Diary

Episode one

Motorcyclist Steve Crombie begins his 7000km bone-breaking adventure along the length of Australia’s toughest mountains – The Great Dividing Range. After launching by helicopter from the top of Mt Sterling into the heart of Victorian High country Steve comes face to face with Charlie Lovick and his family of 5th generation high country graziers who take him on a cattle run. From here he rides to the top of Australia’s highest mountain to share an experience with the Indigenous Ice People who control Australia’s weather before cascading down the side on a downhill mountain bike with the world junior downhill champion. From here Steve tears across Kosciusko National Park and the heart of Sydney’s famous Blue Mountains where he drops through a massive sandstone slot canyon and straight off a 30 metre cascading waterfall..

Episode Two

Motorcyclist Steve Crombie continues his 7000km bone-breaking adventure along the length of Australia’s toughest mountains – The Great Dividing Range. Steve’s making his way through the sandstone canyons of the Blue Mountains and hitches a ride on the ‘Zig Zag’ railway, one of Australia’s oldest steam trains. Considered an engineering marvel of the Victorian era, the train zig zags its way through some of the steepest and toughest landscapes in the country. Steve heads deep into the bush to search out the elusive Thrasher, an ex bikie and mountain recluse who dropped out of society to live in his own three thousand acre kingdom. Thrasher teaches Steve some of the skills needed to survive on his own in the middle of nowhere. Heading north once again Steve drops in to the town of Tenterfield. Long before white settlement of Australia this area was a spiritual and ceremonial ground for the Bungelung people. Steve is escorted by aboriginal elders to a sacred site called Wooloo Woolooni. The Bungelung people believe this area is charged with a spiritual energy and perform an ancient ceremony to introduce Steve to the spirits of their ancestors. Steve reaches the northern end of New South Wales near the border with Queensland. The landscape here changes dramatically to rich volcanic soils and lush tropical vegetation. This remarkably fertile countryside has attracted Australia’s alternative life-stylers to make a home in these hills. Steve visits the town of Nimbin, a place with a reputation for housing hundreds of work shy dope-smoking hippies. He discovers that behind the bloodshot eyes and peace signs the town is home to a vibrant community of eco warriors. Steve gets to ride a solar powered motorcycle, eat vegetables that have been fertilised with human faeces and spend the night in an old school hippy commune. Steve tops off his trip to Nimbin by appearing on local radio show The Naked Truth.

Episode Three

home to some of the countries toughest cowboys. Steve hooks up with Troy Dunn, Australia’s most accomplished bull rider. Around ten years ago Troy took out the world championships in America but these days he teaches young up and coming bull riders how to be world class. Steve hangs on for dear life as Troy puts him through the paces in a bruising crash course in championship bull riding. Another six hundred kilometres of motorcycling sees Steve arrive at Undara National Park in North Queensland. He’s here to meet up with David Hudson of the Iruman people, the original indigenous inhabitants of this land. David shows Steve how to harvest a didgeridoo from a tree that’s been hollowed out by termites. They decorate the instrument with natural ochres found in the bush. As night falls David takes Steve to witness a bizarre ritual being played out in the volcanic caves that lie beneath the Undara National park. Each evening thousands of bats exit the caves in a flurry of flapping wings and high pitched squeals. At the entrance to the cave dozens of eastern brown snakes hang from the trees trying to snare the bats as they fly into the night.

Episode Four

Steve Crombie continues his journey along the length of Australia’s toughest mountains… the Great Dividing Range. For the last month Steve has been racing the clock to reach far North Queensland before the wet season kicks in, and already the rivers are swollen and difficult to cross by motorcycle. Steve visits the coastal town of Mossman near the southern end of the Daintree rainforest, the traditional homelands of the Kuku Yalangi people. He hooks up with the Walker family who are descendants of the first aboriginal inhabitants of this area. The Walkers still hunt the local beach regularly and they show Steve how to catch enough mud crabs to feed a large family. Heading north to Helenvale, Steve passes through the Daintree Rainforest. This is the only place on earth where two world heritage areas exist side by side as the Daintree tumbles down to the ocean and meets the Great Barrier Reef. This part of far north Queensland is teaming with wildlife and not all of it is friendly. In Helenvale Steve meets up with ‘Jim the Snakeman’, the local pest control guy in an area that’s home to some of the world’s deadliest snakes. Jim travels around Queensland removing threatening snakes from homes and farms. Steve joins him on his daily rounds and comes face to face with a nine foot python that doesn’t want to be moved. Over the past month Steve has met so many people that have chosen these mountains as their home so it only seems fitting that he ends his journey in a place that marks some of the earliest human footsteps on the Great Divide. He arrives in the town of Laura, on the traditional homelands of the Kuku Thaypan people. For thousands of years these people have been using the Great Divide as shelter during the rainy season. Aboriginal elder Johnny Ross escorts Steve high into the mountains to a sacred rock art site called Quinken.