town and knew i was going to get hungry whilst out.
1/2 piece of sorba wrap w 2 tbsp hummus, 1/2 tomato and some parsley

11am tea with a friend

3.20pm: 2nd small lunch
One nice bread roll with strangeness about it but i don’t know what sort of roll it was.
2 tbsp ricotta cheese
1 tomatoo
small Bowl of cherries
nescafe

ah i forgot to photograph it. I know the reason for caffeine high photographing her food was to see from a distance how much she was eating etc but i am not bothering with that although the process of photographing does make you take note of that. I take pictures of my food for the aesthetic effect; as an illustration to accompany my recipes.

Anyway i went to town to visit my friend and do some grocery shopping and take a break from home. Shopping for food was good until i got tired of it and began to get quite hungry then i had to whiz down a couple more aisles and get home asap. Oh i bought a packet of sugarless eucalyptus throat soothers whilst there and ate nearly all of them before i got home. They helped a little with my cough as well as my appetite. But i wanted to say.... at the supermarket, i realised it was time i would be allowed to buy CHEESE and bring it back slowly into my diet. So i went to the deli section and to see what deliciuos things there were. I found Saint Auger which is top quality french cheese apparently, similar to roquefort but quite a bit cheaper even though its still $77 per kilo here. So i bought 50g and it still cost me $3.50. I can’t wait to try it but i buggered up my chance to have it for lunch because i had already put some ricotta on my bread roll. Maybe i will have it tonight, or a taste at least. I think there was another treat at the supermarket too but i can’t think of it. I bought fresh scallops to have for dinner tonight but guess what, they will be in a tomato sauce with pasta and i thought it would or should be ages before i ate spaghetti again since i’ve eaten so much of it lately. But i guess not. Otherwise how else am i going to enjoy these scallops.

Oh i just remembered the other delicious thing i bought - goats milk. And quite expensive. I wanted to try it again because i am thinking of getting a goat or two to have fresh milk and no more of this pasteurised homogenised, hormonised goop which neverthelss i still love the taste of. Actually its a lot because i want to make my own yoghurt and the yoghurt i’ve tried with cow’s milk is not working very well, not as well as i know it should. I’ve already asked the neighbour if i can let them graze on their property and so far a tentative yes has been given. Our place is less suitable as there are too many (edible) trees.

Today i’ve taken off from work, although i did a little bit this morning.

Today when i went out i wore a woollen skirt i bought years ago and have hardly ever worn because i am always too fat for it. Even when i bought it I was nowwhere near as skinny as i am now. But now it fits perfectly and looks pretty good i think.

7pm dinner -
1/2 glass red wine
Fried rice with scallops (just to save myself from having to eat pasta yet). (This was good but not quite as good as the pasta and scallops i made not too long ago.)
mandarine
nescafe

recipe
8 not so large scallops
1/2 cup basmati rice cooked (long grain rice is probably preferable such as jasmine)
1 clove garlic
half and onion finely diced
2 tsp light soy sauce
coriander
about 1 tbsp vegetable oil, peanut is best

Heat the oil in a wok and add the onion. Fry a little on low heat. Avoid burning. Add the garlic and the scallops at the same time. Continue frying and add 1 tsp soy sauce. Cook until you think the scallops are done but dont overcook them. They will need turning at least once. Remove the scallops and set aside. Add the rice to the wok and toss through to get coated in oil and flavours. Add another tsp of soy sauce. Heat through. Add some coriander and then add the scallops back in. Toss well to heat through. Mix through some fresh coriander at the end. Serve straight away.

I think i’ve eaten quite a bit today. But tomorrow, if i can get to my destination, i should be able to work off any trouble. I’ve basically taken a day off here at home today.

Exercise:
one-2 hours weeding early this morning.
A bit of cleaning and sorting stuff.

Sleep:
Bed last night: 10pm
Get up: 1.15am



________________________________________________________________________

Day 3 - Date 23 May 2011, Monday

Distance: 53km

9.0am Breakfast At Backpackers
2 weetbix in 1 cup mlik
1 apple
1 nescafe with milk

On my way out of town, i stopped at a Bike shop. Mark the mechanic fitted my cycle computer and gave my bike a quick once over for nothing. Perhaps because he’d done a tour in Switzerland and understood the touring cyclist more than the guys back home. I bought oil and an expensive gadget in case i break a spoke that another bike mechanic in town had persuaded me i needed. I’ve got Mark’s card in case i have to order any parts along the way.

As I pulled up at the BCF to buy camping gas, a tall guy with a missing tooth and a gas truck approached me. He turned out to be stacky - a poster from my travel forum. After a few words, he invited me to spend the night at his place. He had made the offer earlier on the internet but I thought his place was too far from my route. I had left a message on the forum saying to come out to meet me for a drink or a meal. But I hadn’t heard from him before leaving. Now, here he was in the flesh. Goes to show how small Darwin is.

1pm: Lunch At a cafe on the way out of town
1 roast beef and salad roll with butter, tomato, lettuce, cucmber, beetroot

I rode out of town on the bike path. There are excellent bike paths all around Darwin. It was hottish but not unbearable.

The scenery was ordinary. A bit of bushland but typical of most of the northern tropics in Australia.

Stacky’s wife was out the front of the garden when I pulled up and made me a warm welcome.

3pm: cappucino

7pm: Dinner At Stacky’s house
A Modest portion Chicken and leek with filo pastry and rice

I will leave around dawn when stacky heads off for work.
 
Sunday 31 July - Permablitz

Weight: i can’t remember what i weighed this morning. It might have been 58 or 57.8kg.

7.30am Breakfast
4 weetbix w 1 cup goats milk
2 large strawberries

I told myself that i needed 4 weetbix because of the work i would be doing today and didn’t want to be caught out feeling hungry. I probably could have done fine with two but the last time i ate even 3 weetbix (at the end of my trip in Darwin, weetbix just seemed like no food at all. - and I am afraid of being stuck without food when i’m hungry. That’s a situation when i can end up eating lots of bad food if i’m not careful.

9.30am
nescafe.

10am Morning tea, officially
nescafe
small piece of pie stuff with some vegie stuff rolled into it.

I seem to be eating everything that’s put in front of me. I wasn’t even hungry. But i guess its always nice to try food other people have cooked.

12.30 lunch - bbq at the gardners house
1 large
sausage rissole
small amount of salad
small serve of a lovely asian steamed fish dish - barramundi
smallish piece of damper w hummus
nutella damper, small piece and regretted because it wasn’t very good.
half a tomato sliced
the remainder of my Saint Augur cheese which is delicious and i will definitely have that again.
nescafe
a bit of scroggin - mixed nuts and dried fruit and seeds
piece of lettuce
cherries - yummmmmmmmm!

I can’t think of anything else. I’ve eaten a lot today.

4.30 Naughty snack as I left the gardening house
Scroggin which i happened to have and had in the front of the car. Just eating it up to get rid of it really.

5.30pm: Visitors arrived
small piece of coffee and walnut cake with icing which she brought - homemade.
cup of tea

I could have or should have overlooked this but P’s cakes are always good. She owns a cafe. At least it was a small piece. :)

7pm dinner - see picture.
Mandarine
about 1 tbsp of lemoncello straight - for my cough.
Vegetables, steamed or boiled, then stir fried in garlic and oil
nescafe

Method
broccoli, carrot and cauliflower steamed. But i overcooked them a bit. They are best done not too well steamed. When i fried them in the garlic and a 2tsp of olive oil, they got a bit crumbly but were still yummy.

1 medium large potato, boiled and then fried in 1 tbsp of canola oil.

hmmm, i used a bit much oil really didn’t i.

Exercise:
I went out for the day to work in someone else’s garden on a permaculture project. It was fun. I did a bit of shovelling and wheeled the wheelbarrow lots of times but i don’t feel i worked that hard even though it was all day. I think what was missing was that i didn’t have to walk very far.

Sleep:
Bed last night: 10pm
Get up: 5.20am

It's strange that i am not more tired.

KIMBERLEY TRIP BELOW
________________________________________________________________

Date 24 May 2011 Tuesday

Destination: Humpty Doo to Adelaide River
Distance: 80km

6.am Breakfast at my friend’s place
3 weetbix w milk

I got away at 6.30am as it was just getting light.

My gear is so heavy that it made cycling painflu from the start. I bought a lot of food in Darwin thinking I might go through the national park but decided I didn’t have time and gave that a miss. I think my food bag weighs at least 10kg. And also this morning I had to fill up my water bags so I carry about 4.5 litrres. I spent quite a bit of time thinking about the weight of my gear and wishing I had less. I seem to be bringing more gear each time. Maybe I will have to save up for a netbook. At least I’ve reduced the weight of my sleeping mat and bag. Next time I will get a smaller tent too. This one is 4kg. [ Actually i discovered later that i was the headwind that causing the pain not the weight of my gear so much. And at the very end of my trip, i found that my tent only weighed 3kg. ]

The scenery was fairly uninteresting as I expected. I’ve seen this road before. Lots of trucks and road trains on the road but no problems with wind drag. The road shoulders are good enough. The road trains often have 4 trailers or dogs as they call them. They are a hazard that one must respect of get wiped out very suddenly. They are unable to dodge a stupid cyclist at the last minute like other vehicles.

9am: Lunch by the side of the road
2 wholemeal pita bread - 704kj per piece
1 185g can of tuna chunks in olive oil 1092kg per can,12.4g fat,37.6g protein

I found myself thinking about food not so long after leaving home that I decided to have an early lunch or a second breakfast. I pulled up on a shady spot by the side of the road. I ate twice as much as I meant to but what the hell.

I’m having a little trouble with my bike stand. Its legs were dropping into my spokes. I found a bit of tape by the side of the road and made a loop for them to sit in so that they don’t go so far as my spokes. And then it seemed to rattle loose.

Today I was aiming for 100km (though I only made 80) and figured I would burn it off all my and that I needed it. When I start thinking a lot about food, I ve decided its time to eat though I will hold out for meal times. However, when I hit town, I did break open the almonds as soon as I put up my tent. There are 43 in one serve so that’s a decent amount. [later i would rethink the wisdom of eating 43 almonds in one serve and cut right back to about 6]

Around 11am, I passed the turnoff to Litchfield nat park: there was a bus shelter. I pulled up and lay down in the shade and slept till 1pm. That was a great idea. I hope I can do it again but I will need to continue getting an early start. I don’t have an alarm clock though.


7pm: Dinner at Adelaide River free camping area
43 almonds
125g spaghetti
¼ packet cheese sauce 195kj 4g fat, 45 calories.
Cup of nescafe wth milk powder - 1 spoon)

Its going to be dark by 7.30. Its twilight now at 7.15.

In town on arrival I asked at the police station if there was somewhere on the other side of town I could camp. They weren’t very helpful. Advised against pitching up in private property. Especially not to make a fire. So I asked at the shop. The man there was much more helpful. He said I could pitch my tent in the lovely green park behind the public toileits. But when I mentioned I needed to cook, he said, to go over the other side of the fire brigade and pitch there. Its a pleasant spot with a bit of shade, bit of grass and backing up onto some bush. I walked into the bush and found an old concrete house slab which I thought would be good for a fire.

After I’d had a cold shower and had done a little washing in the public loos, I started a fire for dinner. The wood is very dry and the water for my pasta boiled in no time.

Dinner was good. It filled me up and left me feeling satisfied.

I”ve been too busy to go for a walk around town. Its starting to get a little cool now.

I”ve no idea how cold I could be tonight but I know it will get colder in coming days and months. I think I will cope though.

There are a few mossies. But in my tent, i am safe.

NOTE: I'm having trouble getting all my pics off my camera. I can't get my dinner pic off.
 
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Your food is looking lovely! The photo with the snake is awesome! I love snakes :) Wish we were allowed pets in my building, I'd love a snake!! Keep working hard and hope the sister stress lessens soon xxx
 
:iagree: And you look SO skinny. I am mega jealous.

And you are thinking off getting goats- thats amazing! I am thinking of getting chickens :)

I was surprised to hear that you don't have your own bed, and are living in a caravan in the wilderness. I think the whole back-to-basics way of living is quite romantic- most people have got so many possessions, bills and other assorted stuff, but it isn't really necessary is it. Your focusing on the things that are more important. But- get a decent mattress woman!!!!!!

It was nice of the mechanic to look over your bike for free :)

Have you got your hair done yet?
 
OH lovely, some replies at last :D

Sunflower, thanks for commenting on my snake shot. Actually its the least good shot but i thought since i was getting ahead of myself it would do the moment. And that snake was gorgeous.

My food is tasting yummy too. I am so pleased with tonights food and its so good to be home and eating vegies and cooking in our own kitchen again with my fridge full of my food!! I can't tell you how lovely that all is for me.

My sister is trying to be nice but i know we need the councellor. There are definitely unresolved things and we need ways to negotiate our differences without escalating into fights.

Thank you rainbow. I am so happy to be at this point now too. I have been skinny in the past but for some reason now it think something is better about my bod despite the saggy bits. My legs seem better and it think it can only be the cycling! That means i have to keep up with the running since i can't keep up with the cycling and i don't really want to either. I enjoy running more but not for 8 hours a day of course.

My domestic situation is difficult to describe accurately. Becasue its tropical here its easier than it might be in a colder climate to live permanently in a camping situation. But yes i need a decent mattress. I am using my dad's self inflating one. I want to get rid of my old one as when i lie on my front, my back hurts. Thats due to some sag in it. Boring detail - sorry about that.

My hair, well i chickened out of spending so much money and did it myself again. I should take some pictures i guess. The problem is its gone too dark again. I really don't know how that always happens but it will lighten up after a few washes i guess. Dark hair does not suit me, though its nice enough in itself - ie the back view. :p

Thanks princess. Glad you enjoyed my snaps. I think i am going to be able to download last nights dinner too now. I've just seen it.
 
Pictures from today and last night.

1. Last night's fried potatoes and stir fried vegies
2. begging dog - my sister's salad

3. Today's dinner of cold duck, carrot and potato salad on a bed of rocket
4. Today's lunch - sorba wrap with 2 flies - sorry about that.
 
Monday 1 August 2011 5 days into Maintenance phase.

Weight: 57.8 even when i’m wearing all my clothes.

7.30am Breakfast
4 weetbix w 1 cup goats milk
psyllium fibre
2 large strawberries
I intend to work this off. I guess I worry that 2 weetbix won’t sustain me that’s why i’m eating more than 2.

8am coffee w 1/2 cup goats milk

Last night i cooked one of my homegrown ducks. I tasted it this morning. I think its amazing. I will have some for lunch. (make a note on my permaculture website about this and the permablitz.)

12.00 lunch
sorba wrap w duck, tatsoi, tomato and 1 tbsp of hummus
one orange
nescafe i think

2.30pm
mandarine

6.30pm: dinner - see picture above.

Cold duck breast w potato and carrot salad a la french, and rocket with salad dressing
Glass red wine
I’m very happy and relieved at last with my dinner and with the duck. Those ducks have been extremely expensive to raise thus far. That’s all becuase of the difficulty of addressing the issue of killing them. Today i managed one by myself. It raises complicated feelings - but its got to be done.

Salad recipe
2 medium large potatoes
2 smallish carrots
quite a lot of parsley, roughly chopped but its optional really and less is ok too.
clove garlic
2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard (andy style of dijon would be ok, mine is a hot one).
1 tbsp olive oil* optional and not really necessary
ground black pepper

Put the diced potatoes in the bottom of the steamer pan with salted water. Put the chopped carrots in the top and cook until they are almost soft don’t overcook. (I over cooked the potatoes). Cool under cold running water or plunge into a bowl of iced water. This stops them cooking. Put the vegies in a salad bowl with the finely chopped garlic and parsley and mix. Add the vinegar and mix well. Add the mustard and mix well. Add the oil and black pepper and mix.

Well i thought this salad was delicious and i developed it from the green bean and tomato salad i’d made the other day. Today i put my salad on a bed of rocket leaves which i had coated lightly with some other salad dressing i had made up in the fridge because it looked a bit dry but it might have been ok too.

To cook the duck, i did it as simply as possible because i wasn’t sure if it would be tough. Luckily my sister had remembered that it should be aged in the fridge for a while and my duck book suggested 12 - 36 hours before eating. So i did that. I didn’t want to go to any extra lengths with the preparation either, for something that might not be any good. The drake is a year old. They are muscovies which perhaps are closer to geese than the usual ducks that say chinese restaurants serve. However, they are called ducks so i don’t know what they are really. I didn’t add anything. I just cooked it slowly on 150 degree celcius heat for about 4 hours or when the juice stopped running out. It got turned once. I had wanted to cover it with alfoil but ours was no good so i left it uncovered. Towards the end dad suggested i put it on a draining rack so that it didn’t sit in its fat. There was a lot of fat. Its been a well fed duck and this has made it not tough, moist and yummy despite its age, i believe. I couldn’t it eat it straight out of the oven because it was 11pm when it was done and i was already in bed. I asked dad to turn off the oven when the alarm went off. He obliged.

Exercise:
No weeding even this morning. A reasonable amount of activity during the course of the day. I only sat for about 3 hours at the computer this afternoon and all the rest of the time i’ve been on the move. Hence i can eat a good amount of food. I did get a tad hungry this afternoon, not so long after lunch actually. And i managed to hold off except for the mandarine.

Sleep:
Bed last night: 10.20pm
Get up: 6.20am


SEE PICTURES IN POST ABOVE.

________________________________________________________________

Date 25 May 2011 Wednesday

Destination: Just outside Emerald Springs
Distance: 86.26

Water consumption - I didn’t keep track so i don’t know, but I need to drink more because I saw that my pee was yellow this afternoon. I have been stopping to drink and rest every 10 km which is about every hour at the moment with these headwinds and frequent small rises.

There was quite a lot of water along the way but many of the waterholes looked to be still and milky but I guess this is only kaolin.

The land started too look better today. I saw two large flocks of black cockatoos in the morning. A few large waterbirds - some sort of stork I think. Very nice. Some water lilly ponds. Green grass after a burn off. Lots of screw pines. Some dead trees.

I took a rest every 10km, sometimes a litle more. To relieve my backside largely. (pardon the pun)

7.30am Breakfast - camping at Adelaide River
1 cup of oats
1 cup milk - this homebrand milk is not good.
1 spoon of nescafe added.

I didn’t really like this breakfast. It needs someting.

This was a very good campsite. I slept well but didn’t want to get up in the morning though my back was sore from sleeping so long. I got up at 7am. There were wallabies around my camp during the night but they didn’t bother me.

My mattress is very comfy and I was warm last night with only my sleeping bag thrown on top of me. No need to get inside of it.

11pm: Lunch at Bridge Creek rest area where its also good to stay overnight. Firewood is provided and bbqs.
1 pita bread
1 can of tuna chunks in olive oil. I poured most of the oil off

My third stop for the morning was for lunch. This is a nice spot and maybe I can spend the night here on the way back. Although its public. But other campers will stop here. There was a tank of water as well as firewood and picnic tables.

3pm: At Hayes Creek
600ml of milk
Cup nescafe with 2 packets of long life milk - pathetic really.

A friendly place with a nice pub and caravan park. Expensive milk thought at $3. Some guys were drinking and one made a joke of me being a terrorist with my face covered all up as it is. He made to look for a bomb lifting my shirt which raised some alarm amongst his mates.e

The coffee was a government revive survive incentive.
Some nice rock scenery this afternoon just after Hayes. With a cross and memorials to people who had died in car accidents.

It is 22km from Hayes Creek to Emerald Springs where i’m headed.


6.30pm: Dinner at camping outside emerald Springs - a very good dinner
125g spaghetti
1clove garlic
1 spoon olive oil
1tsp oregano
Black pepper
2 spoons parmesan cheese.

At Emerald Springs, they wanted to charge me $5 for a shower which is stupid but $10 for camping which is reasonable. But I dont want to pay for camping at this stage so I left town to look for my own spot. There didn’t seem to be anywhere obvious and I have camped up a litle road. Its all grassy so I had to make my campfire by the side of the road where it wouldn’t start a bushfire. On the other side of the road a burnoff is underway. I hope no one lights one on this side. I had to move some stones from my tent site and I have left off the fly tonight. Maybe I will be able to wake up earlier. I would really like to be able to get an earlier start. Tonight I only just got everything done before dark. I had to bath in a litre of water because there is none here. I filled up oustide the emerald springs pub. They wouldn’t even let people use their toilet so it was lucky I didn’t need to go. I have decided to try to have psyllium twice a day though I forgot tonight. And I want to try these electrolye salts before I get to katherine in case they are a good thing.

There have been a lot of trucks on the road today. Road trains. I saw more than one with four dogs. There’s a mine or two near here.

Its 8.15 now on my laptop so it must be 7.45 NT time.
 
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Monday 2 August 2011 6 days into Maintenance phase.

Weight: 59.4kg in some clothes. Boy that duck sure is fattening but seriously, i hope this great leap in my weight overnight means i am due to start my period otherwise, i had better get back on my diet.

Later, about 7am, i weighed myself again and was 57.8kg. First time it was about 2am i think when i weighed myself.

4.30am Breakfast
4 weetbix w 1 cup milk and 1 tbsp sultanas

I tried to have just 2 weetbix but i was not satisfied when i finished eating so got the other two.

9am coffee w 1/2 cup milk

12.00 lunch
2 cups of split pea and duck soup with 2 pieces of multigrain toast

recipe - this is based on a pea and ham recipe
500g packet of green split peas though yellow are supposed to be ok.
3 cloves garlic
1 large onion
1 bay leaf - but i left it out
thyme sprig - also didn’t have any on hand
duck frame, cooked.
water
tiny pinch of salt
flour to thicken if needed

Ideally, soak the peas overnight. If you don’t it doesn’t matter. Just throw them in a large pot with all the other ingredients and cook till they are soft. Remove the duck frame. Pick off all the meat and throw it back in with the soup. If you like, blend the soup. If you need to thicken it, mix some flour with some of thee soup in a cup until its smooth. Then at it back to the soup. Add salt to taste.

The way i made it, i only used a cup of peas but the duck frame is so rich, i’ve had to add more peas. I am impressed how flavoursome it is. I suspect there was still a lot of fat on the duck. And so its not a great dieters meal unless you only eat a small serve.

3pm snack
1 apple and still hungry i then had
a multigrain bread roll

I was caught out of the house. I was shopping so this was damage control. Eat something to stop the hungry and to prevent eating something bad.

6.30pm: dinner
Much the same as last night - duck, potato and carrot salad, with the addition of 1 tbsp of hummus, 1 tbsp ricotta cheese.
2nd course - mersey valley cheddar on a ryvita biscuit
3rd course - 1/2 cup stewed cherries
Coffee w 1/2 cup milk

I wonder if i continue eating like this will i get fat. I am hoping that activity will enable me to continue eating this way and not get fat. I am going to try to include cheese into my diet in this way ie have nice cheese but only a small amount and as a course after the mains. I bought the cherries today and I couldn’t resist them. I did resist putting yoghurt on them.

No alcohol today note. Though i did buy some cough mixture and i’ve had 3 serves of that. I’ve got this shitty cough at the moment.

Last night i got leg cramps during the night. I am sure its linked to the amount of coffee i’m drinking and possibly a bit of related dehydration. I”m trying to drink water too but i want coffee.

Exercise:
I did about half an hour weeding. [Getting up so early has stuffed me up again today. I sat at my computer for a few hours and then i was tired and slept in the chair till about 6.45.] Now i’m about to go up the road and raid someone’s skip for building materials and furniture. That will be physical.I don’t know when i will get around to running at this stage. I feel so pushed for time.

Sleep:
Bed last night: 10.00pm
Get up: 1.30am - i will suffer for this today. I will have to have a nap.

________________________________________________________________________
Date 25 May 2011 Thursday


Destination: Emerald Springs outside it to Ferguson River
Distance: 65km -

7.30am Breakfast at camp
1 cup oats
1 cup milk
1 sachet electrolyte

My oats tasted better with the electrolyte powder which has glucose in it so I will buy some more. I think I need it anyway because I am getting dehydrated - according to the colour of my pee, despite my efforts to drink water often.

I”ve decided to increase my dose of psyllium to twice a day to help toilet matters. I think its working although I forgot to have it last night.

On the road was a struggle again. Its the weight of my gear. I really have too much and its especially due to my laptop and camera which must total nearly 4kg. Last night I slept without the fly on my tent and I am toying with sending a parcel or leaving some gear at Katherine. I will leave the fly off because its extremely unlikely to rain. I will leave my new bike lock because I really doubt I need it and its heavy. I will leave another top out.

Oh I just realised this morning that I had left my two pairs of socks hanging in the tree at my last campsite. What a bugger. I will have to buy more socks. At the same time, I’ve realised that I do’nt need the 4 pairs of cotton gloves I bought in Darwin because my nylon shower gloves are wroking fine and I have two pairs of htem.

Last night was a little cooler than the night before. Though I had no trouble sleeping. I am directly due south of Darwin so it should keep getting colder until I turn west from Katherine.

The road is a constant undulation of ups and downs. I’m a bit like a boat on the ocean waves only I think I have to work harder. But the wind was there again and that is more annoying. The wind makes riding quite difficult whereas because of the gears, the ihlls are not too much trouble.

Lots of people waving as usual.

Yesterday three motorbikes bearing women passed me. Later one came back. She had ost a pannier and was looking for it.

11pm: Lunch at Pine Creek in the Miners park
2 pita breads
43 almonds

The scenery was less pretty today. But I did see a dingo. He ran away with his tail between his legs. The only wallabies I’ve seen are lying squashed and rotting by the side of the road. Quite a few dead birds too. The cars and trucks go very fast and they are taking them out. 130km is the speed limit.

My crotch has been getting sore so I wore my bike pants under my trousers today. I do’nt know that it was much better. And tonight I notice I’ve got a rash on my inner thighs. I have never had a rash there before and hope its perhaps just due to my bike pants.

There’s not a lot to be said about Pine Creek. There is a mine nearby and it has a mining history. I expect its gold but it could be other things too. There was a bit of mining detritus lying around the town. In this part of the country there are also many indicators of a history during WW2 but it has no interest for me. Just old air strips and campsites and everything given a nice shiny brown tourist sign. I guess its interesting to someone.

I had to ask for information about where to camp at three shops in town. The first was an old fashioned - dark and gloomy - supermarket owned by a chinese*man. He was in evidence and he would have been in the area back from the mining days as there were many out here in those days. Ah Soy or something. The very large lady behind the counter directed me to the service station as a possible source of advice but how misdirected was that. There was a young german backpacker behind the counter and only another one, running around in the kitchen. They are a new phenomonenon these backpackers in out of the way places in australia. No aussies want to work here in those jobs. I guess the owner doesn’t either. So then I went across the road to the post office. The woman was more helpful. She advised against camping down in the river at FErgusons due to crocodiles. They are prevalent in all the rivers up here people will tell you.


5pm: Dinner at Ferguson River campsite
125g spaghetti
95g tuna
½ spoon olive oil
Oregano
2 spoons parmesan cheese

2 cups nescafe made with 1.5 spoons of milk powder

I was happy to make camp quite early today after a late day yesterday. I thought I might even have time to read a bit of my book but I decided to pluck my legs instead. The river is quite large but braided so its pretty. I followed a little road down the river to find a suitable campsite at the end of the road. Everything is coated in dirt - all the grass and sticks, but its ok. There was a little shade, a nice gum tree for me to lean my bike against, an easy walk down to the river edge. First off, I collected firewood, then I went down to the rapids to wash myself and rinse out my clothes. (no soap - the fish don’t like it). It was good to wash out my shirt as it was getting smelly. Crocodiles don’t hang about in rapids I recall so I didn’t worry about them though I’d seen one back at another creek sunning itself. It was either only a baby salty or a young freshy/ .

Although it was early when I got back, I began cooking dinner. I think I am getting over my tuna phase. I think I want some other source of protein instead. I enjoyed my pasta with garlic more last night though tonights dinner was still very satisfying and tasty.

Coming into camp is the nicest time of day at the moment. If only my load were lighter, though the scenery is not too interesting around here. Otherwise I am feeling pretty happy and content.
 
Wednesday 3 August 2011 7 days into Maintenance phase.

Weight: 58.2kg

8am breakfast
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 apple
1 cup milk


12.00 lunch I can’t find my damn camera.
1 cup split pea and duck soup
1 cup french salad

Recipe - probably makes about 3 cups
2 tomatos, diced
i don’t know how many beans, steamed
1 red capsicum, diced
1 medium potato, diced and boiled
2 tbsp balsamic and red wine vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix altogther and put in fridge. It gets better with marinating.

7.0pm: dinner - probably a bit too big and I can’t find my camera so no pictures.
1 glass white wine well before dinner
Duck and vegetables cooked in coconut milk
1 cup steamed rice
cucumber slices
dessert: 1/2 cup stewed cherries w 1/2 cup yoghurt
mersey valley cheddar on a ryvita

The duck dish tonight was an adaption from a chicken indonesian recipe I got from charmaine solomon’s Asian Cookbook. It was yummy even though i didn’t have half the ingredients and had already cooked the duck. I am sure what i cooked bears no resemblance to the real thing. Here’s what i did. You could do it with chicken too no doubt.

1 onion sliced and fried in 1 tbsp vegetable oil, remove the onion and set aside.
Make a paste of: 1 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp of grated ginger, half a finely grated lemon rind, black pepper and a pinch of salt, 1 tbsp peanuts blended in the coffee grinder. (if you are using uncooked chicken, coat the meat in the paste and let it marinated for 1 hour in the fridge.)
Add 1 more tbsp oil to the wok, add the paste and cook a little. Add in the vegetables - i used a few florets of broccoli and some cauliflower. Add 1/2 cup water first, some tamarind (which gives it a nice tangy flavour), then 1/2 cup coconut cream. Bring to boil and cook with the lid on until the vegetables are nearly done. Add another 1/2 cup of coconut cream, heat through, add the cooked duck and heat through.
(If using uncooked chicken, i suppose it would be ok to cook it at the same time as the vegetables but you’d want to make sure you don’t over cook the chicken, add hte chicken and paste to the wok before the vegies and coconut milk so that the spices could be heated a bit first).
Serve the duck and vegies and put the onion on the top and serve with jasmine rice.

I really miss my camera now cause i want to show you my yummy dishes.

Exercise & activity:
I got going not so long after breakfast doing work in the garden and domestic stuff and cooking. I’ve only just sat down at the computer now at 12.30. I will do computer work this afternoon. And hope to do some more weeding or gardening later this afternoon. I didn’t do any more gardening. I downed all tools around 4pm in fact.

Sleep:
Bed last night: 10.00pm
Get up: 7.15 - i woke up but chose not to get up. Now that i’ve found my alarm clock, though it still needs a new battery, i can get this routine sorted.

________________________________________________________________________
Date 27 May 2011 Friday - I do’nt know what happened to the 26th may


Destination: Fergusson River to Edith River (near falls Nat Park)
Distance: 46km

7.30 am Breakfast at Fergusson River campsite
½ cup oats
1 cup milk
20 almonds

I slept well again and woke only reluctantly. This morning I tried to light the fire so I could have porridge but all the wood and grass was wet from last night’s dew. I will have to keep some aside under cover overnight in future.

On the way I passed another cyclist. As you do, we stopped and chatted on all the bike news. He was Dutch, 27yo and doing it fairly rough and fast had cycled from Melbourne via perth and the Kimberleys, so he’d been where I am going but only along the highway. Probably his best advice or infromation for me was that I could go into the bungle bungles but I’d have to carry my bike above my head to get across the waist high water. Though with luck the river should have receded quite a bit by then. He advised against shopping at Timber Creek on the way to Kununurra because sultanas were $10 a bag. I probably will take his advice and stock up in Katherine for the 500km across to K even though I will also probably regret the weight as soon as I’ve done it. But I am getting used and liking not spending any money on more expensive foods and takeaways and even campsites. Given how tight my budget is, I shouldn’t get sloppy. And save up my splurges for Darwin at the end or at other significant moments.

Sam was riding a road bike and so he couldn’t do the Gibb River Road which is still under water anyway. But he doesn’t seem to be seeing much of the country for all the distance he’s covered. He’s travelling fast and not leaving the main road so he’s seeing pretty much nothing according to his report. Its a shame. He says this is 4WD country. He’s heading to Dili and then on to Singapore via Indonesia, then into malaysia, thailand vietnam/laos and china to kyrgystan and home.

He travels light, everything fitted tidily into two altura panniers. He said his tent was as big as his forearm, its a bivvy bag but everything in it gets wet overnight due to the dew. So that doesn’t sound like a good solution. He also has no sleeping mattress or foam but is able to sleep on the rough ground in only his sleeping bag. He’s obviously a tought dude. He camps by the side of the road, not even near a river like I do. I don’t know. I don’t envy him and I wish he’d take more time to enjoy the place.

The road was 20km from the turnoff to Edith falls and it took a long time. Lots of hills. I lost some gear along the way here today as my kithcen bag wasn’t holding on well. I later discovered I’d lost my new glasses and my kitchen knife. The latter is not such a problem as I can replace it in Katherine. Its only lucky I brought a spare pair of reading glasses too.

1pm: Lunch at Edith Falls National Park
Spaghetti cooked last night with tuna and cheese and pepper.

I was hungry by the time I got here and quickly got myself settled by the big waterhole of the falls so I could eat my lunch.

As camping was $9 and all the facilities were free whilst the camping site wasn’t anything special, I decided to head back to another free campsite to sleep after spending the afternoon enjoying the falls after having a nice free solar hot shower.

The water was very chilly in the falls and I couldn’t make myself get in. The waterhole was large and the falls far away but it was still lovely. I had met some girls returning from a short walk to another falls a little further up the river. They said it was great for swimming and lovely so after I had lunch, I headed there.

I left my bike behind some other campers van for security and went off up the hill to the upper swimming hole. It was only 1km but the pools were beautiful. There were a number of falls and there was currents and whirlpools and warm rocks to sit on. Other people were swimming so I had to get in. I knew it would be too nice to miss. And it was. There was a big lizard sunning itself on a rock out in the middle. I rescued a toad who had fallen into a small round pool and would drown unless I rescued it.

Back at the kiosk, I had a solar hot water shower which was lovely, washed my hair and did my washing with soap. In the rivers I only rinse things out. Then I thought I had time to eat dinner using the free bbq facilities. Partly I wanted to avoid making a fire at my campsite because it actually seems to be illegal and not tolerated to do so on private property and it would be terrible to start a bushfire. But the gas was not hot enough to bring my billy to the boil so I had to ditch that idea. I wasted about 30 minutes doing that and hoped I had enought time to get back to Edith River, cook dinner and set up my camp before dark.

Just as I was packing up a german volunteer there told me I oculd have used the gas burners over in the camping ground. Too late. I had also had to borrow a knife from the woman at the kiosk. And I left my home phone number in case someone finds my glasses.

5pm: Since dinner at the national park was a failure and I wasn’t sure how I’d go later on, I ate the rest of my 23 almonds and had a cold coffee with 2 spoons milk powder.

Also as I had arrived earlier, a woman I met gave me a lovely cool piece of watermelon.

Back on the road, the going was easier and it wasn’t long before I could turn down a little dirt track to a possible camp down by the river. There’s no one else here and it wasn’t far before I found a good spot. Someone else had made a fire recently and left some timber so that made my choice easy. The river is only a short walk down the hill and looks pretty. I will fill up my water bags tomorrow morning.

6pm: Dinner at Edith River campsite
Spaghetti
2 spons cheese
Garlic
Oregano
1 spoon oil
Pepper and salt

1 electrolyte packet.

I got everything done in plenty of time. As it was turning dark, I went for a walk to the end of the road. I covered up some fuel for tomorrow morning in case I want a hot breakfast. As my ride into Katherine is only about 50km I figure I could afford to do that. I am not really enjoying my raw oats here.

The sky was pretty tonight as the sun set. Orangy pink. I can hear the stream and what is probably a cow somewhere off in the distance. There are crickets, the occasional bird and unfortunately the odd mossie in my tent which I let in earlier.

My legs were a bit sore today when I was climbing the hill. Otherwise, I think I am holding up fine.
 
Wednesday 4 August 2011 8 days into Maintenance phase.

Weight: 58kg

7am: coffee w 1/2 cup milk

8am breakfast
4 weetbix
few sultanas
cup of milk

1.00 lunch in town
duck sandwich on white poppy seed roll w 1 tbsp of mango chutney
1 cup of french vegie salad a la yesterday
1 orange

cappucino w 1 small biscuit

7.0pm: dinner -
Fried rice with duck and egg - very yummy
1 pear w 1/2 cup yoghurt
1 ryvita w some mersey valley cheddar cheese

recipe
1 small onion
some green capsicum, diced
1 clove garlic
1 small chicken egg
small amount of duck
1 cup of cooked rice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp soy sauce

Exercise & activity:
I went to town and had a busy day spending much more money than i intended. I guess i walked about a bit but it wasn’t a lot of exercise. I had an upper wisdom tooth out. I bought two pairs of shoes because the price was great. I’d like to show you but gee i am so pushed for time these days. I had an excellent meditation session first thing when i got to town and ran into a bit of a long lost friend so that was a little bonus too. I also spoke to some hairdressers and think i may have an affordable solution to my hair issues. I’m going to get some lighter foils.

Sleep:
Bed last night: 10.00pm
Get up: 6.30am

I haven’t got time right now to post the camping diary. I will get to it. I just need a new battery for alarm clock so i can get up a bit earlier.
 
Killing the duck must've been horrible *shudder*. Bet it tastes good tho. I had duck for dinner tonight and it was gorgeous.

I can't believe that the other cyclist you bumped into sleeps by the road with no mattress and gets covered in dew, that is CRAZINESS!

The pics of you food look lovely as always :)

My lower left wisdom tooth is hurting like hell at the moment. Hope your mouth heals soon x

I loved hearing about the crocodiles, lizards, the toad you rescued. It must be so normal to you, but its sounds really exotic to me :)

Glad you have found a cheaper way of getting your hair done. Don't worry about a bit of loose skin. I've had it since I was 21, that's bad! x
 
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