Day 350 | Pyramid campsite: out in Porcupine National Park
80 km | zzOz total: 9,408 km
Here I am in the Land of Fossils, dinosaurs for the most part although Hughenden also has plenty of fossilised sea critters from its days under the sea.
Funny, I’ve now worked out when my own time warp occurred and it seems as if sometime around 2005 is where I’m technologically fixed.
Back before Facebook, no presence for me there, or Twitter, never used it. Instead, the old blog, was quite de rigour back then, until people found out how much work was involved in keeping them going, and, maybe, before people realised they might not have so much of interest to say as they originally thought.
A blog is perfect for your average bike tourist such as myself, OK, it’s somewhat of an effort to think up something different to say each day, but out there one has the entire day to dream up what might be topical to talk about, at least if I remember. I am known to compose various flows of thought while seated on that Brooks Flyer but usually when the time comes for my mechanical pencil to hit the notebook page I’ve drifted off tangentially.
Being in my fourth year of travels, with a tick over 600 blog entries scratched out, might make novelty problematic, but it has never really been about that, although if you talk to me in one of my more reflective and intimate moments it’s clear that avoidance of cliche, ie, being somewhat creative, is an important part of my makeup.
Maybe 2005 was the limit of my technological need, I’d found a Motorola mobile phone designed for 3rd World conditions, no camera or radio, only able to display 8 digits at once, useless for texting, (in any case I’ve only ever sent a handful of texts), but it had a battery life on standby of 3 weeks and buttons a bloke with large paws could use. Digital cameras worked well enough, at least for my 1080 × 500 pixel internet requirements, my Canon S45 was great.
From that time on I’ve almost ceased watching television, except for the occasional State of Origin or AFL Grand Final. As usual I’ll be otherwise occupied when it comes to the Olympics later in the year, I avoided the jingoism of 2000 by walking in Nelson Lakes National Park for 2 weeks, in both 2004 and 2008 I was on Stewart Island, can’t get further away from civilisation than there. (The rationale was that no one would notice I wasn’t at work and so it proved.)
But others may point out that 2005 was one of the happiest years of my life, so much in love I’m sure my friends were sickened by me being so lovey dovey.
I’m no fossil though, been thinking through various future scenarios for when I’ve finished this odyssey. Even if I’ve reached the limit of my technological requirements no doubt there will be some additional cliched romance.
No, sure ain’t a dinosaur.