BIG TED’S BEAR FOOT RIDE
SOUTH African tourist Adeena Gerding’s trip up Australia’s east coast is about as far from “glamping or flashpacking” as you can get.
The 30- year- old is riding barefoot from Sydney to Cairns with giant bear Teddy Teddison and has been in Townsville since Friday.
She is raising funds for the Bike 4 Life, a charity dedicated to supporting marginalised and neglected individuals and communities by providing recycled bicycles.
It is a long and lonely ride – almost 2500km in total – but Teddy is the ultimate travelling partner.
“He doesn’t eat much, or talk much, and he weighs just 2kg,” Ms Gerding said.
“And he is a good talking point when I meet grey nomads and backpackers along the way.”
Ms Gerding was given Teddy as a joke when she travelled to Australia a few years ago. She said her friends wanted to give her an “inconvenient present” to take on her many trips. Since then, Teddy has been to 30 countries. Follow her journey at barefootedgypsy. blogspot. com. au or donate on Bikes 4 Life website.