The United States of Australia

The rugged coastline being pounded by the white waters of the Indian Ocean and the long straight roads of nothingness were all meant to be part of the experience, but I was bored. I had now titled Australia as the USA (the United States of Australia) because of its newly found love for rules and protection for the foolish. It used to be that when hiking along a track, it felt like exploring. If you were foolish enough to fall over a cliff, then it was your fault for being stupid. Now, there are warnings every couple of paces and barriers just in case you can't read the warnings and want to sue!
Just as I was following the coast around to Sydney, disappointed by the weather and after 7000 miles of coastline, having seen it all before, somebody suggested that I visit the mountains. Given that the highest mountain in Australia is only around 2500 metres, I was hesitant at first, but as soon as I began to ride along the Great Alpine Highway, the spark was back. The roads were great, the scenery varied from winding cliff roads to winding forest tracks. It was all new. Similar, but different to the Karakoram Highway. As a bonus, the weather had improved. A 2 day planned detour ended up being almost 2 weeks. Whilst I covered over 1500 miles on those fabulous roads, I also slowed right down in terms of moving on every day or so. I stopped in the tiny villages and sat back to watch the world go by. Previously, I had ridden along main arteries and noticed many capillaries (tracks) leading off to the sides - some sign posted, some not. They seemed to apparently lead to nowhere, but now I ventured into them, sometimes finding dead ends, but always finding something of interest. The tracks looked worn and beaten, but I was no longer on the 'beaten track'. These places weren't towns or even villages. They led to another world, a world without time or want. This world escaped the Americanisation of the rest of Australia and offered silence and unspoiled nature. I almost expected to see Felicity Kendall here as this was living 'The Good Life': self sufficiency and integration with the surroundings. The people were warm and genuine here, wanting nothing but to talk and share. Throughout my trip, I had found that those who had, wanted, whilst those that did not have, gave. This is where the heart of a country's real culture lies, and I was delighted to find it in a part of the world that had begun to wane in my favours. I should not have been surprised as this has been the case in most of the places that I visited - get away from the service industries that deal with tourists and people don't try to extract what they can from you. They give the most precious thing that they can: their time.