We've finally had enough internet time to upload some photos!  Woohoo!  Check them out at : http://www.flickr.com/photos/oteshaproject_aus/

Text to Be late in the afternoon on the 15th:
"Otesha crew experiences most eventful day so far:  Anna had a big stack with BOB this morning and is in the hospital with facial injuries.  She is ok, but at this stage, might not continue the tour.  It doesn't end there, Kelsey fell off stationary bike, Libby got 2nd flat tire, resource trailer's tire blew out [to be replaced by previously worn through, gaffa taped tire...poverty!], and Meg flew ejector seat style from her bike after making contact with BOBs tire!"

A chilly 5am wake-up call was the beginning of a hugely successful day.
Our muscles, toes and fingers complained about the cold early morning ride to Ararat.  The bushfire sunrise provided little warmth despite the intensity of red.  However, we agreed it is much easier riding than the heat.
We cruised into Ararat Community College for our first presentation to the yrs 8-11 in the gym.  No time for debrief as we jumped straight into workshops for the yr 9 students.
And we're off again!  Quickly down the road to the Marian College.  The library presentation to yr 9s was full of laughter and followed by lots of questions.

Back on the bikes again after having had 3 days off at Halls Gap.  As the ride was only 30 kms to Stawell, we took off at a decent hour in the morning for once - 9:00am!
Ange's Dad met us 3/4 of the way into town on his own bike with a very sweet sign saying "Welcome Otesha!"  After picking up Meg from the busstop (she left to go to a yoga retreat for a few days) we rode to John's house in the bush for a tour of his sustainable house and perma garden.  We were greeted with a huge feast of cheese, fruit, and nuts galore and so we spent a few moments stuffing our faces with few words spoken.  Once finished, John and his wife took us on a tour at their house and proceeded to explain the details of how the built it.  We were all amazed at the hard work they had done and the body of knowledge that they acquired to build such a fantastic house.  Well done to the two of them and thank you for opening your home up to us and allowing us to make ourselves at home from the afternoon.  It was hard to leave, but we finally gathered our things and made the final trip for the day to Ange's parents house.  They greeted us with open arms and put on an amazing lasagna dinner for use with accompanying winde and dessert - plus bday cake for Pip!  We stuffed ourselves silly for the second time that day and then proceeded to make our way to our individual beds with pillows!!  Very exciting!
-Celine

We started the day with a trip to the Brambuck Cultural Centre, an education centre that provides information and tours of the Grampians National Park, and the local Indigenous culture.  The Grampians was an important meeting place for many Aboriginal Nations from the area, and we learned about the Dreamtime story of the areas creation, which is called Gariwerd by the local groups.  For many this had been the highlight so far.

 

 
The temperature dropped overnight and we woke in the hall to the sound of rain pattering on the roof.  The first precipitation for the trip! (Except the mist on the bike ride up Mt. Abrupt).  Today was a day off so some people had Melbournian visitors and the group went their seperate ways to explore the town and its surrounds.  I headed off with Candice, Be, Anna, and Pip to the "Pinnacle," a popular lookout over the valley that Halls Gap sits inside.  We thought it would be an easy 2 hour stroll, but were met with a difficult uphill trek over slippery, uneven rock surfaces, and an 11km, uphill 4 hour adventure.  The view from the top was spectacular, but our knees, ankles and thigh muscles were less than happy at the end.  We returned back to the Hall to find amazing home made pizzas, with grateful thanks to Dylan, Cassie, Celine, Tash, and Kelsey.  Another bonus was the delicious Tim-Tam birthday cake which was a birthday surprise for Candice who turned 26 today.  She was made to eat her tim-tam the 'traditional' Australian way by Kelsey, who hails from the US!  We finished off the night with some fun and very loud games and tea!
-Julia

 

 
It's a scorcher - 47degrees says the mercury at Halls Gap backpackers.  New of fires in Horsham.  A fierce wind banging against the windows.  The Otesha Crew, however, were kept pleasantly cool in their air-conditioned accomodation for day one of the mid-tour retreat.  Half way through our journey already.  We have become one big family - a traveling sustainability troup.  Our mid tour retreat started with an energetic game of buggies which saw us in fits of laughter.  After getting the heart pumping, we sat down to a reflective session focusing on the good parts of the tour so far, and the areas we want to improve in the coming weeks.  Positives of the tour so far included our positive interaction with rural communities - from getting plentiful food donations to re-invigorating local sustainability groups.  We also celebrated how well we had been working as a team and respecting one another.

What a day to write about!  With a hot day looming, we rose VERY early - slightly reluctantly from a comfy bed, but made easier by the smells of breakfast and coffee prepared by our lovely hosts.  We rode off at 5am in pitch darkness and misty rain.  We encountered the biggest hill of the trip so far at about 5:10am...that seemed to go on and on and on... this was compounded by the fact that we couldn't see when it was going to end.  As day broke we enjoyed sweet reward as we had entered the beautiful Grampians National Park (Gariwerd in Aboriginal language).  400 million year old rocky mountains loomed either side of us, glowing in the sun.   The heat was rising so we were thankful for shady trees lining the road and it was straight to the ice-cream shop when we arrived in Halls Gap.  Ginger ice-cream:  highly recommended.  Plans for hiking and exploring were postponed due to the heat.  Most people 'slothed' along the trail to the rock pools 1km out of town for some cool relief.
-Libby

Today we had a strong tail wind which made it feel like I was riding a motorbike!  I won't forget in a hurry the wonderful sensation of flying down the hills with the beautiful peaks of the Grampians coming closer and closer.  At our frist meeting stop, we were greeted by a multitude of cockatoos flying every which way in the morning sky.
We arrived in Dunkeld to find a picnic set up for us in the park with coffee with sugar, coffee with no sugar, tea, milk, home-made cakes...all with little lables.  This was just the start of the incredibly warm welcome and generosity we received from the Dunkeld community.  That evening the Lion's Club and the Uniting Church members prepared a veritable banquet for us and that evening we were hosted by several families.  As well as sleeping on soft cosy beds, we were all overwhelmed by the generosity of our hosts, one host Mum even gave her Otesha people a little bundle of pocket money wrapped up in a hanky...and this was at 4:30am as we left for Hall's Gap!
-Pip

Our accomodation in Hamilton is a gorgeous mud brick building, the Hamilton Institute or Rural Learning, built by local volunteers.  After a reasonably long and somewhat exhausting ride yesterday we enjoyed a sleep in today.  Whilst fine tuning our skit this morning we spotted some local wallabies, but are yet to meet the bandicoots that live in the reserve nearby.  Now that we have started our school visits, I think most of us are feeling energised and excited about making a positive change!  Our skit presentation went really well today as we are all becoming more confident and playing around with our characters to get it just right.
 
The consensus decision making process is both empowering and trying.  Although long meetings test the patience of many, it is amazing to see the commitment everyone shows to the group. 
Despite the flats, flies, hills, and heat waves, we are still loving it.  Still being inspired by the amazing goodwill shown to us along the way by local people.  It is great to feel a sense of community both within our cycling crew and from the hospitable souls we've met along the way.