Darwin to Sydney via the West Coast

Pink Lakes, Fish and A Big Lobster

2009-10-15T11:44:00.037+11:00

No camera problems here, no it's not a bug smudge on your riding glasses.... this lake is pink! This particular lake is located along the Coorong between SA and the border of VIC.

So, Why Is It Pink?

I thought for sure it was from having 'tee many martooni's' the night before but as it turns out it's because of a high concentration of a type of salt tolerant algae which produces carotene. The Algae is green but produces the carotene, to protect itself from the sun's rays, hence the pink appearance. the pink colouration intensifies as the lake dries out. I've come across a number of these unique lakes in Esperance, northern SA, as well as here in the Coorong.

Salt Creek Roadhouse.

Now if you're passing through this region you must stop at Salt Creek Roadhouse... its a fisherman's haven as well as cafe and petrol stop. I've been passing through here for years now and Adam, the proprietor remembers me every time and he'll no doubt go out of his way to attend to you too. Tell Adam that guy from New York City on the black BMW motorcycle told you to stop by and say hello! His kitchen boasts great local fish as well as other fantastic dishes.

Adam likes to take fishermen out on local camping expeditions sleeping on the beach enjoying cooked fish you caught that day and a glass or 2 of interesting wine or beer. The pic above is from Adams wall of photo's from some of his trips past. Looks like everyone was having fun, except perhaps the fish!

Salt Creek. Check it out in the Coorong. By the way... The Coorong starts around Meningie, SA and runs along the coast to Kingston SE in SA. you'll no doubt traverse it if you follow the coast between Melbourne and Adelaide.

Speaking of Kingston SE...

In case you too have been nagged by those big questions of life such as.... why are we here? Is there a God? Is there intelligent life in the universe, and is there a big lobster! Well I'm here to tell you that you can you can sleep just a little bit deeper tonight for sure... I've found THE BIG LOBSTER and it's located in Kingston SE just south of Robe SA. Actually of all the 'big things' in Australia this has to be the best. It's life like and larger than life as you can see below. Note to self: It's also for sale!

Photo above. That's Nick and Jill from Slow Food Australia standing under the lobster. Nick is the Australian Chairman of Slow Food International and Jill runs an interesting food tourism business in the Southern highlands by the name of Food Path Australia. They'll take you on farm paddock to plate natural food excursions to the producers of fresh food in the Southern Highlands and surrounds. Check it out.

I had the pleasure of sharing part of my journey from the Barossa SA, to The Great Ocean Road with Jill and Nick who were attending a food conference in the Barossa the same time I was passing through on my way back to Sydney!

SA Wine and GS's

2009-10-14T14:25:00.009+11:00

I'm no stranger to the wine regions of SA being a fan of both motorcycling and wine but every time I get to the Clare Valley, Barossa, and the Hills I find something new to marvel over....usually in a wine glass in a wine bar, winery, or Cellar Door! And then there is my favourite motorcycle road in the whole world just north east of Adelaide called 'The Cork Screw'! Don't ask just go there.

This particular trip however I was on a mission to get to The Barossa. I'm meeting friends from our local Southern Highland radio station who had been on a week long excursion through wineries and restaurants in the Barossa region. They are involved in an interesting international group known as Slow Food. Go to Slow Food Australia to earn more.

I crossed over to the Flinders just south of Port Augusta and continued south to Clare in hope of spending the night in a favourite old hotel in Crystal Brook... surprisingly enough named... The Crystal Brook Hotel. The publican there always take care of me opening the yard to his private residence so I can secure the motorcycle for peace of mind. Realistically, the sleepy little town of Crystal Brook poses little risk, I guess I still carry the paranoia associated with losing 3 cars and a motorbike on the streets of Brooklyn some 10,000 years ago. The food is always fantastic at the pub the place is always packed and the ambiance is exactly what you would want from a well cared for small town a few hours from anywhere.

Tired and exhausted from rain on and off since leaving Fremantle some 4,000 KM's ago, it was fast approaching dark as I decided on an what turned out to be an excellent little cabin in Watervale (makers of my favourite Riesling I might add).

My cabin was more like a 5 Star hotel room than a cabin in a caravan and cabin park. Rob the proprietor rides a BMW GS and we quickly swapped stories about great rides. He loved the Two Wheel Touring concept and will be watching the website for the launch of my TWT Ride Guide Series.

The pics in this post are of the comparatively tame end of the Flinders Ranges as I approach to head south to Clare and a shot of one of my favourite little pubs in Greenoch. The food fantastic and the wine list superb... all in what looks like an old neighbourhood local!

Traffic Lights

2009-10-13T12:55:00.005+11:00

Sipping a macchiatto in a little cafe doubling as the Visitors Centre in Cowell SA I learned the ferry to Wallaroo was out of action for mechanical repairs. I had traversed some 3000 KM's and perhaps an extra 3 or 400 to get to the ferry rather than head direct to Port Augusta around the Spencer Gulf to the Clare Valley where I intended on staying the night. While enjoying my coffee and feeling sorry for myself it dawned on me that I had not encountered a single traffic light since leaving Fremantle, what a pleasure! Kind of helped make the next 400 or so KM's a bit easier, or so I tried to tell myself.

The pic above is of the little main street of Cowell. Below are pics from Streaky Bay at the far end of the road that traverses the Nullarbor, south east of Ceduna SA.

The Head Of The Bight

2009-10-12T17:12:00.006+11:00

The Great Australian Bight pretty much runs the entire length of the south coastline of The Nullarbor and spans both West Australia and South Australia.

Heading in the direction of Ceduna SA toward the east about and 300 KM's past the WA/SA Border Village in South Australia is stretch of coastline known as the 'Head of The Bight'. Here you will find a natural safe harbour where whales go to birth their calves and nurture them during their early lives before they all head out to sea.

When I was last there I had the good fortune to watch about 8 or 10 mothers and calves frolicking around, breaching nose up first perhaps the height of a small house, or diving with a tail flip in the air leaving a wake of turbulence as the only tell tale they were ever there! The first give away that something was about to happen was a blast of water and air from a blow hole atop a black silhouette visible only when they come close to the surface.

The photo's above and below are from this safe harbour. Those above are from my camera phone and posted in near real time as there was wireless internet access nearby, those below from the DSLR. Either way, and as beautiful as they are... they only tell part of this often tear provoking experience as I witnessed some of natures inspirational events.

Some Nullarbor Photos

2009-10-07T05:35:00.001+11:00

More to come.

The Nullarbor

2009-10-07T01:34:00.000+11:00

Latin for 'no trees' the Nullarbor Plain is a must see for anyone exploring Australia. Have a good read up on it before hand or while traversing it so you have an understanding of what is going on around you.

The Nullarbor is another area like Shark Bay with its own ecology and its own special species of animals with slightly different genetic strains no doubt from adapting it to its surrounds over that of the same species in other areas.

However before I continue I must tell you about a very unique experience I had during my crossing. About 100 KM's west of the WA/SA Border Village I noticed a small dark figure in the right hand side of the oncoming lane way off in the distance. Initially I thought it was another big crow or a wedge tail eagle feeding on roadkill. Upon approach I sounded the horn as I usually do so it would fly off before I get too close. Both Crows and particularly Wedge Tails, like to wait until you are right on top of them before they take to the air. In their panic they sometimes fly right back at you and wham... bird explosion!

However after a few honks this one was still feeding away... thinking I had yet another 'stubborn' bird in front of me I slowed right down only to find it wasn't a bird at all... it was a Dingo pup! It looked up at me and started to run only he decided to cross my path and run down the road in my lane in the same direction as me! He ran and ran looking back again and again at this big black noisy thing chasing him down the highway! Like the Emu a few weeks back I decided stopping was the best answer letting him run his own course rather than me mustering him along until off he went into the scrub.

Now that's something you don't see everyday!

Ok time for some staggering stats about the Nullarbor. Did you know:
0at 180,000 Square KM's The Nullarbor Plain is almost the same size as the state of Victoria!
the treeless portion is about 52,000 KM's.
25% of the Nullarbor Plain is in South Australia the rest is in WA.
It is the largest limestone plain in the world.

With that I'll leave you with a bunch of interesting pics.

Salmon Gums

2009-10-06T23:31:00.000+11:00

After leaving Esperance way too late and way too close to the onset of 'Roo Time'' otherwise known as dusk, I stopped in town called Salmon Gums. I'm guessing its a town because it had a pub, a servo, a bakery, a church, and a post office.. oh yeah, there were a few houses too.

As luck would have it the night I arrived was Pizza Night. As it turns out 'Albies Pizza' (he's the publican and pizza chef) attracts locals from far and wide. ok, ok, from wide and not so far away! In any case I yet again met an interesting and nice bunch of people.

There was the accountant turned local farmer from a town down the road named 'Grass Patch' (I kid you not) and the historian earning his keep by helping to renovate the pub while he studied and prepared his next grant from the gov for the maintenance and posting of historical information along the trail of the Old Telegraph Line that ran across the Nullarbor joining East and west Australia together as well as the rest f the world with Australia.. He was a wealth of knowledge and readily shared some of the history and natural sites of the Nullarbor with me. I'm indebted to him a I was well prepared as I started my trek from Norseman across the Nullarbor the following day.

The photo above it the town info board from salmon Gums.

My Excellent Esperance Experience

2009-10-06T22:38:00.001+11:00

Esperance is an interesting little place. Primarily an export base for its own regional agri economy it is also a little tourism hub. It is a completely different experience than the Margaret River, Denmark, and Albany not to mention Quandanning and Kondinin (the town I spent the night on a picnic table rather than brave the roos by pushing onto Hyden!).
It has an incredible harbour with something like 1200 islands in its 'Bay of Isles' if you include some of the large rocks as islands. Its teeming with wildlife, a deep water harbour, perfect white beaches and what appears to be a pristine unpolluted ecology.

I also learned it is home to some of the most creative, industrious, and entrepreneurial people I have met on my travels over the years in Australia.

After a perfect massage to straighten out my sore decrepit old body from hours of hanging on through gusting winds and torrential rains in the lead up to my arrival, I did the tour boat thing to Woody Island. I also had the absolute good fortune to meet Mini and her close friend Andrea.
I'm sure they took pity on this poor lonely traveller tapping away on his little computer with a funny tan on the back of his hands (from the shorty motorcycle gloves) while the rest of Australia was watching and celebrating the Grand final game. Mini and Andrea were on their way to a Geelong v St Kilda party in the shed of a local long haul trucking company. The company ran road trains full of grains from regional farms to the wharf at Esperance for loading and shipping to markets far and wide.
At this party I met a lovely bunch of people (yes , even you John!) and later found myself on a whirlwind tour of Esperance for a couple of days. I experienced it's incredible local beaches, a private 'Flyotel' Airport (Motel and Airport combined), a fellow motorcyclist who built planes to order, his incredible workshop with projects in progress, a boutique winery selling only 1200 cases of the most beautiful wines you ever tasted. All this culminating with lunch on huge bales of sheared wool hours before I mounted up again and headed off to Norseman to start my Nullarbor leg of the trip. Kind of and average day in New York City...not!
Thanks go to Mini and Andrea for taking their time to show me sites that are surely not on any tourist route! With a very special thanks to the inspirational Mini who is meeting and beating health challenges head on and surely living her life in a higher state of consciousness than most. I admire her courage in the aftermath of family tragedy and her sense of life and it's humour. Truly a remarkable individual... you are one of life's hero's Mini!

I wrote this while indulging in a huge breakfast in the Nullarbor town called WA/SA Border Village watching and hoping the rain will lighten up for the next leg of my journey.
I'll post some experiences about the Nullarbor soon.

Seals dolphin roo turtles eagles... Camping glass bottom boats and a place to throw kids overboard!

2009-09-26T14:32:00.000+10:00

Woody island, The Bay Of Isles, Esperance wa

2009-09-26T13:49:00.000+10:00

In real time.

More live... Seals on rock

2009-09-26T12:43:00.001+10:00

This is posted from the boat about 5km off shore!

Woody island live

2009-09-26T12:19:00.000+10:00

Suck, Squeeze, Bang, Blow.

2009-09-24T23:44:00.000+10:00

I have to wonder how many times my little internal combustion engine has gone through its suck squeeze bang blow cadence now that I've traversed somewhere around 8,500 KM's to Esperance WA.

Since my last post in Nanga I've stayed in Kalbarri, Geraldton, Cervantes, Gin Gin, Waroona, a picnic table in Kondinin and tonight I'm in Esperance.

Some pics attached.

I was rained down in Waroona for a few days so there is not many photos to show, in fact the whole south east corner of WA was hit with torrential rain and blasting winds. So much so that my 500 KG worth of road projectile (the bike, me. my gear, and fluids) was blown all over the road to the point I was hanging on tight to avoid getting blown off.

The last few days have been particularly interesting road days. Both the flora and fauna, and the road itself. The trip from Waroona heading east starts off through green lush forest and fields. I had lunch in a pub you would swear was in the middle of the Cotswolds UK called the Pub at Quandanning. (photos in the camera not the phone so I'll post them when I get home). About an hour from there the road deteriorated to a single sealed lane with red dirt shoulders.

This set up became particularly hairy when Road Trains approach as they usually do one of two things.

They either stay on the sealed road forcing you to slow down and ride off onto the dirt or stay on the sealed little bit of road that's left while these 3 payload long rolling office buildings come so close they are centimetres from your right elbow. Sometimes the wind blast knocks you onto the red dirt shoulder other times is just rocks your world for the proverbial heartbeat.

The second is that they let their left set of wheels onto the red dirt shoulder on their side and they share the single lane of sealed road with you. While this sounds ideal compared to the above, I'm here to tell you that there is something very disconcerting (read scares the shit out of you) to see one of these trains with their rear payloads weaving back and forth like the tail on a dog waiting to be fed while the truck cab wobbles in oppositional unison!

Well I'm here at the Pub in Esperance and my Pork Chops seared in a mustard and herb sauce have just arrived.

i'll take a day or 2 to recoup before I hit the Nullarbor.

Adios for now.

Ravensthorpe. Quoth the raven... nevermore, nevermore!

2009-09-24T23:34:00.000+10:00

This is a town in decline or perhaps it was never prosperous. Its old and not really set up for tourism. Unlike Hopetoun about 50 KM south of here there is not much to see or do.

The road from Kondinin to here was particularly challenging in that it boring as can be. Most of the way the view of the surrounds was blocked by trees, scrub and brush on either side of the road. I noticed it was fenced on either side so perhaps the possibility of hitting a Roo was minimised. I did note that the tell-tales of wildlife along the road were not around... roo poo, road kill, or splotches of road kill past.
In comparison, Hopetoun is a thriving little tourist destination. There is whale watching, (June to October) views of and from (if you are a hiker) Table hill and East Mt Barren help make the place. The Southern Ocean beach Road (its dirt) take you through Jandacuttaup Lakes and nature reserve.

Wave Rock located about 4 KM from Hyden has its own little economy so i'd make cafe or amenities stops there rather than the town of Hyden. When you travel so much you get to know when a town embraces tourism and the vibe I got from the locals was they would take my money but were not particularly interested or friendly in exchange.

Wave rock however is very cool. It is about 100 metres of rock that has been worn by erosion from wind, water, and grit to form and curvature that resembles an ocean wave as it draws up just before breaking.

Hippo's Yawn is worth a look and ride on to King Lake Pub for a great lunch in a nice atmosphere. Lake King itself is a good place to get gas and push on.

I came across a couple of Harley riders in Munglinup who were heading to Albany for a few days and no sooner did they leave and up roars a Duc, Trumpet, and Harley with 3 miners atop heading to Kalgoorlie. We had a chat waited for the bus load of retirees to line up for their tea and scones then we were belted by monsoon like winds and rain! So I suited up again waited a little while in vain hope before riding the last 100k holding on to the bike bars so I wouldn't get blown off in the blast from the crosswinds.

No Place Like Nanga

2009-09-15T16:30:00.000+10:00

Peacock Digitals New Office in Nanga WA!

Ok, ok. I know I said Argyle lake was incredible, then I said Broome would be the place to have an office for the winter, then of course I was swayed by Exmouth and it's lovely little small town beach, then I was swept away by Denham and Monkey Mia but this is THE place for me.... Nanga.

It's a Motel and a Beach and that is it. I'm sitting on the beach as I write this checking out the Indian Ocean and the endless curvature of the earth and I AM THE ONLY PERSON HERE!

Other than the Motel Staff there is absolutely no one for many kilometres. Certainly there is no one on the beach for hundreds of KM in either direction!

If I could get them to put wireless Internet and an espresso machine here I could happily live my life out.

Nanga Beach is an interesting spot. It is about half way between Monkey Mia and Overlander (a roadhouse on the North West Coastal Highway). It is adjacent to a beach called Shell Beach aptly named because it is covered with tiny shells for 120 KM's that are in some places 10 metres deep!

The whole Shark Bay and is what's known as a World Heritage Area. It is an ecological sanctuary full of unique wild life. It is covered with 9 varieties of sea grass which in itself make it ecologically unique as most beach areas only have 2 at the most. This grass is the foundation of Shark Bay's marine ecosystem. The Bay and it's beaches are teeming with wild life.

The diverse sea grass, long shallow bay, dry climate and high evaporation rates have combined to make a an unusual phenomenon. This harbours waters are 1.5 times saltier than than the open ocean. Many of the local species have adapted to this and are genetically different than those living in other areas of the world.

Well its time to knock off for the day and have some dinner. Tomorrow I'm off to Geraldton and anticipating being in the Monastery in new Norcia having beer at the pub with the monks the following night.

Now that might be a bit of fun.

More Monkey Mia and Shark Bay

2009-09-14T14:20:00.000+10:00

As you can see the stress here is almost too much to handle!

Shark Bay, Denham, Monkey Mia and an Emu

2009-09-14T11:07:00.000+10:00

I've seen more animals since leaving Coral Bay than on any part of the trip thus far.

Emu, Kangaroo, wild Goats, and an Osprey.

I came roaring up on an Emu as he was standing on the highway edge about to cross until he heard and saw me coming and decided to run alongside the road ... parallel with me!

Remembering the tale a motorcycle mate being helicopter lifted after hitting an Emu in the Hay Plane a few years back when it cut directly across his path after running alongside for a while... I slowed down. Well so did the Emu!

Tiring of this I increased speed... so did the Emu! After doing this waltz together a again I just stopped (well so did the Emu), grabbed the camera around my neck and snapped off some shots. The Emu was more camera shy than motorcycle shy so off it went. I'll post these pics when I do a download of the camera.

Well I haven't seen any sharks yet in Shark Bay but the whole area here is beautiful. Tourism would be the main industry here but the place is not spoiled by the mega chain hotel giants as yet. It is just big enough.

More pics to come and I'll get to the Dolphins later.

A View With a Room

2009-09-13T18:33:00.000+10:00

I'm not quite sure why they named this place Monkey Mia but I'll find out.

Tomorrow I'm off to swim with and feed the Dolphins.

Hope they like 55 year old grizzly tough gray haired old meat!

Exmouth, Coral Bay, and Carnarvon.

2009-09-13T11:00:00.000+10:00

I've travelled Australia a fair bit, in fact I've travelled extensively compared to most Australians but I must say the West Coast, The Pilbara, and The Kimberley are places anyone interested in touring Australia should have on their itinerary.

I'm sitting in a beach front pub in Coral Bay enjoying a glass of wine and an ice cold bottle of water along with my view of the long long semi circle beach all around me.

The peninsula Exmouth and Coral Bay are on is known as the Ningaloo Reef. Yes yes I know Ningaloo sounds likes something you would order at the local Indian Takeaway but is just about the only remnant of Aboriginal presence.

Ningaloo Reef tours include glass bottom boats, sunset and sunrise cruises, Whale watch trips, and of course scuba and snorkel diving. All are worth doing as the Ocean is clear clean and an incredible shade of blue/green I've ever seen. exotic coral and the unique fish that inhabit the reef are all accessible from the cruise boats.

I took a taxi from the my hotel to the sunset whale watch tour boat I did yesterday. there is a hotel in Exmouth called 'The Pot-shot' which I thought a strange name for a hotel so I asked the cabbie about it as we drove by. Unfortunately he had only lived here 16 years so was not familiar with the area yet (!!!!!) or so he said.

I did get out of him that during WWII there were USA and UK Airbases here that were of particular interest to the Japanese. Apparently Operation 'Pot-shot' was the name of a special initiative by the Allies against the Japanese. I'll research some more and get back to you.

In the mean time here's some pics from this leg of the trip

Riding Australia's Outback is like...

2009-09-09T15:19:00.000+10:00

... going to Luna Park. Only there's 500 km's between each ride!

Paraburdoo to Exmouth

2009-09-09T15:15:00.003+10:00

Paraburdoo to Exmouth, but first...
More about The Pilbara.
I used to think THE place in WA was The Kimberley however after cruising through Broome to The Pilbara I must admit this whole region is worth a huge exploration.
A few stats before we start...
The Pilbara starts about 1600 KM's north of Perth and consists of about 500,000 square KM's, yes you read right, 500,000 square KM's. That's the size of some small countries! Forgetting about tourists for the moment there is a population of around 2 Million in the whole of WA! Now to put it into perspective... WA is about half the size of Australia or roughly half the size of the USA. Again there are only about 2 million people living here!
There are almost 45,000 people living in The Pilbara mostly in the main towns which are Port Hedland, Karratha, Tom Price and Newman.
You can traverse The Pilbara on all sealed roads however like The Kimberley the story of the regions really starts when you get out and get dirty.
For the motorcyclist there are a number of ways to do this. One is buy a cross breed bike like the BMW R1200GS Adventure. The problem there is that you need a set of nobby tires that resemble golf shoes turned out and placed end to end! Spikes everywhere and about as useful on paved surfaces as your golf shoes are!
Now these nobby tires are great when you are OFF ROAD but the are terrible when you are buzzing from burb to burb or up to the Hunter Valley or down the NSW coast or just about everywhere you go for the vast majority of your riding you are on sealed roads.
Regardless of the suspension set up or the engine design of the industrial gear you can carry on your bike the reality is... these nobby golf spikes are terrible on sealed roads. I would be so bold as to suggest the are as bad on the sealed road as road tires are on the dirt (I'm talking real dirt there and not that bit of gravel you encounter during road renovations).
Did I mention that riding one of the lighter enduro type bikes can also get you blown all over the road?

This trip I rode my BMW K1200RS which consisted of 500 Kilo's of ballast = me, my luggage, and my in-line 4 rocket ship so when confronted by a 4 payload long (almost 36 metres) road train with a combined speed between the 2 of us of about 300 KPH in the middle of no where I was happy to have the stability of all this weight and power to outrun the slower trucks, cars, or the army of caravans you encounter regularly!
So what's the answer...?
I like a road bike!
Ride in comfort and safety AND GO OUT AND EXPLORE. To do the off road parts of your journey rent a 4WD at the numerous little hubs you find everywhere in Australia. I'm talkin places like Port Hedland, Kununurra, Halls Creek, Broome, etc etc. Local police, pubs, motels, and roadhouses will gladly help you rent a 4WD and store your bike in lock up while you are away.
For more info on tourism via motorbike go to www.twowheeltouring.com.au/contact-us.html and tick the box that says you wish to be contacted when our Ride Guides are released.
OK back to The Pilbara. Undoubtedly the Pilbara experience centres around Karijini Park where there are places that must be seen such as Weano Gorge, Fern Pool, Dales Gorge, Fortesque Falls, Circular Pool, Hancock Gorge, Joffre Falls, Handrail Pool, Oxer Lookout, Knox Gorge, and Hamersly Gorge. The names of these places only begin to tell the experience of being there.
While everything has that pervasive red hue from the high oxidized iron content of the earth in and around The Pilbara there are still numerous colours of a myriad of minerals and breathtaking shapes and forms that geologists say are from the era of the earth's formation when Australia's central was the ocean bottom. They also say that the high iron and salt content is from oxidization that occurred while all this was under water!
As I was cruising to Nunuturra from Paraburdoo I came across another first for me. Off in the distance I could see not one, but 2 helicopters doing roundy rounds, up then down, forward then back. I had no idea what they were doing until I I came closer and realized there were hundreds if not thousands of cattle on the ground under them.
They were mustering the heard!
There was an old USA Army type Jeep in on the act as well as a chook chaser bringing up the rear. There was plenty of dust, noise, and moo-ing from the cattle huddled by these modern day sheep dogs in the direction the cattlemen wanted.
Tons of Photo's on the way but again they are in my camera and not my phone so you will have to wait till I get home to upload.
Tomorrow its onward to Exmouth.

The Road to Munjina Roadhouse.

2009-09-07T07:36:00.000+10:00

Sitting about 260 KM from Port Hedland on the Great Northern Highway is a Roadhouse called Munjina. It is the gateway to Karjini Park, Tom Price or Newman.

Not much here other than the pervasive red dust, gas, food, and a room for the night before I head into Karjini Park then onto Tom Price and ultimately Exmouth before I start heading south again.

Not much works right at this roadhouse. Of the 6 Unleaded gas pumps only 1 is operating so there is a line of impatient travellers waiting their turn and each is under strict instruction not to move their car before the bill is paid.

I entered my room, turned on the lamp... boom! Out went the circuit breaker and all the power to 'my little piece of heaven' (a quote from 'The Castle') for the night.

Then it seems the cook has a problem with brining my meal to me because I was sitting at the table outside so I had to go in and get my $35 T-Bone and bring it out myself. My guess is the roadhouse cooks union prohibits from satisfying customers by walking an extra 6 steps.
HOWEVER. I'm surrounded by some of the most beautiful terrain on this trip so far. Rolling hills of multi coloured multi mineral rock formations for as far as the eye can see.

There are serious road trains out here carrying all manner if gigantic mining equipment, pipes, bull dozer's, houses (yes houses), cranes, and the rest. There is an active mine called Marandoo Mine about 100 KM's from here.

I'll know more once I've been through the Karjini Park tomorrow.

Port Hedland

2009-09-07T05:59:00.000+10:00

It seems like everything in Port Hedland is super sized. Every other vehicle is a road train, there are mountainous piles of salt or iron ore and everything just everything is covered in red dust.

The ore transport system is amazing. There are enormous trains that stretch for close to 4 KM that travel along a 426 KM network of BHP Billiton owned rail system. Each of the ore carrier cars are gigantic measuring about the size of a small office building!

There are turbo helicopters flying over head and just about every vehicle that is not a road train is a company owned and tagged work vehicle.

I passed a road train that was carrying a single tractor type continuous tread... the type you might find on an armoured tank. The remarkable thing... it was the size of the whole flat bed it was on! I can't imagine the size of the vehicle it came from.

The main road into Port Hedland from Broome is also the main industrial track of some of the processing equipment used for both Ore and salt. I also learned that WA supplies 5% of the worlds demand for salt!

I stayed in a camp ground at the end of Cook Point and was fortunate enough to be there on one of the few nights each month that the 'stairway to the moon' phenomenon occurs. Visible only on super low tides and is the reflection of the moon on the water gives the appearance dues to the curvature of the earth, of lighted steps raising up to the moon itself. It only lasts a few minutes as the moon rises higher than the water surface not long after rising.

Port Hedland is not a natural attraction, it's not a crisp cool rock pool surrounded by ferns and tropical birds in a gorge. It is however an incredible example of man's ingenuity in using the resources available to him and a valuable part of Australia's economy. The locals tell me that for Port Hedland there is no, and has been no recession.

This all has to be seen to be believed.

The Pilbara

2009-09-06T11:06:00.000+10:00

I'm heading into the mountains and a huge national park called Karijini so will no doubt be out of internet or mobile phone range for a few days.

I'll be back with a post about the park and my stay in Port Hedland too.

Bye for now.

Broome to Sandfire to Port Hedland.

2009-09-06T08:47:00.001+10:00

Sandfire must be a euphemism for red dust because that is all there is out here.

About 330 KM's out of Broome and still another 300 KM's to Port Hedland Sandfire can't really be considered a town... it's a Roadhouse with an extended population consisting of a Camel, a giant (I'm talkin GIANT) Ox and herd of 60 or so peacocks including 2 all white ones and a bunch of clucking chickens! ei ei oh.

There once was a Pub (err sorry they called it a Tavern) but it burned to the ground a couple of years back. So it was toasted sandwiches from the cashier at the servo (for overseas readers that Australian slang for Gas station) a gallon of water and 2 juices in a box.

Frankly, today I don't really care as basic as it was it was exactly what I needed to continue my trip... petrol, water, toasted sandwiches, and a deluxe room for the night...it was deluxe because it came with a can of Mosquito spray! Mate I spare no expense on these sojourns of mine.

The terrain from Broome to Sandfire (red dust) changes again from that thru The Kimberley to Broome. It's low long dark and flat. The sky is incredibly blue with a view that so big that you can see the curvature of the earth.

Leaving Sandfire the following morning I sighted 3 Kangaroos and 2 Brahman's! That's more Roos in one strip of road (not counting dead ones) than I had seen the whole trip thus far.

Then came Pardoo...

Well Pardoo had gas, a proper roadhouse complete with overpriced everything, and the best breakfast this side of whatever we are on this side of.

There must be something in the free coffee in Pardoo. Seems the motorbike was a bit more of an attraction at this place or perhaps I was just grumpy from breathing mosquito spray all night.
Now normally I don't mind but today a group of Hyundai 4WD drives pulling caravans pulled into the world famous Pardoo Roadhouse and for some reason about 6 of them gravitated to the bike and had a gather round looking and pointing.

Again normally I don't mind much but at that very moment I was enjoying my first hot and delicious meal in about 600 KM's. Now you may have noticed in some previous photo's of the bike that I've hung a video cam off the side so I can reach back and flick the switch when I come across a piece of scenery that is interesting.

A bit concerned for the cams safety I left my first hot and delicious meal in 600 KM and went outside to see what the commotion is about. One of these good ole Hyundai boys had a question for me.... he said 'what ya use the camera for?'.

I remember one of those flashes of impatience, anger, and incredulity before I answered with a simple... 'I record video's on it'

What else could I say. Well I said it... there was an agonizing millimoment or 2 then they all seemed satisfied and the little band of Hyundai cowboys kind of dispersed.

Onward to Port Hedland!

Adios to Broome

2009-09-04T11:33:00.000+10:00

Not being sure when I'll be in civilisation again I'm downing my 9th Machiatto in the China Town section of Broome in a little cafe called Bloom (go figure)!

I'm heading down to Port Hedland next and will probably overnight en route in Sandfire. What a cool name.

Yesterday I visited Cape Leveque via 4WD and about 500 KM of red earth. On the way there and back we stopped at a couple of Aboriginal only communities and met some the locals. We stopped at a hatchery on One Arm Point at the very end of Dampier Peninsula over looking Sunday Islands. All of this trip was a blast.

I have tons of photo's to post but they are in my camera and not my Internet phone so I will publish them first chance I get.

I watched whales playing and breaching in the crystal clear and rapid moving tide waters of Sunday Straight in the Buccaneer Archipelago. Photographed some lion fish and other exotics in the hatchery and met the care taker for an incredible church in Lombadina that was built out of Mangrove wood in 1930's and is still standing with no maintenance needed at all over the years!

Notre Dame has nothing compared to this place!

Well I'm off to the post office to mail myself home some of the 'over flow' of stuff one tends to accumulate as a tourist. For me space is at a premium on the bike so rather than cart it the next 8,000 KM I'll post it.

See you next post.

About Broome, More to Follow.

2009-09-03T02:31:00.000+10:00

Been in Broome WA (do a Google or check your map) for a few days now. I've visited one of the Pearl Farms where they culture natural Pearls by doing some clever insertion of an irritant that acts as a stimulant for pearl growth and then taking special care of the oysters that make them.

We went out in a boat on the azure blue waters the oysters farm in and they showed our boat of tourists how they care and clean them. It was very cool.

Tomorrow I'm off in a 4WD up to he Buccaneer Archipelago, the Horizontal waterfalls, and some Aboriginal only communities about 250 km from here. There are no roads so the only way to get up there is by air or 4WD truck!

More about Broome and surrounds later, until then enjoy these pics.

The Mighty Fitzroy River

2009-09-02T12:28:00.000+10:00

Fitzroy Crossing

My room in the Fitzroy Inn overlooked the Fitzroy River. Opened in 1897 the Inn was a place for travellers to wait out the high river of the wet season until it contracted to a level that was passable. There's an Aboriginal Art Gallery at the Inn that is worth seeing and they'll serve you a breakfast at the Inn the size of Uluru!

The river swells up to 10 KM across in places during the wet and has a catchment of about 100,000 square kilometres.

About 20 KM's from the Inn, on sealed road is the Geikie Gorge Park and river cruise. This is an incredible excursion taking you into a gorge that has been cut by the rising and rushing Fitzroy River over the millennium. The walls of the Gorge reflect the water levels and the light, shadows, and reflections in the crystal clear water as well as the bleached limestone walls of the gorge. There simply are not enough words to describe this place.

There is also a private tour conducted by local Aboriginals that is about 3 hours in duration as compared to the 1 hour public tour.

Access from Fitzroy Crossing to other attractions in the region include Tunnel Creek (about 100KM away), Windjana Gorge, and the Horizontal Water Falls (yes you read right!).

Other than the Inn there's not much to the town of Fitzroy Crossing itself other than a place to pass through. Come to think of it that's what travellers have been been using this place for since 1897!

Bumbling Around the Bungles

2009-09-01T15:47:00.001+10:00

Halls Creek.

The main street of what is now known as Halls Creek is also the Great Northern Highway. It stretches for about 1 KM end to end.

Actually this is new Halls Creek. The site of the Old Halls Creek is about 15 KM out of town on a red dirt road. Charley Hall found a large gold nugget hence the name and very short lived fame of Old Halls Creek.

This discovery prefaced a surge in population to about 15,000 people which ultimately lasted only a few months before the hot and rugged conditions in and around Halls Creek deterred all but the most determined miners in pursuit of similar finds.

With the present population of about 1400 the town and regions economy is a mix of pastoral and some tourism.

Halls Creek is the place to get flights into the Bungle Bungles but not hosted 4WD trips as I learned the hard way. Unless you are looking to rent a self drive 4WD (for which there is a waiting list of pre bookings) you need to catch these 4WD excursions at Warmun otherwise known as Turkey Creek about 200 KM back towards Kununurra!

As for Halls Creek flights... watch for passenger minimums on flights or of course you can book the whole plane for yourself....$ouch!

Either way if you are planning on renting, being driven, or flying book ahead as far as you can. As for names and numbers of the companies providing these services, well you'll just have to buy my book to find out! Go to www.twowheeltouring.com.au/contact.html to be included on the release date eMail list.

I stayed in the Best Western in town which is on the plus side of a 3 Star motel with a somewhat out of character glass, chrome, huge projector screen TV, and disco balled restaurant named after Russian Jack a local explorer/miner who played a significant part in the towns history. Seemed Jack being of tough Russian stock, carried his sick mate 300 KM's in a wheel Barrow to get him medical attention! As for me I'd have to think twice about giving a mate cab fare to get to a hospital, but then again there are no restaurants named after me or statues of me in a town centre!

Another regional attraction that Halls Creek plays 4WD gateway to is the Wolfe Creek Meteor Crater. First discovered in 1947 by cartographers doing a fly over it is said to be some 2 million years old and up to 950 metres in diameter making it the second largest crater world... bet you didn't know that!

The remarkable China Wall is also about 6 KM out of town. It is a 6 metre high wall of quartz protruding from the earth. You will of course have to taker a dip in the Caroline Pool nearby as long as you're there.

For more info on this and other interesting places go to www.twowheeltouring.com.au/contact.html and we'll let you know when the release date is nigh!

Coffee & internet in Derby WA

2009-08-31T12:20:00.000+10:00

I'm in Derby and heading to Broome.

It feels like forever since I've had an espresso coffee or Internet access and I'm not sure which is giving me worse withdrawals... the lack of caffeine or the lack if bits and bytes!!

The last dose of both was in Katherine NT. about 2000 KM from here.

Derby is a sleepy little town with a population about the same size as the total passengers allowable in some high rise elevators! The streets are lined with Boabs and there is a micro CBD. Art galleries, motels, beach front bays, an airport for transit to points north such as the horizontal waterfalls and other very cool places you have to fly to, boat to, or trek 500 or so KM's to!

I'm only about 220 clicks to Broome where I'm planning to stay for a few days to gather my thoughts and notes for the next long leg of the trip... down the west coast to Perth!

Adios for now.

Speedo at day 1

2009-08-26T04:45:00.001+10:00

Took a pic at the first fuel stop out of Darwin on day 1 in Adelaide River.

Doing the math you will see I started the trip at 69770 on the clock

Darwin to Katherine

2009-08-25T21:05:00.001+10:00

The road is pretty straight and very hot. Seems there are only 2 seasons out here... the wet season and the dry season and both are hot as!

Not far out of Darwin you pass over a number of WWII Airstrips. Attack aircraft was hidden along the roadside and using the highway as their runway they helped defend the city of Darwin as it withstood 64 bombings by the Japanese.

There are many memorials along the way commemorating those who fought including a cemetery in Adelaide River.

Now I've not been on the road that long and while it's hot I've been in hotter BUT somewhere south of Adelaide River a dog ran across the road. I of course hit the breaks and before the bike really got too unsettled it had been and good. One might think ah yes well we've probably all seen dogs run across the road at sometime in our life, however.... this dog sure looked like a dingo to me! Yes I'm talkin a 'Dingo ate my baby'.., Dingo!

I was only about 250 KLM out of Darwin and frankly it seemed a bit close to civilisation to be a Dingo. I don't know really know enough about them or their habitat but I'll do some research and let you know. If anyone out there is up on their 'Dingo-ology' then please add a comment. I'd be interested in learning if what I saw was a Dingo or not!

Back to the road...

There are things you forget between trips that come back to you in quick reminders. The flying retreads that litter the roadside is one of them. They zip off and bounce along like dancing pigs along the highway providing the occasional challenge for me to duck and weave... just to keep me awake in the heat.

I passed what would have been the longest and largest bunch of sheep I have ever seen. Unfortunately for them they were in trucks heading to our dinner tables. There would have been at least 15 road Trains filled with sheep, each train had 3 or more payloads on it! It was an intersting site. I caught them on the high def camera so I'll upload the pics as soon as I get to a conventional computer. At the moment I'm eMailing my posts from my mobile phone/computer and there's just not enough bandwidth in Katherine to upload fat photo's.

I'm sleeping in Katherine tonight...

Every time I've been to Katherine I get the same vibe. Lovely place to visit, incredible scenery and sites to marvel but the population is so polarised. White Australia and aboriginal Australia may both live here but at least on the surface the Aboriginals you see are a drunken, screaming, fighting wreck of a people. Not allot of Didgeridoo playing okra painted dancing happening around this place.

I walked into a pub and found I was the only non aboriginal in there. There were no lights on other than at the bar and the room was so thick with cigarette smoke I thought for sure the pub was on fire!

On the other hand there are some great restaurants and motels here. The natural sites include the incredible Katherine Gorge (of which there are actually 13 gorges, guess they couldn't call them Katherine 13 Gorges). Last year I did the helicopter trip into the gorgeous gorges. Go to www.twowheeltouring.com.au/gallery.html to see the pics.

Well that's it for tonight. I just booked a water front cabin on Lake Argyle in WA. It's about 400 KLM's from here. I'll also stop at Victoria River Road House which, in my opinion has the best hamburgers in the world!

I'm taking to go orders so just let me know.

Adios.

Darwin Ramblings... the first sign of heat stroke!

2009-08-24T10:12:00.002+10:00

It's been interesting to watch the changes here over the 6 or so years that I have been visiting this place. Seems all roads lead to (or from) Darwin for me.

With the exception of last year, there are more and more things to do, places to eat, and tourism excursions to go on. The tourists seem to come from further away each year and in droves.

in my humble opinion the true measure on any tourism based economy has to be the taxi driver... the 'cabbie' if you're a New Yorker. They often know something is happening even before the conventional economic indicators do.

Last year I cut a planned motorcycle trip from Oregon to NYC down to a flight and a quick business week in Chicago and NYC. The Global meltdown thing was just starting to swing and not wanting to get hit on the head by the potential hailstorm of investment bankers doing a 60 story double gainer... rather than bear the stigma of driving a used car, I had my bike meet me here in Darwin.

Upon arriving I found the driver of every taxi I climbed into complaining of famine, doom and gloom due to the seriously slow tourist trade. It was only then that I realised we were in for a global economic ride. I reckon they should add 'The Cabbie Index' in the Economic Indices in the Wall St Journal, The Economist or the IHT.

Forget about expensive economists, in depth studies, government indices, and the rest.... just call a Cabbie in Darwin and ask how he's doing. No tourists = no disposable spending = economic problems! Done.

Fortunately this year the cabbies are happily enjoying a roaring tourist trade. Seems the global economic crises is over.

In any case I'm off to get the bike in a few hours and I'll hit the road in the morning. The next bunch of posts should be from the road. I'll be in Katherine by nightfall Tuesday night and then point myself north west into WA and Kununurra for a few days.

As for sitting and waiting for my bike in Darwin I guess I can truly say that 'I spent a year here this weekend!'

Adios for now.

More Darwin

2009-08-24T09:22:00.000+10:00

Downtown Darwin 8.30 Monday morning. It's already in the 30's this cold winter morning!

Darwin

2009-08-23T12:02:00.000+10:00

No One Here's from Here!

I'm in Darwin and it's 34C on this cool winters day!

i'm in an an open air - air conditioned cafe located on 'The Esplande' so I'm enjoying an ocean view, 5 Star service and a fair bit less sweat than most.

I just might find myself sleeping rough for a few nights over the coming weeks so I figure I'll take care of myself for the few days I'm here waiting on the local BMW to uncrate the bike. I shipped it up from Sydney last week. Should be ready Tuesday they say.

I really enjoy Darwin everytime I'm here. It is home to a squillion Irish back packers each winter, the US Military and just about every enthic group on the planet. Oh yeah there are some Australians here too.

Before I forget, i'll be patched into HighlandFM with John Sider driving the mic on each Monday at 1.00 PM until I get back to Sydney in October. Tune into 107.1FM if you are near the Southern Highlands or south of sydney (as opposed to the Southern Highlands near Vegas) and have a listen.

John has promised me not to ask any difficult questions... like where are you or what time is it? Once out of Darwin I tend to lose all sence of time and space out here as it is truly a step back into geographic time.

The Alice and Coober Pedy

2009-08-15T20:14:00.001+10:00

Thought I’d post something from last year’s trip from Darwin straight down the centre to Adelaide.

GeeDay... Another news flash from your 4en CorroSPINdant... AKA ... A NewYorkerDownUnder... latest haps and mishaps on the road including a sleep in an old Opal mine, a look at a 120 Mill Year Old fossilised Opal fish [very cool], and a dust storm so thick I could only see the headlights of oncoming cars... all in the land of the Opal Miner and Greek Diner... Coober Pedy! [there are 5 restaurants in Coober of which 3 are Greek and the other 2 are closed!].

When in Alice I tried to do the Reptile and Croc park but it was closed... seems a local psycho kid went on a rampage last week killing most of the smaller reptiles and feeding them to the Crocs! In a weird way I was amused to learn that acts of depraved indifference are not only the province of urban existence!

Then there was the Police Escort after the gang fight in Todd Mall in Alice and as luck would have it... right outside the restaurant I was dining in! Seems one drunken mob of Aboriginals had a score to settle with another drunken mob of Aboriginals. I think someone stole someone's beer or something like that. Whatever it was these poor people are in one major state of mess and misery. I learned early on in this long ride game that drunken into oblivion they come stumbling into you in the pursuit of a hand out. The locals say the military intervention was a waste of time because it did not get to the root of the problems. Oh well you'll never never know if you never never go!

I had an interesting experience on my way into Alice. I met some northern bound travelers in Tennant Creek who told me about a flash cyclone storm in Alice that day that lasted for about 30 minutes. They said it leveled trees, raised roofs and threw debris all around the Alice. They said the locals insisted there had never been anything like it, with winds so fierce the rain was falling almost on the horizontal! Thinking this storm had had its 30 minutes of fame [storms get more] I continued heading into Alice. However, about 100 clicks out I rode into winds so hard the bike was leaning over like it was going around a corner on the track at Phillip island... only I was going in a straight line!

The wind then started changing direction hitting me from the left, then the right, then behind... kind of like the invisible wall of wind you hit when coming up inside the wind draft directly behind a road train that's moving at a decent pace... Only there was no Road train!!!! I was slapped from side to side and in less than a heart beat found myself sitting in the right hand side of the right hand lane [I started my little flight on the left in the left] and not knowing how I got there!!!

I had been picked up by a whirly whirly and dropped right across the road in a heartbeat! I watched it continue off into the scrub ahead. I thought about stopping but of course there is nowhere to stop! I slowed right down and watched as Road trains weaved like the drivers were new years eve drunks, meandering from side to side and back again,... i was sure one in particular was going to topple as the tail payload of its 4 payload long train kept weaving on and off the shoulder into the dirt and back on again!

That's one experience I don't want to live thru again!

Pimba! - where the bloody hell is Pimba?

2009-08-15T20:01:00.006+10:00

TAKE NOTE PLEASE. THIS IS A POST FROM MY TRIP LAST YEAR AND AN EXCERPT FROM MY TRAVEL/REFERENCE BOOK ‑ 'Straight Down - Darwin to Adelaide' TO BE RELEASED LATER THIS YEAR. THE LOGICAL ORDER OF THIS YEARS TRIP CONTINUES WITH THE MOST CURRENT POST - SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION.

I've been on what feels like a never ending ride thru the Great Victoria Desert (it’s in SA mate, do a Google!) which in parts is some 80m BELOW sea level. However now I'm marooned in a lovely place called Pimba SA... "Where the Bloody Hell is Pimba you say?, well for those who don't know their .au geography as well as I do, (ahem) it’s in at the southern end of the Great Victorian Desert and just a few KLM's from Woomera where the refugee detention centre and USA nuke testing is (bet you didn't know that)!

At dinner last night I sat at a table with a bunch of contract pilots who fly around Australia for the Fed to bring the illegal’s from local authorities back here to be detained! Woomera is also home to the USA military base they used to use to test nuclear bombs in the past and according to the Pimbinians - the ones with 6 fingers on each hand...they still do! Could be why the T in my T Bone steak had an interesting green glow. This glow also matched the colour of the slime in the local water!

I've been in the world famous Spuds Roadhouse in Pimba since Sunday afternoon. It's next to the world famous Pimba junk yard. I was lucky enough to get the Honeymoon Suite - $40 a night buys me 3 single beds and a queen bed... go figure! Housekeeping has to come in every morning to vacuum the red earth that blows in under the door during the dust storms at night. Luckily for me the roof of the motel hasn't been nailed down well so every time there's a wind blast under the door the roof raises then flaps rattles and clangs like someone dropped a load of pots and pans down a flight of stairs.

The TV's gone - stolen or commandeered for another room so there's not much to do but write this while I'm waiting on my wheel with its new tire to come back from a Port Augusta motorcycle shop, I think about 400KLM away from here. I sure hope it actually comes back!

Seems the rear tire doesn't like the 6-800 KLM days at 150-180 KPH I've been tracking to make up for lost time (storms, helicopter crashes, broken thumb, and dropping my bike) so it melted from the heat and split open in the middle right down to the wire weave on the inside of the rubber! As there was nothing around but the road ahead, the road back, and the curvature of the earth in every other direction I slowed down to a brisk 50 KPH to avoid a blow out and the inevitable grating of my skin along the road like the shaving of a big Romano cheese for a pasta party... until I stop sliding of course. Would've been pretty ugly at 160 KPH!

Fortunately Pimba [population 26, me included] was only about 50 KLM away when I first noticed the rear tire. Interesting thing is I had just checked the tire about 300 KLM’s before. I think under these extreme conditions when they fail, they fail and it happens real sudden.

As luck would have it this happened on a Sunday and Monday was yet another Australian holiday (I love Australia) and no one other then the barmaid at the roadhouse was working and thank God for that. Tuesday morning I awoke at the crack of noon, dropped the wheel from the drive hub and sent it to the motorcycle shop in Port Augusta via the cargo hold in a Greyhound tourist bus! They changed the tire at the shop and sent it back on the next bus so it arrives here tomorrow morning (I hope)... so I should be back on my merry way soon!

Oh I almost forgot, seems the pub is out of bottled water, but not beer or bourbon so I thought it best not to drink the green slimy tap water that matched my green glowing T bone ... seemed like a good choice at the time tho my head hurts a bit now.

Funny but for some reason I'm not really that concerned now how long it takes my wheel and new tire to get back here!! As my fellow Pimbinians have been saying to me ...

'She'll be right mate, she'll be right!'

Crated up and gone!

2009-08-12T19:22:00.003+10:00

The bike... a BMW K1200Rs was crated up yesterday by BMW in Wollongong and is on the truck as we speak heading to Darwin!

I'll fly to Darwin to meet it on 21 August, take it out of the crate and ride off. First leg of the Journey is Darwin to Katherine only about 325 KLM's.

I'll no doubt need to acclimatise during this leg after spending the last few months in the cold of the Southern Highlands... the temp in Darwin today was 31C. the temp in Bowral today was 12C but it felt much colder!!

Last year I trucked the bike and flew to Darwin and shot straight down from Darwin to Adelaide after a few weeks in the Kimberley. I made the mistake of leaving in late September so by the time I was hit the center of NT it was already over 40C!

It was so hot that I bought bags of ice cubes at the some of the Roadhouse's on the route (they are usually a few hundred KLM's apart). I dumped half the bag into the hydra pack on my back, covered it with my jacket and then stuffed the remaining plastic bag of ice cubes down the front of my jacket so I could reach in while riding, grab a few cubes to stick in my mouth to stay hydrated!

My next little brain storm came along... I ripped off the corners of the bag so as the ice melted it drained out into my lap! Talk about cool and soothing! I was smiling for miles!

It did get a bit comedic when I stopped to fill the gas tank and found myself standing in a pool of water!

You can imagine the looks and laughs from locals and tourists as I stood there smiling and dripping!

Darwin to Sydney Via the West Coast

2009-08-12T18:58:00.000+10:00

Hi, I'm blogging my way from Darwin thru The Kimberley down the West Coast to Perth then along The Nullarbor to Adelaide and back to Sydney via The Great Ocean Road, Melbourne and around the coast!