Day One – 18/4/22 Sydney to Merimbula
It was with huge excitement and in trepidation that the Round Straya Tour took off. There was however important housekeeping to take care of……was this an officially sanctioned Fox trip or just a splitter group doing there own thing. Lucky we have a constitution that can determine these things. Constitutional expert “Singo” was asked to check the vibe to see if a tour incorporating a non member could be considered an official tour……after much consideration and a fast temporary membership signup (Rule 69.3 as amended 18/4/22) it was deemed an official tour and Kevinn (with a double n) can be considered a temporary Fox for the duration. There was still the issue of whether Keven could be trusted coz he has two first names. However I digress
Russ and Gibbo met at Heatherbrae Pies at Sallys corner, the scene of many Fox Crimes (the empty tank of petrol, the defective battery etc…no names mentioned) where we had a strategy session which lasted 10 minutes. We the hit the road through Goulburn down by Tarago and then the Kings Highway and stopped in Braidwood for Petrol. At this point Gibbo was mobbed like a pop star, not because he was one; but a group of Bikers who had a disabled BMW GS thought he could resurrect their situation. At this point Gibbo turned to Russ and said “Whatever you do don’t say Im a Rolls Royce mechanic unless I get the bike to work” . Tight lipped Russ just sat there adding no value as usual when it comes down to breakdowns, flat tyres, battery issues. Gibbo quickly regrouped and said “ Mate, this is an after market ignition system that hasn’t been attended to for a number of years so you will need to call a tow truck…..See ya”, and we were off again. Down to Batemans Bay to pick up Kevinn with a double n and then through the luscious dales of south east NSW to the seaside town of Merimbula where we had a great Wine and Tapas dinner and were in bed by 9 after an exhilarating first day.
Day 2 – 19/4/22 Merimbula to Meeniyan
As per Fox form, the instructions were wheels up at 8 am but all were assembled at 7.15. Russ had fallen for this trap at Bellingen and was already astride his bike at 7.00 knowing the drill and not to be left behind again. Breakfast was at a French bakery ably manned by a Dutch lady. Gibbo went first asking for “an egg spinach and fetta cheese tart” to which our Dutch host said “I’m sorry there is no fetta” and Gibbo responded “that’s great, I hate fetta” . Russ and Kev (with two n’s) just listened and stayed quiet.
We hit the road along with 450 caravans and campervans towards Victoria. Gibbo showing his prowess managed to overtake an overtaking semi on the inside lane….Russ refers to this as the “crazy Ivan manoeuvre” (refer Red October staring Tony Armfield). We discovered in Victoria there are many unmanned speed camera vehicles parked along the way. When this was pointed out to Russ, he hadn’t noticed any, so he was relegated to navigating from the second or third position in the pack. This was fine until Gibbo kept turning left at any opportunity (coz he was following the coast).
We stopped at Cann River where Russ was hanging for a flat white, but Kevinn has a dyi coffee service, so we had a pleasant Nescafe before hitting the road again.
We also experienced our first Kangaroo that was heading toward the road and then turned back. Gibbo credited this to his “Quad wild life signal generator” (pictures to come). Russ was less convinced but glad that Gibbo was in front.
The countryside was described by Kevinn as “green and undulating” and by Gibbo as “luscious to boggy”. After a lunch at Stratford on Avon (yes this is not a joke), Russ said the rain radar was clear and we proceeded into rain showers for the next 100kms until we arrived in the country town of Meeniyan. Funny motel owner with many cats, but pleasant enough and next to the pub which provided a great meal. The tour was deemed a success after 2 days, and we are thankful of all the input from our Sydney based Foxes on accommodation possibilities, especially after discounting Elizabeth Downs as a destination.
Day 3 – 20/4/22 Meeniyan to Apollo Bay – 317kms
How good! Walk to breakfast at the bakehouse (that doesn’t sell bread). A very pleasant breakfast. Gibbo has made a pronouncement that he has to lose wait and he believes that you can do that by eating less, (“The Epiphany”), so he has decided that we don’t need to eat lunch any more, so get that Bacon and Egg Roll into you coz there is nothing until dinner!
Another thing despite the common wisdom that there is “only one road, how hard can it be” there are actually many roads that form the network of tracks around Australia. With this dawning of the enlightenment, Russ was allowed to navigate around Phillip Island along the A440 to the M420 and then a series of C roads till we reached Mornington. The morning was misty and drizzly and Gibbo was secretly happy Russ took the pressure off him, otherwise we would be in Bass Straight!
After a coffee sesh in Mornington we took a coastal cruise around the bay and then headed up Arthurs seat (think Stelvio without the push bikes) where finally Kevinn got his money shot which he will say was the start of the trip. Russ said he could photoshop the harbour bridge. We were seriously burning daylight by this stage coz it gets dark early down here, so we went with great haste to Foxy’s Hangout for a great wine flight. How good again… we signed Gibbo up for membership so we didn’t have to pay for the tasting.
Russ called the boys to attention we had a 1pm ferry to catch. We did the ridge of the Peninsula and run down into Sorentto and straight onto the Ferry. The Norway boys were conscious of the rock and roll and stayed with the bikes with the stand down not wanting to cause a scene with 3 dropped bikes. Despite this Gibbo scrapped the Panions. (More later).
Off the ferry and down to Bells Beach where the world champions had just finished, so we pretended that we were just off the boards onto the bikes to the cleanup crews…..I think they believed me but noy Gibbo.
We then hit the Great Ocean Road proper. After the requisite photo ops at the big sign (note that we all need to check for helmet hair), Gibbo stopped on the side of the road. After a minute Russ knew what he was up to……he was creating distance between him and the car in front. Unbelievably he got 5 minutes worth, suddenly he was off and Russ and Kevinn didn’t hear from him again until he rang and said where is the motel.
It is seriously so busy down here even the Pub couldn’t fit us in for dinner, so we found a fantastic place around the corner which was soooo good. Having said that Gibbo had the Laksa so lets wait until tomorrows blog.
Day 4 – 21/4/22 Apollo Bay to Robe SA 490kms
Another early start, a brisk walk down to the bakery to indulge in coffees and croissants with all the tradies. It was only an early start because Gibbo had to take Russ to Mitre 10 when they opened to find some particular bolts that had mysteriously disappeared from his ducati braces for his top box……what could possibly go wrong. Russ was protesting that when he assembled them he couldn’t understand the Italian instructions and didn’t realise he had to tighten the bolts. The kind man at Mitre 10 gave us unfettered access to the nut and bolt area and Gibbo did his finest work. He manufactured separators with washers and super glue and found the right size bolts. He also said to Russ “This better not go on Tricount”.
Total delay time for Russ’s misdemeanour was 55 minutes. When all was rectified Gibbo also said “Now you can call me a Rolls Royce mechanic.”
On the road by 9 and a spectacular ride down the Great Ocean road. It was about 9 degrees and bracing for Kevinn and Gibbo, but Russ had his electric jacket on and was, well, toasty. First stop Gibsons steps. Russ ran down to the beach but Gibbo and Kev watched from the top, as they had to preserve their knees for less frivolous activities. Then the requisite photos were taken at the 12 apostles where we were accosted by all the people we overtook on the way to get there….how do these people recognise us?
A quick lunch at Port Fairly and a fuel stop. As usual Russ drops his bike in front of a maximum audience at the servo. Gibbo doesn’t even bother to get off his bike to help coz he has spent the last 5 minutes adjusting his leathers, and just tells the first responders, “He does this all the time…..bloody attention seeker”.
We are then off to Mount Gambier, beautiful sweeping bends……….but seriously now “We need to talk about Kevinn”. One moment he is leading and even Gibbo is struggling to keep up, the next moment he is 6kms behind. It seems he is susceptible to speed ticket panic attacks and when he realised he was still in Victoria he slams on the brakes and summons his inner Victorian who are programmed to obey!
Once into South Australia he reverted to normal. We visited the sink hole in Mount Gambier they call Blue Lake which was kind of interesting. Took some pics….tick. Then did a beautiful ride into Robe. What a great little village. Gibbo organised wine and chips outside his room and then we walked into town for a sensational dinner, but the only tables left were outside, so by desert we were a little chilly. So ordered takeaway deserts and ate them at chez Kevinn along with the desert wine we made Gibbo buy in Mornington.
Gibbo has mentioned that no one calls him Gibbo except me, so from this point on he will be known as Aandy (no typo). So it will be Russel with one “l”, Kevinn with two “n’s” and Aandy with two “a’s”.
Day 5 Robe to Mt Torrens 22/4/22– 430kms
Like a fine wine (Perhaps a Cote Rote 2018), this trip gets better with age. It was another early start, but at least we took in a promenade down the beach to the café for breakfast. Aandy had a contemplation but couldn’t articulate it to us, so we strode directly to breakfast. Robe was alive at this time in the morning, we had to fight for a table at opening!
Kevinn opened up at breakfast and told us that he was also a glider pilot. WTF, what cant this guy do. He had researched the Tiger Moth Flights out of Robe and expressed an interest to see if he could participate in a quick round the coast flight. Aandy and Russel said we were happy to forsake our wine tasting at Wirra Wirra, which we had already paid for Kevinn so tick of a bucket list item. So we proceeded to flight operations centre at Robe International, but the shed was locked. Aandy was in full empathy mode and said, “don’t worry I’ll get the good stuff when we get to McLaren Vale”.
But we still need to talk about Kevin. Clearly Kev still wanted the adrenaline buzz and he disappeared up the Princes’s Highway at mach speed. It wasn’t until we got to Kingston where we saw him again, standing in awe in front of the Big Lobster. “Seriously, this guy won the competition of the biggest things in Australia last year……I can’t believe I’m here” Kev said. Aandy and Russ thought, OK probably worth a photograph the if it means so much to Kev.
Back on the bikes we crossed the Murray River at Wellington by ferry and had a blast along the Fleurieu Way to McLaren Vale. Russ was allowed to lead this bit coz it was complicated. How good was the tasting at Wirra Wirra. Gibbo demanded the Boss tasting (Nothing under a $100 a bottle). Russ and Kev were probably just happy with the Church Block, but Aandy is bigger than us.
Too much chewing the fat, the tour had to move on, so a quick drop in at D’Arranburg for some photos at the Cube, then a one hour run to our accommodations at the Mt Torrens Hotel. What a great place. 170 years old, and the publican Angie was sensational. No TV no ensuite no heating, but what a place. Russ of course ended up with the tiny room but this was a good compromise coz originally there was only 2 rooms and after Bombala he wasn’t sharing again.
The dinner was fantastic. The fire was going and attended to by Aandy, and we were in bed by 9. Who knows what tomorrow will bring!
Day 6 A Day in the Barossa – 23/4/22
Today was a designated rest day but we still managed 210kms. There was an official start time of 8.30 for breakfast as it was our day off, but as usual Russ gets down to breakfast at 8.15 and Aandy and Kevinn had already finished and were ready to go. To slow them down while Russ had the regulation flat white and B and E roll, he suggested they do a Chicken Strip check. Aandy reported back that he was leaning toward the left more than the right; Russ suggested he had some commonality with Singo in that regard. Russ was dead centre, with equal leanings to the right and left, and Kevinn said he was going to be independent of the Chicken Strip process.
We rode to the Barossa along some great country roads, through Mount Pleasant and onto Keyneton to sample some Henschke at the cellar door. They were flat out and kindly said they would book a tasting for us at noon. Aandy then decided we should go to the farthest winery from that point in the meantime, but it was worth the 104 km round trip to get there. It was a great place with great staff. Cimicky wines for those interested. Russ decided to take a different route back to Henscke for the important noon tasting, which involved a bit of dirt and gravel. The Ducati and the Beamer ate it for breakfast but the Yamaha struggled due to the weight of the beast; and Russ got a low key lecture (coz Kevinn only does low key) on further dirt ride activity.
Aandy spent yesterday at Wirra Wirra waxing lyrical about the superb qualities of the Grenache grape and how it is experiencing a boom in Australia since it has burst out of the GSM blend, but he refused to taste one at Henscke coz “he hated Grenache”. He is seriously an enigma wrapped in a riddle.
A quick stop off at Saltram where the nice lady warned us off about any dirt riding in the Flinders, which Kevinn duly noted, and the a last stop at St Hallets. We then returned to our digs at the Mt Torrens Hotel via Williamstown had the same dinner as last night and went to bed.
Day7 24/4/22 Mt Torrens to Quorn (via Clare) 370 kms
Well there is a lot to unpack today and your scribe is tired after the day, but lets have a go.
Beautiful morning in the Adelaide Hills today as the boys readied themselves to cross the Goyder line, but before that we had to say goodbye to our hosts for the last two days at the rustic Mt Torrens Pub. Dean (John Malcovich) made us a slap up breakfast and wished us bon voyage. Aandy had to get a photo given that he was a doppelganger.
Russ lead the team back through Williamstown and on the way to Clare; Aandy was given the all clear to lead when it became clear there was only one road to Clare. Nice riding conditions and the temperature was now in the mid 20’s, the first time since we left Sydney. Arrived into Clare and regrouped for a coffee and worked out a tasting plan. This is Riesling country! So straight up to Pikes (a crowd pleaser). Russ of course took the dirt tracks to get there and got the look from Kev, but we pressed on regardless. We were looked after very well and had an extensive tasting (spittoon in regular use). After Nat had sent Aandy a text that she was looking forward to tasting all the wines that he had, he went into over drive ordering everything on the menu for shipment back to Tempe. Took a run back to Grosset, but most of their wines had sold out and it was only the dross left for the autumnal wine taster. At least we had ticked off every wine region in SA except for the Coonawarra which Aandy had been to, so was not interested.
We thought it would be an uneventful ride to Quorn…..how wrong we were. Our host at Grosset advised us to take the coast road via Port Pirie. No drama at all until an amazing weather front come in. Ominous black hole ahead with horizontal lightning, Flinders mountains to the right and the Gulf to the left. Russ had an issue with his knuckle grip and had to pull into a servo to fix it. Aandy and Kev didn’t see him peel off given they were watching the approaching Armageddon. Knowing this, Russ texted and said he would meet them in Quorn. Aandy pulled over and had to revert to analogue directions now that Russ had gone AWAL. He pulled out the map of Australia; just as he did the wind picked up. Kev says he looked like he was in the Sydney to Hobart with a sail up and Australia printed on it. Unable to pack the map and with a level of frustration rising, Andy screwed the map up and stuffed it into he top box. At this point the rain was falling hard and as big as olives. Aandy and Kev took a right turn via Wilmington and straight into a flash flood across a creek bed. Aandy was getting impatient but was examining the Winnebago’s tyres as they went through and plotted a route. Kev wasn’t keen but Aandy said “See ya” so they both made it across. Meanwhile Russ using his advanced electronics took the route of least resistance and arrived at Quorn, curious where the others were. After 40 minutes Aandy and Kev arrived with their stories of daring do. Nice town and nice accommodation.
It is a critical day today also as it has been 7 days it is also washing day. Aandy was on a mission to find a laundromat, he heard what he thought was a drying machine, walked through the door and found a family having dinner. After asking whether this was the laundromat, they said no it was a B&B, so Aandy thanked them for their indulgence and found it next door.
Off to Anzac day tomorrow!
Day 8 Anzac Day – Flinders Ranges day trip 350kms
The breakfast agreements are now toast! After agreeing that breakfast was to be at 8am, a text from Kevinn came in at 6.50am saying he was at breakfast. Again we need to talk about Kevinn. He has this thing about the one in one thousand year alignment of the planets. Apparently the moon is in the seventh house at the moment and Jupiter is aligned with mars and Venus, so he is up at 5am each morning to check it out. Russ has no interest in Aquarius (terrible song), or getting up that early.
Russ had maintenance to do . Aandy showed him how to check the oil and then top it up. Lucky Russ has brought the right formula. He then checked Russ’s tyre pressure. (Too low for intense touring). Aandy was heard to whisper “Grasshopper you have much to learn about the art of motor cycle maintenance”. Russ just Zenned out but was thankful that Aandy was on tour.
The Anzac day service was very moving and the whole town of Quorn was out for it (including I suspect a number of Boxy’s and Trudy’s relatives who dominate these parts). There were a number that arrived by horse and watched on horseback. Very cool. After our minutes silence Aandy and Russ mounted up; Kevinn had business to attend to today so said he would prepare some snacks for our return.
We rode up the Flinders along the road to Blinman. Surreal sky’s and landscape. We encountered our first emu. Aandy tried the first method of leaning on the horn, when that didn’t work he gave the poor creature the ”look” and then the finger and he scarpered. Many photo ops and then on to Blinman over some great roads for motorbike riding. We hit up the pub and ordered a pie and a ginger beer. This is where we encountered our second round of “Grey Nomads”. Russ reckons they fall into two categories; the have a chat or the have a crack. These guys were the latter and were giving us a hard time about riding in the for coming weather. “Hope you have plenty of wet weather gear..hahahahah” What does a fox say in this circumstance? So Russ just said “Good onya” ….they got the message.
Aandy lead the reverse trip at warp speed as the wind was now behind us. A quick fuel stop at Wilhelmina Pound (coz we were burning heaps) and a fantastic run back down into Quorn, where Kevinn had the cheese platter ready.
Lots of talk about the BOM severe weather warnings for tomorrow, but the boys reckon we’ve got it covered. Dinner at the same pub as last night. Strangely all the people serving us last night were customers tonight….its a country thing. Streaky Bay tomorrow
Day 9 26/4/22 Quorn to Streaky Bay via Port Lincoln. 680kms
This is the biggest day on tour so far. There was much trepidation from the triumvirate, given the dire BOM forecasts. We were all packed by 7am and then proceeded to Emily’s Café for a quick breakfast and briefing. It seems the storm cell is still to pass us. In preparation we all got into our wet weather gear. Aandy needed a bit of help to get the plastic over his leathers, so our departure was delayed by 10 minutes. In the mean time Kevinn was doing a few hail Mary’s…..Russ didn’t even know he was religious let alone a Catholic. We took off in light rain and followed the rail line into Port Augusta. Seriously if you want to see a wind farm, come here…hundreds of windmills. I have often said that windmills wreck the aesthetics of towns, but in Port Augusta’s case it enhanced it (Mind you a McDonalds sign would enhance as well). The countryside is just dessert scrub with Windmills and powerlines ☹. We were going to change out of our wets at Wyalla, but Aandy turned batteries to power and engines to speed and blew right past it. Two reasons. Firstly his wait loss regime was starting to work, now with plastic over his leather he was sweating better than a Sauna, secondly the place was dire…Steel works in the desert. You have to give it up to the people that live and work here.
We had decided to do two sides of a triangle and go via Port Lincoln as we are supposed to be going around Australia. At this point if Singo Boxy and Tony were on the trip they would have peeled off and saved themselves 300kms; but we pressed on. Passed over the Goyder line again and unbelievably the landscape changed from Mad Max to A Country Practice. Rode into Port Lincoln..what a great place. Had our pic taken with Matthew Flinders and his cat “Trip”. Took a few more pics to prove we were here, had lunch and then took to the road to Streaky Bay.
Aandy was feeling pleasantly numb after the plastic was removed and had set his cruise control to well……..the speed limit. Kevinn decided that this was his time to shine and show us what this Stay Upright stuff was about. He overtook the Gibster and lead us on a merry dance all the way to Streaky Bay.
Nice place but totally disorientating, The Bay faces north. To the uninitiated, you are at the bottom of the country so you think you are facing South; and why the hell is there a sunset in the east? Too much riding today.
Only place open is the pub. Again difficult to get the wine we wanted despite it being on the menu. We used the line…Don’t you know who we are…we know Boxy…but only got the shrug.
Nullarbor Tomorrow
Day 10 27/4/22 Streaky Bay to Border Village 590kms
Beautiful morning in Streaky Bay, but we didn’t have too much time to appreciate it as we had the Nullabor to do. A quick complementary breakfast at Boxys Hotel and then we were off. The first order of business; our readers may remember the blog from day 2 when Kevinn produced a thermos and nescafe for our coffee break………he quickly learned that Foxes don’t do DIY coffee, so the thermos has not featured since. However he opened up his pannier with the DIY equipment today to discover the milk from 8 days ago was still in there ..ergo he was now relegated downwind at the back of the pack for the morning.
So we did the run out of Streaky down the Flinders way. Other Foxes will know that The Gibster (formally known as Aandy formally known as Gibbo), likes to do a slalom around the broken white lines, which is fine except when he does it for 95kms. Russ got motion sickness following him and took the lesser of two evils by dropping back behind the curd mobile.
We met the A1 (coz there is only one road) at Ceduna (a particularly nice tidy town). The wind was crazy, blowing from the North and pushing the temperature to around 34 degrees along with some bastard flies. This causes the hot winds from the desert to mix with the cooler sea breezes and creates a mad cloud pattern. The sky was a strange indigo blue with the strato nebulous clouds creating a closed in feeling. (Spooky eh).
Another fun fact is the northerly wind was hitting the passing road trains at the perpendicular causing a clockwise vortex as you passed the front and an anticlockwise vortex when you passed the rear. Long story short it created a “wobble”. This was counteracted by crouching, legs tight around the bike, tight grip on the handlebar and clenched bum cheeks. (bloody exhausting).
The scenery was great; we dropped in at the Head of the Bight which is a Whale nursery for the Southern Right Whale. No Whales but great scenery. Many pics and we moved on. Stopped at a number of look out points. I had no idea the road ran so close to the cliffs of the Bight.
We then got to the WA Border. What a cluster buck; they still require border passes blah blah blah so The Gibster and Kevin were arguing with the border police unaware that our accommodation was actually on the SA side of the border. When they got to our digs for the night they were saying that they gave them what for and got a form back to fill in.
We then went to dinner at the roadhouse and it was like going to the Star Wars Bar. We had our chops and mash and then The Gibster started applying for his border pass online……bloody ridiculous he said after the 3rd attempt. I’m just riding through tomorrow giving them the look and the finger!
Day 11 28/4/22 Border Village SA to Balladonia WA 520kms
Well we all got 1 ½ hours extra sleep due to the time change. That meant Kevinn got 13 hours sleep and The Gibster around 12. Russ was too busy writing blogs!
Breakfast in the road house; the boys that had the longest sleep needed the biggest feed. The Gibster ordered the all in breakfast. He was heard to say “the biggest rig needs the most fuel” ; Kevinn and Russ didn’t know whether the reference was in regard to the road trains or well The Gibster himself.
After a couple of pics with the big Kangaroo we were off. The North winds had stopped and the temperature had dropped to 20 and there was a big sky! Despite all our angst about the border they only wanted to check we didn’t have any honey. Lucky the Manuka honey from the cradle of NZ was buried well in the left panier. The road from the border was interesting; we had a ridge on the right and the ocean to the left for about 200kms. Russ was permitted to be in front for this bit as The Gibster was adamant that he only wanted to do about 110km/h as his head wobble at greater speeds was giving him discomfort. Russ was going well through the 150km mark (distance not speed) until he checked his mirrors. It was like he was being followed by Mad Max and the Terminator 2. The Gibster tends to dominate all the road behind with the bulking frame and the determination to use all the road space. Behind him was the Terminator T-1000, riding the straight line never varying and with the constant facial expression (Kevinn is a stay upright instruct btw). Russ had to relinquish the lead as he started thinking he was in a movie.
The Madura Pass was a highlight as we rode up a small hill with a commanding view to the coast and then we had lunch in Cocklebiddy…..well The Gibster opened a can of Salmon and the Terminator and myself had a toastie.
Then it was the 90 mile straight. An hour and a half of no turns! The Gibster had to run at 110km/h to preserve fuel, but the slalom action probably added 20kms. The weird thing at the end of it there was a curve, and the brain took a moment to register as did the muscles to turn the bike.
Rode into the Balladonia Roadhouse. For those old enough, this is where the NASA SkyLab crashed and there were preserved pieces all round. A very ordinary dinner and good conversation and we back to bed by 8pm. (Having said that dinner was 4 – 6.30; no nightlife in the desert!.
Fun Facts for today, we have hit the 5000km mark, at an average speed of 92kms and time in the saddle 53 hours with consumption at 18kms per litre.
Esperance Tomorrow
Day 12 29/4/22 Balladonia to Esperance (including side trip to Cape le Grand) 520kms
A great night’s sleep. The prophecy of Road Trains roaring through all night did not eventuate. We have discovered that Kevinn does a lot of research in the night hours. At breakfast he gave us chapter and verse on the skylab crash and how Jimmy Carter phoned the proprietor of this very Roadhouse Motel to apologise for raining debris on them. We examined the piece they were allowed to keep and were amazed how flimsy it seemed given it was a space station. Russ bought a sticker to put on his top box coz he was getting FOMO from The Gibsters neon accoutrement attesting to him crossing the Nullabor which was now attached to his top box (It was like R66 all over again.)
Today it was more about the destination than the journey, coz the journey sucked. Same old same old; straight roads dessert scrub. Russ saw something vaguely interesting but kept riding as it couldn’t be that interesting. As it transpired Kevinn stopped and took a photo, so at least we have something. Came into Norseman which was clearly a town in the pre covid days, but only had two shops open, the IGA and one café (out of 4). Very depressing. However at least the carrot cake was great.
The desert scrub gradually turned into Malley and then in to pasture as we got towards Esperance. We rocked into what is a nice town with large bulk commodities ships in the harbour. We checked in and asked where is good for dinner. Apparently everywhere does snittys and palamys…..seriously that’s all we’ve had for 5 days! Then they said there was a place that did some exotic foods like Duck and Pork.
As it was only 1pm, we head off to Cape le Grand. BTW in 1792 the French lead and expedition to find La Perouse, The ship was the L’experance and the first officer was Le Grand. Spectacular scenery and amazing beaches. White sand and radiating white wash. Many photos as we didn’t have any others.
Back home for GandTs on the the Gibsters veranda which looked out on a tank (an army tank). Dinner at the Loosy Goose and the usual bed time of 830. (Hydro where are you!)
Albany tomorrow.
Day 13 30/4/22 Esperance to Albany 502kms
Another beautiful morning! The Gibster was however slightly delusional this morning, wandering around the motel carpark in his Pyjamas with his IPAD. “Russ I’ve found a place in Margaret River that will take us” . That’s great Gibster. “Can you book it Im sure Ill stuff it up”. OK no problems. Confusion continued to reign, The Gibster has breakfast at the motel while Kev and Russ went to the finest breakfast establishment in Esperance! Oh well there was a big breakfast and a large late that went to waste.
The Gibster then did another dash to the chemist to load up on anti-histamines coz his hay fever was driving him crazy. He proceeded to tell us about how he was going to medicate himself and Kev said…”Andrew nobody cares” . Serious respect points to Kev. This is a transition point, he could clearly be a fox! We then set off along the “Great Ocean Drive”. How good is it to rip off a Victorian Icon! However the 30 minute ride was probably better than anything you get on the Victorian version. Seriously these beaches are amazing! Rode quickly past the Pink Lake which wasn’t pink atm and then on the “only road” to Albany. The temperature was cool and the scenery was Mallee and pasture. We stopped at a few non descript towns, passed the Stirling Ranges (The Gibster was keen on riding through them, but Russ an Kev just said take a picture….which he did). The countryside changed to green pasture and forests and Albany is a very pretty and a very tidy town.
Dinner at our digs at the 6 degrees Boutique Hotel. Kev and Russ insisted that The Gibster take a Hay Fever test. He subsequently tested positive and Kev and Russ insisted he isolate on his bike. Russ didn’t care coz he has already had had Hay fever but Kevin kept sanitising and went to bed early. The Gibster agreed to wear his helmet at all times during his Hay Fever isolation. Margaret River tomorrow….what could possibly go wrong!
Day 14 1/5/22 Albany to Busseldon via Demark, Pemberton and Cape Leeuwin 520kms
Its another big day, so we were up for breakfast at 7.30 and on the road by 8, after another Hay Fever diagnosis on the Gibster. He assured us that isolating in his helmet was fine. We hadn’t seen much of Albany so went to check out the local attraction the Gap and the Natural Bridge. The viewing platform is concertinaed over the wildest surf in Australia. The Gibster with helmet on for iso couldn’t face the vertigo so waited at a good distance. Big Tick, we then went the back road to Denmark which is a great little surf town on the edge of the Southern Ocean, also very civilised with a bloody good flat white. (The desert was bereft of good flat whites).
The ride up to Pemberton was fantastic with many turns through the tall timbered forests (we hadn’t seen turns for days). The Gibster and the Terminator made short work of it while Russ took his time. (why rush, and my gear changing foot hurts). At Pemberton we met the first bike riders we had seen on the whole trip (excluding two dirt riders). Unfortunately they were really boring and we said “Gotta Run”.
We then hit up the road to Cape Leeuwin (the most south westerly point in the country, we were at the most south easterly point Mornington Peninsula only 11 days ago). Cape Leeuwin was named by Matthew Flinders in honour of the Dutch ship that explored the coast in 1644. The lighthouse now looks like Cape Canaveral so we couldn’t get the iconic photo….Oh well we saw the Indian Ocean for the first time.
Took off up the coast road to Busseldon (Caves Road). The strobe effect of the western sun through the tall trees was overpowering after 50kms so we reverted to freeway mode. Day off tomorrow so we rented a house for two days. Kevinn was assigned to go and buy some wines. We didn’t hear from him for an hour until he rand and asked what our address was…..delirium has set in!
Thai takeaway tonight and Russ was left the only one awake at 8.40.
Day 15 2/5/22 – A Rest Day in Busseldon (Margaret River)
Firstly a big shout out to brother Tony, who is religiously reading this blog over his cornflakes each morning. Despite the fact he works for IBM he had a glitch yesterday and couldn’t see it. Brother Boxy helped out by saying he could.
Well a well needed rest day. The Big Guy (formally known as the Gibster aka Aandy aka Gibbo) needed to attend to his Hay Fever today. We will test him again tomorrow to see if it is safe to leave…..there is much pollen on the way to the Kimberley.
Russ was also wearing a stress injury to his gear changing foot and made the most of the morning rubbing voltarin and taking voltarin hopefully the right way around.
At noon Russ was feeling fine and took the bike for a cruise down the Caves road past all the wineries and beaches. Bloody fantastic; but there wasn’t anyone surfing….wtf… he asked at the local hotel why this was so and was told that “the weather wasn’t quite right and the surf not perfect”…..seriously if that was the prognosis at Manly you would have to drop in to get a wave!
Russ continued down the Caves Road past yet more recognisble wineries (Vasse Fexis, Cape Mentelle, Evans and Tate) until he ventures into Leeuwin Estate. Always wanting to taste the Art Series he settled in for an hour. In the mean time the Big Guy went off to the Salvos in Busseldon to buy a pair of jeans ($7) as he couldn’t contemplate the rash the leathers would cause at 35 degrees and the terminator booked a Tiger Moth flight in the morning. ( There seems to be a magic pudding of Tiger Moths around the country).
Quick fun fact; there are so many French names around here. Geographe and Naturaliste were the names of two French boats sent out in 1774 to try and claim New Holland if they could find a sea path between it and NSW….(they didn’t), but they were here!
Have to get up early now to see Kevinn fly the Tiger Moth, then off to Cottesloe beach.
Day 16 Busselton to Perth via Busselton Airport and Cape Naturaliste 350kms
Huge excitement today as Captain Bigglesworth, Biggles for short and formally known as Kevinn took to the skies in a Tiger Moth. He said it was a highlight of his life. The Big Guy said “what about riding around Australia”……Oh yea that too. Russ was too busy reading emails to notice that Biggles had returned to base and was given a prod to start working out where we were going now.
Captain Bigglesworth said his goodbyes to the Squadron leader and we were off to Cape Naturaliste as we had to visit both Capes of Margaret River (100km walk if anyone wants to to the Cape to Cape). Hung out for a while took some pics of the lighthouse and had the morning pick me up. Learned that the lighthouse was built in 1903 and was powered of Kerosene until 1978 when electricity came to the area. OK enough education crap. Back on the Bikes non stop to Cottosloe Beach….Gin and Tonics were waiting. Russ navigated blindly following google through all the industrial areas of South Freemantle, across the Swan and found the Hotel. So suffice to say we haven’t seen a thing of Perth City. I hear its over rated anyway. Watched the sunset from the Bar in relative silence. The Big Guy thought that was because we had run out of things to talk about. Russ said Nah…”It’s because your Hay fever has made you deaf and Im over signing” We then went to a great restaurant to have what could be our last decent dinner until say Port Douglas?
A sleep in for Russ and the Big Guy coz Biggles is getting his tyre replaced in the morning….then off to Geraldton
Day 17 4/5/22 Perth to Geraldton 420kms
A leisurely start coz we were set to wait for The Captain to get his tyres changed over. The Big Guy and Russ went to breakfast at the same Italian place we had dinner at, as it was where all the beautiful people of Mossman Park and Peppermint Grove hung out, so we were right at home. After the Avocado, Walnut and Honey on a toasted Bagel, Russ said enough of this foo foo stuff lets get on the road north. At the same time the Captain rang and said his spark plugs were going to take a bit more time and to go without him and he would meet us there. The Big Guy said “Yea that’s a no brainer” So we left the Perth (which none of us actually saw) and hit up the Indian Ocean Drive which took us to the Pinnacles (like limestone stalagmites just chilling in the desert). Took plenty of Pics looking like kids in the candy shop, then took a ride around the desert road consisting of hard and soft sand. The Big Guy referred to it as “the juxtaposition of ancient landscape and modern machinery”..wtf who would have thought.
A quick bite in Cervantes, Russ wanted to go to the Lobster Shack, but the Big Guy wanted to push on. The sun has been relentless as we are riding north and despite the nice tan, it makes riding that much more intense. Another 200kms of gentle turns which meant we didn’t have to go off cruise control and we eventually rocked into Geraldton which is another WA tidy town. Grain, minerals and lobsters mean there is too much money here. You can tell that from the city prices for the food in the motel restaurant (which was actually excellent). The Captain rocked in an hour later, the usual pre dinner drink, dinner and bed by 8.30. Monkey Mia tomorrow to feed to Dolphins!
Day 18 5/5/22 – Geraldton to Denman via Monkey Mia (450kms)
Well the big guy was virtually at full strength this morning so he ordered a vehicle check up. Reminiscent of Norway we left the Motel and all got lost (well Russ in particular). He claimed he was refuelling at the first Petrol Station; the others moved on to one that provided superior 98. The Big Guy sent Russ a photo of where they were so he rode all around Geraldton trying to match the picture with what he was seeing. Seriously this was the most traffic we have seen since leaving Sydney. Eventually met up and attended the regulation tyre and oil check and moved forward.
The wind was crazy today, blowing from the east, so was hard going for about two hours. The countryside has now changed to red earth and scrub and we were getting heavy buffering from the wing and the road trains. Pulled into the Billabong Roadhouse (pop 10) and had a pretty good coffee! Pressed on down the peninsula to Denham and Monkey Mia….bloody impressive, the road was well maintained and the views fantastic, no wonder Dirk Hartog ran into it. We came into Denhan and our accommodation to find it was full of Bogan recreational fishermen from Perth who because of the wind conditions today decided to get on the turps from 9am. The only reason we got this cabin is because 3 of their mates couldn’t come. Dave who was well cut when we rolled up wanted a chat, but when he called Russ “Turbo” that was the end of any civilised conversation. As I write they are still going hard, but we have put the Big Guy against the common wall so he can either spread Hay Fever annoy them with the snoring.
We did see the Dolphins at Monkey Mia, but the flies were out of control so it was the most irritating Dolphin display ever! Got back and our Bogan mates invited us to their BBQ. Russ said he had an appointment with his hair dresser and would have to decline. They understood completely.
There is also a first nations funeral tomorrow so the Pubs are on liquor control, no spirits on sale and only medium strength beer. Our mates next door said no drama they have enough to kill a Navy.
Went to the Pub for dinner which was great and headed home and watched Star Wars to drown out our Fisshy Friends.
Well readers we are half way around the country today, having logged 7,780kms. Let the journey continue
Day 19 6/5/22 Denham to Exmouth 680kms
OK, this has been our biggest riding day on tour. We wanted to set of early so we could sidestep our bogan mates next door….but they were up at 7 asking if they kept us awake. We could tell that they were seriously intimidated by us by their apologetic stance. Russ said “No drama, I hope you guys had a good time” – a euphonism for “Yeah you kept us awake but what could we do….we put the big guy in the room next o you to keep you awake with his snoring”.
Had to backtrack down the peninsula for 100kms and then turned northward again. As we get further north the sun is higher in the sky so now much easier to negotiate. The desert is green because of all the rain, but that is not good because it brings flys…..we are not sure why but we can attest to the bastards being everywhere.
The Big Guy has a wind shield that directs airflow straight to the bottom of his helmet. As he doesn’t have a chin guard, the wind proceeds straight up to mouth, ergo he has had a number of bug smashes to his lips and surrounding cheeks….he looks like a chequerboard tonight.
Russ decided to do a bit of research on bug hits. An average bug is about one tenth of a gram and it decelerates at say 140km/h (40m/s). Therefore the force that it hits is about half a newton which is the same as hitting a stationary hammer at 3km/h. So it kind of hurts on open skin like the throat area. Russ and the Captain have a few bruises on the throat but the big guy’s chin area looks smashed.
We turned off to Exmouth and had a glorious ride through the green desert peppered with termite hills that looked like the Lord of the Rings. Had to stop and take a few pics as it was the only highlight of an exhausting day. Passed a sign that said the commonwealth uses strong transmission signals that could cause electronic devices to explode in this area, so Russ turned off the navigation….at least there was only one road in.
On arrival at the Potshot Resort, we renegotiated the the three bed dorm room to a two bedroom studio. Russ is in the kitchen.
An excellent night in the resort for dinner and had the live stream of the Buffalo Paradise concert beamed into the bar (well at least our table). The Spanish waiter thought is was the footy and said we could watch it on the main screen.
Rest day tomorrow on Ningaloo Reef.
Day 20 7/5/22 Rest Day in Exmouth (Ningaloo Reef)
Russ awoke not knowing where he was. Why was he on a mattress in a kitchen? After a few moments he had regained his memory and was thankful for the great sleep. The dorm room for three was a distant memory. Went to check out the town and had a pretty good breakfast at a local café. Russ wanted to check out the Big Prawn, the Beaches and the North West Cape Communications Centre.
Th Big Guy came along for the ride and we had the requisite photos at the Big Prawn (which the Captain tells us came second in the “Big” competition), so we have now captured one and two! (See Big Lobster – Day 5)
Raced off to the Harold Holt Communications site. A massive array of 13 towers that uses ultra low frequency band to communicate with submarines and ships in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans. The Yanks left at the end of the cold war and it is now run by the Aussies alone for allied signals. It is going to be a space tracking station at some point in the future. Took a few pics there before the Feds arrived. The Big Guy talked our way out of it.
Then off the Ningaloo Reef for some snorkling time. The Big Guy was noodled by another passenger (see pics). The Captain and Russ had no idea what was happening. The reef was not as colourful as the QLD version but the fish were amazing and the water was nice and warm to extend the snorkling time. The Boat Captain said he could tell the Big Guy learnt to swim “out east” as he had the style of a professional swimmer (presumably Dawn Fraser). BTW in WA if you are from another state you are from “Over East” , so there are only two states in the country.
We had a great time on the reef, but it was getting close to 5.30 and as the Captain goes to bed at 8.30 we had to get a few drinks in quickly and go to dinner. Back now and Russ and The Big Guy are watching a movie in Russ’s bedroom (the kitchen). Karratha tomorrow for the “Stairway to the Moon”‘.
Day 21 8/5/22 Exmouth to Karatha 540kms
We bade farewell to Exmouth after breakfast at the French chic hippy “early bird café”. As usual Russ was running late so the Big Guy sent him a picture of where they were. The pic was truncated and read “NDERING TIDE”, so Russ naturally though “Laundering Tide” and ended up at the laundromat. After some confusion it was cleared up…”Wandering Tide”. So Russ ate quickly and was back in alignment by 8.30.
The ride out was magnificent. Despite the fact we were going backwards down the cape for 100kms. We had to stop for some ant hill shots before heading on to the Pilbara. Amazing scenery with red soil, red hills, red Mesas, and then massive mine sites. We refuelled at a roadhouse and ran into a Bikie gang from Carnarvon, in particular Macho, Goat and Boofhead, who had been in Karatha for the weekend. Boofhead talked at Russ for 30 seconds…..Russ didn’t understand a thing and asked the Captain to translate coz he was a Harley Coach, but he missed it as well. So Russ just said YEAHHHHHH! And wandered off to his bike, got on it and met the Captain and the Big Guy up the road.
The weather is surprisingly mild and no flies, which is fantastic, but apparently it had been up to 50 degrees as late as a month ago. Rocked into Karatha and dropped our stuff off at the “Econo Lodge (Not Eco Friendly, but Money Friendly), and went for a tour of Dampier and the LNG Processing for the North West Cape. Pretty unbelievable operation. We weren’t aware that it was piped in from the shelf, processed in Dampier and transported to gas carriers in the port. Dampier is also the Port for Rios Pilbara mines. Getting hungry now so we went into town. Seriously the bars and restaurants could have been in Sydney (lots of cash), but you knew these guys were miners, coz they must have been deaf….they were virtually shouting a conversation. The cacophony of sound was discombobulating for the Captain and the Big Guy so we left soon after dinner and relaxed over a Pinot at the Econo Lodge.
We are staying at a Roadhouse tomorrow on our way to Broome!
Day 22 9/5/22 Karatha to Pardoo – 420kms
The Big Guy was all of a dither this morning because all the service lights on his dash kept flashing. That’s what happens when you go 10,000kms apparently. Russ wasn’t too concerned coz his had been flashing since le left Sydney and nothing had gone wrong yet, but the Big Guy was adamant something had to be done. So he rang ahead to Broome and they said they had no staff so couldn’t help him and the only wat to stop the lights flashing is to plug a diagnostics computer in. Well the Big Guy rang his dealer in Sydney and told them to do it remotely coz the flashing was doing his head in. They said “suck it up and wait until you get home”. After that initial Kerfuffle we were on our way….just down the road for breakfast.
We left Kuratha at about 9 and proceed to run through the rest of the Pilbara to the Kimberlies. Seriously there was road train after road train, until an extra special road train came down that took up the whole road with an iron bar at head level. The Big Guy took immediate evasive action and road on the edge of the tar and missed the bar by 30cm. Russ didn’t have the 40 years of riding experience so he went off the verge to prevent being clobbered and proceeded along a patch of red ball bearings. Our composure gathered we thought, well that was close and pressed on to Port Headland. This is a town that is Mad Max on steroids. Trains, Road Trains, Bulk Ships, Power Poles, Massive Port and lots of White Utes everywhere. Its like where Earth finishes and Hell begins. But we proceeded in anyway and had lunch. You can see why this is another fly in fly out sort of town. The locals were telling us you have to wash your clothes every 3 days to get rid of the red dust.
Back on the bikes and off to the Pardoo Road House… a non descript place with a few sheds behind the petrol station for accommodation. Russ took a 12km ride down to the beach, which was fantastic. He couldn’t understand why the campervans were parked here when they could be there. Anyhoo, went to dinner and had a hamburger and salad and a bottle of their finest ($7.50). The Captain set a record and retired at 6.30. No pics today coz only 1 bar. Will upload tomoz
Day 23 10/5/22 – Pardoo to Broome 460kms
Well the boys emerged from the plastic Dongas at approx. 7am, The Big Guy stopped snoring at 6.20 so Russ and the Captain knew it was reveille. We proceeded to breakfast at the Roadhouse, The nice lady with no teeth looked after Russ with a fantastic flatwhite and a B&E Roll, but the big guy got the big hippy who upsold him to the same but with a hash brown…..the Big Guy was not happy and left half of it and was happy to tell anyone around that it was crap. The Captain didn’t care.
The girl with the dragon tattoo made an appearance (did not explain this yesterday) and took off in her Suburu. As did a South African guy and his wife on a BMW 1300 something or other, who wanted to talk bike shit, I said talk to the big guy, which he did for a long time…yawn. Then we took off for the most boring ride of the trip…..same old same old, straight road red dirt, scrub for 400kms. Most exciting thing was a large Goanna blocking our path at 140 km/h. The Big Guy gave him the Blue Steel and he moved.
This was a ride by attrition. The Pilbara was interesting coz of its interesting formations like Death Valley, but this stretch of the Kimberlie’s was just relentless. Sandfire Roadhouse was the only relief and the girl with the dragon tattoo was there when we arrived (she is everywhere). Arrived into Broome and onto our magnificent 4 bedroom house in Cable Beach. Russ went off to the beach and checked out the sunset while the other guys took their machines in for service.
The big guy cooked a great meal tonight, the captained cleaned up and Russ did nothing….Oh well.
Day 24 11/5/22 Broome Rest Day (Thank God)
Russ was up early 6am to get on the Martin Rogers recommended Cygnet Bay Flight. It was as exhilarating as it was exhausting. After struggling with the coffee machine Russ extracted a couple of beans worth and was on his way. Straight into the co pilots seat we made of way to the Horizontal Falls (The tide changes 15metres so the water flow through the island is like a horizontal waterfall, We were there in a neap tide so it was running as fast but still spectacular. Landed on a dirt runway in an indigenous community. Unbelievably they were doing early voting, so they kindly got me sorted with my vote….very nice people. Took off again for 5 minutes and landed and got onto a high speed boat and sped through the Buccaneer Archipelago. All a blur but a lot of fun. Lunch of Cone Bay Barramundi, and then back on the plane home again. What a blast, I just cant remember much. The Captain and the Big Guy meanwhile had got the motorcycles back and had had a day in Broome. The Captain had run into the girl with the dragon tattoo (I knew we would) in town. The Big guy cooked a great BBQ and we settled into some TV tonight (its hard on the road).
Day 25 12/5/22 – Broome Restday 2
Russ woke up to find the Big Guy pouring over maps and scribbling furiously. The Captain and Russ are abandoning the Big Guy at Atherton for the run home, but the Big Guy doesn’t want the journey to end. We suspect he might do a Crazy Ivan and go back around in an anticlockwise fashion.
Russ just hung around Cable Beach today with a couple of cocktails a banana lounge and an umbrella, while The Captain and The Big Guy checked out a Pearl Farm. Sunset Dinner at the Beach and talk of the trek across the Kimberlies tomorrow.
Day 26 13/5/22 – Broome to Fitzroy Crossing 390kms
There is the saying vote early and vote often. The Big Guy has taken this to heart and went of early to the Broome Exhibition Hall to exercise his democratic right. “Where are the bloody snags, I haven’t had breakfast yet”. There will be other opportunities at Fitzroy Crossing, Wyndham and Kathrine when you vote again Russ said.
This ride is classed as short. The classification now is <450kms =short, >450 < 600 =average, >600 =long. A bit of a change from the start of this trip when the riding instructions were nothing over 450kms. Not sure how Boxy, Singo and Tony would be going at this point. As a result we did some reccy work on the NT. The Big Guy and the Captain are set up for the Top End now when Russ takes a hiatus for 4 days.
Fitzroy Crossing is a bit of an eye opener. It is almost 100% indigenous, except for us, the Covid nurses and the extra police who are all staying at the Crossing Inn. It is a dry town except for the bar in our hotel which was full when we arrived, but shut at 4 and then opens again at 8. They only serve Emu lager and the locals were friendly.
We had G and Ts on the balcony and got a briefing from the nurses about the town, where to eat and where to park the bikes. Took off down the dirt track to the Fitzroy Crossing Lodge for dinner. Surprisingly the Big Guy nearly dropped his bike in the sand, when Russ pointed this out, he said its alright for you your bike was made for this shit. Russ said that was the nicest thing he had said about his bike all tour. An Excellent dinner. Although short staffed the backpackers were back. Our servers were Argentinian, Albanian and French, all in the country only a month.
Early start tomorrow, we have a loooong day 700kms.
Day 27 14/5/22 Fitzroy Crossing to Wyndham 680kms
An early start today. the boys were trying not to wake the nurses or the police offices who were in the Dongas next door. The Big Guy was especially respectful by letting the engine run for 10 minutes to make sure the grit had burnt through the carburetor. We had distance to cover, but we couldn’t find a coffee any where, we had to wait until Halls Creek (aka Hells Creek by some in WA), which was 280kms away. The Big Guy had to hold to close to the speed limit in order to complete the distance (Why is the BMW tank only 17 litres). Russ and the Captain just laughed in his general direction and pushed on to Halls Creek at Warp Speed. A refuel and a Coles Express Coffee and a pie coz there was nothing else open in town at Halls Creek and then a fantastic run next to the Bungle Bungle Range, Unfortunately the photos wont do justice to the magnificence of these Kimberlies Ranges, but it was a little like the run into Sante Fe…Pink Floyd dark side of the Moon playing (or in Russ’s case St Germain, coz he couldn’t change the stream mid flight.
Rolled into Wyndham after a stop at the “Grotto” and found a quite pleasant cabin at the caravan park. The Big Guy has done it again. Not wanting to ride 6kms for dinner to the Wyndham Rec Club which didnt look that great anyway, we decided to buy pies from the bakery for dinner and get a couple of sav blancs so we could stay put. (Our machines needed a break!).
At this point we should talk about Bird Strike. The birds here are slower (either birds of prey who are heavier or the small birds that travel in mass). Russ got belted by a small bird in the helmet and the Big Guy nearly took out and Eagle. They dont teach you this in riding school the Captain said.
The Big Guy got into trouble with the locals by saying the bakery is closed but there is a party in there so they said they would sell us pies. He was corrected by a local who said it wasn’t a party it was a wake. The Big Guy unperturbed said “Whatever, they’ll sell us pies”. Then off to the Liquor store….same old WA stuff licence, bottle restriction etc. We knew the drill. Russ had the prees but decided to go and look at the lookout which delayed the Captain and the Big Guy from the pleasure of that first drink for 30 minutes. Russ wasn’t popular as detailed in some texts which wont be repeated here.
Another Big Day tomorrow as we roll into Kathrine and lose 90 minutes in time zone
Day 28 15/5/22 Wyndham to Kathrine (NT) via Argyle Lake 685 kms
Today was the longest (and hottest) ride to date. We had the tripple….it was a long way, it was hot, and we lost 90 mins in time changes. We were up early and left our salubrious accommodation at 6.30 sharp (6.23 actually, we are always early). Lining up for petrol coz we had to compete with the guys in the big fishing comp in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf ($3,000 first prize), one of the ladies said “youse guys have to stop in at Lake Argyle on the way” The Big Guy, conscious of the already long ride, time change etc, wasn’t too sure about that, but Russ and The Captain said they were going and he was welcome to join should he wish. So we took a quick pick of the Big Crocodile and headed to Kunanurra for breakfast. Its a very nice town green from the Ord River Scheme. Over breakfast the Big Guy want to check in with Russ and the Captain as it was now a month on the road. He asked if we were OK….we said mind your own business and asked him if he was OK for asking us if we were OK. Off to lake Argyle which was a really nice ride, winding roads through nice landscape and onto the pearl of the Ord River Scheme. Russ had to channel his year 10 geography lessons. This is the biggest man made lake in Australia he pronounced but couldn’t remember anything else. Spent about an hour taking pics and waiting for the Big Guy to get his hair right.
Driving back out we had two bird strikes. Russ got a hit in the leg by a large black bird and The Big Guy copped one on his windscreen followed by a standoff with a bull, which was resolved when Andy stood aside and let a Road Train deal with it. On top of that the temp was now 38 and we still had to cover 500kms. It was OK though coz we crossed into the NT and the speed limit was now 130km/h, but the roads were probably only rated for 100km/h. Regardless we stuck to the new speed limit and arrived at Kathrine at 4.30. Refreshments and then dinner at the Country Club. A couple of rest days coming up
Day 29 16/5/2022 Rest Day Katherine 185kms
Well a rest day is defined as a day when we ride less than 200km. We managed 185kms today so in strict terms it was a rest day. Off early for breakfast at the tourist centre (which apparently is the best barista in town). Half the airforce from Tindal were there for their morning pickup.
We headed off to the Cutta Cutta Caves 35kms south of Katherine….we were in T-Shirts and shorts doing 130kms/h on dodgy NT roads. The Captain said it wasn’t feeling right and the Big Guy just said suck it up. Russ just went with the flow. We arrived at the appropriate time to be told by the ranger that a 4 metre python was blocking the path into the cave. The big guy said “so what’s your point”. The point apparently is that we have to come back later in the day when the Ranger has had time to move it. So we then did a 60km ride back to the Gorge and did a glorious 5km walk. Russ did the calcs and told the boys that they had burned an extra 100 calories per hour than sitting on the bike. The Captain said give me the bike any day.
Took the pics to prove we were there and then motored fast back to the caves for a second attempt. Very nice, although Jenolan craps all over it but we got the big indigenous and climate overlay from our guide who was very passionate about her job and made us feel good about the environment in the NT.
No time to waste we did the speed limit back into town and settled in for some G and Ts at the Tourist Park, coz it was our rest day. Back to the Country Club for dinner, ( the taxi driver and the staff at the club were pleased to see us again as were the other customers who were there last night). Over dinner, The Big Guy said he preferred to be called The Gibster in the blog…..Russ said he would think about it. The Captain was non-plussed….I think “The Captain is fine.”
Back for a night cap and at 8.30 The Captain retired. This is the latest retirement time stamp since, well, 2010.
Another rest day tomorrow cruising the 3 Gorges.
Day 30 17/5/22 (Norway Day) Rest Day Katherine (65kms)
We have determined that the Gibster has Herpetophobia. All he talks about are crocodiles and impacts on the community if he gets taken by one. The Captain and Russ said get a grip and just get on the boat that took us down three gorges of the Katherine River. Another cloudless 37 degree day, a four hour cruise, swimming and photo ops….what more could you ask for…..well it was a rest day.
When we returned to our digs for G and Ts at 3.30, even the guy that collects the garbage thought we were long term residents…..time to move on. (at least we had a different taxi driver tonight, although they recognised us at the golf club). Even the police that man the liquor outlets just wave us through now without asking the usual boring questions. They know we are hardened foxes.
We learnt today the Brother Hydro has programmed the coordinates of Mt Isa into his on board computer and will meet us there on the 25th. Fun fact he will cover more distance than the Alps trip (without shortcuts) in less time. Russ did point out that the curvatage was near zero though. It will be great to have another fox join for the last leg.
Packing up all the crap that has exploded over the room for the past 3 nights to head up to Litchfield National Park tomorrow.
Day 31 18/5/2022 Katherine to Bachelor via Litchfield NP 360kms
This was a short day, so reveille was at 8.30, but we needed the time to pack 3 days worth of mess back into something that a bike can carry. Back to the Black Russian caravan for coffee and toasties. The Captain talked police stuff with the police that were waiting in line for coffee. It was fine until the Captain realised he had left the force before these two had been born (by 2 years). That said we have now met all the officers of the Katherine Command.
Took off north along the bumpy Stuart Highway, stopped at Pine Creek which was an old Gold Town but now not much more than a toilet stop. Powered on to Adelaide River, where the Gibster took time out to call Nat. Out of respect the Captain and Russ wandered up and down the street for 30 minutes until the Gibster had finished his call. Then took the back roads to Bachelor. The Captain has only booked one day of accommodation and this was it….as it transpired they had overbooked and The Gibster and The Captain were bumped to the Caravan Park Russ had booked his own so he was now marooned in Rum Jungle at the original place, but no drama.
We ticked off half the points of interest in Litchfield NP, but at about G and T O’Clock the Gibster had had enough. Falls Smalls he said, Ive seen enough time to get back. Warp speed back to the BP/Bar/Restaurant at Batchelor for some Bulldog Gin. Russ left while still under the limit to ride back to Rum Jungle (btw the first Uranium mine in Australia).
This blog writer will be on hiatus for 4 days so the Captain and the Gibster have agreed to provide some dot points for the next 4 days……back on on Monday!
Day 32 19/5/22 Bachelor to Jabiru 340 kms
Interpretation of the Gibsters dot points follows.
The night was characterised by a massive bug infestation, Russ said they must do Kakadu by plane (not necessarily correlated). A flight was duly booked by the captain coz he reckons the Gibster is not usually seen near a screen. The boys went back into analogue direction mode and pulled out the crinkled map from day6 to work out which way to go. They decided the longer route, back to pine creek and and onto Jabiru.
Breakfast was at the little ripper where they serve monster lattes. The Gibster got his photo taken with the “big termite mound” (don’t know where that rates in the list of big things). Went past another control burn by the side of the road (it is a past time up here) and then proceeded at Warp speed on the road to Jabiru from pine creek. No other vehicles on it.
The Gibster had to join the Jabiru golf club to get a drink as it was the only place with a license in town and then found he was only allowed two bottles anyway. Past the Ranger mine on the way to dinner (check for luminescence in the morning). The captain calls it a night at 8pm. The heat and alcohol take its toll!
Day 33 20/5/22 Rest Day Kakadu
The Gibster was up early coz the bats in the Anbinilk (sic) tree were going off at 5am. The Captain was up early coz he was exited to go on another plane trip, this time in a more modern plane over Kakadu NP. Russ had worded the Gibster up about trying to get a two engine plane for redundancy purposes, but alas one was deemed good enough. The Captain was disappointed that the Gibster shot gunned to co pilot seat. The Big Guy reckons he could use the horizontal situation indicator on his bike, but the speed indicator didn’t even go as high as the Beamer.
Flew over the closed Ranger mine, the Alligator River and north to the Van Diemen’s Gulf. Spectacular and well worth the entrance fee the Captain muttered.
Back on earth, the Gibster had to dig his bike off the ants nest he parked on, Very hard to get rid off those guys even at 200km/h; they just cling on! After all that excitement off for a kip and the back to the Golf Club for dinner. At the end of this trip we will be members of every golf club in the NT
Day 34 21/5/22 Jabiru to Darwin 183kms
After talking about replacing his rear tyre for a month and purchasing one in Cairns (now redundant), the Gibster got up early and raced into Darwin to get a new one fitted avoiding a number of wallabies by testing the brakes along the way. Arrived to find the tyre there but no mechanics to fit it. WTF don’t they know who I am. Back for Monday morning (hopefully).
Caught up with the Captain in Darwin City and after raiding a salad bar (the Gibster hasn’t seen any green stuff for a while) did the tourist stuff in Darwin and ran into Brett from our sons school days at the Art Gallery.
Accommodation tonight at Noonamah (30kms from Darwin) coz there is a festival in Darwin and the motel prices extortionate. The Captain and the Gibster braved the Tavern for dinner and they said it looked scary, but a mans got to eat!
Day 35 22/5/22 Darwin Rest Day
The Captain and the Gibster were up early again as they had to have their curiosity of all things Darwin satiated. They met Gazza for a military highlights tour, The Captain was happy being among historical aircraft and the Gibster was ecstatic being surrounded by Rolls Royce Engines.
Back to the digs after lunch, there was domestic duties to perform before the big pushoff tomorrow back down to Katherine and then over east. Russ is supposed to rejoin but anything can happen….stay tuned.
Day 36 23/5/22 Darwin to Katherine 320kms
So our readers know, Russ has now taken back the blog so there will be the usual embellishments and fabrications that you are used to.
Well The Gibster was up early coz he had to get his tyre replaced today, the captain was sleeping and Russ was on a plane to Darwin. He quizzed Marcel at Darwin Motorcycles why his tyre had worn just as much as Russ’s even though he was doing the slalom on the bike for the last 12,000 km to preserve the profile. Marcell said that does bugger all, you just rode an extra 10% for no reason. Russ was happy as The Gibster hopefully will not continue the practise going forward and Russ wont get car sick following him. The Gibster wrote a few dot points about how the mechanic loved his bike blah blah blah which doesn’t need to be repeated ad verbatim.
The Gibster met the Captain after his long rest and they proceeded together to the Adelaide River where Gazza has told them to check out the war cemetery. The whole of the NT is a WW2 monument. Russ arrived at Darwin at 12.30 to find his bike intact and proceeded down to Katherine. A reunion was enacted at 3.50pm, celebrated by G and Ts which the Gibster quickly materialised. The Captain arose from his afternoon sleep and said Im glad you made it back. Russ said that was the nicest thing he had said on tour.
This was our 4th night (not contiguous) at the salubrious Riverside Tourist Park and the owner said we should pay some of his rates as we were becoming permanent residents. We said don’t worry, its doubtful we will be back again and then it was off to the golf club to see all our friends again.
The usual chilled Merlot and the chilly prawn spaghetti. Its getting weird when the Taxi drivers in Katherine know our names. Time to get out of here. Tennant Creek Tomorrow.
Day 37 24/5/22 Katherine to Three Ways (Tennant Creek) 680kms
All the boys a bit weary this morning. Russ thinks it might have been too many chilled Merlots at the Golf Club last night. Hit up the Black Russian Café , they know our orders off by heart now. It was going to be a long day and a fairly boring road (straight). We gassed up and went at speed (well 130km/h which is the speed limit). At this point The Captain and Russ were starting to see the Gibster as a bit of a liability. At 130km/h, the Gibster was only able to knock off 250kms before having to refuel, which was interrupting the ebb and flow of the others. He kept saying it will be OK when we get to QLD and the speed limit is 110km/h. So as to keep the peace Russ and the Captain pretended to refuel when the Gibster went into the pits every 150kms.
Stopped off at the eclectic Daly Waters Pub for an early lunch that ended up as a late lunch by the time it arrived, and pushed on to our destination at the 3 ways road house on the corner of the Stuart Highway and Barckly Highway. Lots of Wedge Tail Eagles circling and as road kill today, they are clearly slow to take off. Arrived at our digs and The Gibster and Russ did a quick tour into Tennant Creek. The Telegraph Stations was closed due to covid and the town was well just like any other NT town, so back for dinner and some repartee on Mt Isa, where Hydro is going to rondez vous tomorrow. Every restaurant booking the Gibster tried to make he was met with…nah sorry mate closed or fully booked for you tomorrow. Will report in on our success or failure for securing dimer in the blog tomorrow
Day 38 25/3/22 Three Ways to Mount Isa 646kms
There was an air of excitement today as it was a rondez vous with Hydro at Mount Isa. However we had to run down 640kms of the most boring scenery on earth, red soil scrub, transforming to pasture over 600kms. The Barkly Highway was exceptionally boring, so it was batteries to power and engines to speed to just run down the kms. The Gibster was hit by two birds (why are they so slow in northern Australia) A stop off at the Barkly Homestead for breakfast and then what the hell, just power on to Mount Isa. The Gibster just managed to limp into Comoweel to refuel coz the pump to pump distance was at the BMWs limit. Rolled into Mount Isa and met up with Hydro who has a long blog of his own (but he will have to write it). Dinner at Giuseppe’s with a few laughs, but the Captain and the Gibster had to get home for tonight. They are somewhere out of town. Russ and Hydro just walked home
Day 39 26/5/22 Mount Isa to Kurumba (568kms)
Early start at 7.30 with a refuel and a run to the mexican for a morning injection of cafeine. The Gibster thought $2 at coles express was better value than the $5 mexican foo foo stuff, but Hydro and Russ just ignored him. The run into Cloncurry was very nice and so different from the last 3 weeks. Green rolling hills and CORNERS!! Road trains and miners everywhere but we rolled into Cloncurry hoping to find a breakfast place, but the only shop in town was the servo. The Captain exclaimed I’m so sick of roadhouse breakfasts; but then hooked into a scrambled eggs on toast. Then off up the Matilda Way. Russ was adjusting his song list and looked up and the Gibster and Captain had disappeared. At least Hydro was still around. Rocked up to the Burke and Wills roadhouse to find Waldorf and Statler (The Captain and the Gibster) lollygagging around like they had been there for 30 minutes waiting for us. (Apparently true). Purchased the appropriate sticker and then pushed on to Normanton where we had to get photographs with the big crocodile. The Captain was anxious to get to our destination so he overtook and was negotiating with the villas manager when we arrived. He did really well, he negotiated himself into sharing a room with the Gibster with only one bed. He was heard to say “I love you like a brother Gibster, but Im not sharing a room as he rode off to the pub to find alternate arrangements.
Hydro Gibster and Russ meanwhile went to the Animal Bar for a refresher. Russ suggested the sunset bar for dinner, which involved a 5km ride to the point. We agreed to hold back on beverages so we could get there and back. It was spectacular and the sunset was an hour in total and the food was pretty good as well. Some lively discussion around the table . The Gibster made the comment of the day. “If you go to bed early, you get up early” We all agreed.
Cairns tomorrow…longest ride so far
Day 40 27/5/22 Kurumba to Cairns 780kms
Yep, longest riding day on tour. We were up early coz the Gibster had bought a tyre in Cairns which he didnt need now, but they wouldnt refund him the cash, so he had to be in Cairns before the store closed. Hydro and Russ were having their Coffees at Micks cafe at 6.30 am. The Captain arrived direct from his waterfront suite which he procured in desperation yesterday.
It seems everyone in this town is up at 6.30. Everyone wanted to have a chat, to the extent that one guy brought over a chair so he could join us and regale us with stories about their round Australia Tour. (Yawn). Russ doesnt relate well to these people, but The Gibster came over at that time and was very engaging. (He speaks the lingo of the Grey Nomads). Then the Taxi Driver who stood us up last night come out to appologise (She also runs the general store) Russ said no drama (how did she know it was us she stood up?)
Rode back to Normanton avoiding the early morning wildlife and turned onto the Savanah Way…..only 700kms to Cairns. Some of this road was crazy weird as it was only one lane of tar with two sholders of dirt, but the speed limit was still 110. Suffice to say with an oncomiing road train you hit the dirt pretty rapidly. The Gibster was doing a great job out front alerting us to all the various dangers .
The Captain made a very anti climactic farewell by peeling off the back of the group and heading to Townsville. The Gibster has frightened him into getting a new tyre for the trip back and they could only fit on Sat Morning.
Hit up the Atherton Tablelands and got the first corners since Margaret river, Russ couldnt work out why he felt the tyres where slippery. Hydro pointed out that coz the tyres were new in Darwin, he had only been riding straight roads, ergo on corners they were still new tyres, “Check out the chicken strips”, he said
The Gibster picked up his tyre, strapped it to the bike and checked into the Hotel with it. A great night at an Italian place, then a cleanser at the RSL. Hydros niece and friends came to say hi just as we had finished that cleanser, so we continued with one more.
The blog is now a bit discombobulated as there are 3 different groups after the big split; but we will work something out!
Day 41 Cairns to Airlie Beach 28/5/22 675km
The Gibster, Hydro and Russ went for a coffee at 7am with all the push bike wanabes at the best cafe in Cairns. The Gibster was teary eyed about saying good bye, but Hydro and Russ said they weren’t his support group and it was his choice to continue alone. That said The Gibster had lead the 40 day trip to date exceptionally well to which we all give our gratitude.
Hydro and Russ headed down to A1 south…..seriously why has Queensland decided to repair every single road to and from Cairns at the same time. A very frustrating trip in and out of road repair areas. Hydro was over heating from the weather and the road situation. We made a resolution not to use the A1 again. Got into Airlie beach at 4.30. Russ was exhausted. He has come up with a new measurement scale for exhaustion. It is the seven day rolling average kilomitage multiplied by the standard drinks consumed that night divided by the number of hours slept. Russ’s index was the highest on tour for today, but Hydro didn’t care he wasn’t his support group. Rolled into the Discovery park (packed coz there was a car show???), had a savy blanc and chips and salsa courtesy of the gibster who didn’t have enough room to carry it. Walked down to the Tavern and had the usual (its been a long tour) and Russ went to bed at 9, meanwhile Hydro settled back for 3 hours of Scandi Noir.
Day 42 29/5/22 Airlie Beach to Yepoon via Dingo (680kms)
Russ was back in action today and the exhaustion index had fallen. Breakfast on the beach at Airlie. The place is heaving ….all the tourists are back! Hydro had planned a route inland to avoid the Bruce Highway. Russ was happy coz he thought it would be relaxing, but true to form Hydro informed Russ late into the ride that it was 200kms longer. Russ already knew coz he was riding north for the last 100kms….what have we just done a circle? Ended up at a very quirky place in Yepoon. Aviaries, fishtanks and very stylish rooms. Dinner at the pub (a thai salad washed down with cabernet merlot). Checked in on the Captain who was at 1770 and The Gibster who had made his way to Townsville by a police radar,,,,first ticket in 43 years! Catch you tomorow
Day 43 30/5/22 Yepoon to Toowoomba via Zilzie and Mt Morgan 720kms
Hydro kept up the vibe to go as far as you can for the minimum distance. Got up early, Hydro disapproved of the cafes in the tourist area of Yeppoon “We can find something better…..well maybe or not. Rode for another hour without a caffeine shot and pulled into Rockky for a big breakfast and and a double shot. After a fuel up, us and the bikes, we headed to Mount Morgan which was a gold mine that operated for 100 years. Russ’s ancestors worked at the mine and ran two of the hotels….enough said. 600 kms later rolled into Toowoomba. It was now now 10 degrees. What the hell happened; two days ago it was 38, one day ago it was 28 and now it is 10. Toowoomba is quite a large place, we went to dinner at a middle eastern restaurant (so good to get away from the chicken parmies).
Day 44 31/5/22 Toowoomba to Stanthorpe via Sanctuary Cove 559 kms
Despite the fact fact we are only 153 kms away from our last destination we have covered a lot of ground through amazing conditions, Up early we had intended to use freeways to get to the gold coast to visit Russ’s mum, but there was carnage on the M2 due to a car crash, so we went the back way via Cunninghams gap and Mt Tambourine, It took the same time but at least we were moving. Hydro did the dog whispering thing with Suzys dog and after a coffee and good conversation we were off again.
The wind was crazy. 100km/h gusts. Not so bad getting to the Goldie but getting back WTF! The idea was to go via the Falls Way to Killarney and then to Stanthorpe’ we were on schedule nd then we got to Hydros worst nightmare….ROAD CLOSED…..you think they could have told us that 100kms ago when we originally came down the road….he was pissed off……so turn about and Hydro took off at warp speed (he was mad). Back over Cunningham’s Gap. Seriously this was the most intense ride of the last 42 days. Sun in your eyes, tree detritus all over the road, 100 km/h winds, trucks coming and going and cornering every 30 metres. It was worse than Stelvio for those on the Alps ride. Temperature dropped to 9 degrees. Russ (the reptile) was shivering. Got to our digs and Hydro had to light the fire….Russ was comotosed from the cold. When all recovered went off to a great Japanese restaurant… not sure what this is going to do to the digestive system after 40 days of roadhouses and country taverns. Armadale tomorrow
Day 45 (The Penultimate) 1/6/22 Stanthorpe to Armidale via Grafton 447kms
Just when the trip is supposed to wind down it winds up like The Gibsters watch. We left the air bnb (which was a memorial for someones parents) and motored on in to town for what we were told by the taxi driver last night as the best coffee house in the Granite Belt. To go with the coffee all we wanted was a ham and cheese toastie…..but no the only thing on the menu was a Pulled Pork Asian Infused Toastie with Cheese…..seriously in Stanthorpe? Hydro was hungry so he ordered a couple and while it seemed creative wasn’t not good for the digestive situation on a long ride. Took off down the Bruxner Highway and hung a right down plains station road. What a blast…narrow road through amazing green pastures and to top it off a river crossing over the subtlest of bridges with water bubling through the wooden slats. Hydro was in his element……it doesn’t get much better than this…but it did, As soon as Russ completed the river crossing he hit sand. Doing his best Boxy Barney Rubble he got through the first barrage. Knowing know how the Ducati works with the two pistons (coz the Gibster has been tutoring him for 38 days), Russ increased the revs to 7000 which gives it a gyroscopic impact keeping the bike upright while he plied through the sand. Success and press on regardless. The day was cloudless and the scenery spectacular as we winded our way into Grafton. Russ told Hydro not to stop here coz I’ve been here before when Mike G had a bike issue. Maybe we were in the wrong end of the town, but it was kind of weird, so we just swung around onto waterfall way.
Seriously what completely wrecked road. The potholes were enormous and were consistent for 100kms. On top of that the winds had brought down branches and twigs that were all over the road and if that was not enough the sun was in our eyes and the temperature dropped to 4 degrees. This was one track in the whole of Australia that Russ was happy for cars to overtake him. It was like the last ski run of the day and caution is the name of the game. Hydro was quite relieved coz even he was thinking it was ambitious to go at normal Fox speed. Stopped at Ebor Falls and Hydro took a few phone calls while Russ applied voltarin to his neck (its been a long tour!)
Endured 80km/h head winds all the way into Armadale and rode into our motel. Russ sat in the shower for 30 minutes and turned around his hyperthermia while Hydro sat in the sun with a cabernet merlot. Dinner at the White Bull Hotel which has been the scene of many crimes when here before.
The Captain has reported in and has arrived safely at home. He was an exceptional voyager on this tour and I thank him for his company, knowledge and dry wit. The Gibster is in Rockhampton tonight after battling roadworks for 400kms. He could have taken the inland Hydro route…200kms more but arrive at the same time. We will monitor his progress home. For those reading this blog tomorrow will be the last one, but it has been fun keeping a record of this monumental event
Day 46 2/6/22 Armidale to Sydney 475 kms
Woke up and the temperature was minus 2, with ice on the bikes…(well Hydros anyway, Russ parked undercover). The meeting time of 7.30 passed by with no sign of Hydro. Usually by this time he had already done two laps around town and bought his second coffee. Russ was suspecting he might have had a night on the stillnox. At 8 he emerged having slept on his phone and not heard the alarm. Scraped the ice off the bikes and cruised into Uralla at sub zero temps for breakfast at “The Alternative Root Cafe” a fox hangout on previous trips.
As it was the last day, it was like the last run of the day skiing, take it carefully and dont do anything risky. Russ was looking forward to a leisurely drive home. Hydro said he knew this great shortcut from Gloucester to Dungog. “Just follow me”. wtf the road was totally boobytrapped……dirt and loose gravel with a 30cm deep river crossing. “Hydro said just follow where the car tracks would be, that way you wont slip on the moss”. Survived that to follow up with major potholes and loose sticks from the winds to contend with. Got back onto the bitumen and Russ thought that was the end of the fun and then Hydro pulled a left turn and another 16km of dirt, potholes, low hanging trees, cows on the road and eating Hydros dust. Never more pleased then to finally come up to the M1 at Newcastle. Did the bolt home from there. Great trip; Hydro added energy required for the last quarter, thanks to the Gibster for organising.
Some stats – 19,200kms in total; avg daily ride 525kms; 200 hours in the saddle; average speed 96km/h, 1,120 litres of petrol consumed and 80 refuelings
The Gibster is nearly home also after doing 1000km Rockhampton to Tamworth in one go.
Another great fox adventure..Here ends the bog!
Silver Foxes Motorcycle Club Australia 