|
|
 |
|
Preparations |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| Arrived well in Perth in the meantime. Dubai was another Pintpullers
type action, sitting in Dubai airport in an Irish pub and drinking
Australian beer with a guy from Botswana who has roots from Scotland.
Nearly missed the flight to Perth cause I couldn t distinguish between 2
numbers after the x-th beer...
Perth is called "the easy going city" which seems to be absolutely true.
Very multi-culti here, you see more Asian people than European and there
must be more Asian shops and takeaways than in whole China. Found a
cheap backpackers lodge in northern Perth, 15 mins walk to Perth City and
the Swan River. Not a lot to do except a few preparations. So it s walk,
pub, buy, pub, walk, pub, tel, pub, PP style organization. Found the
mandatory piece of equipment you have to forget to take with you and it s a
towel - not a big problem at all, the Kernov shirt does this job quite well.
The good news arrived this morning: The bikes are in Perth, gone through
quarantine and customs and we can pick them up tomorrow! And it s a
suprisingly cheap tax, we expected some hundred $ per bike and it s 25$ each
at the end. Seems that no one was upset about our dual purpose crate/bar
trandsportation "what-ever-this-is-thing" :-)
The others should arrive at Perth airport in a few minutes so it s time to
prepare myself and wait for them at the hotel bar. Btw, do not expect a
message every day. It might even be I will not write for weeks caused by
failed equipment or lack of motivation, both options are to be expected.
Next plans: Do the paperwork at the registration office which should be easy
unless some info we got at the Swiss Strassenverkehrsamt (equiv. to DVLA) was
wrong. Then reassemble the bike, do a few last preps and plans and if everything
works we are off for the outback on Saturday!
Hope it s raining in CH ;-)
Kudi |
|
|
|
Underground Backpackers
|
|
Down Town Perth
|
|
Bell Tower
|
|
|
|
Equipment
|
|
The Underground
|
|
Was a late night
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All Done |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| It s all done! The bikes are prepared and legaly registred, we bought
all the stuff we need and know all we wanted to know. One more night and
we are off!
Reassembling the bikes was quite an easy job, only a few minor fixes
especialy I had a problem with the choke cable which caused the bike to
shoot more than usual. But after a disapointing visit at KTM Perth I was
finally able to find and fix the problem by myself. We needed 1 1/2 days for
the 4 bikes.
Registering them was only a question of time, they didn t even check if the
engines were running. We were quite lucky cause we didn t check the
electrics before arriving at the registration office and Isabels horn and my
head light were not running. But we could fix it before the they examinated
the bikes. Tourists seem to have a few extra points - a man at a tool shop
told us later that not even our tires would be road legal in Oz...
The mood is good in the team and I think this will work. David and Isabel
are no party animals but do not bother when Berhard and I head for the pub
every night till late. We will have to stop this, the beer is as expensive
as in CH over here, so I would run out of money soon.
Ok that s it so far, the next one will come from the outback. Heading north
tomorrow, on the Great Nothern Highway to Paynes Find where we will leave
the paved roads for a long time. "You re lucky guys" told us a gentleman at
the local tool shop today. He s right. |
|
|
|
David Isabelle Bernhard
|
|
Reasebling
|
|
Road Legal
|
|
|
|
Dave & the Crew
|
|
The Pig
|
|
Pub Time
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bike Transport |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
| Just a few pix of the crate and the bike... |
|
|
|
A clean bike
|
|
In The Box Left
|
|
Crate
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Time for an adventure |
|
|
| |
| |
|
| It s definitely time for an adventure!
Sitting at Zurich airport and waiting for the flight. It s difficult to
belive it happend at the end, it s even harder to realize THE JOURNEY IS
GOING TO BEGIN!!! This dream is 12 Years old, actualy 2 years ago Ian and I
decided one morning to do it, to ride the outback on a motorbike. We started
to prepare the trip 12 months ago by riding to the Sahara and unfortunately
today it s just me to go for it. Ian, I will realy miss you on this trip!
To start I have to say thanks to all those people who made this trip
possible. First off all to Peter who spend nights and nights working on the
bike, always beeing very patient with my mechanical knowledge and all my
special wishes... To Ian for having the idea and for a great preparation
time in Maroc. To David, Isaabel and Bernhard which I hope to meet soon in
Perth for leting me join their team. To Sandro and the Moto 69 crew for
support and bike service. To Chris for dooing my accounts and being nervous
with me. To Nick for correcting and maintaining my web site. To Markus and
Martin for beeing open-minded to let me go. And to ALL friends, familiy and
peopel I missed to mention for always understanding my dream and supporting
me! THANK YOU!
I have no idea how this trip will end, I mean there is a fair chance not to
arrive trying to cross a desert. This is no "going for a walk" or "package
tour" and might fail seriousely. But this is life and I know which risks I
go for. Just in case I will not have the possibility to defend myself later
on: I realy, realy wanted to do this and if I fail it was on my own risk and
my own decision, I m always aware of what I m dooing and which risks I go
for!
The trip will start in Perth where I plan to meet David and Isabel from
Winterthur/CH as well as Bernhard from Vienna. We will have to get our
bikes, 4x KTM LC4 Adventure, through customs and then re-assemble them, good
luck they are already prepared for this type of journey. The planed route is
Perth to Alice Springs, then through the Simpson Desert and Queensland up to
Cape York, from there to Darwin and back to Perth through the Kimberly
region. All in all a 15,000 km ish trip, including some of the most lonely
places in world.
If you need to, you can reach me by sending a message to my satelite phone
for free via http://www.iridium.com (follow the link to send a SMS). The
number is: +8816 314 271 61. I ll call you back or try to read my email
within 24 hours usualy. If you want to send me a mail use
iridium[At]capex.ch. Please do NOT attach anything to those mails. Please
send plain text and delete any forward or replay informations from the mail,
your email might cost me a few $$$ else!
Life is very strange sometimes. Beeing in the Go In bar yesterday night and
having one or two beers with brothers and mates, now near Bucharest at
37 000 feet... arriving in Dubai in a few hours. (near Istanbul in the
meantime...). I m nervous and happy, always having a big smile on my face
:-)
See you all and save rides
(A very happy) Kudi
PS: Very strange, near Irak in the meantime, unreal somehow... |
|
|
|
Bye Bye
|
|
On Board
|
|
Dubai Airport
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On the Phone |
|
|
| |
| |
|
| Kudi here, letting you all know that I'm well and that I'm ready to cross
a big desert. About 500 km without anything. I will write again if I reach
the next Internet access point, wherever, whenever.
(Phone call from Carnegie Station) |
|
|
|
Camp Ground
|
|
Carnegie
|
|
The Petrol Station
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Outback |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| In the outback. Quick ride to Paynes Find (a roadhouse on the Great Northern Highway) this morning. We filled our rear tanks and the spare water canister/bags for the first time and headed for the first pist, direction Sandstone. Not to bad, a wide and easy pist to ride, although we all needed to acclimate to the pist and the bikes weights. Not a lot traffic on the pist, maybe 5 vehilcles during all of the afternoon. We stoped about 100km in front of Sandstone just in time to build up our firt outback camp. Pretty strange to know there is nothing for 100km in each direction and you stay there for the night. And pretty strange to accustom to the noises out there... |
|
|
|
First Outback Camp
|
|
Realy?
|
|
Paynes Find
|
|
|
|
What a night
|
|
Good Morning
|
|
80km/h
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On the road |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| Finaly on the road. We started the journey this morning in slight rain at the Indian Ocean. I had to use the shovel for the first time after trying to ride the beach with the overloaded KTM... Counters were reseted, a last view back at the sea and we were off. The rain was bader the afternoon and it wasn't exactly the temperature we'd expected in Oz. First touches with raod trains and a suprised David after overtaking one of them and realizing there was a car in front of him coming out of the road trains fountain. We found a nice and cheap hotel just before sunset in a place called Dalwallinu, not yet the outback but near of it... |
|
|
|
Need a Shovel
|
|
Nice Weather
|
|
Still Paved
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First Adventures |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| We had our first adventure - or at least sort of. We left our first outback camp thuesday early in the morning. Easy pist to Sandstone where we filled up water, petrol and food. After deciding NOT to go to Just-Fucked-Meekatharra (sorry, running gag...) we headed direction Wiluna, the starting point of the Gunbarrel Highway. Everything went alright until I realized after checking the GPS that we were riding in the wrong direction for at least 15km. Ok, nothing happend and we turned back just to realize that we were not able to find the track we wanted to go for, even if it was on all maps we had with. Another ok and we spent the night anywhere near the point we expected the track to be. Next morning we strated to search the track just following the GPS in zigzg course for at least a hour - throught the naked outback. We found it finaly where we expected it to be but about 10km after the point it should have started - it was abadoned. Quite a funny track, sometimes not even existing for some km and then reapered as a "direction" on the ground. After about 30km and our first fall downs in sand we finaly reached the alive part of the track and were able to do the rest of the journey to Wiluna quite easyly. That's where we are for two days now, preparing the bike and us for the Gunbarrel. There is a sign in the pub: "Last pub for 183km". But this means direction west and we're going direction east. Today we know there isn't a pub for 1939km in that direction as there isn't even the possibility to buy a beer for a long long time... |
|
|
|
1st Fall Downs
|
|
1st Dead Animals
|
|
1st Dead Vehicles
|
|
|
|
Art
|
|
Realy, that's the Track
|
|
I'm Allright
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carnegie Station |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| First part of the Gunbarrel was easy. Nice roads and only some sand. The pist must have been just lately graded. Unfortunately we had the first more serious accident: David hitted a stone coming out of a corner on a stony part, balanced for a few meters and fell finaly hard on his right side where his engine cover hitted a big stone. Good luck nothing serious happend to him. And good luck only his engine cover was a deformed and nothing serious happend either to the engine nor to the tank. After some tinkering we were able to go on and reached Carnegie just before sunset. Just to eplain where this is: Carnegie is a settlement of 4 or 5 houses sourrounded by the pure ouback - there is nearly nothing for 350km in each direction. And Carnegie is the real starting point of the Gunbarrel Highway. |
|
|
|
The Easy Beginning
|
|
WB's Round the Corner
|
|
Outback Style Repair
|
|
|
|
May you find shade and water
|
|
Last Pub
|
|
Wiluna
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Gunbarrel Highway |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
It's hard to express what happend out there after a few days passed by. After all we made it and we and the bikes are in more or less good shape. I think it was the first time in my life I had to realize how addicted we are on water and food as well on technologie once you're off the beaten track. And I found out where my physical borders are...
But what happend: We left Carnegie and the first part of the track was as easy as the day before. Until a sign in the other direction sigalsed the 'Shire of Wiluna' which means that we just left it. The road turned imediately in the most difficult track I ever riden on. Corrugations up to 10cm in high, having a clearance sometimes less that 50cm. The agreeable speed of these corrugations was laying beyond 110kmh which was much too fast for this sort of piste und my riding skills. If not corrugations then it was sand. Sometimes deep sand for km after km. If not sand than a stony mountain track with big stones or/and deep holes. And the absolute speciality of the Gunbarrel, probably the worsest of all: Heavy corrugations and deep sand at once. There was no easy part for more than 300km. Always beeing shaked like hell. Somtimes riding at 40-50-60-70-80kmh through deep sand, getting faster and faster, not beeing able to slow down cause you didn't want to risk to fall down (braeking in sand is a very funny thing), hoping the sand ends soon.
The first day (Saturday 13th) ended after I, heading, fell down in deep sand and 2 of the 3 follwing bikes did as I did. There were 5 more fall downs on the following 500m and we decided the point next to the road is an absolute nice place to stay for the night. Exhausted. The only good thing that night was that Bernhard and I saved a can of VB each which we enyojed later the evening.
Sunday continued as Saturday ended and we were not able to do more than 137km through all of the day. By 3pm we had another 150km to go to Warburton, the next petrol station. We didn't meet a single vehilcle for more than 36 hours. Water was at 50% and petrol aprox at 40%. I have to say that was when I hitted the rock bottom. I fell down the bike 5 times in less than 2 hours, always in sand, not beeing able to find out what I was dooing wrong (the mounting of my lugage system was broken which made my back beeing absolutely uncontrolable - but I didn't know it by that time). What saved the day was the fact that we meet a vehicle and that there was water in a bore near the 'Len Beadell Tree'. Another 30 Mins later we reached the junction Gunbarrel/Heather Highway where we stayed for the night, another outback camp.
Next day was easier, Heather Highway until we reached the Great Central Road. I had another fall down on the Heather and was starting to loose confidence in my riding skills. Anyway, finaly we made it to Warburton and counted the losses: Davids and Bernhards engine covers were both deformed, bikes full of scratches. David had his hand burned a few days eralier and Bernhard had headache after hitting a stone with his helmet. Isabels bike was quite ok, only a few scratches but she had some headache and one of her hands was hurting. I lost both mirrors and one indicator plus some scratches in the tank, trowsers, jacket, back protector and helmet. I had a bump on my head and both hands were hurting. And finaly I found the reason why the bike was so uncontrolable...
The repair of my mounting was a quick outback-style repair: Went to the petrol station asking if there's a workshop in town. A phone later I was on the way with two bottles of Coca Cola (no beer in most aboriginal communities allowed) and another 15 Mins later I had 2 new plates (steel instead of alu this time), all done for free!
Uf - Len Beadell, thanks for the Gunbarrel!
We met Frank, another bloke who did the GB, just a few days later on a Africa Twin. He told us he'd thrown his lugage into the outback - just to survive - if he hadn't met a Jeep taking his lugage to Warburton. |
|
|
|
Beloved Gunbarrel
|
|
Saved the Day
|
|
The One and Only
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thunderstorm |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| Always if you think it canot get any worser the outback has a new surprise for you. Leaving Warburton yesterday morning it started to rain. The first 50-60km were quite easy until the heavy rain begun. FUUCK! The Great Central Road isn't a difficult track usualy - unless it's wet. 200km on a slippery, sometimes flooded dirt road. Wet and cold we managed somehow without any fall down to reach Warankurna Roadhouse and the Gils Metrological Station. They have an average of 26mm of rainfall for all of October in this area. When we had riden through it was 60mm in 6 hours - the first thunderstorm in 6 years time. Thanks Petrus! At least, beeing stucked for a day, we're able to do our homework and service the bikes. |
|
|
|
Thunderstorm
|
|
Beeing Stucked
|
|
Giles Metrologican Station
|
|
|
|
The Couple we met on the GB
|
|
Warankurna Roadhouse
|
|
This Thing made the Gunbarrel
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Olgas |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| Some 150km on a this time dry Great Central Road and we left Western Australia just before Docker River, about 2200km after we left Perth. Another 150km later we arrived at the border to the Uluru - Katja Tujas National Park where we settled down for the night just outside the park. Bernhard and I decided to go for the quick ride and give the Olgas a first visit (we mainly had in mind that someone could sell us a beer, last one was in Carnegie). What a difference! We had lived in the outback for two weeks by then and found us instantly sourounded by clean cloth wearing tourists. I think we were more looking (laughing) at the tourists than at the Olgas :-) Anyway, there was no beer but one of the bus drivers decided to take pity on us and gave us some of the champagne the tourists were feeded with (The Olgas Sunset Champagne Tour, 350$/2 days from Alice). |
|
|
|
Welcome to NT
|
|
Thaks to the Bus Driver
|
|
The Olgas
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alice Springs - New Plans |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
Some time's gone since the last entry. Easy, not a lot happend but a lot was decided... Lets start where I ended: The day after we reached the Olgas we gave them another quick visit (belive it or not, I went for a 6km walk :) and were off for the Uluru, former Ayers Rock. That was somehow my main target for all of the trip and all planing done in CH was ending by reaching it. I can tell you this damn rock IS impresive. You see it from quite a distance when coming from west and it's getting bigger and bigger the nearer you come. I cannot say more than IT IS BIG but there is a lot more about it which I cannot explain. Anyway, we sourounded the rock on our bikes and decided to leave for Yulara and return the next day to souround it by walking.
Everything went different than expected. First of all Yulara was an absolute disappointment. I expected a Aboriginal Comunity dealing somehow with the masses of tourists. Wrong. Yulara is a/one company. All of this quite big holiday resort is own by one company and if you're eg on the camp ground then you're allowed to enter eg the bar at the xy hotel. Fuck, not what I want to go for. And what happend on Saturday morning, awakeing with some headache in Bernhards tent (we shared his tent for some time couse it was easier to build up only one at night) after spending the night by myself in one of the bars there, was that I decided to leave (or maybe the Uluru told me to leave?). The others were already out so I left a note, sat on the bike and headed for Alice Springs imediately without looking back.
For all those who still think Alice Springs is next to Uluru: You're wrong. It's a 5h or 450km ride through the outback over the Lasetter and the Stuard Highway.
I'm now in Alice for nearly a week. I spend the time by working quite a lot and finaly I was able to finish all pending work. Else I was hanging around, reading a few books, met some good people and made new plans. Instead of heading north-east and sourounding the continent this way I will head first east and then, once reached the Pacific Ocean, head south for Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. This is only logical couse I have some less time than David and Co and I would have to leave them sooner or later anyway. This way the journey is easier and lot less dangerous (road conditions in the urban areas of eastern Oz). I also send my laptop back to Perth, mainly to get rid of its weight. This explains why there are no pix in the last messages, thought I did copy them on a CDR this damn thing is broken now. Good luck they're not lost but I just wont be able to publish them before beeing back in Perth.
And I have a new main plan: To visit all 7 states of Australia, which means: Western Australia, Northern Terretories, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and finaly back to WA. The only weak point is Tasmania and my finances (don't know how much the ferry is). Would be a total os 12'000km if I decide to go for the Nullarbor Plain as well. |
|
|
|
Alice - Center of the World
|
|
Uluru
|
|
Welcome to Alice
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By myself |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
We, that means for the last time David, Isabel, Bernhard and I, left Alice springs this morning at about 9:30am. 30 Mins after leaving we reached the Tropic Of Capricorn (German: Suedlicher Wendekreis) and another hour later we reached the junction between Sandover Highway, David & Co target, and the Plenty Highway, my target. Another 15 mins later I was on my own, heading east for the Pacific Ocean, some 2000km in front of me.
At this point I want to say Thanks to you folks, David, Isabel and Bernhard. I think we had an almost good time and I wouldn't have been able to do the pists in WA without you. Thanks once more and enjoy your time in the northern parts of Oz. Don't forget to send me the pix and Bernhard: DON'T PISS ON THE FENCE and don't miss Meekatharra-Just-Fucked on your way back!
The Plenty Highway was something between easy and some sand and I had no biger problems except tiredness after 577km of which nearly 450km had been on pist today. Now I'm 5km in front of the Queensland border, state number 3 on my list... |
|
|
|
Tobermorey
|
|
Still in NT...
|
|
Saying Goodbye
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wild Wild West |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
The longest day on the bike so far, 623km. Went to bed early yesterday, there was absolutely nothing to do in Tobermorey. Had only a chat with a few blokes from Victoria beeing on their 4WD holidays. One of the best pists and one of the most breath-taking landscapes today. I was very suprised finding me all of a sudden on a huge plain, nothing than spinifex and flat land for miles and miles. The pist (Donohue Highway) was little more demanding than the Plenty Highway but less sandy so a lot more fun to ride. Finaly found tar on the road in Boulia and decided to follow on for some kms until I found myself in the Wild Wild West city of Winton (Home of this damn Mathilda-what-ever-song and proud founding city of Quantas Airlines...). The guys wear (and realy all of'em) western style huts in the pub at night and I expect there is not a lot more to do here than lock after and eat cows ;-)
Bernhard: My new favorite for the Most Fucked Place Award:
Middleton Hotel, QLD. Laying in the middle between Boulia and Winton there is absolutely nothing on both sides for 180km. A mummifyed, at least 280 years old married couple are running it and the coffee smells somehow fishy. There is, no joke, a sign reading "Hilton Hotel". I think these people WANT to win the award! Sorry, no pix :-( |
|
|
|
Border To Queensland
|
|
Donohue Hwy
|
|
Kennedy Developmental Road
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Boring |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| Not a lot to say, just another 440km on my way to the Pacific, only some 450km left... Spend the night at a camp ground in Anakie, a old opal mining settlement. Boring road all day only the house on the road was some amusement (they were transporting a whole house on the road, see the pic). |
|
|
|
Wandering House
|
|
Anywhere on the Road
|
|
Kennedy Developmental Road II
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Liskeard |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
| I was in Liskeard today! I found that settlement about 5km west of Emerald, Queensland on the Capricorn Highway. Unfortunately I don't know if there was more than the one house I've seen. At least I can say now I own the only bike beeing in two different Liskeards on two continents :-) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Pacific Ocean |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
I reached the Pacific Ocean today afternoon in Yeppoon, 35km north of Rockhampton. The speedometer was showing aprox 5050km from the Indian Ocean and Perth. It didn't loose any of its fascination...
Unfortunately I missed to take any pics but I will cheat that later with a pic from the Great Ocean Road.
I'd planed to stay the night in Yeppoon but the backpackers is closed there so I made the way back to Beef&Reef-Rockhampton. Found a cheap but crap BP in the center and a KTM-dealer on the net so I'll be able to do the heavily needed service tomorrow. |
|
|
|
The Pacific I - NSW
|
|
The Pacific II - VIC
|
|
The Pacific III - VIC
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NSW - State No 4 |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
Again some days passed by... Rockhampton, their motto is realy Beef&Reef and they call themself the "Beef Capitol of Oz", is definately not my favorite place in Oz. At least I could finish some of the bike service. Changed tyres (running now dual purpose tyres, don't even now the manufacturer), changed oil and did a few other minor things. The bike is running pretty well so far and has only a few electrical problems (what a surprise).
Ian: You will hate me but I didn't visit the Great Barrier Reef. It would have be too expensive and too time consuming, the GBR is some 300km away from Rockhampton... Next time!
After leaving Rockhampton I spend a night in Rainbow Beach south of Fraser Iland. Another booring chapter... the backpackers was full so I had to stay in one of those holiday resort camp grounds, not excactly what I like.
From Rainbow Beach I headed south again, passed Brisbane, didn't even stop there and finaly passed the Queensland-New South Wales borther without even noticing it cause there was no sign by the road. After a very nice ride through the Gold Coasts inland I made my way to Byron Bay where I still am now. I had been here 8 years ago and discovered by coincidence the Arts Factory PB Lodge. It's hard to describe, it used to be some hippie community lodge whatsoever but is a comercial backpackers lodge nowadays without having lost some of its original spirit. I planed to stay 2 nights but been here now for 3 already, just hanging around beeing lazy and enjoing the Friendly Railway Station Bar :-) |
|
|
|
Arts Factory Lodge
|
|
State No 4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kings Cross |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
Another week passed by. Leaving Byron Bay last Wednesday I went to Port Macqurie where I spend accidentaly 2 instead of only one night. Port Maquarie is a nice small town with one good harbour pub so I had to stay one more night than planed.
Arrived in Sydney Friday the 10th and I'm here ever since. Found a backpackers in Kings Cross, Sydneys equivalent to Londons Soho. Days are passing by and there is always something to do. Changing bikes chain, writing this, chat with sombody, have a beer or two... Think will leave here in 2 days but this depends on the weather.
The weather is anyway one of my 2 banes on this journey:
1. Weather: First thunderstorm in 6 years riding through the red center and a lot of rain and cold on the east cost after years of aridness and hot weather. 2. Sunglasses: I'm wearing Number 6 at the moment. One of them lastet for less than 2 hours... |
|
|
|
The Opera House
|
|
Harbour Bridge
|
|
Sydney CBD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leaving Sydney |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
After 2 more lazy days I finaly decided to leave Sydney tomorrow. Met Frank, the german guy we met in Alice Springs a few weeks ago, yesterday for a beer. He's ready to leave, transportation box for his bike is finished and will be embarked on Monday.
Next main target is Melbourne (and of course state No 5, Victoria) where I want to check for the ferry to Tasmania. If not too expensive, I'd like to go there for a short ride round the island (eg 700km...). The plan is to reach Melbourne Sunday evening, traveling down/next the coast all the way. The weather should be better the next 2 days so I hope to make it dry... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rain Rain Rain |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
Left Sydney a day to late, there was more rain on friday and my cold I catched on the way to Sydney wasn't any better so I decided to stay one more day. Followed the coast line and made my way down to a small town called countrified Bega where I found a nice YHA hostel.
Sunday started very well, beautifull weather in the morning as you can see on the pacific pic which shows the coast in a spot called Tathra. Reached State No 5, Victoria, just after midday. The rain started at about 13:30 and at 15:00 it was so cold and wet (7C sometimes, coldest day so far...) that I gave up and stayed the night in a motel in Lake Entrance. I will have to buy waterproof trousers in Melbourne... |
|
|
|
Bega Valley
|
|
Tathra
|
|
State No 5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fucking Weather |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
Finaly made it to Melbourne, at milage 8050km. Was lucky on monday that I didn't catch any more rain. Missed the Moto GP by one day. A guy on a Harley which I met at a petrol station told me that it was quite a lot of fun in the mud, rain and cold weather :) There were at least 3.5 million bikes on the road on monday and I was able to figure out how many of the riders are greeting other bikes. It's less than one of 20 if you do not do it first but if you do so about 30% are greeting back...
The weather is quite shit at the moment and does not look to get any better in the next few days. So I will wait here and decide what to do in 2 or 3 days. The ferry to Tasmania seems to be quite busy but I will check that tomorrow if the weather will be little better. Else I just might try to escape direction north (that's where the nice weather is on the southern hemisphere) but the weather seems to be like this all over this region.
There was another spot for the "places the bike visited" collection. Welshpool this time, I'll have to consider to ride it to the original town one day... |
|
|
|
Black Forest
|
|
Been to Welshpool
|
|
Welcome to Melbourne
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Big City |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
After some more than a week I'll be glad to leave Melbourne tomorrow. I had to stay that long cause the ferry to Tasmania is quite busy and I could't get a ticket before the 31th of October. The weather down here is still shit, it's mostly wet and cold.
Not a lot to say about Melbourne, just another big city. It changed somehow in the last 8 years (or I did) , think I enjoyed it a lot more in 1995. There are even more Asians than in Perth or Sydney, at least in the city centre are more than 50% of the people on the road Asians and there are certainly a lot more Asian shops than Irish pubs :) |
|
|
|
Melbourne CBD
|
|
Spirit of Tasmania
|
|
Down Town
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bikers Heaven |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
Tasmania is the bikers heaven! There are hundreds of kms of twisting roads on- and off-road, not a lot of trafic, the most beautiful scenery you can imagine and the Tasmanians are the most nice folk I ever met. Unfortunately I will have to leave Tasmania tomorrow, there are another 4000km or so to be riden in the next 3 weeks.
Had some bad luck... Trying to clean it I pushed the clutch-sight-glass into the engine (what shouldn't be possible usualy). So I had to remove the clutch cover what (of course) caused the engine to sweat engine oil after mounting the same sealing again. Thanks KTM! Then the charger of the camera decided not to stand any more vibrations and to die - but it's running again after some tinkering and with 4 less windings on a coil. Thanks Cannon! Last but not least I lost (once again) my Swiss number plate. I have no Idea how this happend, the clamp must just have fallen apart... anyway, my new one is a lot nicer. It's made up of a white page, a book cover, 2 kitchen bags and some race tape :-)
It's sad but my "journey home" began somehow today when I left Southport, the most southern point (road) of Australia. Ferry tomorrow, new back tire in Melbourne, then Adelaide and the Great Ocean Road until end of week and then 2700km straight on (more or less) to either Kalgoorlie or Perth next week. I hope I will be able to do some detours in WA, there are a lot of pists not riden so far and Meekatharra is still unvisited... |
|
|
|
Coles Bay
|
|
Bruny Island
|
|
44° 34'' South
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back to Summer |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
Friday: Leaving Tasmania was a little sad but I have another 4kkm to go so it was time. Toke the night ferry and arrived in Melbourne at 07:00 in the morning. Headed west for the famous Great Ocean Road. It's realy not bad and there are some quite impressing spots. Spend the night in Mt. Gambier, a little town near the VIC/SA border.
Saturday: What a day... Woke up in the jail. Well, was a hostel but a former jail and I slept in a real cell. There was a junkie in the kitchen dooing the most disgusting noises you can imagine, and that at 8:00 in the morning. Good luck it wasn't raining and 12C outside! Well, on the bike and clench the teeth... But the unexpected happend, after some 300km the weather changed and there was not a single cloud in sight. After nearly a month in cold and sometimes realy bad weather I'm back in the summer! The summer is called Southern Australia - state number 7 (I have'm all now!). Milage 10'400km. I'm in Adelaide now which seems to be a real quiet town, has a flair of a small rural city but has more than 1 mio inhabitants!
The bike is doing well so far unless that I sometimes think it will fall apart one day... there is every day something new to repair but good luck that's just business as usual and nothing was realy serious so far. But I'm afraid it will need a proper service and some serious rebuilding after coming back to Europe. Only 4kkm to go...
Ok, that's probably the last message before Perth which means for 1 to 3 weeks. I will head west on the Eyre Highway and cross the Nullarbor Plains in the next 1 to 2 weeks. That's back to the Outback and it's some 2000km from Port Augusta (SA) to Kalgoorlie (WA) (on a paved road) and there is nothing inbetween than some petrol stations, so I do not expect to find another inet facility. When arrived savely in Kalgoorlie I will decide wheter to go directly to Perth or to do some more of WA, the plan is to do some more but this will depend on conditions meeting there. I have to be in Perth by the 25th of November (to have some time to crate the bike) so there is some time left for spontaneous plans if nothing unexpected happens on the Eyre Highway. It's my journey home but good luck it's a long one ;-)
|
|
|
|
The Great Ocean Road
|
|
One of the Twelve Apostles
|
|
Adelaide
|
|
|
|
No 7 - All In!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More pictures of Tasmania |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Bridge
|
|
Inland Highway
|
|
Inland Lake
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The End |
|
|
| |
| |
|
I arrived in Perth on the 16th of November at milage 13'072km. It was an easy but long way from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie where I spend 2 more days deciding what to do next. It was my bank account who made the final decision, to ride straight back to Perth, and it was a wise one. The crankshaft bearing of my bike started to dissolve itself on the last few km, it would have been a nice situation if this had happend in the outback. But good luck it lastet till Perth where the journey came to an end.
The Eyre Highway from Port Augusta to Norseman is mostly boring and just straight on. You can find the longest straight on bit of Oz, it's a 164km long part near the WA border. The only change is when the higway meets the Great Australien Bight (coast line), one of the most breathtaking views I've ever seen. There is realy nothing for nearly 2000km except a road house everey 200km ish. But do not underestimate this highway, breaking down here is very expensive because of the long distances.
Kalgoorlie is a real gold digger town. There is a big hole (The Super Pit), a few stores, soloons, hostels and a (50%-) topless bar. Nevertheless a good place to spend a few quiet days. Only a few tourists run aground here and you can easyly meet a real gold digger, have a chat while enjoing an ice-cold beer and staring at a barmaid anywhere on Hannan Street.
Conclusion? Well, Australia is a cool place to ride your bike. It was a big adventure, especialy the first month in WA, NT and QLD. And it was worth every effort and worth the money. I'm just afraid I had a strange feeling while riding on the Eyre Highway the end within sight... just another test... just another test for... Africa. Strange feelings ;-)
|
|
|
|
Eyre Highway
|
|
Great Australien Bight
|
|
Perth - Success
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some More Pictures |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
| Last Outback impressions. |
|
|
|
Typical Oz
|
|
Where do you want to go today?
|
|
Welcome Back - WA Border
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Remains of the Bike |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
| A few pictures of what remained of the bike. |
|
|
|
Ok, not too bad...
|
|
Bit rusty
|
|
Sweating a bit
|
|
|
|
13'072.8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Flying Home |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
| The bike and me are saying goodbye to Oz :-( |
|
|
|
Crate
|
|
Crate II
|
|
Crate II
|
|
|
|
Bye Bye
|
|
The Route
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More Gunbarrel |
|
|
| |
| |
|
| Just a few more Gunbarrel impressions... |
|
|
|
Exhausted
|
|
Lunch
|
|
David & Isabelle
|
|
|
|
Two Cans of VB
|
|
Do you see the Road?
|
|
Camels
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
More Gunbarrel II |
|
|
| |
| |
|
| ... and some more |
|
|
|
... the Corrugations
|
|
You can't see...
|
|
Geraldton Historic Bore (?)
|
|
|
|
Mountain Track
|
|
That's easy to ride
|
|
Uff, Geat Central Road
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
