It’s Day 4 and we have arrived in the Northern Rivers, waking up this morning in Lismore. So far we’ve ridden over 720kms from Tamworth to Tingha, Tenterfield, Tabulam, Casino and Lismore.
Many Dashers woke Monday morning to be greeted by The Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP who had unexpectedly chosen the same hotel in Tenterfield to stay at. Mr Joyce was there filming a segment for Sunrise, with a few Dashers in the background for fun. He then came and joined us for breakfast at Sir Henry Parkes Memorial Public School, with 210 students.
We are always very well taken care of when we eat at schools and Sir Henry Parkes Memorial Public School was no exception. There to grant some garden classroom seating we had a lot of fun blowing up balloons with the kids.
For lunch we stopped at the tiny Tabulam Public School which has just 42 students, where we granted 7 new laptops. It was a hot day but the kids had a wonderful time with the bubble machine on bike 46.
The roads between Tenterfield and Tabulam proved an interesting challenge to the riders, with a few rocky hills to challenge the postie bikes might. Tabulam to Casino, however, was a scenic ride through trees though it was clear this area had been badly affected by recent fires.
Travelling with us is the ever-popular Postman Pat. The kids love seeing his bike, posting letters (which Postman Pat gives to kids in hospital in Newcastle) and singing his song. It is always adorable to see kids stand up and sing for the Dashers (and the Dashers always so generously cheer and sing along even though we hear the song quite a few times across the six-days).
Day 3 saw us wake up in Casino and breakfast at the Casino Public School, which has just over 700 kids, and made some of the best bacon & egg rolls we’ve tasted. It was wonderful to grant this school some much-needed play equipment. From there we headed through some fabulous, windy roads to Lismore where we stopped to watch the Melbourne Cup (a Postie Dash tradition).
Whenever we stop at a school its a great way to stretch your legs and show the kids a real postie bike – let’s be honest motorbikes are cool and it’s pretty special that your teacher lets you miss class to come and see the riders.
From Lismore we head to Glen Innes, via Coutts Crossing.
