Gear
So here is a list of some of the stuff we are carrying. Hopefully this will answer the question - what the heck is in all those bags!
SOLAR PANELS
Brunton Solaris 26 watt solar panel and battery - we use this to charge our electrical equipment (phones, cameras, hair driers etc) and also in a demonstration in our school shows. When we get further north the panels will be our only source of electricity for weeks at a time.
The solar panel and battery system is great because the output is a 12 volt socket the same as a regular car cigarette lighter. That means that anything you can plug into the 12 volt jack in your car (phone, computer, kettle, fan, etc etc) you can just plug directly into the solar panel, or into the battery.
BACKPACKS
Backpacks? I thought this was a bike trip? Well, yes, but as great
as bikes are, there are just some places they wont take you - and that's
the way we like it. Danene and Chris both love hiking and often spend
their weekends doing side trips off their bikes. Chris recently spent
four days on Hinchinbrook Island and put his new White
Mountain "Main Peak 65 SHS" backpack to the test. Here is what he reckons:
The Main Peak is a great, simple backpack. Probably the most
important thing for me is the harness system. The shoulder straps are
nice and wide, everything is pretty easy to adjust and the waist straps
are really nicely padded. The frame of the pack is held rigid with two
light-weight, aluminium supports. Apparently these can be bent and
shaped to your back. Although I couldn't really figure out how to do
this, the pack fit my back fine anyway. The manufacturers recommend
that if possible, you get their packs professionally fitted at their
shop in Melbourne.
Features that you don't find on other packs include the great pocket
on the front of the pack for all that stuff that doesn't quite fit in
the top, but you don't want to put in the main section either - stuff
like cameras, map and compass, trail mix and muesli bars and all that
other random stuff. There are also side pouches for water bottles which
can easily be reached without taking the pack off. The zips are solid
and the material is durable.
I've hiked with many different packs and this is one of my
favourites, mainly because it is so simple - no gimmicks, just good,
solid, practical design.
White Mountain "Main Peak 65 SHS"on Hinchinbrook Island
Danene's thoughts: My previous backpack was an off-the-shelf generic brand bought in a moment of haste and with little thought for being fitted up properly. What a huge difference it now makes to have a harness system that conforms to the movements of my body!
The Alpine 65 EYS is a lightweight hike pack with a heap of space. Not as heavy as the Main Peak, the Alpine still has durability, space and comfort. As a keen amateur photographer, I've often been frustrated by the lack
of bags on the market that allow easy access to bulky camera equipment. The spacious side pockets on the Alpine have been an answer to my woes, and I often store camera and lens in one, and water bottle in the other.
The harness is system is one of the most comfortable I've worn, with padding in all the right places. I'm yet to do any overnight hiking with the pack, but the long days hikes around Alligator Creek, Murray Falls and Mission Beach have yet to result in sore shoulders. Best of all - the obvious craftsmanship and attention to detail that has gone into the pack's construction. I wonder if the ultra-durable material on the bottom was designed for hikers like me who heavily swing their packs to the ground after a decent day's walk?
FOOD
Before we began our trip, we dehydrated a large amount of food including fruit, vegetables, eggs, and complete meals such as daal and vegetarian bolognaise sauce. This food, as well as rice, cous cous, pasta etc will be mailed out to us a various points along the trip once we pass Cooktown.
We have also purchased some commercial dehydrated meals from a company called Chefsway which operates from Tasmania. Chris has used Chefsway meals on other trips and thinks they taste great. The portion sizes are massive so you can usually get away with one meal between two people if you supplement it with a bit of soup or something.
Chefsway Ph: (03) 6273 6940
BIKES
A trip like this required some careful thinking about what sort of
bikes to use. After considering mountain bikes with suspension, we
ended up choosing 'touring' bikes. These are essentially beefy road
bikes with mountain bike components, but they don't have suspension.
The advantage is that less can go wrong. The disadvantage is
that we will feel every single bump between here and the top of the
Cape. We'll see how we feel about this decision when we hit the dirt.
Chris and Danene are both riding with Extrawheel bicycle trailers.
The trailers attach to our rear wheel axle and consist of a single
wheel covered with a rigid frame. Two mesh slings hang from the trailer
frame. Large water-proof bags (or anything, really) can be suspended in
the slings.
Danene also purchased new pannier bags for the trip, and after much investigation settled on a Canadian brand - Arkel. The rear XM-45s have a huge amount of space and with a fully lined interior they've held up to the wet weather reasonable well. The front XM-28s are also spacious. Both types of bags have extra pockets to store items for easy access. The mounting system is also super-strong and super-easy. Check out www.arkel-od.com
OTHER STUFF
Tents, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, camping stove, pot, frying pan, eating utensils, ukulele, cameras, books, binoculars, clothes, football, phones...
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