Day 93 – Dream come true. Mission Complete!

We wake with great anticipation for the day ahead, our final day on the road. We had left our home on the NSW Mid-North coast three months ago and after 93 days of enduring rain, wind, freezing cold temperatures and of course gorgeous sunny days, we were about to return to Coffs Harbour. Home of the BIG Tour team and of course The BIG Banana. We had seen over 100 of Australia’s BIG Things, covered over 22,000km and had unofficially ridden ourselves into the record book by becoming the first four people to travel around Australia on a Trike.

The BIG Family on the BIG last day with the BIG Koalas

We hadn’t organised any fanfare at home, but we hoped maybe a friend or two might be there to share in this victorious moment. We had felt every bit of this journey in our hearts our spirits and our bodies and we were blowing out that it was almost over.

As we left Port Macquarie we were on the lookout for the BIG koalas just out of town, and The BIG Bull at Wauchope.

Fortunately as we arrived at the Wildlife Park where the koalas were, the owner of the park happened to be just pulling up and he shared with us many tales of how the park has grown and the funny story of how these Koalas ended up to be here. They were originally outside the Zoo at Coffs Harbour but when the Zoo was closed a few years back he decided to bring them down here. He was fined on the trip down because the Koalas were too BIG. They were hanging over 30cm too wide. Ouch. Made for a great BIG story, we were thankful he had the time to share.

Big Banana, The BIG Arrival

Now just up the road we had been told there was a BIG Bull. On arriving in this quaint little town of Wauchope people did not seem to know what we were talking about. There was one old bloke I talked to and he said he had lived there for many years and he had never seem any BIG Bull, although he did tell us if we went down to the local pub we might hear some BIG Bull. Hahahah Anyway turns out he was telling us bull, there is a BIG Bull here and heres a BIG fat picture to prove it.

The BIG BULL…no BULL

160km stretched out between us and The BIG Banana, the official start and finish line of this epic tour. We set sail and we rode like the wind, dreaming of the fanfare that would greet us as we rode into town. Seriously we were just hoping that a couple of our friends would be there to cheer as we rolled into town and we were not disappointed, Our besties were out in force, the McMillan’s were there to present Josh with the NRL Wooden Spoon, seeing as His team, The Titans, finished last on the ladder. The Crazy Penny’s were there to extend an invitation to lunch at Moonee Beach, which we accepted.

It was weird, you know that feeling like when you get back its like you never left…. How can that be? Later when we arrived home it was the same… I mean exactly the same, like we had never gone. There were a couple of spider webs on the car wheels but other than that…it was the same.

We feel totally blessed to have been able to share such an incredible experience with each other. It was amazing to have had so much support and to have met so many unique people. We raised almost $1000 for the A21 campaign on our southern leg and we raised awareness everywhere we went. We hope to have encouraged and inspired people to get out and see their own back yard, to explore this great BIG country, to follow their dreams no matter how BIG or how small they are.

We now hope to get some backing to share our 100’s of hours of amazing film footage with the world, and show individuals and families everywhere that you can do it. This project has been fully self funded aside from all the nights of free accommodation. BIG Thanks! We could not have made it back without you help. Remember this was One Family, One Trike, and One very BIG Adventure.

This is truly BIG.

Day 92 – We decided we would have far more regrets if we didn’t do it.

Ki-ea Apartments Our Beautiful Room.

Tomorrow we were riding home. Yes, one more sleep. We had a catch up day planned today, spending some time with Sean’s brother Mick, his crazy and beautiful wife Robin and there 4 kids. The boys were looking forward to hanging out. We cruised about the town and went to the beach, and spent the evening at our beautiful apartment having a BBQ.

Our minds were racing with thoughts of tomorrow, we were about to complete this great BIG mission we had set for ourselves, we were returning to our home which had been vacant for so long and we were about to ride into the unofficial record books as the first 4 people to ride around Australia on a Trike. It was a little surreal, especially as we ended this journey the complete opposite way we began. We had spent almost 2 months camping in our tent, as we travelled the roads though Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. This last leg has seen only a couple of camping nights with many offers of free accommodation at friends and relatives houses and of course the generosity of those businesses who couldn’t bear to see us out in the winter cold and gave us the use of cabins, bed and breakfasts, motel rooms and apartments.

I am completely blown away by the diverse range of people we have met and then those who gave their time to be interviewed and to share their stories with us.

I am completely passionate about this project and cannot wait to see these hours and hours of film footage out in the public domain inspiring others that sometimes taking a risk is how dreams come true.

I remember those weeks leading up to leaving, how we went over and over every possible scenario in our heads, what if this and what if that? We almost talked ourselves out of going, thinking we were putting our children in too much danger, there were so many unknowns and so much risk I mean what if we hit a Kangaroo? I think we just decided that we would have far more regrets if we didn’t do this than if we did. And I have to say after making it this far, it is a totally surreal experience.

With one sleep to go it was certainly on our mind that this was totally and absolutely BIG.

Day 91 – The BIG Rock, BIG Axe, BIG Bowling ball and BIG Oyster.

Outside the Worlds BIGGEST Oyster

Well there’s two more sleeps till we ride back into Coffs Harbour. Today we are riding to Port Macquarie with 4 BIG Things to see on the way. The Kiea Apartments in Port had sponsored us an nights accommodation, the thought had crossed our mind to just head straight home on Saturday before officially arriving back at the BIG Banana on Sunday, however we decided to just book an extra night at Kiea on top of the one we were given. However when we called them they said it would be a pleasure to have us for the extra night and they would sponsor us this second night too. We were blown away. BIG Thanks to Kiea Apartments for your generosity.

BIG Uluru

So with a luxury two night at Port install and a catch-up with Sean’s brother and his beautiful family… yes more cousins, we began the ride north.

First stop, The BIG Rock at Kaurah on the freeway just north of Raymond Terrace. The monolith in the middle of the desert is a landmark, but its artificial mockery here in NSW is a little outlandish. It used to be the front for the now closed Leyland Brothers World. The Rock restaurant as it’s called offers more than you might have bargained for, the fading replica comes with a side serve of a miniature Sydney Harbour Bridge.  While you do save on flights to central Australia, I just don’t think it would compare to its much BIGGER predecessor, we are just not sure that this really qualifies as a real Australian BIG Thing.

My Beautiful Godmother and her lovely Husband.

As we continue our way up the freeway we find ourselves travelling the very same road we first travelled on the very first trial BIG trip, way back at the beginning of the year. We had ridden down to Diamond Beach just near Foster and caught up with my gorgeous Godmother and a bunch or other beautiful rellies. It was crazy to think all these months later we were covering this same ground having travelled the entire way around the country.

Taree was next, home of the BIG Oyster. It is know as “The World’s Largest Oyster” The BIG Oyster was built by the same sculptors that built The BIG Prawn in Ballina and the BIG Merino in Goulburn. The Big Oyster was an unsuccessful business venture, known to the locals as a ‘Big Mistake’, and is now home to a motor dealership. We were fortunate enough to have a tour up into to oyster itself which is basically a storage space.

Josh swinging from the BIG axe.

With approximately 70kms to go before we arrive in Port Macquarie we have a stop off in Kew, Just up the road. As we pull off the highway we find the Big Axe resides here just above the Tourist Information Centre! It’s a bit of fun posing for photos and stretching our legs before moving on to discover out the front The Lake Cathie Bowling Club a very BIG, BIG Bowl.

The Big Bowl was unveiled in November 1975, 10 months after the Club was officially opened. It was the brainwave of Reg Ellery and Stan Kanaar and  constructed by Stan in his workshop under his house.

The huge bowl, said to be the largest in the world, measures 1.907 mm in diameter and weighs 2 tonnes. The outer surface is made of 100mm thick cement ( about 32 bags) plastered on to a framework of 75mm water pipe and 13mm  reinforced steel. The whole of the steel framework is wrapped in two layers of 13mm (1/2″) wire mesh

It’s really a very impressive and well maintained BIG Thing. Well done to Lake Cathie Bowling and recreation club.

BIG at Lake Cathie…. Bowl it boy, bowl it.

Wow what a BIG day its been, filming riding filming riding photos and dancing and just a whole bunch of fun. We arrive at the Kiea Apartments and are greeted by the lovely manager and shown to our room. Wow it’s just been a blast. We soaked in the pool, showered and freshened up before we caught up over a few beers with a couple of Sean’s old school friends from Dubbo. It’s almost over…. This IS BIG.

Day 90 – Ozzie the BIG Mozzie

Totally glad this BIG blood sucker is not real.

After a BIG brekkie with the troops at the pub we headed towards Hexham, home of the BIG Mozzie. The mosquito is common in this area and adults, famed for their size and ferocity, are referred to as “Hexham Greys”.The most famous Hexham Grey is “Ozzie the Mozzie”, a large model of a mosquito that sits atop the Hexham Bowling Club sign at on the Pacific Highway in Hexham. Ossie disappeared from the sign in early February 2010 and was replaced in April 2010 so was looking decidedly fresh and new when we arrived. Its always great to see BIG things being looked after, cared for, repainted, and polished, and Ozzie was a fine example of such care being taken good on you Hexham Bowling club.

Another 10kms up the road was our resting place for this evening, my brother in law Scott and his gorgeous kids cooked us up a feast, the cousins always like playing games and having lots of fun. The boys were just in cousin heaven this last couple of weeks seeing more cousins than we had seen in quite some time. #ThisisBIG

Day 89 – The BIG Wine Bottle and the BIG pub.

The BIG WIne Bottle at Pokolbin.

Not far west from Newcastle you will find the beautiful Hunter Valley and this is where we were riding today. The Hunter Valley Gardens located at Pokolbin is just stunning, in the little village amongst the shops is the BIG wine bottle, we sat in the sun for a bit, cooked up a sausage sizzle and the boys played a few buckets of Aqua golf, winning a Guinness and beef pie from the local pub, which we never ended up claiming.

Not to many years ago we lived in East Maitland, just up the road from here and it was there, on top of the pub that we were staying this evening. Our gorgeous friends Sara and Dave and their two girls Ruby and Peppa live in the house we used to live and it was great to see them and see all the changes they had made to the pub both inside and out. We caught up with the beautiful Cheryle too and the always up for fun Jeff and Loz. It was a great night hanging out and catching up. #ThisisBIG

Day 88 – Newcastle. The BIG Steel city.

The Windsor Castle Hotel

More friends to catch up with as we head north to Newcastle, its BIG Bad Dave’s Birthday and we were meeting up with him and his lovely wife BIG Bad Kim on the wharf in Newcastle. A stop off at the BIGGEST Hobby shop around to find a suitable BIG Birthday Boy present and we were on our way. It was a real yahoo seeing them again. When Sean was manager of the Windsor Castle Hotel in East Maitland a few years ago the guys were his security detail, well they were the premise security detail, but they had his back. BIG stuff.

After another delicious meal we spent some time at the beach before crashing at the BIG day wedding friend’s house for dinner. So many catch-up’s we are loving it.

Day 87 – BIG Frilled Neck Lizard …one week out.

BIG Ploddy the Dinosaur

It was time to leave Sydney. We were strangely worn out from all the catching up the lounge hopping and the fancy dinners, we were looking forward to some good old camping food and our skinny camping mattresses. It’s been such a long time since we pulled out the tent, way back in South Australia, we have stayed with so many people since then that I can hardly remember what it’s like to put the pegs in.

BIG Frilled Neck Lizard

We were headed north, just near Gosford on the central coast to see the BIG Dinosaur, the BIG Frilled neck Lizard and to stop in at OZ Trike Central.

Josho blowing in the breeze.

In 1963 the Australian Reptile Park’s founder, Eric Worrell, decided to put the Park on the map by commissioning the design and construction of one of his most ambitious projects, a 30 metre concrete replica of a BIG dinosaur. Weighing in at almost 100 tonnes, the design was based on a dinosaur called a Diplodicus, hence the name Ploddy was coined. Or as we like to call it the BIG dinosaur. Since then the park has moved premise just near Gosford on the central coast and at the gate now sits the BIG frilled neck lizard.

The BIG Lizard has certainly got to be one of the best BIG things we have seen. It’s an absolute piece of art, a true BIG version of the Lizard himself. We were all totally impressed.

Next is a stop in at Oz Trike Australia. They have their manufacturing base, the HQ or whatever you would like to call it, right here at Somersby so we decided that we would call by and say hi. It was awesome seeing all the different Trikes and how they are made, sharing our adventure and hearing some of theirs, the boys just loved it.

We meander a little further up the central coast and pitch our tent at The Entrance. It is so good to be camping again. As we travel though more familiar territory and with only one week till we arrive back at Coffs it starts to become real that this great BIG adventure will soon come to a close. We spend the evening cooking up a storm in the camp kitchen and chatting with a family from Germany who have been travelling in a camper van from Cairns to Sydney, the thing I love about caravan parks and camping is the people, you just don’t meet people this easily when you stay in units and motels and cabins. Camping is a community of strangers just waiting to be friends and we love it. This is BIG.

Day 86 – Hillsong Church, friends and you guessed it… a few more family dinners.

Riding…. sooo good

I have a couple of great friends at Hillsong city church so we headed in there this morning nice and early to catch up. The boys loved it and so did I, such an amazing place and so many beautiful people.

After our Hi and Byes, we caught up with Sean’s Uncle Brian for a tasty Italian lunch in Gladesville before having a spectacular Indian feast with Lou and Ken in north Sydney for dinner. We have got to get out of this city, these boys are getting too used to going to fancy restaurants and Sean and I have put on 10kgs between us. Crazy!

BIG Thanks to all our lovely relatives and friends who made time to catch up over the last few days, we certainly didn’t see to many BIG things but we did spend some quality time with some very awesome people. #ThisisBIG too!

Day 85 – North Head…. Stunning.

The BIG Paintbrush at Balmain.

We had coffee with Ange, while Lili sat on the Trike, it was time to say our goodbyes. It had been so great catching up with these guys, but it was time to move on.

We decided to head to the northern beaches, manly, to do a little shopping and see the beach. North Head was on the radar for some great lookout shots, we just love that part of Sydney.

We then ducked in to Balmain to see the BIG paintbrush before spending the evening with my aunt and uncle, chilling out while we watched point break.

Day 83 – Sydney, the BIG City.

Maccas…. Yeah Baby

We got an early start. I was meeting a friend of mine in Sydney while the boys were going to do some hanging out, but not before we made our way down the mountain and checked out a BIG thing or two. The sun was shining as we left Bowen Mountain but as we descended into Richmond we rode right into a deep fog. The trike did not like it one bit and before we knew it the carburettor had frozen up. We needed to pull over. What do you know, a random Maccas, just right there, so we pulled in and just hung out for an hour or so while everything thawed out.

Sam with The BIG Bike.

In NSW there is seriously a Maccas in every town, every city but we had ridden 1000s and 1000s of kilometres and not eaten any fast food. It was a treat one of which the boys don’t even like, what is that, how can kids not like the trusty golden arches? What kid of kids are we raising? Anyways Sean and I had a coffee, don’t ask me why, it’s Maccas, but I guess we had got used to the average coffees on the road and at least these ones are pretty consistent.

Chullora was next, home of the BIG bike. This BIG bicycle built by Jonh Ridley, Andy Lugiz and Phillip Becker adorns the entrance to the Chullora Waste Transfer Station, and stand an impressive 9m long and 6m tall. It’s very BIG.

Hanging out at Darling Harbour

Lizzy

We hooked up with a friend of ours for coffee not far from Revesby, this is where the boys took off. While they went adventuring on a Boys and Dad day, I hit the streets with my crazy friend Liz. She was feeling a little under the weather so she really wasn’t as crazy as usual, her hubby was in town for a BIG show at the Homebush sports arena. His Kids band The Toads are totally BIG, and after we dropped Lizzo off to recuperate and I hooked up with the band and helped them do a little set-up.

Cremorne Point

Meantime the boys were doing everything Sydney, riding the Harbour Bridge, visiting Darling Harbour, posing with fancy cars and hanging out watching the ferries go by. I met them at Cremorne latter that evening before we headed up to my sisters house to stay, more wonderful catch-up time with family. #ThisisBIG

Josho with a Ferrari