The team's accommodations in Cairns: The Big Backyard hostel. They gave us a good rate on rooms, so thanks, Big Backyard!

Journal by Nancy Olson

Well, I didn’t run today, so that makes it a bad day. I mean, I guess it’s not a bad day, but it’s definitely below average. I was just really, really sleepy, and then I ended up working all day. I worked from the hostel for several hours, and then I went to the Internet café to post journals and photos. That was several hours, too, $9 worth of hours.

The cute/nice guy who used to work at Global Gossip when I was in Cairns a couple of months ago now works next door at another café. Global Gossip’s computers couldn’t read my memory stick, so I was forced to venture next door, and viola! There was Hayden. He was excited about his new Yamaha motorcycle street machine, and he was happy to tell me all about it in the way a new father might boast about his kid. I love it when people are just so totally stoked about something that way. It doesn’t matter what it is, just be excited.

Hayden asked how the story ended with my dented Santa Cruz (The bike was dented on the flight from Argentina to Cairns, and I was talking to the airline and my insurance company about a claim when I last saw Hayden.). I let him know that neither the airline nor my renters’ insurance would cover the damage. The good news, however, is that I emailed Rob Roskopp of Santa Cruz some photos of the dent, and he assured me it is cosmetic versus structural, so I’m in the clear. I felt bad about breaking the news about the blemish to Nick over email, but he assured me in his response that he doesn’t care. Oh well; the bike seems happy, at any rate.

So, I finished using the net and gabbing and went to Woolworth’s. Remember Woolworths? It’s been out of business in the U.S. for ages, but it was a sort of department store, if memory serves me correctly. Well, In Aus, it’s a grocery store. Uh, I guess select Woolworth’s grocers do have a variety store section, but not all do. So, uh, like, I sense that this is, like, the world’s most boring blog, but that’s how my day was. Internet all day, shop for lunch and dinner, return to the hostel to do more work, resize and rename images for several hours, and then get ready for bed.

The exciting thing was when Nick, at about 11:30 at night, broke the news to Todd and me that we needed to make space in our vehicle for the team’s refrigerator. Great. Now, here’s an example of something that would have been nice to know sometime prior to minutes before midnight on the eve of departure. No worries. Life is just swell. See ya’s later.

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.

Horses race by at the rodeo.

Journal by Colin McAuliffe, photo by Neil Dana

Woooohooo! Yah! Yah! Come on horsie!. I guess it was quite a hilarious sight, 5 Australians and one American galloping around an earthen mound like horses, spanking their own bottoms the whole way. I’m sure you guessed it, that American was none other than myself. I don’t really know how I got involved in the “horse race” but I know it was extremely silly.

We came here quite by accident. On our way out of Cairns, a kind gentlefellow informed us that there was a big four-wheel-drive party going on in Mt. Garnet, which just happened to be on our route towards Alice Springs. Well, there was no 4x4 party, but there was a huge horse race/rodeo (pronounced here as roe-day-o) party going on. As we pulled in we asked where we should camp and were told that there were a few sections for families, and one for rowdy people. Being the super genius that I am, I of course persuaded the team that we needed to be in the rowdy section. Man, was I sorry. Ozzies are a crazy bunch and they seriously love to party, and when I say serious, I mean it, really. We’re talking 5 a.m., shaking-strangers’-tents party. We’re talking wake Colin up by opening his tent and yelling at him, even though you have no idea who in God’s name he is, and you don’t really care anyway, as long as you get to wake him up partying. We’re talking every other word is an expletive party. We’re talking horseless horse races partying.

Justin somehow met a cricket team at some point, and at some other point, Justin and I ended up at their camp. The Mongrel Dogs, as their team is known, are a bunch of friendly jovial fellows, and took us into the fold like we’d known them for years. They all had names that contained the word dog, such as Black Dog, Lap Dog, Red Dog, Mock Dog, Big Dog, etc, and they found it hilarious that I had a nickname (now fortunately defunct) that also contained the word “dog.” Ahem, however I won’t mention it here for fear of proliferating that which I really do not want to proliferate.

Anyway, a seriously good time (except when we tried to sleep, which really wasn’t fun, or even possible) was had by all, and I am rather glad that we chose to attend the roe-day-o.

Members of team Drive Around the World receive an introductory dive on the Great Barrier Reef off of Cairns, Australia, while Colin documents their first experience at breathing underwater. (L to R: Colin, Justin, Todd, Instructor, Neil, woman.)

Journal by Todd Borgie, photos by Reef Magic

What do you do when you see a shark?

Thanks to the famous Colin McCulife and Reef Magic of Cairns, Australia (Cairns is pronounced “cans”, don’t ask me why), team Drive Around the World had a delightful experience at the Great Barrier Reef. The adventure started at 8:00 a.m. with check-in and departure, and the cast and crew of our boat had us going until we returned completely wiped out at 5:00 p.m.

Over the last couple of rainy days, Colin has been arranging this trip for us, never knowing if the weather would ever clear up for good diving conditions. The power of the New Yorker paid off as prices fell while he kept talking. We got a great deal and were all very impressed with the facilities, the staff, and what we learned over the course of the day.

It was about an hour-and-a-half out to the reef, so on the way out, Justin, Neil and I learned some scuba (self contained underwater breathing apparatus) basics. We learned how to clear our regulators and let water out of our mask while we were under the water. Instructors spent about an hour teaching us the basic skills we would need to know to dive for about 20 minutes on the reef. It was not very technical, but it was enough to give us a good feel for things and to keep the more faint-hearted from panicking.

After our schoolroom instruction, a marine biologist took over describing different types of reefs--fringed, ribbon and patch--how they were created, and some of the stuff we would see. It was a nice intro to the reef and got me more excited to go underwater.

Close to where our boat set anchor, we were issued stinger suits (suits to prevent jelly fish stings), or wet suits if we wanted to rent them them. The water was 27°C (80°F), so it was pretty comfortable; the rough-and-tough Nancy Olson chose to do her snorkeling in just a swimming suit. I opted for a stinger suit that covered me from hands and feet to neck. This not only protected me from the jellyfish, but also from the unrestrained sun that crashes down through this ozone-depleted area!

Our group was called, and we were given our hands-on training. From the back of the boat with head underwater, we needed to prove to the instructor that we could breathe normally, clear our regulators, and clear our masks. Once checked out, we headed down, down, down. Colin “the shark” McAuliffe, a certified diver, swam around us like a a predator as our instructor and the five of us, Neil, Justin, our instructor, another woman, and I, swam arm-in-arm down to a depth of about 10 meters. Colin was swimming with his special Equinox underwater camera housing; it looked like a cartoon ray gun. We were only underwater for about 20 minutes, but in this time we saw plenty of fish and coral. We saw clownfish, like Nemo, Damselfish, Parrotfish, and sea cucumbers; we could even touch them. The Clownfish (Nemo fish) have special mucus on them that protects them from the anemones. They also coat themselves in the same mucus that is secreted by the anemones themselves, so the anemones do not sting the fish as it passes through them; their sense organs recognize the mucus as their own, and since they will not sting themselves, they do not sting the fish. That’s just one of the many things we learned!

After diving, we were free to snorkel to our hearts content. Nancy and I hit the sea highway and trailed a sea turtle, a white tip reef shark, a puffer fish, and a triggerfish, before we broke for lunch. This place was amazing! Although we were 30 miles off shore, it was really not that deep! Apparently, as you go offshore here, there are ridges and channels. The channels are deep and wide, and the coral reefs sit on top of the more narrow ridges; that is why the water seemed deep as we were going out and it suddenly got shallower where we stopped. We were parked on top of a ridge.

After lunch I went out snorkeling again with Neil, Chanda, and Nancy; however, it is so hard not to get distracted. There are so many colorful fish, interesting coral, and beautiful colors. I saw some coral that reminded me of scotch heather, which made me think of my Grandma; she loves scotch heather. I watched a moray eel, from a safe distance, for 15-20 minutes, and hung out with fish as they were slapped back and forth by the underwater currents. There is just so much to see!

The Great Barrier is a true wonder of the world. I hope to someday return when I am a fully certified diver. The underwater kingdom is teeming with life and is a beautiful place to explore.

We were all tired after a day of diving, but the day did not stop there. One of the most rewarding parts of this expedition for me is spreading Parkinson’s awareness. I have been learning so much about the disease from the many people I have met that have been dealing with it. Today a woman stopped Adam after reading the Parkinson’s logo on the vehicles. He gave a brief description of what we are doing, after which she revealed her mother has Parkinson’s disease. He mentioned that I conduct interviews with people with Parkinson’s along our route, and then called me out. We visited for a while and set up a time to have coffee tomorrow. It sounds like her mother has been having a lot of trouble with her medication and suffering from bouts of depression. After having a tremendous experience with Parkinson’s Queensland Inc., perhaps we can share our experiences to a positive end. I guess tomorrow will tell. This is Todd signing off after an amazing day in Cairns, Australia!

Todd does the underwater disco.

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.

A flying fox, Australia's version of the fruit bat, strikes his best Dracula pose. These little guys just about licked Nancy to death.

Journal by Adam Burgess, photo by Neil Dana

Recently I have told Nick that we the film crew would like to combine the education visits that are scheduled by Todd for his education website with shoot days. In the past, we have failed to successfully be able to fit ed. visits and interesting shoot days into the expedition timeline. My solution was to amalgamate the two and require all to attend. It’s been such a problem getting life to breathe from the shoots, because many times half the crew has scheduled work to accomplish, and the ed. visits sometimes consist of Todd talking to a professional in an office or house. I often tried to grab a few bodies to accompany Todd on his random ed. visits, but it usually panned out to on-camera disasters. By stepping in and requiring all to attend while discussing with Todd what may qualify as an ed/film visit, I think we are all benefiting.

The other day was a perfect example of our first success. We visited a scientist on Cape Tribulation, a national wildlife and nature preserve nestled in the subtropics three hours north of Cairns. We drove through the hardest rain to date on a narrow road that winded along a remote coastline and through flooded roads. We discovered an eccentric Dr. Hues Spencer subsisting minimally in the forest.

After offering us coffee, the doc took us to a cage full of flying foxes (very large bats) that licked, sniffed, and peed on the entire crew. Chanda, being the luckiest of us all, managed to get a stream of urine shot down her back. As she turned around to see what it was, it continued to flow down her face and into her right ear. If you’ve ever seen a large, rabbit-sized bat pee while hanging upside down, you would know how much and how hard they can shoot a continuous stream. The Doc was also hit on the chest, and Justin sustained a puncture wound to the left arm while removing one who had migrated from the ceiling down the back of my head to my inner thigh. Colin almost drowned when he bummed a bucket full of water with the microphone fuzzy mic cover while Todd managed to fire off an incessant barrage of questions about bats. We all managed to survive regardless, and the Doc showed us his two research rooms before we departed from another interesting visit to the life of a professional. I know the crew enjoys a day away from their work when they continue to talk about what they saw the next day. The next day, they were still talking about bat urine, so it was a success, and another story to add to our ever-growing over-the-dinner-table stories about bowel movements.

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.

It has been raining on us since today's drive began, and Cairns is soaked under dark skies.

[Photo by Justin Mounts]

Journal by Neil Dana

Well here we are again, as a team, driving around the world. It is nice to be back together and run into all our daily challenges. I am really excited to head west across the entire desert and see the stars in the sky at night. But as for now, we are in Cairns at a backpacker hostel about 15 blocks outside of the center of town. It is pretty empty at the moment, with most backpackers staying in the center of town. We did receive a nice rate to stay here though, three nights for the price of two, and free Internet, even though the Internet is only open a few hours each day. There is always some kind of quirks with deals.

So, today it is pouring rain, literally pouring! We have designated today as a workday, and we all have various things to do. I have been editing some photos and catching up on some email correspondence. It is quite nice to spend a day in the rain indoors just working and relaxing. We are all looking forward to our dinner at the Woolshed tonight. In Cairns, you get tickets to eat dinner for free at the Woolshed, however the free dinner is a small plate of spaghetti or rice with beans, which is not enough food for the hearty appetite. So, for an additional $4-6, you can have a complete dinner plate, which isn't bad, and still much cheaper than eating anywhere else. After dinner, the Woolshed turns into a nightclub scene and fills up every night of the week.

After driving up here to Cairns and the north east coast of Australia, it reminds me of Central America, in that it is completely tropical and humid. I never realized how green and lush it was up here. I had always pictured Australia as a much drier place. It is really beautiful, and filled with endless fields of sugarcane.

So, I will keep today's journal entry short, as we are all working and doing the tasks needed to keep us in the public eye and raise money for Parkinson's. In fact, we met a news reporter today who is coming by early in the morning to do a story on us and put us on Channel 7, which is Australia's largest channel. That is really great publicity for us, and we are excited.

Until next Monday,

Neil

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.

Colin kicks it Aussie-style in an outback hat borrowed from Chris Dougall during a tour of the Dougall cattle property in Miriam Vale, Queensland, Australia.

Journal and photo by Colin McAuliffe

Today was in interesting day. We awoke at a decent hour on a cattle farm in Miriam Vale, a small town about an hour’s drive north of Bundaberg. We were staying with Chris and Suzanne, some friends that Nancy had met on her bike journey from Cairns to Brisbane.

Anyway, Chris and Suzanne treated us to something I had not had in a very, very long time: breakfast burritos. I love breakfast burritos; they’re yummy. Especially when it’s actually breakfast time. You see, Suzanne was born and raised in Texas, so she knew the joyous wonder of the breakfast burrito.

So, post-burrito, the team headed out on a whirlwind tour of the farm. You see, Chris and Suzanne’s cattle farm practices a method of raising the cows called “low-stress cattle raising”. In other words; they raise happy cows. Now, on the tour, outside of what I was told, the cows seemed like any old cows, mooing and looking at me funny and whatnot, so at first I couldn’t really tell the difference between a regular cow and a low-stress happy cow, but, when I returned to the ranch house, I was startled to find a cow sitting on the living room couch watching television and eating beans on toast, that’s when it dawned on me just how happy these cows really are.

Ok, so that didn’t really happen, but it would have been really funny if it did. Anyhoo, the tour of the ranch continued and we saw some cute kangaroos bouncing around, and it was all very interesting, and Chris and Suzanne really do have a good thing going for them with all this happy cow business.

So, once the tour was done, the team had a bunch of work to do on the cars, so we done did it.

So, after the work was done, Chris and Suzanne had organized a classic ozzie-style bbq/campfire for us that began around 6 or 7 or something. The food was delicious, and classic Australian style. All the ozzie classics were there: rump steak, sausages (on bread w/o buns), profiterols, and potato salad, and I ate them all, heartily even. Afterwards, when it started to require a lot of effort for me to breathe, I realized that I ate way too much, but by then it was too late, so I had some desert, and continued to not be able to breathe for another hour or so.

Once I was able to talk, I struck up some really interesting conversations with some of the people attending the BBQ, especially Chris, who had some cool tales. He, kind of like us, had travelled from the US to Panama over land; however, he and a friend of his did it by motorcycle. And, they did it on one motorcycle, I mean, I know that sometimes I feel like I’m in quarters that are a little too close on this trip, but sharing a bike with another guy for that long must have been really intense. I have a lot of respect for a person that can put himself into that kind of situation. Chris told me another great story about his solo hike down into the Grand Canyon that also impressed me greatly, and strengthened my desire to visit the canyon.

So, it was a good day, and a long one, and now, my good friends, now I am going to sleep.

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.

Justin gives 174-year-old Harriet a scratch on the head.

Journal by Nancy Olson

Today is a big, action-packed day. This morning, I got up around 0530 to go for a run. It will be my final jaunt through the city of Brisbane, because we are leaving today to head north toward Cairns. Since it was my bright idea to move our meeting time from 0800 to 0700, I was saddled with team-wakeup duty. I actually welcome the job, because it will help me stay on track with my morning runs. My goal is to run every day, and being accountable to someone other than just myself will help me to realize that goal.

So, I ran my usual route, one block down Ann Street, right turn toward the river, wait for three crossing signals to turn green, right turn past the coffee shop and alongside the river, and left turn through the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. I love running in here, because Brissy is an exercise-friendly city. It is clean and beautiful, with parks, sidewalks, and even bike/pedestrian lanes, throughout. My favorite city feature is the pedestrian bridge linking the botanic gardens with the shops and restaurants of the South Bank area across the river. It’s a beautiful bridge, with a wide lane in either direction for walkers/joggers/bikers (no vehicles allowed!), and an overhead shade awning that looks like an artist’s rendition of a benevolent serpent. In the mornings, it provides just the right angle of shade protection from the strong Australian sun.

I took my final run through the beautiful, shady, flowery paths of the South Bank and along the waterfront toward the Civic Center. It was still fairly dark out in the wee hours of the morning, but I could still see the river, with its small waves and ripples of current, small eddies forming around pylons and beckoning to me to cool off with a swim. Neither the City Cat boat that moves people like a city bus from one riverside boat stop to the next, nor the other various tourist boats, had begun their morning services, and all was quiet on the river. The majority of my company came from other early-morning runners and cyclists and a few people hustling to work.

I didn’t have time for a full 30-minute run, so I increased my speed and planned a 25-minute route. I ran back over the vehicle-traffic bridge and through the Queen’s Street mall area, sprinting the final seconds through the park where I normally stretch and do lunges and push-ups. No time for that today. I have to wake up my teammies!

Feeling invigorated, I knocked on the door of Room 117 at the Palace Hotel. Todd answered, and the rest of the boys shushed me and grumbled in their sleep. Back upstairs on the 3rd floor, I woke up Nick and Chanda and grabbed my shower items. Everybody had to meet downstairs in the lobby at 0700 for morning muster and instructions, bags in-hand.

Todd, Nick, Justin, and I caught a cab to Austral Land Rover in the city, while the rest of the gang guarded our luggage, checked out of the hostel, and tracked down breakfast. At Austral, the gang and I loaded the vehicles with the Red Bull and Hella keychain lights that our sponsors had shipped to Brisbane for us, and we talked a bit with the fine people at Austral Land Rover who had performed a whole heck of a lot of maintenance and repairs (cracked windshields and such) for us in a short amount of time and for no money at all. Thanks, Austral!

Back at the Palace, we parked in front of the building, in a bus lane, and dashed in to grab our luggage. We tossed everything into the vehicles, the film crew strapped surfboards on top of D2, and I put my bike trailer on top of D3 and locked our Santa Cruz mountain bike into its bike rack. We did all that in a matter of minutes and moved our Discoverys to a park on the other side of the river to repack everything and also make sure the vehicles were clean and ready to drive to the Australia Zoo.

Justin led us out of town toward Beerwah, home of the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo. I had set up a visit when I passed through on my bicycle a couple of weeks ago, and the zoo provided us with a host from their marketing department so that we could film inside the zoo walls. Kylie met us at the zoo entrance, and we received complementary admission PLUS a guided tour and special access to special animals.

I know this journal is too long already, but I have to quickly tell you about some highlights from our visit. Kylie showed us around, and we got to pet an American alligator and a boa constrictor, and we saw a humongous, 24.5-foot-long, 242-pound reticulated python named Lillie, who was big enough to swallow us whole, but who prefers to dine on baby goats. Later, we watched the crocodile-feeding show, during which the croc-keepers hand fed a gigantic croc named Agro, who was known to attack and drown more than four lawn mowers. We also watched a keeper feed crawdaddies to a mob of playful-but-hungry otters who, if the keeper isn’t alert, won’t hesitate to sink their sharp little teeth into the ankles and buttocks of their surprised human friend (it has happened before). Later, we met and fed three Asian elephants, and we got to hold a koala bear! Koalas are not bears at all, but rather marsupials, and they eat ONLY eucalyptus leaves. They sleep 18-20 hours a day, and they poop like a conveyor belt during their waking hours. After holding the koala, we went into the kangaroo area and watched all types of roos (wallabies, rock wallabies, grey kangaroos), and we even got to pet them. They are ultra-soft, and the zoo roos are friendly and unafraid of visitors. They’re sooooo cute! I want one!

Now, with all of those amazing zoo experiences, I have to say that one experience really stood out from the others for me. After the crocodile show, we said goodbye to Kylie and hello to our new escort, Sally, also from marketing. She introduced us to the oldest-living zoo dweller, Harriet, who is a Galapagos tortoise. If she could only speak, we would be treated to some wonderful stories. You see, Harriet was found on the Galapagos Islands by Charles Darwin himself, in 1835, and was brought aboard the HMS Beagle for voyage to England. Based on the measurements he took then, she was 5 years old at the time. When he was finished studying her, it was decided she needed a climate that was more suited to island tortoises than the wet and cold of London, so she was sent to Australia. In Australia, she lived in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens (where I ran this morning) for many, many years, and then she lived at another zoo before being given to Steve Irwin’s parents and taking up residence at the Australia Zoo, where she will probably live well into her second century. She is 174 years old, now. The only other living things I can think of that are that old is the trees. She knew Charles Darwin. She sailed aboard the Beagle. She knows the Crocodile Hunter. Oh, the stories she could tell…We got to pet her, and she loved having her legs and head scratched, and when I found her sweet spot, just at the base of her head, she rolled her eyes back and grinned in approval. I felt so respectful of her, like I should be saluting her at attention rather than rubbing her shell and head, but she sure loved the attention. I wonder of ole’ Chuck Darwin ever scratched behind her head.

We had an absolutely fantastic visit, and we all agreed that the Steve Irwin’s zoo is the happiest, most loving, best zoo we’d ever visited. All the animals have names and are cared for like members of the family by the zookeepers who seem so thrilled to be working at a job they adore. The only downside of the zoo visit is that we just barely missed an opportunity to have Steve Irwin himself sign our vehicles. He was in town, and had we asked earlier in the morning, Sally could have arranged to have him meet us. Darn! So close! Oh well. We left at closing time, finally hitting the road at around 1700.

I took the lead for our journey north, and we stopped in a town called Gympie for dinner. (I wrote about my visit to Gympie in one of my East Coast of Oz Bike Trip journals.) There, I introduced my team to my friends at the Imperial Hotel. Owners Gary and Georgia were there, as well as some friends I’d made weeks earlier, Siri, Alan, and Shannon. It was cool seeing them again. We ate some delicious food and then pressed on.

I was really excited to get to Miriam Vale and the Dougall place, where I felt like I had family. Chris and Suzanne Dougall, and their kids Sam and Maddie, would be asleep when we arrived, but they were expecting us. Tomorrow, we are going to be treated to a tour of their cattle property and then to a real Australian Bar-be-cue with the Dougalls and my other new and dear friends from the area, Greg, Phillipa, and Kelsie Realf, and friends Ajay and Gabbi from the Baffle Creek. I cannot wait to see my wonderful friends again, and I am excited to have my team meet them. We didn’t arrive at the Dougall place until a little after midnight, so we just pulled into their driveway very quietly, parked, popped our tents, and hit the rack. I had trouble falling asleep, I was so excited to see the Dougalls. It’s difficult for me to explain the peaceful, secure, warm feeling I have while I am at their place.

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.

Members of the LONGITUDE crew meet with the awesome folks at Austral Land Rover.

Journal by Todd Borgie

Another bright and early morning, today 6:30 a.m. rolled around all too early, but I figured since Justin and Nick were up at 4:00 a.m. last night doing a conference call that I should put an end to my belly aching and drag my bones off the top bunk. We had dropped the vehicle off at Land Rover last evening after springing them from quarantine. We wanted to be waiting at Land Rover this morning when everyone arrived to work. We had given them a to do list, but it never hurts to be up early and waiting for them. We hope that maintenance will only take a day, as we would like to start traveling by tomorrow. There is a lot to see and do in this country, and the whole team is rearing to go.

Nick and I arrived early, having only made one stop at the coffee place for two cups of motivation. Upon arriving at Land Rover, we gave them a prioritized list of repairs, which, it appeared, would be no problem for them to accomplish in a day. Two thumbs of for Austral Land Rover helping us prepare our vehicle after a hazardous Patagonia.

I had to fly away from Land Rover in order to make another Parkinson’s visit. Our new friend Judy Rawlins from Queensland Parkinson’s Inc. had a speaking engagement in Caboolture Shire, a suburb of Brisbane, and she invited me to join her. She had set up a couple of interviews with local papers, so Justin went with me to talk to the reporters.

I had hoped to catch an 11:00 a.m. train, but time ran short, and Justin and I were on the road at little after 11:30 a.m. We were putting together some final edits of the news story. Judy was waiting for us with car running; she had hoped to get to the engagement earlier, but we had received word too late to be very accommodating.

As we drove to the Shire, we discussed her experience with Parkinson’s: when she was diagnosed and what changes have occurred in her life since that day. She talked somewhat bitterly about the day that she received her verdict. Apparently, at the age of 36, a neurologist came in and told Judy that she had Parkinson’s Disease. He also proceeded to tell her that within five years she would be in a nursing home, so she had better get her affairs in order. Well, it has been more than 14 years, she is not in a nursing home and, in fact, neither Chanda nor I noticed she had Parkinson’s disease when we first met her.

Although she is on medication, her deep-brain stimulation surgery she received a year ago has done wonders for her. It has reduced tremors and has reduced the amount of medication that she has to take. Needless to say, she is a firm believer in the procedure.

One of the most interesting conversations we had was about how life slows down for people with Parkinson’s Disease. I asked Judy whether she could tell her body was slowing down as a result of the disease. To my surprise her answer was no. She said the only way she knew that her body had slowed down was the fact that her mother could all of a sudden do things much faster than Judy could. Judy has always led a very active life, and in fact was often ahead of most people around her. I thought this was amazing--the fact that she didn’t know her body had slowed down. It can take people with Parkinson’s disease up to 5 times longer to do what are seemingly simple tasks.

She gave an informative talk, and the people in attendance were grateful for having her there. One lady said that she had learned more from Judy in 40 minutes than she had learned from her doctor in 1.5 years. This shows that there is much to be done in the area of Parkinson’s Awareness.

After the talk we had a chance to speak with many of the people in attendance. They were interested in what we were doing and offered their support. One man came up to me and asked if there was anything he could do to help our cause. Since he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, he had pretty much just stayed at home. I asked him if he had a computer, and he said yes, but that he didn’t know how to use it. He said his wife did all of that stuff. I gave him my card and challenged him to use a computer. I told him he needed to set goals of simple task for himself. The first of these goals would be to send me an e-mail. I told him that once I had received an e-mail from him, I would tell him the next step. I wonder if I will hear from him?

After returning on the train to Brisbane, I gathered Chanda, and we began a mile trek to the Land Rover dealer. Unfortunately, Nick nor anyone from Land Rover was there when we arrived. Dark areas and locked doors were all that remained after a busy day at Land Rover. We turned around and found ourselves in the middle of an Australia trivia night at a neighborhood pub. After knowing the first five of the 40-some questions, we figured we should enter. Unfortunately, our lucky streak came to an abrupt end when the trivia went from general trivia to Australian trivia. A couple of guys helped us out, but as happens in a pub, we got distracted by the conversation and stopped listening to about five questions. Oh well. We made some new friends but sacrificed a trivia crowning. I guess we were really not good enough to consider ourselves trivia royalty, anyway.

It was another good day, and a day that brought us closer again to accomplishing the overall goals this expedition has set out to meet.

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.

Cairns, North Queensland, Australia. Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.

Journal by Adam Burgess

We finally made it to Cairns, a city I had always imagined as rather large because it’s the only one that appears on political maps of Australia and I always hear the name. It’s actually quite tranquil. Not small, but far from a business centre. So far, Australia has turned out to be more sparsely populated than I imagined, and from talking to the people, I have been proven wrong that only Americans don’t know about the rest of the World that surrounds them. So far I’ve managed to find oodles of Ozzies that have a hard time with world geography. At a BBQ, I met a police sergeant who asked me if California was near the coast, I replied, “Yes,” and with a moment’s thought, he then asked, “Which one?” I gave him a thorough description, and then with a slight “Hmmm...” he then fired off another question in his philosophical tone. “Hmm, I see; now, are there beaches in California?” Bless the poor guys heart, although I have the opportunity to travel the globe, it appears that he missed his free lessons in California geography when the bombardment of “Baywatch” episodes hit the Australian coastline a few years back.

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.

The Brisbane Museums in a popular city park, on the same block as our hostel.

Journal and photos by Neil Dana

Brisbane is a really mellow and beautiful city. The pace here compared to most cities is a bit more laid back and it is a nice and comfortable place to be. Also, due to the Expo in 1988, there is an array of incredibly beautiful parks here. There is a part of the river that runs through the city called South Bank, and it has tropical beaches and man-made pools, and even a Nepalese pagoda that was brought over in ‘88. We walked over there for Colin's birthday dinner the other night, and it was really the most extensive and intersting park I have ever seen in a city.

We are staying in a hostel here in town that is nice and is right next to the Brisbane Museum, which had a concert the other night. It is really full of colors at night, and there are interesting statues and figures throughout the plaza. It is always neat to see the difference in a location between the daylight and the evening.

Right now, I am sitting in our bedroom writing this journal while we are waiting for our vehicles. They arrived today and were offloaded from our Wallenius Wilhelmsen-sponsored ship. They need to go through customs and then through quarantine. We are trying to organize the arrangements so we can be on the docks while they do the quarantine. We'll see what happens, and I will fill you in very soon, in fact, in the paragraph below. Until then, take a look around somewhere other than your computer screen for a moment and imagine a lapse in time, for that is what is happening between the end of this sentence and the next.....................

Well....the cars are still in the shipping yard and we haven't been able to see them yet, so we are in our hostel and taking care of business. It is time to eat dinner now and go to the roof and enjoy the scenery. Justin has been in the Internet cafe all day today contacting newspapers throughout our route in Australia, and now he is tackling the TV stations and other media outlets.

Until next week,

Neil

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.

Uh, like, this is a purple flower. And it's very nice.

Journal and photo by Colin McAuliffe

Ok,

Well, I'm back with the team in Brisbane, and everything is good. Tonight we will celebrate C-Day (my B-day) in typical Colin McAuliffe style, at a reggae club. So we're set.

I had a huge blast the last four days in Byron, and I met some really cool people and shared some strange coincidences. Anyway, I'm sitting there hanging out at a picnic table in the hostel we were crashing, and I strike up a conversation with these two Danish girls, Fretterike and Iben. We spoke about Copenhagen, where I had previously spent a few days, and eventually the subject turned to New York. Turns out that Iben had lived in New York for a while, in Huntington, my home town. Small world, right? Especially since no one ever goes to Huntington. So we're yammering on about good ol' (sort of) Huntington, when Neil shows up with some people he'd met. Funny enough, with Neil is a girl named Steph from New Paltz, my most recent town-of-residence in New York. More reminiscing there. Definitely a small world. It cracks me up, because the whole time I was in S. America, I really wanted to interact with some New Yorkers (needed some attitude in my life), and it wasn’t happening, and then, within 10 minutes, I meet not only two New York residents, but two people who had lived in both my home towns. How about that? Photos of Byron to come.

Oh and my camera started working again! Very happy about this. I even managed to save a bunch of the photos that I thought I lost from Brazil. So, all in all, things are going very well for me, although I do miss being a gringo in Latin America.

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.

The team celebrated their reunion at the Palace Bar and Grill. Nancy and Todd are glad to be together again, apparently.

Journal by Nancy Olson

Today was a super-duper special day. Today was team arrival day!

I've been in Brisbane by myself for a week. Until Adam arrived yesterday, I was on my own. But today, the family has been reunited in the lobby of the Palace Backpackers on the corner of Edward and Ann Streets in downtown Brisbane, Australia.

I went for a run this morning, as has become my Brisbane routine, and then I did the shower/breakfast/Internet thing. I was anxious to make sure everybody was good to go concerning where to meet, since that decision and the dissemination of information was my responsibility. I sent the address out over e-mail yesterday, and I checked for replies this morning. Nothing from Todd, Nick, or Chanda, but Neil replied to tell me he, Colin, and Justin were in the know. See, I had a sneaking suspicion Nick and his gang would probably go to the Riverside Hotel, which was the last word he'd received before I sent the e-mail out yesterday.

I was in the lobby waiting to check into our new rooms when I heard a familiar voice yell my name. It was Chanda! Oh, frabzjous day! We collided in a joyful embrace, and then I was reunited with Nick and then Todd. They had gone first to the Riverside, but they figured it out and found their way to Palace. We stood in the check-in line for a few moments and caught up a little bit before Justin came sauntering in Joe Cool-style and said hello. Behind him, Neil ran in and hugged everybody, and then Colin. They were all laden with surfboards and bags and looked like they'd been having some good beach time in South America.

Adam returned from the gym, and the family was complete. We stood in line to check in and created some real stress for the poor backpacker/employee girl behind the desk. The Palace was kind enough to discount our rate by $3 per person, per night, but there was a little confusion about which room(s) we would get. Everything was smoothed out, and we all moved in.

Each did his and her own thing (I yapped my mouth off all day to poor Chanda, because this was the first time I'd had a teammate to talk to in two months), and then we met in the lobby at 2000 to go downstairs to the grill to celebrate our reunion and Colin's birthday. He turns 24 on the 17th, so his celebration began at midnight.

It was a festive evening, and we're stoked to be back together as a team. Now, what we really want to do is spring our vehicles from customs and hit the road!

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.

Nancy and Adam are reunited in Brisbane.

Journal by Nancy Olson

Tomorrow is team arrival day. Today is prep day. I went for a run in the morning and then hit the Internet to let the team know where to meet. I'd decided the Palace Backpacker's, although a couple dollars more per night, would be a better bet than the hotel on the other side of the river, because this place is convenient to everything. There're four Internet cafes on this block, there's a kitchen, and there's refrigerators. I think those things are key, so I sent a message to everybody to come here.

I spent much of the day updating journals, and then I grabbed Adam and we headed to the gym. There's a "rewards card" inside of Special K cereal that gives the bearer a free week at a gym down the street from the hostel. I joined a couple of days ago, and Adam joined tonight. He lifted while I did a cycling class, and then we got cleaned up and went to dinner. Falafels!

Since we'd stayed up late yacking last night, we called it an early night tonight. We have to be well-rested for the arrival of our teammies tomorrow!

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.

April 14, 2004

On location: Film: Lord of the Rings. Nick and Todd under the Hobbit party tree in the shire.

Journal and photo by Todd Borgie

Did we take a wrong turn? Is this Hawaii?

New Zealand is great! We arrived last week and have been driving around the whole north Island. We arrived last Friday (because of the international date line, we lost last Thursday), and have been driving ever since. We rented a car as soon as we got in at 5:00 a.m. and began our drive. It was the start of the Easter holiday, so, apparently, everyone is traveling. In New Zealand both Good Friday and the Monday after Easter are national holidays, so a lot of people, especially students, are traveling.

New Zealand is full of natural beauty. It seems like everywhere I go the place just makes me happy. Whether it is a seaside stroll, a country drive, or a cruise through the winding mountains, the scenery is striking.

This island has come about as a result of volcanic and seismic activity. I felt like we were back in California with the number of earthquakes we felt while staying there. At first when they would rumble through, I would question my judgment, “That can’t be an earthquake, it must just be a big truck,” I would think. But there were no big trucks, just small earthquakes.

We also had a chance to bathe in the thermal mud baths. We felt like we were six years old again, covered in warm mud. As I mentioned, there is volcanic activity around here, and as a result, there are a lot of hot springs, and in many places the air smells like sulfer.

While driving through this country, we just managed to visit the North Island. It’s obvious why they would film the Lord of the Rings trilogy here. I guess to compare it to a place in the U.S., I would have to say this place looks the most like Hawaii, Polynesian influence and all (the New Zealand natives, the Maori, are Polynesian in origin). The native carvings and artwork all make it seem like we are in Hawaii. The only difference is the size. In the course of a week, we drove more than 2000 km, encircling the North Island (most people say we haven’t seen New Zealand unless we have been to the south island, but we will save that for another day). Since we were able to drive 2000 km-encircling part of the North Island, you can see that New Zealand is considerably larger than Hawaii. The reason it looks similar to me is the fact that the mountains are rough and jagged as opposed to the smooth hills of the Midwest. These hills and mountains reminded me more of the type you would see on the US West Coast; however, unlike the mountains of the West Coast, these mountainous hills were covered in lush-green grass, and many areas did not have any trees.

New Zealand has sort of a Midwest feeling to it. Life seems slower, lots of farming, and the sheep and wool industry here are huge. New Zealand is one of the largest exporters of wool in the world.

While cruising around New Zealand it struck me that I didn’t know where Zealand was. For every new place, there is generally an old place: New Mexico – Mexico; New York – York; New Jersey – Jersey, was there a Zealand? One of the Kiwis (slang for New Zealander, named for a unique bird there) told me there was an island in Europe called Zealand. Sure enough, there is an island in Denmark that is called Zealand. In fact, this island is where Copenhagen is situated.

It was great being in New Zealand because Nick, Chanda and I officially took time off, for the most part, from Drive Around the World stuff. On most days we were carefree and never had any specific place to be. I don’t think any of us expected to drive around so much; we were just captivated by the scenery. We had a lot of fun, especially Nick, looking at all the different Lord of the Rings stuff; in fact, he was able to connect with people from Weta Studies (the studios that did most of the work on Lord of the Rings), and they are allowing us to conduct an interview with someone at the studios. That will be soon to come.

I will definitely be back to New Zealand; after all, I have to make it to the more scenic South Island. Until then, New Zealand will have a fond place in my memory.

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.

Adam's long-lost shoes finally come home. There is good in the world.

Journal and photo by Adam Burgess

This tale takes place over a span of three days: April 13,14,15

Setting: Concepcion, Chile

13 April

Today I put my only pair of shoes out to dry and someone stole them. I have, however, placed my faith in humanity by writing a message from a scrap of paper found in my disgustingly messy room (left by other occupants I’d like to add). In poor Spanish and with the help of a Lonely Planet Phrase Book I’ve scribbled, “Donde esta mi zapatos?” “Tengo solo un par de zapatos” “Mi zapatos no esta gratis” “Por favour yo cuero mis zapatos” “Gracias”. At the bottom I’ve drawn a shoe and requested their return one more time. With little more than soap in the rancid bathroom I’ve smeared a coating of the blue bar on the entrance window to the dormitory and stuck the distress message up in clear view next to the door. Off to lunch, in my flip flops.

14 April

Today another message has appeared. It reads “Traduccion” (or something to that effect), and in perfect Spanish it attempts to translate my bastardized version. It’s pretty amusing and even somewhat compassionate, but I still miss my shoes as I flip flop around in the cold rain in my pair of Havanas from Brasil. As a result I have to endure the well-dressed Chileans staring on as though I were a peasant.

The notes seemed a feeble attempt to reunite me with the tan, ripped, leather zapatos I bought in Spain last year. The Chileans said that they were probably sold by now and not to offer any hope to my situation. Rather a saddening reality. Tomorrow I will shop for new shoes.

15 April

It’s a miracle!! Today my zapatos were sitting at the doorstep on top of a painter’s bench. I was absolutely delighted and flaunted them to my pessimistic local friends while restating my faith in humanity. I must have tapped into somebody’s soft side with my lamenting note.

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.

While in Byron Bay, Neil, Justin, and Colin hiked to this awesome waterfall.

Back in OZ mate!! Tooooo eeasssy!

In fact, Australia is too easy!! After speaking Spanish and Portuguese, and dealing with customs officials, and looking forward to all the times ahead after going through countries where we can't understand the language, Australia is definitely too easy, Mate!

Justin, Collin and I met in the Santiago airport in Chile and flew for 13 hours-or-so to our first stop in Auckland, New Zealand for a layover, then to Sydney for another layover, and then on to Brisbane. We left at 11PM on the day before Easter and arrived in Australia on the day AFTER Easter!! What!! We missed Easter. Oh well, maybe on the drive back across the dateline, we will celebrate July 4th twice! The flight was long, but enjoyable nonetheless. I haven't watched many movies on our journey, and to see FIVE in one sitting was quite nice.

Once we hit Brisbane, we rented a car and headed towards Byron Bay, which is a super fun, chilled-out town on the East Coast of Australia. We still had a few days to kill before our team was to arrive to all meet in Brisbane. So we ate Mediterranean kebabs, which are all over Austalia, and of course, some tasty meat pies, mmmn.

We have been having a good time in Byron; it is hard not to when you are staying in a hostel, each room having 16 people, and everyone is very sociable and from all over the world. We had a blast. I didn't surf at all, as the waves were small, and I am still letting my foot heal, which is making great progress now! We also went on a two-hour drive inland from Byron to Nimbin, a small town, and listened to a guy play guitar for a little while, then we went into the forest a bit and hiked to a waterfall. The countryside is spectacular around Byron.

Other than the fun of Byron, there are also a few shocks we are experiencing. One is the COST!!!!! Yikes!!!!!! Australia is the most expensive place I have been. This is my third time to Australia, and the first two times, the cost here in Australia was a bit lower, and our dollar was much stronger then, giving us a 2-to-1 rate back then. But now, it is extremely expensive. For example, a burrito is $7, or to stay a night in a hostel, sharing with 16 people in a room, is $25 a head. Having a full breakfast costs about $13, or even buying a candy bar costs $1.60. It is a tough shock to handle.

And of course, the fact that everywhere I look there are Caucasian and Asian people all around and speaking English, is quite different. I am used to seeing brown people everywhere speaking Spanish or Portuguese. Not to mention, when you go out at night, no one knows how to dance either. Oh, the differences between Latin America and Australia. Although, I guess if our team is camping in the middle of nowhere anywhere in the world, and I look around, they are all Caucasian, speak English and can't dance either, HA HA HA(excluding Adam of course, the dance master)

Well, we are in Australia and will enjoy being able to communicate with everyone around us for a while, with no translation necessary. I know we are all looking forward to getting our vehicles and heading up north along the beautiful coast and into the outback.

Cheers Mate,

Neil

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.

Just like the sun will continue to rise over Rio, so must Justin continue to trek across the globe.

Journal and photo by Justin Mounts

When one thinks about traveling around the world, one conjures up all sorts of images of exotic locations filled with unique, interesting people and experiences that will make the most timid travelers spring to life and learn more about their world and themselves.

I am here to tell you that all of that is true.

But after traveling for more than four months non-stop, I can also wax poetically about the hidden drawbacks of long-term world travel. Most of the time, I keep these bits of information carefully hidden inside my head, because I think the fantasy of travel is something that must be held onto by everyone. Travel is something we need to aspire to for numerous reasons, each one usually being as unique as the person who has the aspirations. However, eventually you reach a point in your travels, an emotional pinnacle of sorts, where you must let some of your personal emotion free in order to maintain order in your psyche and continue down your chosen path in life.

Today is day 162 of the LONGITUDE Expedition, and I am on a 31-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Brisbane, Australia. I am excited to land in Oz, to see a place I have dreamed about visiting since I was a small child. And at the end of this leg of the journey, one of my travel fantasies will spring to life before my eyes. But I am filled with saudade. Saudade is a Portuguese word for which there is no literal translation in English. It is a combination of emotions sandwiched somewhere between longing and remorse. I have consulted with many people on how to properly translate this word for everyone, and at each turn I come up with the same response: it doesn’t translate. It’s just something you feel. So now, as I bounce from Rio, to Sao Paolo, to Santiago, to Aukland, to Sydney, and to Brisbane, I have 31 hours in a middle seat to dwell on my thoughts and sort through my emotions.

And I have come to one conclusion:

The unfortunate truth of world travel is this: you’re always leaving something or someone that you care about behind, and no matter how much you travel, it never gets any easier…

Until next time, I wish you all well from the far side of the world.

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.

Grasshoppa, you must depart Brazil and fly away to Australia...

Journal and photo by Colin McAuliffe

So, my trip in Brazil is coming to an end. I've returned to Rio, and I am once again staying with my good friends Erika and Duda. Had a leisurely day yesterday, hung out on the beach by myself for a while and read half of Swiss Family Roinson. I spent today running errands, such as picking up my plane ticket to Australia and mailing a bunch of things home. I think tonight we are going to a big samba concert thingamabob, which should be pretty cool. Anyhoo, I guess this is it for Brazil. If anything else extraordinary happens in the next twenty-four hours, I'll make sure to record it here.

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.

At the Palace Backpacker hotel, I made a rare find: another 30-ish resident. Claudia is from East Germany, and she and I toured Brisbane together by foot.

Journal and photos by Nancy Olson

I woke up at 3:30 in the morning in a state of confusion. I thought it was morning. I mean, I thought it was a decent our of the morning and time to wake up. I was in a 9-person dorm, and one of the Swedish girls was talking in her sleep. I had a weird feeling that bugs were crawling all over me, too. I kept thinking something was crawling on me and biting me, so I couldn't fall asleep. Finally, I put my headphones on and drifted off.

I woke up again at 0800. I got up and went to the Internet cafe to post some more of my journals. The e-mail I'd sent to Steve Erwin's zoo bounced, so I sent it again.

Tired of the Internet, I left to do some window shopping and walk around. I need some running shorts so I can start a regular running program here. The problem is, I am too broke and too cheap to buy any. Everything in Australia is super-expensive.

I did my laundry and goofed off before returning to the Internet for more typing. Also, I had to Google these red dots on my skin. What are they? They don';t really itch, but they are definitely not appealing, and I want to get rid of them! Google didn't really give me any clues as to what it can be.

Back at the dorm, I met Claudia from Germany. She's 29, so it was nice talking to someone closer to my age for a change. The rest of our little dorm roommates are probably about 22 or so. She and I went down to the Backpacker grill in the building and watched the partiers dance and schmooze. In Australia, when the clubs play music, they also play the music video on a bunch of televisions in the club, so we watched music videos and tried to talk over the loud music. At midnight, we'd had enough.

Tomorrow, we plan to go to the park oand the botanic gardens and maybe do some biking or roller blading. It'll be fun.

Mileage: 0
Weather: Hot/Nice
Final Location: Brisbane

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.

Here it is: the finish line of my East Coast of Oz Bike trip, the Palace Hotel in Brisbane.

Journal and photos by Nancy Olson

I was up by 0800 and had to decide whether or not to visit the zoo. I decided to save money and just go with the team on our way back through town.

I headed south at 1000, and the weather was cloudy but clearing up. The road was narrow and scary, with absolutely no shoulder. I stopped at a bus stop to eat a salad and saw a local on a bike going down some sort of a path through the woods! Huh! I checked it out and found an old rails-to-trails-type path along the road. I hopped on the trail, and it was nice to get off the narrow roads and out of traffic for a little while. I had that sort of trail on and off for much of the first part of my ride today.

Coming into town, I stopped at a bike shop to ask the employees a good way in to Brisbane. The nice shop owner wrote out directions for me. I'd be on the Old Gympie Highway most of the way in, and then I'd be on some city road.

As soon as I reached the city, I was nearly killed twice in the first few minutes. First, a guy tried to pull onto my road from a parking lot, without looking right. "Don't hit me!" I yelled. He stopped just in time. A moment later, a guy tried to turn right and cross my lane right in front of me. Jerk store! My adrenaline was pumping, and my senses were on high alert.

I rode right into the city on the main drag, where I encountered some mega hills. Sensing that I was getting close to the area where hostels would be, I pulled onto the sidewalk to check my Lonely Planet guidebook and get my bearings. I was unpacking my book when I looked across the street and realized I had stopped, completely by chance, directly in front of the only hostel I'd read about--Palace Backpackers. The Lonely Planet said it was in the heart of the city and was a partiers hostel, and I remembered reading about it, very clearly. I am not a partier, and I don't like the idea of staying in a hostel with a bunch of young kids, but I didn't care at this point. It had been a long ride, and I wanted a room and a safe place for my bike and gear.

I paid for four nights in a 9-girl dorm at $20/night. I found my bed, showered, and was moved in by 1330. Right next door to the Palace, I found my favorite Australian Internet cafe, Global Gossip. I spent some time on e-mail (I e-mailed the Australia Zoo) and then walked around the city and window shopped in the three huge malls just down the block. I bought a book, as I was in dire need of good reading material, and headed back to the Palace.

I was reading and in bed by 2200.

I can't believe my East Coast of Oz Cycle Trip is over! What will I do with myself until my team arrives?!?

Alert: I have suddenly developed tiny red dots all over my legs, arms, and stomach, and I have no clue what it is.

Mileage:
Weather: Hot/Nice
Final Location: Brisbane

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.

I was psyched to see this sign along the scenic route I rode toward Beerwah. Beerwah is the home of Steve Erwin's Australia Zoo.

Journal and photos by Nancy Olson

I got up at 0730 and went for a 25/30-minute run, figuring today's ride would be a short one. on easy days, I want to start running, because I'll need to start a running program when we form up as a team again. I don't want to lose all my fitness gains when I put the bike away!

The run was pleasant, but it was raining by the time I was leaving on my bike. The ride was nice, and I was getting excited about arriving at the Australia Zoo, home of Steve Erwin, the Crocodile Hunter! I had made up my mind a few days ago that I will try to arrange a tour of the zoo for the team and, hopefully, a meeting with Steve Erwin. The zoo is off of the Bruce Highway, on a scenic route. From the Sunshine Coast on, the Bruce Highway is too busy for cyclists, and I'll have to find alternate routes into Brisbane.

I rode to the zoo and asked the employees who I would need to talk to about a Drive Around the World visit. I got a pamphlet and a phone number and checked in to a nearby hotel.

The owner of the hotel was very nice, but he was quite chatty and he hurled two veiled insults at me, probably without even realizing it:

Insult #1:

Him: Isn't your seat uncomfortable?
Me: No.
Him: I rode a bike for the first time since I was a kid, and I couldn't believe how much it hurt my bum.
Me: My seat is comfortable.
Him: Yeah, I guess either your seat or the bike seat is big.
Me: (inner monologue) Thanks, guy.

Insult #2:
Him: How are you going to get to Brisbane? What road? Cyclists aren't allowed on the highway.
Me: Yeah, I'm not sure. I have to get a more detailed map and figure it out.
Him: Nothing like planning ahead.

Planning ahead? Whatever. I told him it isn't rocket science and that I'll figure it out. I mean, lots of other cyclists have done it, so there is definitely a way. Solving this sort of problem is part of the adventure!

I called the zoo and reached their marketing guy, Peter Lang. He stepped out of a meeting to talk to me! He said the team can come on out, and I told him Nick or I would send him details about the team via e-mail. Cool! Now, how to get Steve Erwin to greet us...

I had a big, delicious salad for dinner and watched tv until bed time.

Mileage:
Weather: Nice
Final Location: Beerwah

I found it. The Australia Zoo. Home of the Crocodile Hunter!

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.

Journal and photo by Adam Burgess

I decided to take the last ten days of our departure from the cars back in Chile. Yesterday was my birthday, and I spent it rather peacefully here in the second largest city of Chile, Concepcion. I found myself wandering the streets with a couple of people I met in Pucon, Chile, when we drove through the country two months ago. This city is rather banal and holds very little for any architecture whatsoever. Sort of a characterless urban sprawl. This scared me since it boasts being the second most important city for Chile after Santiago. But my company here with two very warm and entertaining Chileans is some of the best I have had on this entire trip.

It’s been a rather luckless week. The busses here make a game of drenching people with massive muddy street puddles during downpours, as I found out during one umbrella walk. I was completely drenched from head to toe in one massive dark grey wave of gutter water. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes…

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.

I stopped at this unusual water park on my detour through Bli Bli. It's the coolest park I've ever seen. Like a snow-ski lift, the rope swings 'round to pick up the next person and then takes the skiier on a fun circle around the lake.

Journal and photos by Nancy Olson

I got up at 0800 and watched the news, a rare luxury. It was raining when I left at 0930. I went to an Internet cafe in town, but it wouldn't connect to my mail server, so I ate a sandwich at the neighboring bakery and left.

The coast was very hilly, but my momentum from decending one hill always helped me get up the next, and I had fun zipping down the coast. The rain stopped early in the morning, but it was very, very windy. The weather was hot and humid, much like Cairns.

I had to take a detour away from the coast and through a town called Bli Bli, because bikes are not allowed on the motorway that cuts down that part of the coast. On my detour, I saw the coolest park ever! It was a water park where water skiers, skurfers, and wake boarders were pulled in a big circle around a small lake for some boatless fun. It was an ingenious setup. The rope went around on a cable ski lift-style, and the skiers could do a beach start from a platform or a water start at the start of the "ski-lift" area. It was so cool. I've never seen anything like it. For $28 you could play for two hours. Too bad I'm broke!

As I was leaving the water park, the rain started to pour down, big-time. I was drenched. I pulled into Maroochydore and inquired about camp ground prices. Whoa! This tourist mecca is pretty spendy! A dorm bed at the local backpacker hostel was $19, and I had no option but to stay there. I had avoided hostels for my entire trip, but high prices forced me to give it a go. I locked my precious Santa Cruz and my B.O.B. trailer to the stair case and moved into the dorm.

As I was unpacking my stuff and getting ready for a shower, I realized I had left my bag full of photo CD's and other computer stuff at the Internet cafe in Noosa! I don't know what's wrong with me. I've turned into a moron. That's moron with a capital MO. MO-ron.

I showered in a panic and headed to the nearest bus station. A ticket back to Noosa cost me $7.10 and one hour of precious time.

I jumped off the bus at the Internet cafe (Travel Bugs) after sitting on the bus for what seemed like ever, felt my hip pocket, and realized my wallet had fallen out. I sprinted down the street like a crazy person, waving and screaming at the bus to stop, but my doggone flipflops made me too slow to catch it before it sped of down the street. I ran into the Internet cafe and asked the nice girl inside to call the Sunshine Bus Co., explaining what had just happened. She talked to the dispatcher and was told the bus would be coming back in a few minutes after circling through town. I grabbed the stuff that I'd left at the Internet place and ran off to the bus stop where they told me to wait.

My bus was the second one, and it felt like an eternity waiting for it. The driver handed me my wallet and told me the bus back to Maroochydore would be the next one. Whew. I had all my things. I cannot tell you how relieved I was, nor can I tell you how stupid I felt.

I was back in Maroochydore by 1720, and the rest of the day went quite well, with my three-hour detour completed and my money and photos safe. Thank goodness. I went to McDonald's for a Diet Coke and won a Big Mac in their Pictionary peel-off game. Cool!

I went to bed early, and my doorm mates were quiet and considerate.

Mileage:
Weather: Rainy
Final Location: Maroochydore

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.

Surfer Neil can't help but smile while taking in the beauty of Pichelemu.

Journal and photos by Neil Dana

So I have left Brasil, boo hoo:((((((( Brasil was the coolest country I have been to so far. The people are so friendly and full of life. They also are very passionate people and love their music, which is so fun to experience. Listening to Bossa Nova and Samba, dancing, and eating great food and tasting delicious blends of tropical drinks, like acai and guarana, is just paradise. And then being able to explore the coast and surf is a dream as well, not to mention the fact that we got a cyclone swell while we were there, which is literally unheard of in Brasil. It was the first cyclone they have ever had. Brasil was everything, and much, much more than I had ever anticipated. I am definitely going back.

So now I have flown back to Pichelemu, which is on the Pacific Coast of Chile, where we as a team spent a night during our drive down through South America. Adam and I caught great waves that time, so I was hoping that when I returned, I would get some more great waves, as the time I am returning is the beginning of the south swell season. So, as I was looking at the satellite images over the last week, I saw a large period swell moving toward the coast. So I was expecting some good surf. And now that I am here, good is an understatement. I am scoring right now! It has been double-overhead a couple of days and solid 6-8 feet the rest of the time. AND, unlike the last time we were here, there are only a few people in the water! In fact, one session I had, I was completely alone in the ocean surfing solid 8-foot waves for 300-400 yards.

I am staying in the town of Pichelemu, but actually taking a bus for 15 minutes in the morning to Punto de Lobos, where the surf is bigger and more powerful. You can rent a place in Punto de Lobos, but it is more expensive. Pichelemu is a nice town to sta, with all kinds of little restaurants and shops around town. There is a park overlooking the ocean and also a very large beach for people to enjoy. They even have a small track for small ATV's for children to enjoy on vacations. It is closed right now, but when Easter hits, the town will fill up and everything will be open with food and merchandise to sell. I even saw a man taking a llama out of his pick-up truck, getting ready for the Easter weekend. There are also men who have horses with carriages for people to ride around town, although they’re empty right now. Easter is an immense holiday and I am sure they will fill up soon for the holiday.

Being back in Chile is nice, and the surf is great. I surfed for many days and it was fantastic, but now my feet are really hurting and not healing, so I must stay out of the water and let them heal. But even as I sit on the coast and watch the waves instead of surfing them, I still have a smile on my face, chilling and relaxing amongst the beauty of the Chilean coast, while I remember all the good times I have had over the last 5 months of our epic journey. And also to wonder about the times ahead of us, as we are about to embark on the most thrilling part of our expedition yet.

Hasta Luego,

Neil

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.

The road to the Sunshine Coast. Looks long, but it's oh-so-close to Brisbane! Click here to view a map of the Sunshine Coast.

Journal and photos by Nancy Olson

I got up at 0830, packed, said goodbye to Spud, and left at 1030. I had a bowl of cereal at McDonald's and then began my 65-km ride to Noosa. I'll be veering off the Bruce Highway to ride along a stretch known as the Sunshine Coast. It'll be nice to ride on somewhat smaller roads and view the ocean for a few days.

At the top of the Sunshine Coast is Noosa Heads, and at the bottom is Mooloolaba and Caloundra. Just an hour north of Brisbane, this beautiful beach area is a favorite getaway for tourists and Brisbane residents.

It only took three hours to get to noosa, and the ride was very hilly. There was a 1.2 km, steep downhill grade into town, and I felt like I was flying as I descended the hill. I pulled into a street with coffee shops and markets and bought some fruit as it began to rain. I had a coffee at a local shop and talked to the locals about where I should stay. My days of cheap accommodations are over. Now that I'm near the city and near the tourists, prices are high. Because of the rain, I had to get a real room, and the cheapest room I could find was a pub room at the Royal Mail Hotel for $40. Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark.

Well, at least the room had a tv. I watched American Idol and an Australian reality show called "My Restaurant Rules" and then hit the sack.

Mileage: 65
Weather: Rainy/Cool
Final Location: Noosa

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.

The historic Imperial Hotel in Gympie, is more than 135 years old. Owners Gary and Georgia were kind enough to let me stay for two nights free-of-charge. This is how the Imperial looked in the late 1800's.

Journal and photos by Nancy Olson

I got up at 0830 and had my pineapple for breakfast. YUM! Soooo good.

I decided to take a rest day in Gympie, because my legs were pretty ripped up. I checked with Gary and Georgia, and they said it'd be alright.

I spent 3.5 hours on the net, broke for lunch, and then spent 7 more hours on the net. Wondering what I could possibly be doing for that long? I was writing this journal and posting other people's journals and photos. It takes a long time!

Back at the pub, I enjoyed live music and lively conversation. It turns out Gary is a pilot! I think he and my dad would get along very well. He and Georgia are new to the publican business, but the Imperial hotel that they own has been around for more than 135 years!

I hung out with Allan and Siri, who were also staying at the pub, until I was too tired and had to go to sleep. They live in Brisbane, so I hope to see them there.

Mileage: 0
Weather: Rainy/Cool
Final Location: Gympie

The Imperial Hotel as it looks today.

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.

Justin shows off his new haircut on the streets of Rio.

Journal and photo by Justin Mounts

Welcome to day 156 of the LONGITUDE Expedition—I am bald.

Well, almost bald.

After weeks of deliberation, I have decided to do something some may consider drastic: shave my head. Now, I didn’t go all the way to skin, simply because I have one more week in Brazil, and I hope to get at least another day or two at the beach. Plus, I think if I shave my head, I would quite possibly be the most frightening gringo these Brazilians have ever laid their eyes on, and I wouldn’t want to subject them to that type of fear after they’ve been so nice to me.

Many of you are probably asking, “Justin, why on earth would you shave your head?” And you know, that would be a very good question. I’m not sure if I have a very good answer. But I’ll try.

Here’s the public relations answer:

Before I left on this nine-month expedition, I conducted a simple survey among my friends and family. The choices in this survey were very simple: should I grow my hair out the entire length of the expedition, or should I shave my head? The reaction to this survey was overwhelming, and the responses received made for a very close race in this matter of utmost importance. But in the end, I had to support the decision that was made by the people. It was decided that I would grow my hair out the entire nine months of the expedition.

Flash forward forty-six days, 8 hours, and some-odd minutes. I was sitting down in a barber chair in a strip mall in Panama City requesting a haircut in broken Spanish. I hated to let all the people back home down, but I could not stand to let my hair grow out one more day. The truth be told, I really did want to grow my hair out the entire length of my travels, but due to high temperatures and even higher humidity levels, combined with the need to look presentable for various speaking engagements along the way, I decided I had to get a haircut.

When the stylist was finished, I decided my hair looked better before I sat down.

Come forward with me another 110 days and another two time zones, and you will see me sitting down in a barber chair very similar to the one in Panama City; however, this time, the instructions are given in Portuguese instead of Spanish, and fortunately, they were much simpler. “Shave it off, por favor.”

I had decided that since I had failed those of you who voted for me to grow my hair out, I would give the other group their chance as well. I thought this way everyone comes out a winner.

Additionally, the team will be camping a lot more in Australia, which means I’m not going to be showering as much. Plus, it will be hot in the Outback and very humid in Southeast Asia. Hot equals sweaty, and humid equals gringo-fro. Not good for public appearances. Once again, I must do everything I can to represent the organization properly.

Are you buying all this? Okay, here’s the real answer:

Someone asked me to do it, and I said, “What the heck?”

So, I hope you enjoy the picture of my new dome. It doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would (now that it’s growing back in), and it’s definitely better than my experience with the Panamanian coiffeur. Besides, I think I’ll fit in better with the monks in Tibet this way. Maybe I can get a special on one of those robes…

Until next time, I wish you all well from the far side of the world.

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.

Roadside fruitstands like this one, called "fruit stalls", dot the highway all up and down the East Coast. Here, I experienced the BEST PINEAPPLE EVER!

Journal and photos by Nancy Olson

I left the Red Roo Hotel at 0830 and totally forgot to take a picture of it, darnit! It took me 15 minutes of fast pedalling to get out of town. As I entered the Bruce Highway, I saw a sign that said "Gympie: 82 km." No problem. I was looking forward to Gympie, because Flame (the Rock Star/bar maid from Rockhampton) gave me the name of a pub in town that her friends own, and I was excited to meet them.

There was a lot of road construction just south of Maryborough, and there was no shoulder for most of my ride. At about 0945, I stopped at a pineapple plantation fruit stand and, for $2.00, had the best, sweetest, most incredible pineapple of my entire life. It was like candy. I bought another one for the road.

The ride was a breeze, and I arrived in Gympie at about 1330. I stopped at McDonalds, as per my standard operating procedures, and had a cheeseburger and Coke. They gave me directions to Mary street and the Imperial Hotel, where Flame told me to ask for Gary or Georgia and to tell them Flame sent me. There was an enormous and excruciatingly steep hill leading to Mary Street, and I just barely made it up the thing with my trailer in tow.

At the Imperial, Gary hooked me up with a free pub room, and I was psyched to see that it was the best pub room of the trip. The bed was a queen and super-comfy.

I showered and changed and found an internet cafe. The guy there gave me 30 minutes for free! I decided to take a break, so I did some window shopping and then returned to the pub for some reading and rest.

Downstairs, I had a nice conversation with Spud, who works at the Imperial. During that conversation, some drunk idiot sat next to me and interrupted our conversation. He started talking about how he hates George Bush and a bunch of other politicians, so I treated him poorly until he finally left. Spud and I talked a bit more, and then I went up to my comfortable bed for a wonderful night's sleep.

Mileage: 85
Weather: Sunny/Cooler
Final Location: Gympie

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.

I am a wuss

I've done it. I am officially a travel wussy. Out of pure laziness I guess, I went and bought a package tour. I think it was just because I couldn't be bothered to take the 25-minute bus ride to the bus station to buy a ticket to Lençois, home of Chapada Diamanta, a huge national park. Anyway, I was at the travel agent buying my ticket back to Rio, and discussing what I might do for the rest of my time up here in Salvador, and he sold me on a three-day package with tours in the park, bus fare, and hotels. He also pointed to a few people my age in the agency and said that they were going on the tour too, dispelling my thoughts of spending three days with old farts.

This kind of goes against everything I stand for, but hey, what the heck, you only live once, and a twenty-five minute bus ride is a pain in the butt. It was cheap, anyway. The park is supposed to be amazing, so I'm looking foward to getting some great pictures.

So, that solved my dilemma of what I was going to do with myself. I leave in two hours, and I'll be there for 5 days. Then it's back to Rio and onto Oz.

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.

Ok, so, I didn't get a picture for this day. So here's what my new Sexie Coffee mug looks like.

Journal and photos by Nancy Olson

I was up at 0800 and out by 1000.

The ride was good, but there was no shoulder, and that makes me a little nervous. I stopped at a place called Sexie Coffie about 13 km from Maryborough, because I was in the mood for good coffee and a good way to waste some time. I was feeling happy and lazy. It was a good decision, as it turns out, because the coffee was excellent, and I will definitely bring the team here on our journey north.

I arrived in Maryborough by 1330 and found a nice pub to stay in. I was just really craving a pub room after spending a week in my tent. Max at the Red Roo Hotel hooked me up with a big room for all my gear. I'm the first Marine Max has ever met. That means I had to be on my best, most impressive behavior.

It was still early in the day by the time I moved in and had a shower, so I went out to peruse the nearby mall and drop of my film. There's an Internet place at the local cinema, so I spent two hours there and then did some more perusing at the mall after picking up my photos.

I also decided to see a movie: 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. I was pretty disappointed. Their other collaboration, The Wedding Singer, was so much better.

I went back to the Red Roo and was asleep by 2300.

Mileage: 60
Weather: Sunny/Hot/Nice
Final Location: Maryborough

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.