April 12, 2014 7:00pm

Today I biked 80k to the town of Nambucca Heads. On the way I passed the Coffs Harbour legendary “big banana” and so I stopped for the obligatory photo. When in Nambucca Heads I met a Spanish couple who were biking from Sydney to Brisbane. They are riding aluminum mountain bikes with bright red and yellow Ortlieb panniers. They headed for the park to try to free camp. I had not had a shower in three days so I opted for a caravan park at $20 per night. The camp surprisingly is free of mosquitoes probably due to the cool ocean breeze but it is well worth the price to not have to deal with those flying pests for one night. The showers are clean and there is plenty of hot water which has become a luxury item to me. Earlier today I stopped at the McDonalds in Coffs Harbour and emailed William. I found a camping store in a town called Urunga and bought a small combination billy for cooking chili or pasta. I gave the huge stock pot that I had purchased upon arrival in Australia to the clerk at the camping store. “make yourself a chicken soup”, I said.                                                                  This swap of hardware has given be about half a rear pannier of new space plus saved a pound of weight. The new cook set is made in Thailand by Zebra and is all stainless steel. It is a quality product which should last for years. I tried it out tonight by heating up a can of extra hot chili with habanero peppers. The bike camping is a continuous learning experience. I am constantly refining my outfit to optimize weight, bulk and usability. For example, the cheap Chinese hammock I purchased and laced up with 1000 lb dynaglide whoopie slings and light weight tree straps has proved to be a very useful tool at under one pound total weight. It packs away in a space the size of a grapefruit.  Well, I’m ready to hit the sack. It has been an eventful day and a comfortable evening.