we're in hippy country now. n it's awesum. you bee totly jealus

Got a bit of extra time so I'll update some more bits and pieces...

We're staying at Winter's Flat Primary School in Castlemaine at the moment. It's a really nice little school with a really awesome community feel about it. I got a really good feeling from when we very first arrived (well, after the information centre which served [as I've discovered is typical] a usual blend of disinterest and patronising, but hey, if you're after a cheesy postcard and a map...)

I think this may be the town where hippies come to breed. Seen lotsa tattooed parents walking round with trailing children in multicoloured toweling pants, had someone ask me what brand my panniers are and have had a few people just approach us and ask us what we're doing – general, open friendliness in an everyday way. Also free interwebs at the (very populated) library, which had a bunch of bikes out the front. Annnd easily found a spunky little organic, fair trade cafe with lots of vegan options. Way to find the way to my heart :)

Then this school! When we got here, the kids were doing bike riding lessons, and they have a giant chess set, and had a kid speak over the PA about the chess club (mini indication of empowerment!) And when we performed yesterday, for our second primary school presentation (years 4-6), they were really engaged, had heaps of answers and suggestions in the “any ideas for ways to save water?” section, and a bunch of them even put up there hands to answer at the end when Kate (Julia) asks our rhetorical question “if you could be the change you wanted to see in the world, what would you do?” Squee! They also have a community class here, which is multi-aged (I'm sure there's a better way of saying that), and has a curriculum worked out by the parents, who also help do some of the teaching I think. Still haven't clarified exactly how it works but it sounds really interesting. This place and these kids make me want to be a teacher! It's nicer performing to younger kids because they don't have the “too cool to give a shit about the world” attitude that year nines and up tend to have, though some of the stats are lost on them, and it has been really awesome performing to older kids too, especially those that you can really see it getting through to.

Needless to say, I'm feeling quite wholesome. Not super buff, no, but feeling fitter and more able – 30km sounds like nothing to us now and our second last ride of 17km is going to be breezy. Saskia's generally been behaving. No flat tyres yet, cushy seat still doing it's thing. The mud guards are kind of annoying me, and the kick stand is shitting me to tears (nice imagery innit?) because it keeps coming loose and letting her fall over, but I'm still very much feeling the bike love and would love to have future adventures with her. There's already some scheming going on with some of the crew planning on doing a cycle tour of Tassie combined with WWOOFing (Willing Workers On Organic Farms work – what I'm planing on doing after I get back to Smelbs), which sounds quite appealing. So the fact I'm even considering something like that is a good indication of the bike touring experience I guess!

A highlight recently was seeing a sign saying “You have been guerilla gardened” at the Ararat Community College! Turns out their science teacher had read about guerilla gardening in a Science Teachers journal (?!!), talked to the kids about it, who got captured by it, so they came in at night time as a class and gardened an abandoned part of garden in the centre of the school! So random and awesome!

Another highlight was getting out to an Aboriginal Rock Art site on our day off in Stawell. The site's called Bunjil's Cave and is a painting of the creation spirit for that area and much of (now) Victoria. It was very cool to get to see some ancient rock art. I've been really keen on getting up to the Burrup Peninsula to see the art up there that Woodside is busy destroying, so it was awesome to get to see some while travelling. The art hasn't been dated, or at least they don't say the age in any of the information – I have the impression that it probaly has been dated but the local mob didn't want to put a superficial Western time scale date on it. It was cool to be able to relate to why they'd chosen it as a significant site though, however old it is. The area had these amazing boulders everywhere and looks out over a valley. Definitely made up for the 4km along a corrugated dirt track to get there!

I should also give an update on Anna, I felt bad that I had to quickly brush over that! So the lovely Anna fell off her bike a few days ago 10km into our 90km ride. She fell onto her face and has a lot of bruising and had to get taken to the hospital in an ambulance, but the bone isn't fractured afterall, and the only lasting damage is a chipped tooth. Unfortunately she's gone home to Adelaide to recover though, so we're all just really hoping we get to see her again before or at the end of the tour.

Hmm, so what's been crappy..should porbably mention that in case people are worried the cyncic has left me...Well, riding along highways is awesome in many ways, but crappy in the sense that you have to breathe shite loads of car fumes when they pass. There's also the sheep trucks which never cease to depress me, and all the litter in some areas. I can't believe the sort of litter either, I have no idea how some of it get's there. The road kill is a pretty persistent horrible aspect too, because you really see weverything up close. Brings on thecar hate. It's been crazy seeing how dry the landis too, the drought over here is pretty intense. But then again, the general population also has a much better drought consciousness, far more than i've noticed in Perth. Other than that stuff, it's all good. Only I've been eating too much, but hey, whose fault is that? :p Have been missing people a bit lately, not intensely, and I wouldn't want to be anywehere else, but it would also be nice to be in Perth for a night and see some of y'all. Felt strange to not be at Casey's 21st the other night, and knowing I'll miss a bunch of 21sts this year is a bit sad.

Ok time run out again, so will sign out, but here's a picture of us swimming in Hall's Gap. In retrospect it look's like we're naked, but we're not. There was a skinny dip plan later but it got too cold :p