Two Wheels Down Under: My Quest to Find Australia and myself

By SHAOJIA ZHANG

All lives have challenges, and in that respect, I am no different. I was a restless boy, growing up as an only child in China under the infamous “one-child” policy aimed at restricting population numbers. I grew up in a country which shunned and denounced religion and spirituality, despite producing one of the greatest spiritual masters, Confucius. At home I lived with an angry family who seemed to be always arguing. No doubt they were also stifled by the restrictions of living under a totalitarian regime that demanded total obedience. So I left my homeland, studied nursing in Australia and became a professional carer. Yet my restless spirit pulled me to explore my soul and to find the deep quiet of spiritual knowing.

I have heard that Native American boys go on a Vision Quest and live alone in the bush for long periods of time. I have heard the Buddhist boys likewise sit in the lotus position outside the Temple for days asking for admittance. My journey was to seek solitude on top of a two-wheel bicycle on a long and often arduous journey that would test my heart and soul as I peddled around Australia.

Like all those boys, from the beginning of time, I sought love and the spirit of destiny. This is my story of adventures, the wonderful people who I met along the way, and the journey that changed me forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sacred Tree Publications, Queensland, Australia
• Release date: Mar 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9789692892711

Book preview

Two Wheels Down Under

My Quest To Find Australia - and Myself

By Shaojia Fisher Zhang

sacredtreebw1butterfly1

This book uses Australian English spelling with reference to the Australian Macquarie Dictionary.

Please excuse any differences between our spelling and yours!

https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/

bottomlogo

Two Wheels Down Under

My Quest To Find Australia - and Myself

By Shaojia Fisher Zhang

sacredtreebw1

First printed in 2023

Two Wheels Down Under

My Quest To Find Australia - and Myself

By Shaojia Zhang

First published in 2023, Queensland, Australia

Shaojia Zhang © Copyright, 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or ten percent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by an educational institution for its educational purposes, provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the act.

Set in 11 pt Arial by Sacred Tree Books,

sacredtreebw_lil1 Sacred Tree Publications, Queensland, Australia, 2023 - Email: [e-mail]

ISBN: 978-9-69-289272-8

Cover and Interior Design by Lesley Crossingham

Printed in Canberra, At Prinstant

Two Wheels Down Under

My Quest To Find Australia - and Myself

Table of Contents:

Preface

Tribute

Dedications

Introduction – Page 12

The Beginning - Page 16

THE LAND OF FREEDOM DOWN UNDER

Chapter 1 – Page 19

MY GREAT ADVENTURE BEGINS

Chapter 2 - Page 38

VENTURING NORTH INTO QUEENSLAND

Chapter 3 – Page 62

DEEP IN THE FAR NORTH -

THINGS GET INTERESTING

Chapter 4 – Page 97

AT LAST, THE REAL AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK

Chapter 5 – Page 122

FROM DARWIN TO BROOME,

VIA THE KIMBERLEY

Chapter 6 – Page 139

THE LONG LONELY RIDE ALONG

THE WEST COAST

Chapter 7 – Page 148

THE ENDLESS COUNTRY ROADS OF

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Chapter 8 – Page 169

ACROSS THE VAST NULLARBOR

Chapter 9 – Page 179

A WELL-EARNED LITTLE HOLIDAY

Chapter 10 – Page 188

LONG, COLD DAYS IN THE RAIN

Chapter 11 – Page 196

INTO THE FINAL STAGE

Chapter 12 – Page 207

THE LONG GOODBYE

AFTERWORD – Page 212

sacredtreebw1

PREFACE:

All lives have challenges, and in that respect, I am no different. I was a restless boy, growing up as an only child in China under the infamous one-child policy aimed at restricting population numbers. I grew up in a country which shunned and denounced religion and spirituality, despite producing one of the greatest spiritual masters, Confucius. At home I lived with an angry family who seemed to be always arguing. No doubt they were also stifled by the restrictions of living under a totalitarian regime that demanded total obedience. So I left my homeland, studied nursing in Australia and became a professional carer. Yet my restless spirit pulled me to explore my soul and to find the deep quiet of spiritual knowing.

I have heard that Native American boys go on a Vision Quest and live alone in the bush for long periods of time. I have heard the Buddhist boys likewise sit in the lotus position outside the Temple for days asking for admittance. My journey was to seek solitude on top of a two-wheel bicycle on a long and often arduous journey that would test my heart and soul as I peddled around Australia.

Like all those boys, from the beginning of time, I sought love and the spirit of destiny. This is my story of adventures, the wonderful people who I met along the way, and the journey that changed me forever.

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to the following people:

To Doris who was like a grandmother to me. Sadly, she had passed away by the time I reached her town. May her soul rest with God.

To my four late grandparents from humble backgrounds who lived such humble lives.

To my beloved mother who loves me so dearly and selflessly, who is proud of my growth and continued success. She imprinted on me her hard working ways, her strength and dedication to family. All the struggle and hardship we endured together during my childhood and adolescence are treasures stored in the cells of my body.

To my father who unknowingly dug countless ditches for me to fall into and climb out of again. Without him, I wouldn’t have such a deep ache and fire in my soul to search for who I am and where I belong. Desperation is a powerful motivator and forgiveness is an important quest.

To the millions of lonely, only children who share a similar fate to mine and especially to those afflicted by depression and other mental struggles. I feel for you and I say to you seek yourself and you shall find.

To all seekers of Truth and finally, most important of all, I dedicate this book to God, divine oneness, creator of all worlds who set my life tasks and blessed me with countless help in order to strive for truth, love and enlightenment.

TRIBUTE

My gratitude goes out to 'Aunty' Maria Polmeer who very quietly and patiently laid the ground-work with me to form the early manuscript of the book for more than a year. She started by interviewing me about my family history, early life stories and my Australia-wide trip by gently drawing out my life-story and tirelessly smoothing out my wrinkled English. I felt this book blossom within me and I intuitively knew it would be good purification of my spirit because writing is cathartic. Without her diligent help, this book might not have happened. Her work to help me build the foundation of this book will long be remembered and embraced. Thank you Aunty!

Nathan’s and his lovely family were my point of contact throughout my trip and they actively encouraged me to embrace this challenge. They gave me a helpful need kick start to get me going and much needed support.

Margaret and John Phillipson who showed their love and warmth as genuine believers of Christ.

Barbara and Andrew who warmly welcomed, sheltered, fed me and shared a great life story with me.

Chris the detective who shed light on the road conditions and warned me about potential dangers.

Eva and Warren who hosted me for two nights, fed me with wonderful food, helped me purchase a Profile Century Bar that made a huge difference in my riding-a game decider. Without it, I wouldn’t have made numerous rides over 200kms.

Sue and Ashley who rescued me and my push bike from crocodile infested river, and turned my desperation back into a viewing my trip as the wonderful adventure it turned out to be.

Helena and the Cooktown Christian Group invited me to join them for Bible studies and prayers and then helped me get connected.

To the wonderful Cooktown Dutch gentleman who suggested I should have a Tarpaulin to use in the colder climate and whose contribution helped me bear the harsh winter camping conditions.

Todd who invited me for a cup of tea and good chat. May he rest in peace.

Ben in Atherton who kindly pointed out the right direction for me.

Dutch gentleman who suggested I should write down my adventures during my long journey.

Ben in Camooweal who kindly provided me a free camping spot and shared his life stories with me.

Gary in Dunmarra who provided me with free drinks and shared life stories with me.

Barry and his crew at the Pink Panther Roadhouse with whom I spent great time with.

Coco the owner of Coco’s in Katherine who shared his life stories with me.

Des, who shared his tasty curry fish with me. He is homeless, but his sharing and kindness are not.

Rafaella, Eugene and Karin who shared an important part of journey with me.

Oliver Peyre- a crazy French cyclist who inspired me to achieve my personal record.

Karmen and Brian who hosted me during my little holiday and shared their life stories with me. They made me lots of very nice coffee and meals.

Nanna Nina whose warmth, kind and trusting heart added a very nice surprise to my journey.

Peter and Judith’s family and their wonderful tasty cooking, offered kindness to a stranger like me.

Geoff and Yuan who let me sleep in their beautiful train cottage.

Steph and Sean who provided me a room and hot shower on a very cold night.

Countless kind and thoughtful strangers who helped me during my trip. I felt your kindness deep in my heart. Your generosity will be remembered.

Countless animals and insects who accompanied my journey so I never felt lonely.

My spiritual guides and angels who protected and cared for me during the trip kept me alive.

DEDICATION and THANKS

To my two editors.

This book would not have seen the light of day if it had not been for my two editors and the inspiration of my friend and teacher, Garry Wiseman, who edited the first section of this book. Garry offered me invaluable advice and guidance on exactly how to write my story in an interesting and engaging way. I would like to honour him in this brief synopsis of the many and varied contributions he made to the field of psychic and astrological awareness.

I was introduced to Garry through a friend who had been a student of his for over ten years. I felt intrigued by the study of numerology and astrology and so completed Garry’s on-line course, Numero Easy in June 2021. I also had an astrology reading from him which was incredibly accurate. When he heard of my book from a mutual friend, he offered to edit and polish it into a publishable book. He began in late 2021 until his death in the following April. Garry’s editing skills have uplifted the spirit of the book and transformed it from we both called plain rice into a bowl of flavour-some Special Fried Rice.

Garry and I shared an interest in ancient Greek philosophy and stoicism and so our brief writing partnership seemed to be blessed from spirit. I feel equally blessed to have his many contributions in my book, which was Garry’s last project. This brief synopsis of his life’s work is my humble way of honouring a great man who will be missed.

Garry Stuart Wiseman was born on July 16th, 1949 in St Arnaud in Victoria. He passed over to the spirit world on April 2, 2022 in Noosa, Queensland. He was a world-traveller and pioneer of psychic expos in Australia and overseas. His contribution via writing, teaching and personal sessions has contributed enormously to the acceptance of astrology and tarot as a tool for spiritual growth, guidance and inner wisdom.

Garry was also a prolific writer and offered a daily column on Astrology in The Sun newspaper, where he correctly predicted that President Reagan would be shot down. The Sun newspaper folded in May 1988. He also contributed columns and articles on astrology to Womans’ Day, the Toorak Times, People Magazine and the Gold Coast Sun and Bulletin. He also broadcast a syndicated radio show called The Third Eye to 43 stations around Australia from 1982 for five years. He also formed the Australian Psychics Association with Simon Turnbull in 1992. Simon passed away in 2014. Garry also hosted a TV show on the South Pacific TV Network.

In order to fund his many world-trips and continue to offer readings, workshops and consultations, Garry entered the Tony Barber Sale of the Century quiz show in 1985 and won two BMW cars and 20 other prizes. He gave away most of the smaller prizes to family and friends and cashed in the cars in order to finance the many world travels for the years ahead.

He founded the Gold Coast School of Astrology in 1978, which later became the Pacific Astrology Academy. He published his first book: The Zodiac Factor, in 1982 in both print and audio. Garry created his beautiful Animal Reading Cards, with artist and author, Lesley Ann Crossingham in 2006. They were very successful and are still used by psychics today.

Garry is best known for pioneering Psychic Expos right across the country. In November 1989, he formed the huge Mind Body Spirit expo at Darling Harbour in Sydney with Graham Wilson. When Graham later sold the festival in 2001, Garry withdrew his involvement and retired to offer personal readings and smaller expos. Garry’s Psychic Expos visited over 70 towns right across Australia during the thirty years that he was active in this field.

He spent his remaining years in semi-retirement on the Sunshine Coast, editing various manuscripts, offering personal psychic readings, teaching astrology and numerology certificate courses. He also sent out a monthly email newsletter based on the current astrological influences in the world, along with his personal predictions about current affairs. He successfully predicted that Joe Biden would win the U.S. election in 2020. His final project was this book, which he began to edit in late 2021.

Garry will be missed, but his many contributions to the world of spiritual awareness will live on.

SPECIAL THANKS

I would also like to thank and honour Lesley Ann Crossingham who took over this book project when Garry passed away in April of 2022. Lesley was a close friend and colleague of Garry’s for over thirty years and had guided both of us in the first few weeks of the edit. Lesley attended many of Garry’s expos, including the Mind Body Spirit Expo in Darling Harbour, as a spiritual artist, author and public speaker.

Lesley has a journalism background and received her credentials in Canada, graduating in Journalism Arts. She worked for many years on Native American Indian newspapers in various parts of Canada and the United States before moving to Australia in the late 1980s, where she also worked as a journalist in a few small country newspapers. Lesley felt called to leave journalism and embrace a new pathway as a spiritual artist in the early1990s after meeting Garry at an expo in Canberra. She continued to offer freelance articles to various magazines, and still contributes to New Dawn Magazine and others today.

Lesley is also an author of over twenty books. She has written extensively about her experiences with Native American Indians, as well as offering other titles that support her work as a clairvoyant artist, astrologer, healer and counselor. She continued to contribute to various magazines as a book reviewer and reporter. Lesley formed Sacred Tree Book Services ten years ago to assist authors get their work into print. She completed the manuscript of this book and has helped enormously in getting it prepared for publication.

You can find out more about her, and receive her regular email newsletter by visiting her website: www.lesleycrossingham.com.au

sacredtreebw_lil1

INTRODUCTION

This is my story. It is a story of how I travelled on a bicycle around Australia. It began as a vague and then an overwhelming restlessness but that feeling ultimately led to a journey of inner healing. I had no idea that a simple act of buying a push-bike, as they are called in Australia, would lead to not only to an amazing travelogue of adventures, but also to an awakening of my soul and the healing of my heart.

My humble story begins in far-away China. I was born in Communist China, an only child, not because my parents wanted a small family but because it was the law. The infamous one-child policy was rolled out in 1980 by Deng Xiaoping and was strictly enforced with heavy fines for violators. The reasoning was that the population had increased to 969 million in 1980 from around 540 million in 1949. It meant most couples, like my mother and father could have only have one child, and that was me. For years authorities argued that restricting the birth-rate was a key factor in supporting the country’s economic boom.

In addition to feeling both lonely and over-protected, there were many other restrictions growing up in an authoritarian state. I had wonderful parents but there was a lot of tension, stress and anger in our family. Perhaps it was because there was a steady flow of trauma in our family history going back to my grandparents who were born in Tianjin shortly before the Japanese invasion in 1937. The Nationalist capital of Nanjing fell in mid-December 1937, and the liquidation of that city and its inhabitants became known as the Nanjing Massacre. As many as 300,000 Chinese civilians and surrendered troops were killed during the conflict. In addition, tens of thousands of women were raped on the orders of Japanese commander Matsui Iwane.

My parents were born during the time of Mao Tse Tung, who proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China at Tiananmen Square in 1949. During those times, nobody would dare to talk about the government publicly though privately everything was talked about of course. My mum’s family came from Tianjin and were considered city-working class people. My paternal Grandfather had eight older brothers who worked on the farm, but he came to the city and found work as a builder. At that time, Chairman Mao declared that the peasants should run the country, therefore education and intellectual debate was neither encouraged nor respected. Because of this policy, my mother was unable to go to school because girls were not valued. Instead she collected horse and cow manure for the farms. My family had been farmers for many generations and our farm still exists today in the Wuqing district, Tianjin. It is worked by distant relatives.

Things changed again by the time I was born in Tianjin in 1983 a few years after Mao died in 1976. This was a time when China had opened up to foreign trade and investment and implemented free-market reforms. They had also implemented the One-Child Policy which meant that family structure had changed from the old traditions of large families to just one child per couple. Perhaps the big shift in tradition was why my family were so stressed and uncertain about their future. My strongest memory of my childhood was the constant shouting and fighting in the family. There was a lot of anger around me and I was an insecure, only child with low self confidence, fear and many negative emotions. My mother fought her mother-in-law, my grandmother, who had very strong views and was inclined to make many angry demands. My father took a mistress which of course meant that he and my mother fought and shouted about that situation constantly. Although I was reasonably bright and did well in primary school, as I grew older the constant depression and tension at home meant my studies went downhill rapidly.

We lived in an authoritarian country, but there were always ribald jokes and rumours spread about what Mao was doing with his mistresses in his special train. The Cultural Revolution was over, but there were still many arrests and so many people lived in constant stress and fear. Although my father had no interest in politics, the constant tension led to heavy drinking, smoking, swearing and worse. This stress in turn meant Dad would loudly grind his teeth at night because the biggest fear of not having enough money. Because of this constant issue, I was raised to believe that I should save every penny and that life was a tough journey for everyone. We did receive government food stamps, but even with both parents working very hard six days a week, we remained poor. The old traditional funerals which were a very important part of our culture had become extremely expensive, but without these rituals people felt that they had not respected their elders. This led to more tension and more sadness as our traditional society unravelled slowly around us.

I was enveloped by a cloud of tension and so if I were to survive I felt compelled to de-sensitize myself. So I became a fat kid by taking comfort in food and packing on the weight like a protection suit. Looking back, I believe it was my way of protecting myself with extra body fat. Although I tried to switch off the tension, the heavy load of studies became too much for me as I fell into deep depression. I was only able to get into college because of my Dad’s social networks who managed to quietly pull some strings. Yet I simply did not want to study anymore because I was so exhausted from the constant tension at home, so I slacked off and had fun with my friends instead. I felt I did not fit in and this was my way of rebelling.

Of course I had fun, but over time I began to feel restless once again and a strong urge to travel awoke in my soul. The authoritarian regime of China seemed to stifle me and so I just wanted to get far, far away. Dad paid for my English language classes because he knew I wanted to go to an English speaking country. I could at last see a light at the end of the tunnel. I worked hard in this class because I could see it was my ticket out of the ever-present pressure of China. I was determined to change my life.

There is a day I will always remember. One day during class, my teacher asked all of us what our English names would be once we went overseas. This would be important, he explained, because most English-speaking people wouldn’t be able to pronounce our Chinese names. At that moment, the word ‘Fisher’ floated into my mind, and it clicked! I could immediately see a young lad thrown into the great ocean alone and far away from his homeland. He must now catch fish to survive, even though he knew nothing about fishing. He was being thrown into the deep blue sea and he had to learn to swim quickly or struggle forever.

I was a fisher – a fisher for new experiences and ultimately for freedom itself. So, as soon as I arrived in Australia, I became Fisher Zhang.

By moonlight,