My writing journey began with five handwritten pages of pornography sent to a friend in prison. From there came swimming programs, children's pantomimes, fire safety teaching kits and twelve years of writing websites. Somehow, I never thought of myself as a writer. Until now.
11th & 12th DAY Took Bob and Tom 194 kilometres along the Victoria Highway, from Victoria River Roadhouse to Katherine. With temperatures reaching 39°C and roadside fires burning beside the highway. In Katherine, we discovered a flood-damaged resort, revisited memories from Bob's earlier charity rides and met a few unexpected locals.
10th DAY What does a 92 km bike ride feel like after days of cycling across the Kimberley? Practically a walk in the park. Day 10 took Bob and Tom along the spectacular Victoria Highway to Victoria River Roadhouse, where a cold XXXX, a shower with a mind of its own and a few unforgettable characters were waiting.
What began as a dream of travelling Australia slowly with Lucky became a 13,344-kilometre adventure I never saw coming. One chance encounter, two bicycles and a campervan changed everything.
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9th DAY A frightening start in Kununurra was followed by a major milestone as Bob and Tom crossed from Western Australia into the Northern Territory. Ahead lay 228 km to Timber Creek, ABC Darwin interviews, changing roads, Saddle Creek and a final push into town after dark.
8th DAY A day off the bikes gave us time to explore Kununurra, from Ivanhoe Crossing and an enormous old gantry crane to murals, boab art and dinner at Kelly’s. Meanwhile, the first of two plumbers would try to solve the latest problem with Jenny’s hire van.
7th DAY An early Kimberley sunrise began the 115 km ride from Doon Doon to Kununurra, with second breakfast on the highway and two little flashing red lights to find. By afternoon, Bob and Tom had arrived in Kununurra and two well-earned days off the bikes were waiting.
6th DAY The road from Warmun to Doon Doon brought another 85 km of sweeping Kimberley highway, changing red landscapes and rugged rock formations. It was one of the shorter riding days, ending at a great little roadhouse with what we declared the best chips of the entire trip.
5th DAY Another long day, 170 km from Halls Creek to Warmun, through 37°C Kimberley heat, relentless headwinds and another long day on the road. Along the way came a Friday call from 2GB, an unexpected $50 donation, cattle road trains, Jarlalu Bridge and the final five kilometres into Warmun.
4th DAY Brought us 200 km from Mimbi Caves to Halls Creek, beginning before sunrise on the gravel road back to the highway. There were spectacular Kimberley colours, Larrawa Station, wildflowers, termite mounds and relentless wind before we finally reached Halls Creek.
3rd DAY Was a shorter day, only 70 km from Fitzroy Crossing towards Mimbi Caves, through changing Kimberley landscapes, wandering livestock and another roadside second breakfast. Then came 4 km of gravel road, 36°C heat and a campground surrounded by ancient rock country.
2nd DAY We travelled 234 km from Willare to Fitzroy Crossing, through Kimberley heat, relentless headwinds and a road surface reaching 40°C. Second breakfasts, roadside stops and 11 litres of electrolyte water a day were becoming part of life on the road.
1st DAY The first day of Bob and Tom's 5,290 km ride across Australia took us 178 km from Broome to Willare Roadhouse, bringing the first puncture, our first roadside breakfast and a night none of us expected.
Not long ago, I spent my days buried in lines of HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript, building websites, fixing bugs, and solving problems. As a web developer, I loved the logic and the challenge that came with coding.
When I first heard the buzz about artificial intelligence creeping into creative work, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of unease. I wasn’t new to tech. Years as a web developer had shown me how quickly things evolve, but writing had become something else for me.
Yes, I care about rankings and reach. I use keywords, study analytics, and get help from AI tools to brainstorm. But at the end of the day, I’m not writing for robots. I’m writing for real people, with real problems, questions, and emotions.
