Darwin And Back

By Norman Lee.

Part One: The Trip (the preparation bit)

It was at a party where the amber liquid was flowing and reason had gone out the window (late in the evening) when my friend Robert suggested doing a trip on the bikes. Robert has just become the proud owner of a Kawasaki 1000.

Robert said Darwin and back through Adelaide, at this point the SO’s said we were on our own; they would fly up and meet us there. In my relaxed state I wondered how the bike trip had changed to the evolution of man, sometimes the grey cells go on holiday from time to time and I only hear selected information. Then it dawned on me, he was talking about Darwin in the Northern Territory

The next day was clearer and reminded by our wives, we had made a bold statement about a trip to Darwin so what do we need to do. The first thing was to look at some maps, warm up the Garmin Mapsource and have a look at where to go. Get out “Bears” Motor Cycle Atlas, the one compiled by Hemma and look and see if any of those rides could be fitted in. Now I’m chicken in the dirt with the 1800 Goldwing, so those ones we will give a miss too. The tupperware does not handle gravel rash too well.

Okay, lets fire up the navigation software and plan some of this.

First look seems we should head north to Charters Towers, turn left to Mount Isa and Tennant Creek, turn right and we are in Darwin – looks good, according to the GPS system it should take a little over 48 hrs – hey who are they kidding that’s some 5000+ kilometers. The return trip through Alice, a side trip to Ayers Rock and Kings Canyon, then on to Adelaide, the Great Ocean road, Melbourne and home – another 5000+ kilometers. Who was the idiot that suggested this small 10000+ kilometre ride? Cannot change now, wives will think we are wimps.

Second thoughts and more discussion indicate we should have a couple of choices, just in case the weather goes bad enroute and then we really should go to Longreach, that’s in the book somewhere. What time of year is best? We think early July should be okay, winter down south and mild weather up north, but what about Adelaide and the Ocean road on the way back. Another alternate route needs adding. I have already wondered about “Highway 1” thought it was tarred all the way along, but a trip to the NT website shows that it is currently “impassable due to flooding”, this is January.

How do you know what to take – what tools, what clothes, where to stay, what to see (do not just want too ride). All of this duly noted I created a couple of lists which included getting the bike checked over, oil change, filters etc. Things like, “I put a new rear tyre on at 13,000 km, done 10,000 km on it already, and will it last”? popped up, brake pads another consideration, run on synthetic oil so no oil change during the trip. Check “NRMA” and “Honda Assist” coverage, but we should not break down – bikes are new, well almost (four years).

Part two: The Outward Trip

This part of the trip takes us from our home to Darwin. The first leg on the 14/7/05 was to Tamworth, we followed the Putty Road and then up the New England Highway. This proved to be the best way for our loaded up bikes. The scenery at this time of the year and with drought conditions was just ordinary.

Going through Musselbrook we saw the first of many heavy loads being moved around the country. It must have been that time of the year in which to do this. What was remarkable about this load was the number of prime movers. In all there were six, four up front all pulling the load and two more at the rear pushing the load, not sure how they synchronize things. Everything was “steerable” and of course it was accompanied by all the ancillary vehicles carrying “wide heavy load” signs and a flotilla of police cars stopping all traffic. Once this load was rolling they did not want to stop it.

Arrival in Tamworth saw us looking for accommodation, so it was a trip to the information bureau where they gave us a list of hotels/motels etc and even arranged our booking. We found throughout the trip, that going to the “info” place was beneficial and always our first stop. The hotel we stayed in was almost new and was called ‘Motel 359’ and the room rate was $45.

The next day saw us visit the Tamworth Motorcycle Museum which is a persons own private collection. We were a little disappointed at the amount of motorcycles on display, largest display was on Ducati’s with a smattering of other makes although they did have an across the frame six cylinder Honda on display. They will be opening an upper floor sometime, so it should get better.

We followed the highway up through Guyra and Glen Innes where we ran into some of the worst bike riding conditions possible. During the ride to Glen Innes (Guyra area) we experienced strong winds (bike leans of 45 degrees were the go, to compensate), freezing rain, sleet, hail and the ‘piece de resistance’ snow which stuck to the windshields until you wiped it off. We had to stop in Glen Innes to thaw out as the temperature had dropped to 3 degrees. It was a good job the bikes had the ‘anti freeze/anti boil’ liquid in the system as the stop to warm us up saw the bike go from hot to cold (requiring choke to restart) in less than twenty minutes. The Glen Innes Tea Rooms have excellent food.

Originally we thought about stopping at Tenterfield, but with the cold weather we decided to move on to a warmer climate, so we headed towards Toowomba and turned left. Warwick was the next stop where we found a motorcycle friendly motel called ‘Buckaroo Motel’.  The weather had now changed to sunshine so we were happy. The road up to Toowomba is very scenic as it follows the mountain ranges with views of the valleys. The local lads were out doing the ‘breath test’ bit, but they waved us on – we must have looked to cold.

From Toowomba to Dalby it is very flat and not much to see. The little township of Miles was worth a stop as they had an original pioneer village (part of the original township) where they had a sign about women immigrating to Australia from the UK for five pounds – Elizabeth Lee was one of these women. From Miles to Roma was just ordinary. The Motel in Roma is not one we would recommend (Wishing Well Motel) as the manager kept indicating that this was a “Budget” motel and facilities were limited (no electric blankets) and they were going to rebuild in the not too distant future. The bikes covers where covered in ice the next morning so that will tell you how cold it got.

The next stop was Blackall where we sampled the first of the ‘hot springs’ we came across during our trip. Here we stayed in a pub called the ‘Barcoo Hotel’ built in 1846. This pub was only a few minutes walk from the hot springs. The spring was at the local swimming pool and was a comfortable 38 degrees. Once cooked sufficiently you slid over the side of the spa area into the pool for a couple of laps before returning to the “spa”. The pool temperature was a nice 35 degrees.

It was on the way to Blackall when I had a kangaroo hop across the road, some twenty feet in front of me and a little further on, an emu sauntered across as well. Plenty of cattle wandering the roadside and eagles flying around along with the odd fox or two. As we approached one particular herd, they separated to let us through (roo whistles must be working okay). That was until we were in the middle of the herd and the all decided to close ranks. We had to stop and when I put my foot down it was in a very fresh cow pat necessitating the hanging of the boot out to the right to get the wind to blow it off.

From Blackall we headed to Longreach with the aim of having a couple of days here to visit the various attractions. On the way we stopped of at Barcaldine to visit the “Tree of Knowledge” the location of the start of the Australian Labour Party. In Barcaldine is one of the very early Masonic Lodges (number 26) that is worth going to look at. It was here that I realized that I did not know my webmail password – never use it at home.

On all our riding days we aimed to arrive at a location by around two o’clock as this would give us time to find good accommodation and also do some sightseeing. At Longreach we found a good motel, which put the bikes under cover and out of sight, called the ‘Longreach Motel’. We booked onto an evening (sunset) river cruise and campfire meal. The entertainer was an old ‘swaggy’ who sung campfire songs and poems etc, an excellent evening out. Robert decided the refrigerator needed adjustment to a point where everything ended up frozen solid, his domestic skills leave something to be desired.

The next day saw us visit the Qantas museum and the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. At Qantas, you can go on a tour of a parked 747, aptly named Longreach, and you are able to see in the cargo areas and other bits and pieces. The aircraft had some panels removed so that you could see the different bits of equipment, computers, air-conditioning etc. The aircraft is complete and ready to fly, including fuel in its tanks. The hostess indicated that it could be ready in 48 hrs but with my limited knowledge of aircraft, I would not count on it ever leaving the ground again.

The Stockman’s Hall of Fame is across the road from the Qantas museum and consists of five floors relating to the various aspects of Australia and its history. This is a place where you could spend four to six hours or even more, especially if you read each and every piece of information. Whilst here we watched a swaggy/jackeroo work sheep using dogs to put them in pens and hold them in a group etc.

The following day we went to the “School of the Air” but missed the tour by 45 minutes. Rather than wait, and as it was raining we headed for Winton. Now the motel owner told us that it did not rain at Winton. Arriving at Winton we did a tour of the main street looking at the hotels and motels. Whilst doing this (in the pouring rain mind you), so much for the previous motel owner, we were waved down by a young man, who turned out to be the son of a local hotel owner. He asked if we were looking for a place to stay, (didn’t we look soaked enough) we took up the offer and followed him around to the ‘beer garden’ of the North Gregory Hotel where the bikes were put under cover. After unloading the bikes they were moved into a lock up garage for safe keeping. It turns out that this hotel was where Lynden B. Johnson stayed, during the war years and prior to him becoming US president.

The hot water for showers etc in this hotel is piped directly from the hot springs underground and then run through coolers to the shower heads. The standard procedure, as explained by the host, “turn on shower hot tap, adjourn to bar for a couple of drinks, go back to room and check temperature, if okay, have shower otherwise back to bar for further medication”. This process was duly followed and seemed to work okay, although the water did not get any hotter than when first turned on. The water here was not conducive to teeth cleaning, it was probably okay but smelt terrible.

The owner of the North Gregory Hotel is a Ulysses member and his sons are the only road bike owners in town, they love to have bikes stay with them and go out of their way to make sure you have a good time. Typical of this was when we wanted to go to see the Dinosaur tracks which were down some dirt roads, Goldwing’s and Kawasaki’s are not suitable for this, well they may be suitable, but not with me on them. Graham suggested that we take a trip with ‘Charlie’, which he then arranged for us, and all that was left for us to do was go to a shop in town and pay for it – Charlie would then pick us up at 8:00 am.

It was an early start as we needed breakfast prior to leaving on the trip. Breakfast in this hotel was the ‘help yourself’ to what ever was available in the way of juices, toast, cereals, milk, tea or coffee. Right on time Charlie appeared and we got into a small ‘coaster’ bus along with a few others who where already on the bus and headed out for a tour of the area. Charlie took us to lots of sightseeing spots in the hills for photographs including a look at their ‘Three Sisters’.

We had morning tea and lunch out on these tracks overlooking some very scenic views before heading down to the Dinosaur tracks at Lark Quarry. None of the tracks we went on where signposted so it is possible that we would not have found many of these spots. After seeing the “tracks” we traveled to Charlie’s home for afternoon tea and cakes prior to taking us back to the hotel. It turns out that Charlie owned most of the area we traveled on, it was called Carrisbrook Station and was measured in hundreds of square miles rather than acres. Other places that we went through took hours before we crossed from one fence line to the next.

Near Charlie’s house is a marker related to where Lyndon B. Johnson’s airplane, a B17, was forced to land with engine problems. Whilst the engineers fixed the aircraft, Lyndon stayed at the North Gregory Hotel hence the plaque in the hotel.

After Winton we traveled up to Mount Isa. On the way we stopped at McKinley for a coffee and to look at the pub made famous by the Crocodile Dundee film. Whilst there, one of the longest road trains pulled in, it had eight trailers on it and when loaded was greater than 100 tons. A chat with the driver indicated there were only three of these in Australia and it used fuel at the rate of 745 meters to the litre – that’s correct. When he restarted, it took ten gear changes to get it up to around 5 kph and being a windy day, the last trailer swings a bit.

The road took us to Cloncurry and on the way we caught up with the road train doing close to 90 kph with the last trailer wandering in the wind. What we had to do was wait till a long straight came up, watch for the trailer to swing to the inside and then go like the ‘clappers’ to pass it. Once overtaking this road train, you were committed; hence the requirement for a long straight, the road train was over fifty meters in length and needed time to pass. We counted the tyres on the trailers and there were 110 wheels on it, not sure how long the tyres last or what would happen if you overshot the corner where you needed to turn, it would be a long way to the next suitable turning place.

It was along this section where we met another heavy load. This time it was a dump truck on the back of another truck that took up both sides of the road. The prime mover ran down the centre of the road and the dump truck was overhung level with each side of the road. The local lads were moving all vehicles off the road to allow it through. My luck ran out as I encountered it in a very narrow section of the road, so had to get off the road. This area had a steep embankment of loose stones and rocks which I rode the Goldwing down. The problem was getting back up on to the tar. I had to ride some distance traversing this rocky slope until I was back on the road. Luck was with me this time as I did not drop the bike but learnt a lot. This seems to be the time of the year for moving heavy objects as we came across many other ones. A person we met later on was also moved off the road into the stony rocks/ loose soil and managed to ‘bog’ their car. No one stopped to help him and he had to manhandle the car a bit at a time to get it back on the road.

At Mount Isa we toured the town and found a motel about 5 mins from the main shopping area. It turned out that the motel we picked was owned by an Aborigine family and we were looked after well. We toured the attractions including the lookout and an underground mine tour where we where allowed to use some of the equipment. That evening we went to the Irish club (supposedly the largest in Australia) for dinner. This club has a pub and a tram inside the club.

Whilst in Mount Isa we also visited the underground hospital which was dug during the 1942 war and later (1945) sealed up and forgotten only to be re-found in 1999. All equipment, medicines, beds, crockery, linen etc are still the original, just like a time warp.

The next part of the trip took us across the border into the Northern Territory and on to ‘Barkly Homestead’. This took us through, what we thought was going to be a large town, the town of Camonweal and turned out to be a pub and a couple of service stations/road houses. The scenery was wide open spaces and not much more.

From Barkly Homestead we decided to head due north to a place near the Gulf of Capenteria called Cape Crawford, the only place there is a hotel/shop/service station/ caravan park called ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, wondered where the name came from but no one seemed to know. This road is very narrow and goes for 388 kilometers with literally nothing until the last 10 kms which climbs an escarpment. Here we saw a sign indicating twisty roads for 6 kms, if you can count four corners that can be taken flat out as twisty then so be it. We stopped about halfway along the road for photographs as no matter what direction you looked, there was nothing, not even a tree or bush. You could determine the curvature of the earth and we reckoned that if you where a 100 meters off the road you would probably never find the road again unless you were lucky.

We were lucky at Heartbreak as the week before a group of Harley riders from Perth, called the Coffin Cheaters, had been there on their annual ride to Cairns. Now there were 90 plus riders and a contingent of 102 police to keep tabs on them. The police had their own mobile cafeteria and accommodation whereas the Harley group had their own “B” double transporter complete with spare parts, fuel and more alcohol than the average pub would hold. The police had ‘sniffer’ dogs and ‘breath tested’ them every morning prior to road travel. Once these guys got to Cairns they were putting their bikes on the truck and flying home. Do not think I would want to be on that flight.

Whilst at Heartbreak we had a visit from a helicopter which just landed and parked on the side of the road. It had a bit of a problem with the engine, so Robert and I went over to assist in the repair, turned out that it needed the plugs cleaned as they were fouled up. We gave the customary advice to the pilot and supervised the operation, making comments about other bits that should be looked at. Once fixed up, the pilot took it for a spin and then took a couple of people for a run over the hidden city which was nearby. We declined a trip.

From here it was 288 kms to Daly Waters with nothing but scrub in between. It was then on to Katherine. On the way there we saw a big bush fire raging, later we found out that it was accidentally started by a chinaman. He was on a push bike and had stopped for the night. He had erected his tent and was cooking his tea when the tent caught fire, then all his clothing and then his bike. By this time a large bush fire was under way and when we got there it was moving at a fast rate of knots – it was still going a week later when we returned past this same spot. He was possibly practicing his ‘indigenous’ bit of land reclamation.

In Katherine we found more thermal springs, again with a very pleasant temperature. It seems all these springs had been excavated and made nice by the Americans during the war years, solely for officer use, lower ranks used the river. Today they are used by one and all, only requirements are a ‘cossie’ and a towel as getting out of the springs can get a bit cold. The next day saw us take a trip (the four hour one) to Katherine Gorge, where we viewed three of the thirteen gorges. As well as good scenery, there are freshwater crocodiles, Aboriginal paintings and lots to see. The evening saw us back at the springs again for a ‘tub’ prior to dinner. The special tonight was steak and these steaks come on their own large, and I mean large, dinner plate with the vegetable in separate dishes, doggy bags are allowed.

It was now the 28/7/05, fourteen days since leaving Londonderry, and we were heading for Darwin. Decided to stop off at Edith Falls and take a few pictures and then continue on our way. In Darwin we stayed at the ‘Melouca on Mitchell’, originally just for backpackers but now with a new block of motel units. This was a bike friendly place and our room on the ground floor was right next to the pool, ideal for the late night dip. They have automatic gates to the car park that are operated by a smart card, same one as the room, to open them at night.

This motel had two more swimming pools up on the first floor along with a bar and a kitchen where you could cook if you wished; we never did as it was holiday time. On the Thursday evening we went to Mindi markets to watch the sunset plus look around, there were us and 10,000 others but we had a good time. We found the best way to get there was a ‘shuttle’ bus from across the road near the motel. The group that was doing the entertainment bit at the market was called ‘EMDEE’ and had just won a contract to tour the USA. The lead player, played four didgeridoo’s and was excellent. The market has many different stalls with a lot of food and drinks. We tried some of the food and drinks and wandered amongst the stalls looking at what was on display. Whilst looking around we passed a stall selling ‘bongs’ for the connoisseur and the odd thing or two.

It was here that Robert’s domestic skills came under scrutiny again. We did our washing, everything in the one tub, and went for a beer. The washing completed it was time for a dryer. We selected the best one and judiciously put in three dollars; that should be ample and went back to the bar. When the time was up we went to check on the dryer, Robert had selected “cold” instead of hot so insert another three dollars and re-adjourn back to the bar. On discussing this, it seems that Roz was the culprit – her domestication model somehow failed. Some good did come out of it, drinking time

On the following day we decided it would be better to take a bus tour around the areas where we would not take the bikes – Litchfield National Park. Our tour took in Howard Springs where we fed the Barramundi and I lost my sunglasses – see Roberts’s video. Now there is possibly some cool ‘bara’ sporting a pair of sunnies in this pool. Then it was on to the Adelaide River to see the jumping crocodiles, Wangi falls, Florence falls, Buley Holes. We swam at all of these places, except Adelaide river, and snorkeled for barramundi. The sign in the car park says it all “If no parking spots – holes are full”.

We decided to hire scooters for the next day and visit all the local spots which included seeing the Ghan train (the station is 45 minutes out of town). This train is around two kilometers in length and was just about to leave when we got there. Here we met up with an Englishman who gave us the name of his adopted son who runs a pub in Port Augusta. From the train we headed for the aviation museum which has a B52 bomber in it and then to Fannie Bay and the Point for sightseeing and a wander down the updated Wharf Precinct for lunch, took the scooters right up to the table. After lunch we visited the underground fuel storage facility which was built during the war years and never used. Six of the tunnels where built for the storage of fuel oil.

Tomorrow we head for home, see part three.

Part 3: The Homeward Trip

It was on the morning of the 31/7/05 that we left the warm days of Darwin and headed south with our first stop at Mataranka. The reason for this was the hot springs attached to the homestead where we are staying. The trip down took us through Katherine again where we stopped for lunch. That evening after dinner we had a guitar player as entertainment, he played all ‘shadows’ music. For those that do not know, this was the group that supported Cliff Richards, for those that do not know Cliff, ask your parents. Another part of the entertainment was the apprentice bagpipe player and you can well imagine that.

Here we met some Ulysses guys who were on a trip from Grafton, one had trouble with a Honda Valkry which we set about diagnosing. For the last few days they had been starting it with a screwdriver across the terminals of the starter motor. A bit of discussion, some suggestions which had been checked and tested okay and then out with the WD40 and spray the handlebar starter switch and lo and behold everything worked again and one very happy person.

Next day we headed for Tennant Creek where the scenery was Forest to rocky outcrops and met the first of some very strong winds. Our stay at Tennant Creek was at the Outback Caravan Park – this was the only place where we used our sleeping bags. It seems that most of the major roads in the Northern Territory were made by the US army during WWII as up until this time it was only dirt tracks that headed north and south. Along this road are many WWII sites dedicated to the people who fought in the war. Some of the sites are old airfields from where bombers took off to bomb the islands.

From Tennant Creek we headed for Alice and this was the first time we saw wild camels. Further along this road are the Devils Marbles and the typical photo opportunity. Later in the day we stopped at the ‘geographical centre of Australia’. The actual marker is a little way from the road marker on a cattle property. One straight road that we measured was 62 kms long with no bends or deviations whatsoever and we believe some were even longer.

At Alice we decided to take a bus tour to Ayres Rock rather than ride the bikes to it and have the high cost of overnight accommodation plus fuel. This turned out to be the right choice as we got to see the Olga’s and Ayres Rock plus a tour guide to show us the various paintings and caves around the rock which are not publicized. It was an early start 6:50 am, very cold and a late finish – well after midnight. The day out included all park fees and meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner).

What we did notice was how cold it was at Alice, around 0 or 1 degree at night which required the heating to be left on. We did the sightseeing bit on this day and ended up at a club for a meal. The curtsey bus for our run back to the caravan park took us on a tour of Alice by night including a view from the lookout and going to an Aboriginal area to view their art work on some houses, fabulous and another place we would never have seen.

Another bus tour and early start to Kings Canyon where some idiot recommended the “Rim” walk, 7 kms in length and where the first half a kilometer was straight up. Very scenic once up there – not a walk for the faint hearted.

On the way there, the coach developed a wobble in the front which was getting worse. As I was in the navigator seat and the wobbly wheel was on my side, I suggested he stop and we have a look at it. We decided to change the wheel over to the spare, so whilst the driver got the spare from the rear, Robert and I removed the front wheel and then replaced it with the spare. I tightened all wheel nuts to my normal torque settings (bloody tight). The driver said he would stop in half an hour and check the tightness of the nuts. He was very surprised that he could not move them one little bit, what did he expect, some wimp tightening them up, he’s got a couple of bikers here. The wobble had now disappeared. Robert had a theory and wanted to change the wheel again, you can imagine what he was told.

After the Kings Canyon walk we headed to Kings Creek for a cup of coffee, a camel ride if you wished, a helicopter flight or quad bikes except they where all out. We sat and chatted to a bike person who had set up ‘Harley rides’ for people who wanted to go fast (no speed limit in NT) or just cruise. Eventually we headed off for dinner and a late drive back to town. This was where we came across a Dingo who was very interested in us when we stopped. Home after midnight again, not sure if we can keep this up, getting Robert out of bed early is something else.

The next day saw us do some touring on our own bikes this time, back to take photos of the Aboriginal buildings. After that we went to the airport and transport museum to see the original Ghan carriages and the very first road train with ‘follow steering’ on the trailers, then on to ‘Panorama’ where a painter had created a 360 degree mural of Alice in line with each direction you would be looking.

Now it was on to Coober Pedy for a stay underground, we found a motel called ‘Desert View Apartments’ and booked one of the apartments which had two bedrooms, large lounge, fully equipped kitchen, bathroom and toilet all cut into the hillside. Temperature in the apartment was a constant 23 to 25 degrees. When the lights were out, the place was very dark and noise did not exist due to the nature and thickness of the sandstone.

On the road to Coober Pedy, Roberts CB controls decided to come loose to a point where one of the wires broke. A tour of the accessory places in Coober came up with a possible soldering iron and some solder. The next morning, a walk up the road to a service station found a mechanic who had one of the small butane irons that he had never used. A bit of a chat and he offered to lend it to us so that I could repair the control unit. On taking the bike to the ‘servo’ the mechanic warmed up the iron – took about 10 mins. When hot I soldered the broken wire and gave it back (about 30 secs) and he was really surprised that it was fixed – technical know how.

All roads in this area, other than the highway, are dirt roads so an off road bike or four wheel drive is required. Another bus tour was arranged which took us to places unknown to the tourist. Some areas were so riddled with holes that it was possible to fall down one and not be seen again. Most holes were up to 100 feet deep. Whilst on this tour, we were allowed to ‘noodle’ scavenge through the heaps looking for opal and possibly get lucky. I found some pieces and so did Robert.

Our tour then took us out to a place called “Crocodile Jim’s Place” named after the owner who, prior to coming to Coober Pedy, was a crocodile hunter until it was made illegal. His home was dug out of the hillside by hand and in the process he mined the opal – made a successful living from it. Jim was a ladies man and his home has all the hallmarks of it. It has nude statutes and the ladies leave their signed bra and panties for him to hang up. Jim is now in his eighties but still loves seeing the ladies. The toilets here are called “The Long Drop” as it is a hole drilled deep into the earth and a toilet bowl sat on top. Jim still mines the area, although he himself does not do any digging. He has a couple of guys (youngsters) do it and they split it fifty fifty each. Currently you are not allowed to mine in the town, but Jim makes out he is adding a new room – think he’s up to 52 rooms now.

After Jim’s place we detoured to a place called “The Breakaways” which is a mountain range that was the beach area millions of years ago when water covered central Australia. From here you could see the ‘Castle’ which is snow white rock and later the dog fence which is purported to go from WA to near the Gold Coast. Its aim is to keep the Dingoes north so that they will not affect the sheep and cattle.

From Coober Pedy we headed further south to Port Augusta – a very windy ride which necessitated slowing down to around 100 kph or less. On the way, we saw salt lakes and the scenery changed from forestry to scrub and more stony areas. In Port Augusta we stayed at the Northern Hotel owned by Ken Williams, the adopted son of Eric, the man we met in Darwin. Again a bike friendly pub with excellent accommodation and food could not get any better as it was free.

After watching the weather forecasts for the coast and after staying a night in Port Augusta we decided to go in land and follow the Murray River. It was lucky that we did as we missed the snow at Warnabool and the rain and gale force winds on the Ocean road. We had a very scenic ride over the mountains, through Wilmington, the Clare valley, Burra and Morgan to Remark. On one side of the mountains was scrub and on the other side were lush grasslands.

The hotel we stayed at in Renmark had a bistro that served ‘Stonegrill’ foods. For those who have not had this, it is a delicious way to cook your meal. They bring a large piece of marble or pumice that is very hot (heated to 400 degrees but around 250 to 300 when you get it) and the raw meat. You then slice the meat and cook to your own taste, the vegetables are cooked but you can heat them up if required. This is one of the few ways where the meal is hot right to the end. A walk round town after dinner saw many possums and ducks waiting to be fed.

From Renmark we followed the river down to Mildura where we went on a paddle wheeler called the Rothbury upstream through one of the locks. Very cold, but okay if you stayed inside near the heating. After chatting to the captain, a bike lover, he told us about a scenic ride worth doing the following day. This ride took us around to the other side of the Murray to where the Murray and Darling rivers meet, at a town called Wentworth.

From here we headed towards Red Cliff to see “Big Lizzie” a monster tractor used for going over sand. This monster had a very unusual wheel set up that had large slabs fixed to a central hub. As the wheel turned it rolled along on these slabs and so never got bogged in mud or sand.

On the way we saw a sign for “Woodies Gem Cave”, it indicated that it was 6 km up this road. We traveled that road and thought we had missed it, when about to give up and turn round we found a sign that it was around the next corner. This place was utterly amazing with all its different gem stones and settings through to the private collection of gems and rocks. I never realized that some rocks are fluorescent in the dark and when UV light is applied. We spent three and a half hours in the place and could have spent more. Back to Mildura for tea which was Kangaroo steaks done in a black current sauce, delicious.

We stayed over an extra day in Mildura so Robert could get his tyre changed. This gave us the opportunity to do the wine tour and get some serious sampling done. On leaving the Mildura winery we spotted the local lads doing a spot of ‘breath testing’, lucky for us it was on the other side although I do not think we would have registered, hopefully.

The following day we headed for Euchuca, a very cold but pleasant ride with a stop at Swan Hill to warm up. After this we headed for the Catalina base to view the old wartime Catalina’s. In Euchuca we found another bike friendly place called the “High Street” motel.

We took advantage of a rainy day, I told Robert it would rain, to visit the old part of Euchuca – The Port of Euchuca. Here we went on one of the old steam paddle wheelers called the “Adelaide”. It rained so hard that they extended the trip so that we did not get wet. This part of the Murray has more paddle wheelers than anywhere in the world. We looked around the old parts including an underground bar that had an escape tunnel for when the place was raided by the police and the original hotel that has a section still maintained in the style of the 1800’s and a working steam wood milling area. Ideal place to visit if you are a steam enthusiast.

We were now on the homeward leg as we headed for Albury. We followed the Murray all the way and came across a thick fog near the town of Yarawonga which caused us to slow down somewhat. We decided to go into the town for coffee and wait for the fog to lift, which took about an hour. In Albury we found a motel right in the centre of town so allowing us to sightsee on foot. Had a wakeup call around 1:45 am by a mature woman wanting a lift home, now if it was a younger woman…….

From Albury we went to the lookout and the Hume Weir, very cold with snow seen on nearby mountains. We then followed the Old Sydney Road back to the highway and on to Yass. Here  we stayed at the ‘Australian Hotel’, another bike friendly place with excellent meals. From Yass it was and easy run home arriving back on the 18/8/05 exactly five weeks from leaving.

Well this trip is over and we are already looking at the next one, possibly Europe on our own bikes. Need to talk to Dave Milligan at “Getrouted”, have a problem with this word, is it pronounced “getrowted” or the English variation “getrooted” – connotations are something else.

Some statistics relating to the trip

Mileage done on bikes 9500 to 9700

Mileage done by other means (tour buses, scooters etc) 2000 kms

Average fuel consumption Goldwing – 17.6 kms/l

Amount of fuel used by the Goldwing – 553 litres

Cost of fuel used by the Goldwing – $671.00

Total cost of motels/hotels/cabins – $2570.80

Maintenance

            Goldwing – headlight bulb, top up overflow tank

            Kawasaki – one rear tyre, repair to CB controller

The only phone to take is a CDMA type as Telstra & Optus digital and possibly other digitals were found lacking in many places.

Trip list – Clothing

Draggin Jeans denim trousers, cargo pants and Jacket

Honda jacket

Norman - Leather trousers (initially wear when leaving Sydney, maybe cold through Tamworth and Glen Innes)

Leather boots

Two pairs gloves (summer & Winter)

Wet weather gear

Two thermal shirts

Thermal long johns

Five polo type shirts

One business type shirt

Five pair’s underwear

Two singlet’s

Two normal type jeans/cargo’s

One pair of shorts (could be the cargo pants unzipped)

Five pairs of socks

One sweatshirt/sloppy joe

One polar fleece vest

One sweater

Pair of sneakers

Pair of shoes

Two caps (Goldwing and Honda, Kawasaki)

Toiletry bag with tooth paste and brush, comb, soap, lip balm etc

One bath towel

One hand towel

Sleeping bag

Two pair pj’s (in case of fire) summer/winter

Flask for hot or cold drinks

Toilet roll

Laundry powder

Thongs

Swimming cossie

Phone charger

Camera charger

torch

Trip list – Tools

Bike service, all filters, check brakes change oil (engine & rear, put in synthetic) etc

Tools for Honda Goldwing

            Initial tools in bike

            Set of spanners 8mm to 17 mm

            Screw drivers (Phillips/chisel)

            Set of metric Allen keys

Puncture outfit for tubeless tyres (the tyrepliers type with air cartridges)

High pressure hand/foot pump (small type)

Tyre pressure gauge

Spare oil filter (case it gets damaged)

One litre container engine oil (Mobil Racing 4T)

Small roll Gaffa tape

Small roll insulation tape

Selection of fuses

Spare bulbs (indicator, stop & tail)

Fuel additive (for outback fuel fills)

Selection of nuts bolts and screws

Some rag

Tube hand cleaner

Bungee straps or Andyz

Chamois

Bike handbook & CB details

First Aid Kit

1 Litre coolant

Large spanner for axle nuts