So I put the picture up on Facebook the other day. “Just another day at the office”, I said. I don’t go on FB much, it’s much easier to update the blog. Anyway, it’s had more likes than any other pic I posted. How bizarre?

I got my passport stamped at the government offices of the Principality of the Hutt River. I also picked up some postage stamps for a collector friend and a sticker for the bike. (I’m planning to put the flags of all the countries I pass through on the bike).

Prince Graeme was well into his stride by this point. I was surprised at the number of cordial relations and diplomatic gifts they have in their museum. I also found out that in some crises the Hutt flag has been used to deliver humanitarian aid, because the warring factions viewed the Hutt as being totally neutral.

It seems the initial secession to protect the family had grown into something much bigger and more worthwhile. Of course, the Australian government still doesn’t formally recognise the Principality as a separate nation.

My advice? Tell them bollocks! Good on yer PL!

I called into the Principality of the Hutt River. The area is an independent nation and not part of Australia. I’d heard about it through the Royal Enfield owners club, who the late princess Shirley was the patron of. I was looking forward to meeting Prince Leonard, the eccentric nutcase who stuck two fingers up to the government for a laugh and declared independence. I was slightly disappointed.

There are no eccentric nutcases here. Instead I found Prince Leonard (PL) to be a very intelligent, well spoken 88 year old. Sharp as a tack and very much with it. I had an extended guided tour by prince Graeme, minister for state and education. Prince Graham went through the history of the Principality, which came about because of the government shafting farmers over the wheat quotas. 90% reduction of the principle income without warning and no chance of appeal. Following that, there was a land grab attempt by the same government the following year.

Secession from Australia and the formation of the Principality was the only defence. PL studied law and took the necessary action to protect his family, land and income. It was a bold move but it certainly paid off. What happened next though was far more extraordinary. More on this later. You can read a better (and no doubt more accurate) version of the history on their website.

http://www.principality-hutt-river.com

Meet Jackie and Mo. Jackie had been riding a postie bike around Australia for the past 8 months. She’s doing a figure of 8, which geographically is sideways on with Alice Springs being at the centre of the 8. (I hope that makes sense?).

Mo is the postie bike, which to date has been giving great service. I met Jackie at the Principality of the Hutt River. (More on that later!).

Jackie has her own blog here http://www.postienotes.com.au It makes an interesting read and if you look closely… I’m in it! Fame at last!

Very nice to meet you Jackie, I hope the rest of your tour goes as planned!

I spotted a disused loader of some sort in a field. I didn’t know what it was so I rode over for a closer look. I’m really starting to like the fact I can just ride anywhere, the mighty KLR650 just doesn’t seem to care.

On closer inspection I still couldn’t work out what this thing was. There seems to be a mechanism to raise something out of the ground, and there are three different hatches or chutes that can be opened to load whatever is parked underneath.

But with no other infrastructure around, I’ve no idea what would be loaded. The bottom of the shaft didn’t appear to go very deep either, so I’m at a loss. Any ideas?

There’s actually a place called Billabong! How cool is that? I wonder if this is the actual billabong that inspired Banjo Patterson to write the song?

There wasn’t much there past a roadhouse, but it was a photo opportunity I couldn’t miss! Now I can’t get the tune out of my head. Oh well…

One of the things I didn’t manage to do was cross the 45th parallel south, when I was touring New Zealand. Most of my trip will be around the 45th parallel north, so it would have been nice to do both, so to speak.

The 45 is roughly half way between the equator and the pole, with the north or south suffix indicating which pole. (I say roughly as the earth isn’t a perfect sphere). I bet you didn’t think this was going to turn into a navigation lesson did you?

Anyway, I just crossed the 26th parallel. I know this because there was a sign. I’ve no idea why it was signposted, but I’m glad it was. It’s always nice to know where you are! It’s a little sad to be leaving the north west though, I was just starting to like it!!

Unfortunately the picture doesn’t do it justice. I came across a dirt track running up the side of a big hill. It didn’t look well travelled and I was up for a challenge, so I fired on up to see if I could reach the top.

I got to the top alright. The view was amazing, looking out over some immense flood plains. I took a few pictures but there’s no perspective. It just looks like a great flat desert. I couldn’t work out what that line running across the plains is. A track? A fence?

One of those moments where you just had to be there. Luckily for me, I was!!

So I’ve ridden past the big prawn, big apple, big pineapple, big orange and big tomato. Despite this I’ve always had that nagging feeling that something was missing in my life. That’s all sorted now that I found the big banana!

It’s not even publicised as such. Come on guys, where’s your marketing department? It’s a big banana! The king of fruits!