These great-looking birds are loud, sleep-stealing pests, but you have to love them for their beauty. They can be pretty friendly, too.

There are beautiful rainbow lorikeets and white macaws here, and they are super-duper loud and aggravating. Their chatter woke me up at about 0700, and I was not too happy. They’re beautiful pests.

My country-and-western-loving neighbor, Errol, a widower, invited me over for coffee and toast. Like most of Australia’s Queenslander men, Errol seems lonely. We chatted a bit over a mug of milk-coffee, and then I got up to pack my gear. Later, Bill came over to wish me a good morning and invite me for coffee, and I had to turn him down.

On my way out, I filled my containers with rainwater and then said goodbye and snapped photos with Bill and then Errol.

I set off at about 0845 with Salt ‘n Peppa playing through my Walkman into my left ear. I kept the right ear free so I could hear traffic coming up behind me (we drive on the left side of the road here in Australia). The signs indicated that I have more than 190 kms to Rocky.

The ride to Marlborough was uneventful and sunny. I had decent cloud cover overhead at times, and that kept it from getting too hot. There were very few road stops on the way to town. About 30 km outside of Marlborough, I ran down to the last little bit of water in my bottle. Uh oh. The headwind had become very strong 20 km ago, drying out my throat and forcing me into the smallest gear on my big chainring. I knew I’d be ok without water for just 30 km, but I didn’t like it.

I finally arrived in Marlborough at about 1515, and I found the pub Biker Brian had told me about. They have free camping in the back…AWESOME! I went to the convenience store next door and had a cookie, Powerade, and a diet lemon drink. I chatted with the locals at the pub and then paid the bar maid $2 for use of the showers before setting up camp. I cooked a meal of Mountain House Lasagna and coffee and then sat in my tent to rest my back and write in my journal until about 1930.

I went to the pub for a couple of hours to chat with a 60+ year-old man, Rudy, from Austria, who had spent years riding his bike around Australia. He told me about the benefits of eating raw foods, drinking lots of water, and drinking apple cider vinegar. It must work alright for him, because he looks about 40.

I went back outside and fell asleep, feeling thankful for my bug tent and thinking about my friends back home in the States.

Mileage:
Weather: Hot/Sunny
Location: Marlborough

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. 100% of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.