Helga

Helga

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

1 May ~ 2,750kms; 1 September ~ 26,750kms. The postscript

This will most probably be the last post!! Helga is now back home, sort-of washed and back in her old parking spot.

I went to Auckland on Monday morning hoping to be able to go to Tappers Transport and pick her up out of the Customs bond. The plan was to get her out of her crate, refit the windscreen and mirrors, reconnect the battery and ride south. The best laid plans.....

Everything went well on the flight up and the taxi ride over to Tappers which is in Onehunga, getting there at about 10.30. Then the major snag. I cleared Helga, got all the forms and then was asked: "Where have you parked your vehicle?" I explained that I had come over by taxi and all their alarm bells went off. As I discovered, Tappers can only release the bikes onto the back of a truck, crate and all to be taken somewhere else. For them it was an issue of heath and safety plus the fact that they didn't want to get left with all the timber from the crates! I could see their point of view but I did wish someone at the carrier had explained this to us.

The guy at Tappers was fantastic. He is a biker (so I guess it goes without saying!) and did everything he could to organise a truck. He even took me into the bond area so I could have a look at Helga and say hello. The biggest problems were that Dick was stuck in a Hubbards Board meeting and couldn't get out. And I couldn't get his bike released because I didn't have his paperwork. Finally I managed to get Dick out of his meeting (briefly) and he kicked Hubbard's logistics into action. At the same time I persuaded the carrier company to email his paperwork to the nice man at Tappers so I could sign it out. (Apparently I could be trusted because I am a biker! :-) What goes round....)

Hubbards sent over a truck at around 1.30pm and we got the bikes loaded.



The driver was another great guy and we took the bikes over to the Hubbards factory and got them unloaded.

It took a while to get Helga out of her crate and all connected up again but by 3.30pm I was raring to go. My motorbike clothing was absolutely disgusting! You might remember it was raining in Sydney and I loaded wet gear into the panniers. Well they were pretty bad - covered with mildew and smelly smelly smelly! But never mind, on they went and so did I. Quick refueling stop in Onehunga and then onto the motorway and heading south.

What a blast! I took the bypass route down from Ngaruawahia to Otorohanga. We loved those corners. I think we'd missed them!! Found a motel in Otorohanga and a meal and had an uneventful, though rather damp, ride back to Welly in the Tuesday. I parked Helga in the same spot as the cover photo so we could do a before and after:

Then a celebratory Cascade Premium Light (our favourite Oz beer) and that my friends, is that!

Thanks for all the support and encouragement. And thanks too to my family for putting up with all of this! On to the next one!

Cheers,

Ken

Monday, August 16, 2010

The final (sort-of) summing up!

Greetings all
This will be my last major entry on this blog. I thought that I would make a kind of summary statement – and invite anyone who wants to discuss details more with me to get in touch before they try something similar. So here goes:

Bikes
I have been a Honda and Suzuki man for a long time. I have used my ST1300 for a lot of touring and the DR650 for a lot of commuting and some off-road and gravel-road work. Looking back I think the R1200GS was the ideal compromise choice for this trip. Not as comfortable as the Honda, nor as capable in the dirt as the Suzuki, but really good at all ranges. This included cruising all day at 130kph in the Northern Territory to coping with dirt on the Gibb River Road.

Both bikes were reasonably reliable. I had a new starter motor fitted in Darwin, and a new temperature sensor fitted in Adelaide. Dick had a new battery fitted in Perth and needed a new oil-level sightglass fitted in Adelaide. Economy was good, generally sitting on 4.7 – 5.2 litres/100kms. For some reason Dick got better economy than me, even though our riding styles were pretty much the same. All up we did about 23,500kms in the three and a bit months.

One of the criticisms of the Beemers is that they are over-engineered (Too much computing?) I think this is a fair comment - especially compared to the DR650!! A couple of examples:
- the electrical circuit won't allow you to run a hefty current for any period of time so pumping up tyres with a compressor for example is difficult.
- one problem I had was with a temperature sensor. Even tho you have a temperature gauge on the dash, the bike also has a temperature sensor; if it thinks the bike is over-heating it shuts it down regardless of what the temperature gauge says. This was a real pain. Slow work through sand and rush hour traffic through Adelaide and she died. The fault was in the sensor itself! Grrrrrrrrr!

Health
We both maintained good health through the trip. I had a case of the Darwin trots down the West Coast but apart from that we both did ok. I think a key to this was that we had no fixed schedule or finishing time.

Route
Our overall plan was to stick to the coast as much as possible. We were a bit ambitious however regarding our ability to manage Australian dirt roads. They proved much more difficult that I had expected. As a result we did not go right to the top of Cape York and we avoided the Great Central Road from Kalgoorlie to Uluru. We struggled a bit on the Mereenie Loop from Uluru to Hermannsburg which we thought would take 5 hours or so (153kms) but actually took nearly two days and left us camping out on the side of the road. The big problem here was unseasonable rain which turned the road into a bog. But sand was probably our biggest challenge. The big Beemers don’t go well on sand – and we didn’t have the most aggressive possible tyres either. Rivers were a challenge but after an initial tumble when Helga and I went swimming we coped ok.

Apart from that we chose well and generally had a great time completing around 500kms in a typical day.

Gear
Our gear worked well. Dick would have preferred a more roomy tent but his was ok. We used just about everything that we took. I brought a bit of stuff back to NZ (my security cable and bike-cover for example) and we bought a bit of extra gear but we were pretty much ok.

Our GPSs (both Garmin Zumo 660s) were excellent. Dick’s didn’t survive falling off his bike at 100kph but then I probably wouldn't have done either. They were invaluable for negotiating strange cities and both had music loaded so could keep us going on the long and boring straights. Also very handy for locating accommodation and fuel in new locations. I went for the in-helmet Bluetooth system and it was great. Dick had a wired system which meant he had to remember to unplug on getting off the bike. He learnt quickly after pulling his bike over on one occasion.

I didn’t buy any new riding gear. Generally my jacket, helmet, trousers and rain suit coped ok. My boots (Canyons) were fantastic – comfortable and really waterproof. (Thanks Richard!)

Food
We took gas stoves and some utensils but actually used them only occasionally. Mostly we had breakfast before we left and then ate out for the rest of the day. RSL and sports clubs were good.

Accommodation
We had our tents and air mattresses and probably used them every third day or so, especially in the northern half of the island. Other than that we went for cheap cabins, back-packers, motels and the occasional faded lady hotel in country towns. All reasonably good.

Australians
We met very few unpleasant aussies. We took a bit of stick for being kiwis but nowhere near as much I suspect as we dish out to aussies. Generally people were friendly and interested in what we were doing – especially the grey nomads!

Shipping
It will have cost us around $3,000 each to ship our bikes Auckland – Sydney – Auckland. Sounds a lot but it would have been too expensive to hire (around $96 per day) and no one was interested in a “buy-back” deal in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. As a result we bought our bikes newish in NZ and had run up some 2,000kms before we left so we were pretty familiar with how they worked. So far shipping agents and customs have been great.

We also took our bikes under the Carnet de passage system arranged with NZ AA which meant we could travel on NZ registration plates and WOFs. We had to leave deposits with the AA to ensure that we brought the bikes back and didn’t dispose of them illegally. Hopefully this will be refunded (plus the interest earned) as soon as the bikes are cleared here in a few weeks time.

BMW Australia
The service centres we went to (Darwin, Perth & Adelaide) were great. The bikes were well-serviced, new tyres and repairs where needed. Everyone was genuinely interested in what we were doing and courtesy cars were laid on to take us to airports etc. Also good coffee and facilities for waiting around and storage for our gear while we came back to NZ.

Highlights
I have been asked this several times since getting home and it is really hard to answer – I suspect it was the Gibb River Road and the Mereenie Loop.

What’s next?
What a good question. India first up I think and then maybe Fairbanks in Alaska down the western seaboard to Tierra del Fuego in Argentina. Maybe....

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Day 58: It's done

We woke this morning to one sound that we didn't want to hear. Yep! Bugger - it's raining. Not just raining but persistently persisting down. Triple bugger!!! I had left my roll bag and rainsuit on the bike and of course they were soaked. It also meant we had to wash the bikes in the rain. Sound easy but actually it was most unpleasant. We organised a hose out of the back gate of the house and got on with it. The surface dirt was easy enough but there really was some ingrained grime - some from the loop road out of Uluru some weeks back. We then rode through the rain to Port Botany where we tried to find the shipping depot. Karen (the GPS) got us to the right road but we could not find the exact address. We stopped to have a Steering Committee meeting when a bloke in a truck stopped to see if we were ok. The first thing he told us was that he had a GS just like these. Apparently he worked in the same warehouse at the same depot as we were trying to find so he just led the way. We arrived there at about 11.30am.

They were expecting us and directed us into a nice dry part of the warehouse where we began sorting and packing our stuff to take home, stuff to biff (minuscule), and stuff to go back home in the bikes. This meant I had to put my sopping wet jacket and motorbike trousers into a pannier. It will be very interesting when I get them out in three weeks time! Yuk!

Our old crates were delivered - a bit worse for the wear - and we ran the bikes up onto their original pallets and strapped them down with wooden slabs nailed around the wheels. The local boss offered us the use of a nailgun (with a 10sec lesson on how to use it) and this made the job much easier. We disconnected batteries, removed mirrors and windscreens and we were done. We weren't allowed to completely crate up the bikes. This had to wait until customs had been in and verified the chassis numbers. The girls will then get loaded onto the JOP Scorpious and should arrive in Tauranga on 22 August. This year. I hope!


We then said farewell to our girls and headed for the airport arriving there at about 4pm. Our flight home didn't leave until 6.30 so we settled into the Koru lounge (thanks Dick!) to wait it out. A good trip back to Auckland where we were met by Diana and a night at their apartment. Home the following day, via a tour of Hubbards Foods. Despite the rocky start, another good day. Tomorrow the summary!!

:-)

Day 57: Completing the loop: 1 May - 9 August

It was a stunning but freezing morning when we woke up in Canberra. The temperature was minus 2 degrees C! Look at the ice on poor Helga: We had a quick breakfast and then Dick led the way for the Hubbard-tour of Canberra (abbreviated). I kind of lost track of all the different routes because as well as riding in an unfamiliar town, it was still rush-hour Monday morning traffic. Anyway eventually we wound up at the House of Parliament and parked illegally on a corner so we could take some photos. I don't know if you have read Garth's blog (http://garthonwalkabout.blogspot.com/2010/06/14610-cann-river-to-sydney-604km-total.html) but we had an almost identical experience to the one he wrote about. We had only been there for a few minutes when a Australian Federated Police person rode down to us on a pushbike, complete with Glock, handcuffs and radio. (The police-person that is, not the pushbike.) Hullo we thought (or hullo, hullo, hullo) we're going to be moved on for illegal parking. But no, nothing like it. he had come down to look at the bikes. When he realised that we were kiwis and on the last leg of a circumnavigation of Orstralia his enthusiasm turned positively gushing. He is a biker (can't remember what now) and this trip is on his bucket list.


Then his mate came down and all four of us stood in front of the mother of all-Ostralian parliaments talking bikes and biking. While chatting I mentioned that we had been told the section of road from Cooma to Canberra was supposed to be "over-policed" but that we had only seen two patrol cars. "Oh don't worry," he said. "They'd be there all right, hiding up little sideroads. The bastards!" Hmmmmmm


We then headed off to the National War Memorial to have a look at the exhibits there. We arrived at about 9.15 and, as the museum didn't open till 10am, took some time to wander around and have a coffee. If you haven't been to the War Memorial in Canberra I highly recommend it. It is a little jingoistic in parts but they have made a real effort to tell the ordinary stories of ordinary men and women in the various wars that Orstralians have been involved in from the Boer War to Afghanistan. In particular the dioramas depicting First World War scenes are chilling. Quite amazing. The only niggle we had was that in the so-called "ANZAC Hall" there was absolutely no representation of New Zealand.

At around 11am we headed out of Canberra and onto the Federal and then the Hume Highway heading for Sydney. A pretty uneventful trip really of some 300kms of three-lane motorway. I guess we just kind of settled into the groove and got on with it.

Arriving in Sydney Dick made good his promise to take me across the harbour bridge. To do that however, we first had to go through the Harbour Tunnel. I am sure this is a doddle in a car but in was quite unnerving on the bike. Very hot and claustrophobic with sudden gusts of chilled air from time to time to make the bike rock. The Harbour Bridge itself was a bit of an anticlimax basically because you were so busy riding and watching out for the traffic that you didn't have time for the view. We also had to pay tolls twice - and I'm not sure for what!

From there we went to Milson Point for the "official" end point of the tour. It is fair to say that we were pretty stoked at this point. As the photos show!
From there it was - in theory at least - a straightforward run to Ruth's terrace house in Paddington. Somehow however we wound up back on another toll road. Bugger - neither of us had any money so we just drove through on the electronic toll road. As we didn't have a transponder this would have meant that our numberplates will have been photographed and a "special" toll will be on its way. I wonder if we'll ever get it? Then we wound up riding up George Street, one of the main streets in Sydney, absolutely choked with traffic. It was not great fun, especially as the GPS kept trying to send us the wrong way up one-way streets. Eventually however we arrived at Ruth's.


We got ourselves unpacked, took Ruth out for dinner at a local Austrian restaurant and then I crashed. A big day tomorrow: get the bikes cleaned, get them over to the shipping depot, set up on their pallets and strapped down ready for the Customs-person.

Another great day.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Day 56: Victoria to NSW to ACT

Yes today was our day for travelling interstates. We woke up in Victoria, rode into NSW and ended up in ACT. We woke to another really cold and frost day this morning. Had a quick Muesli (not Hubbards!) breakfast and set off carefuly heading east with the little ice crystal on the dash flashing at us and the temperature going from 1.5 degrees C to 2 degrees and back again. We pretty much stuck to the coast road through Bairnsdale to Lake Entrance and Oborst stopping at Bellbird Creek from some well-earned bacon and eggs. Then we struck our first sign giving a distance to Sydney - the journey suddenly began to feel as if it was close to an end. Only 595 kms left to Sydney!


That also took us back into NSW.

On then to Eden and Bega (where we had been told to watch out for milk tankers) and then we found .... wait for it ... some corners!

This road was a real blast. We had been warned that it would be slippery with leaf litter but actually it was quite clear. A series of hairpin bends with advisories of 25kph. Great fun. We stopped at the top for a great view down the valley.

We then pushed on to Cooma where we stopped for a snarler and a latte and were told that the ride through to Canberra now would be painfully slow because of all the Sunday afternoon skiers going home from the Snowy Mountains to Canberra. In the end however it wasn't too bad but we were both amazed at the number of dead kangaroos and wombats on the side of the road through this section. We had also been told to watch out for the Highway Patrol too so we were careful about keeping to the speed limit. In the event however we only saw two patrol cars.
This took across our next border into the Australian Capital Territory...

...and up into Canberra. We spent a bit of time tooling around in Canberra looking at some of the sights before settling into an expensive, and not very good, motel in Ainslee. From we walked around to an AFL club for the usual beer and a meal. Even though it was a Sunday this place was humming. Pokies took up nearly half of the space with huge bar areas and a restaurant. We had a really nice meal and a couple of (low-alcohol) beers and then decided to have a Baileys to finish the night off. This led to one of the most hilarious drinks we ever ordered in Oz and really illustrated the extraordinary amount of over regulation the country suffers from. Here's what happened.

I went up to the bar and ordered two Baileys and asked that they be served in wine glasses rather than the huge tumblers they often come in. That was fine and the drinks were poured; but then the barman asked what I would like mixed with them. I was a bit surprised but told him I didn't want anything as a mixer. The barman explained that he wasn't allowed to do this. Under ACT law, all spirits and liquers must be served with a mixer. They cannot be served straight lest the terrible Aussies use them as shooters. I asked what he thought Baileys could be mixed with and he suggested ice.

"OK then," I said, "What is the smallest amount of ice that I have to have in my Baileys?" He replied "One cube." So we got out the ice bowl and searched through it to find the two smallest teeniest possible ice cubes and put one in each glass. Thusly was the law satisfied. Dumb!

We then walked back home to our motel and had a good night's sleep. A long day today covering 625kms, some of which was delightfully twisty. Off to Sydney tomorrow for the last day of our trip. I'm not sure whether to feel pleased or sad!

Day 55: The ferry to Sorrento

Up early in Apollo Bay and went looking for breakfast but - being a Saturday - nothing was open. Grabbed an iced coffee in a box and got ourselves packed up to continue our trip east. We couldn't find anyone to give our money to so ended up giving it to the cleaner who promised to pass it on the the hotel management. We scraped the ice off the bikes and then got on the road into a cool breeze and headed off. It was a stunning day but quite cold.



We followed the coast road through Lorne and Torquay and then decided to avoid Melbourne by taking the ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento. A bit expensive at $35 each but a great trip nonetheless.

The ferry was a catamaran and obviously well used by the locals. Took about 45 minutes and dropped us off at Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula. Dick has a neice at Brighton in Melbourne so we decided to visit her and say hello. It was a bit of a drag through the Saturday traffic but eventually we got to her house but (of course) she was out!

We found our way onto the motorway and, being a bit fedup with city traffic, had a blast down the M1 through Warragul, Moe (I loved that name) and through the Latrobe Valley. This is known as Power Station Valley and you could certainly see why. There must be big coalfields nearby as there were at least three power stations sending huge plumes of steam up into the air.

We got to Sale at around 5pm and booked into a budget motel. We were given a great room for $90 and then went round to the local cricket club for a meal, a beer or three and - of course - to watch the rugby. If you want to have fun watching rugby then I can only recommend that you do it in Orstralia, surrounded by Orstralians ... provided of course that the All Blacks are winning. It was a lot of fun and we took a bit of stick for being kiwis but we enjoyed ourselves.

And so tomorrow we head up towards Canberra - should be a long day but hopefully a good day!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Day 54: The great great great ocean road

Up early and packing up the bikes this morning. Were about to hit the road when one of the staff said, "Have you had your breakfast?" Turns out the breakfast was part of the package and it was actually B&B for our $35. We were very pleased. In fact I wanted to know if she was married. If not I thought we might stick around for a bit. Dick wanted to know if she had a boat as well but I think that was a bit much for her. Single and with a boat? No and no. We even asked for a picture of the boat.....

A great ride down from Kingston SE along the coast to Beachport - where we chickened out on riding along this huge jetty.



We crossed the border into Victoria....

then down to Portland and then onto the Great Ocean Road. And yes it was great but unfortunately also very wet and very slippery with leaf mould all over the road in the gorges. We stopped for lunch at a pub built in 1853 and had a great Guiness and Beef pie and then rode on through to Apollo Bay where we have stopped for the night.

A tricky road - you don't know whether to go slow for the view or fang for the road. In the end the weather decided for us and it was a slow and tippytoes trip through lots of the gorges and gullies. But a great ride anyway. And the sea views were at least as good as those in Welly.
:-)

Day 53: Hurry hurry up and wait wait wait.....

A good morning in Adelaide today. D & I went nextdoor to the cheap and cheerful for breakfast (did I tell you that he had arrived?) and then went riding on the free bus around Adelaide until 10 am which is when the spare part for Olga was supposed to arrive. Inevitably the courier was late but once the sightglass had arrived and been fitted we were quick to pack up and get on the road south out of Adelaide by about 1pm.

We had a good ride down to Kingston SE (why the SE I have still not quite worked out!) going past the famous Giant Lobster (or is it a crayfish?)

and booked into the local faded lady hotel for the night. It was all good - $35 each for our own room, a cheap but good dinner and several beers later and we were all done.

Off tomorrow to make the Great Ocean Road and start our run to the end.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Day 52: Getting the NEW news in Adelaide

Greetings all.
Well I arrived in Adelaide yesterday at 11.15 all set to pick up the bikes and get organised to complete our trip. Dick has had some business issues with Hubbards Foods so isnot due to arrive until today. More on that later.

I had a great flight with Qantas. Had a row of three seats all to myself so stretched out and had a snooze. As the morning had started at 4am that was most welcome. Arrived in Sydney to find that due to some peculiarity in Orstrlian systems I was not yet in Orstralia. I had to remain in transit and board an internation flight that was going to Singapore via Adelaide and then check through customs there. All very confusing. But good flights nonetheless.

Went to our Adelaide hotel in Gouger St (apparently NOT pronounced as you might when cutting a groove in a piece of wood but in a much more Orstralian refined way!) to drop off my little bag and then round to BMW Adelaide to checkout the girls. Found there was some confusion! To say the least. The bikes have been serviced but they were not sure whther the parts ordered from Germany 17 days ago had arrived. The computer said one had, one had not. If they had, certainly no work had been started on fitting the new starter motor, the new sensor or the new brake lines which apparently are part of a BMW recall. Why these parts were not available in Orstalia or why they took so long to be delivered I do not know. My brother has a theory but I won't mention it here.

Anyway the parts were eventually located - in Adelaide - and a start was made to finish the bikes ... if you know what I mean. Just as well because the BMW staff were beginning to tread very warily around this strange Kiwi bloke with steam coming from his ears.

This morning we had some good news and some bad news. The good news was that the parts had been fitted to Helga. The bad news was that it has made no difference whatsoever to the clatter. When you start the motor there is still this brief clatter which appears to be coming from the region of the starter motor. The only thing for it - apparently - is to pull the motor completely apart (in half were their words) and see what is making the noise. So I have decided to risk it and will carry on. If the starter system packs up then I will cope with that when - and if - it happens.

The next bit of bad news is that Olga (Dick's bike remember? Keep up with the play now!) is leaking oil from the oil-level sightglass. This is the little round glass that BMW have kindly fitted so you can see how much oil is in the motor. Which, if the sightglass is leaking, is not very much. There is a spare avaialable in Melbourne which will be (we hope) in Adelaide by 10am tomorrow. It will be fitted by 10.30am and, hopefully we will then be able to get on our way. If not, we will be speaking sternly to some BMW PR people.

Meantime Dick is winging his way to Adelaide. As we know there is a direct AirNZ flight from Auckland to Adelaide. Dick however decided to save some dollars (as you do) by flying Qantas to Sydney and then getting the connecting flight to Adelaide. Unfortunately there were problems at Sydeney and Dick missed the connection so will arrive here late this afternoon. So the boys will have a night on the town and get on our way South tomorrow late morning. I hope! It all seems a long time ago now since we were last on the road and I can't wait.
Cheers,
Ken

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Day 51: Getting the news in Adelaide.

We had a good night in Port Augusta. We went to a local community club for a beer and a meal which was ok although not great. Reasonably early to bed and to rise and we were on the road to Adelaide by 7.15am. We pushed it a bit far I think and didn't stop for breakfast until after 9am so we were a bit cold and miserable when we went in to Pimba. Then on the Adelaide, getting there just on noon.

It was a long slow ride in heavy traffic through to Mr BMW and just as we were in sight of the BMW centre, Helga suddenly died - a return to the problem I had been having after Darwin. We parked in a cycle lane on the rhs of the road and waited the obligatory 5 minutes and then fired her up again and went across the interesction to Mr BMW.

The staff at BMW were great. They took Helga away and put her on the computer. Then came back with the sad news. She needs ANOTHER new starter motor (she had a new one in Darwin so wtf?) and a fault in the temperature sensor. This makes the computer think she is overheating so shuts the bike down. The really sad news was that it will take up to 2 weeks for the spare parts to be delivered.

Dick and I made the snap decision to leave the bikes here and come home. We checked out the flights and then got a rental car and headed east for Melbourne. We will (hopefully) fly out of Melbourne tomorrow for EnZud!
Cheers - will pick this up again later.
Me

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Day 50: Coober Pedy to Port Augusta.

Up early in the morning because I couldn't find my phone and the alarm was set for 6am. I found it at 6am! :-) We had weetbix and milk on the verandah and were packed up and on the road by 8.15. An uneventful ride south to Port Augusta, encountering more cops in the one day than I think we have seen all trip. Meet a large group of Harley riders when we stopped for lunch at Pimba but they ignored us so we ignored us as well. They seem to be suffering from insufferable superiority complexes. Silly really.

Saw two groups of emu as we rode down. They look so graceful as they walk across the desert - the environment they are made for I guess. I stopped to take photos and they moved unhurriedly off looking back with avian disdain. Just lovely.

Arrived in Port August around 3pm and booked into a faded lady pub in the middle of town. $70 for a box with two beds, a shower and a loo but it will do. Will update this later.
Cheers,
Me

Day 49: A social grenade?

Greetings all. A gentle day today. We left Marla at around 8.30 and pootled our way south without incident some 270km to Cooper Pedy (the opal capital of the world.) Unfortunately for Shirley and Diana, all the opal shops were shut on a Thursday. What a shame.

We found a cheapo cabin in the caravan park - $40 for a box with a light and two single bunks! It was ok. I had a snooze and did some shopping while Dick went off to do a mine's tour. This place is unbelievable - just mounds of tailings everywhere. It is hideous in a interesting kind of a way. I took some photos and will post them when I find a computer that will let me. Here ....



There was a guy in the cabin next door who was waiting for a replacement radiator for his Land Cruiser. He was an ex-bike-racer who had lost his arm in some bike accident which we didn't really discuss. I was interested in how he was going to fit the new radiator when it arrived. I could however have been more thoughtful about how I asked! I said "Do you think you will need a hand to fit the new radiator?" It was not until some 10 minutes later that I suddently thought - goodness!! I could have phrased that better. According to Frank that is a social grenade!

All good though - went out to a pizza restaurant for dinner and off to bed by 9.30.

A gentle day huh!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Day 48: Come to Alice they said. It never rains in Alice!!

Dick took me out for a belated birthday dinner last night. At his suggestion I tried the game medley: grilled camel, roast emu, pan-fried barramundi and a nice pie stuffed with little Skippy. It was delicious as was the bottle of Margaret River Shiraz.

We had planned to get up early and go up a local hill to look over Alice Springs at sunrise but in the event it was raining so we stayed in bed! Then went down the mall for a cafe breakfast. We went round to the Flying Doctor museum for a look and went inside leaving our jackets, helmets and gloves on the bikes. While we were in there the heavens opened and there was a huge deluge. The sky just opened and emptied water. Bugger. Dashed through the rain and rescued our gear as best we could and then dripped our way around the rest of the display and tour.

Back on the road at about 11am heading for Marla. Still wet so we were pretty soggy as we pootled down the Stuart Highway. Up in the distance I could see two road trains heading towards me. Then I noticed a silver band between me and the trains. Too late I realised it was a band of water right across the road. I hammered on the brakes but too late! The road trains and Helga and I all hit the puddle at the same time. Each road train had three units so six drenchings later I was up and out the other side. At least I could see the funny side of it!

Then a few k's later on we were getting flashed by traffic coming towards us. We soon found out why. A long line of cars stopped at either side of a 80 metre stretch of water across the road. According to the markers it was 40cm deep. We went up to the front of the line and had a go. Dick went first, got 2/3 of the way across and Olga died. He stayed on the bike pushing with his legs as I took Helga in. At almost the same place, she died too. I got off in thigh deep water, put her on the side stand and pushed Helga to the other side. Man I was stuffed by the time I got there.


Pushed her to the side of the road and had a go at starting her. Tried again and the motor turned over but didn't fire. Tried again and then again. Then got a whole bunch of kids to stand around the bike with their fingers and legs crossed and bingo! Away she went. Phew.

A bit of a marathon then into Marla with a really strong side wind (which gaves us both sore necks) and organised our accommodation.

I think there is something amiss in Helga's starting mechanism. When she fires up there is this terrible brief clatter. Will see how it goes tomorrow. May be a direct trip to Mr BMW in Adelaide.
Cheers all.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Day 47: Uluru to Alice

Hi all
We had a great time in Uluru. Walked around the base (10kms) then walked into the Olgas (another 5kms) This was supposed to be a rest day!


We decided to go to Alice via King Canyon and the back road. We knew this included 200kms of dirt road but it was suppposed to be open for 2wd vehicles so we gave it a go. By the time we got to the gravel it was 1pm but we pushed on. Immediately we went into 10kms of road works followed by mud and mudholes. By 6pm we had done 80kms.


Nothing for it but to drive up into the desert a short way and put up the tent. We had a pack of pasta, four broken eggs and just a little water but we made do. A great birthday bash for kennif!

Unfortunately it was a cloudy night so we didnt get to see the stars. But we did see a camel, horses, wild asses and dingos. It was great but we were exhausted.



We slept ok despite the dingo chorus at midnight and then in the morning packed up and slithered off down the grease trap again. Just on noon we got to Hemansburg - an old Lutheran mission station and then on towards Alice. Just a little way along the road we were stopped by a police block. A car had crashed during the night and the road was closed for the major crash investigation team. However we were allowed to take to the desert again and ride a big loop through the sand to the other side of the closed area and back down onto the road.

Then a sealed road blast through to Alice where we have found a bed in a tavern (??) and got the bikes locked away in the booze compound. We are now discussing how we will get to Adelaide. Have to be there by Sunday for a early monday appointment with Mr BMW for servicing. Helga now has 22,500kms on the clock. Not bad when you consider that on the 1st of March she had 800!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Too haRD TOO HARD TOO HArd!

Hi guys
This blog is too hard. Not enough internet cafes and too many long days on the road. We are having a ball but getting to keep the blog up to date is too difficult. Lets just say we have gone from Margaret River to Albany via Augusta (Thanks David) to Esperance to Nullabor to Minnita to Port Augusta to Glendambo to Marla and now to Yalara and Uluru. Lots of kilometres and lots of hard work. When I get a chance I'll bring the blog up to date. Sorry ........
Cheers,
Me
Here's a go - straight in front and .... straight behind!! Yhe Nullabor!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Photos

For those of you who have been following this ... I have added some new photos. Especially of the Gibb River section.

Day 36: Down to the SW tip!

Up early this morning for breakfast in our rooms and then on the road at 8am. What a lovely ride down the coast to Augusta. Through national park the whole way with treelined roads. We're kept buttoned off partly because of the cold but also because of the wandering stock. Especially huge kangaroos.

Augusta is on the south-western tip so as usual we went right out to the lighthouse - hoping also to see some whales which are supposed to pass by this corner of Australia in great numbers at this time of the year. Today was an off-day! Still great scenery and a while coast rather like Makara. Only bigger - as everything in Australia seems to be on a giant-scale.

Then turned east for the first time and worked out way along the coast to Albany. An uneventful trip. Checked in at the visitors' centre and found a self-contained apartment in Middleton Bay that sounded good. We had planned to save a few $$$ by cooking our own dinner that night. Arrived at the Dolphon Lodge Apartments and were directed to our unit. Mmmmm. that's a funny thing we said - the beds haven't been made. I went back to reception and asked if we were expected to make the beds before we slept in them!! The receptionist did a double take and then realised she had put us in an aprtment where the previous occupants had only just checked out.

She was very embarrassed especially when she realised she had just let the only apartment left. As a result she put us in "the house." So for $89 for the night we had a three-bedroom house with separate dining room, lounge and garage. Tres choice! We walked up the road to the local deli and bought some dinner and a bottle of Margaret River Red and got ourselves sorted.

That night was cold. Aussies don't cope well with the cold. Even though the house had two huge heat pumps there seemed to be no insulation and both of us found the night to be chilly. I ended up going to the third bedroom and taking extra blankets from one of the beds.

Tomorrow to Esperance!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Day 35: Perth to Margaret River

Lovely morning in Perth this morning. Dick due to arrive at 8.25 after a few hours sleep in Melbourne so I packed up as best I could and went out to meet him at the BMW centre which was on the way to the airport. Another battle with Perth rush hour traffic but after one wrong turn it was all good. Arrived at BMW to find Dick already there - his plane was early so we settled up his account (ouch ouch ouch!!!) and went back to the hotel where we packed the bikes, paid MY bill and hit the road.

I had done some research on the motorway system so it was straightforward and we were on the freeway south. It was long. It was very long. But it was ok. We went down all the way to Bunbury and then took the coastal road through Bussleton and then down to Margaret River. This was a great piece of road with bush on both sides of the road and the occasional kangarooo waiting to throw itself under Helga's wheels.

Dick had only had three hours sleep in the last 24 hours so we got a motel room and walked out for a curry. Margaret River was very nice but just a little too touristy for us. Dick also went to sleep quite early - and quite noisily. Fortunately I had brought in my earplugs so I was well equipped. Up early in the morning and off to Albany via Esperance.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Day 32: Perth for a break

Olga's tyre was holding this morning so we decded not to muck arund and head off to Perth but also to include a bit of "scenic" coast road near Coolimba. I put scenic in quote marks because it wasn't really what we would have called a scenic road. But we didn't have too many kms to do that day so we were in cruise mode and stopped for a break by the Indian Ocean.

Then it was basically just a pootle into Perth. Dick decided to ignore the instructions from the GPS and plotted our route into the hotel which he did very well. Unfortunately we overshot the hotel and wound up in a very fast moving one way section just beyond the hotel. Nothing for it - this is what R1200GS's are for - we rode back along the footpath and into the hotel where we parked up out the front. The people waiting at the bus stop didn't seem to mind very much.

The receptionist was distinctly snooty with us - perhaps were a bit too grubby and noisy for him. They had also cocked up the booking and had put us in a double room. He sniffingly checked us in and then told us that we couldn't possibly leave the bikes parked at the front of the hotel. That suited us just fine anyway so we parked around the back and hit him up for a trolley to get all our filthy and mud encrusted panniers into the lift and up to our room. He also organised a trolley bed so Dick and I wouldn't have to top 'n tail in a double bed.

Dick was heading off for three days in EnZud to do some business stuff so he was up and away at 6am leaving me to enjoy the delights of Perth - and to get his bike retyred and repaired.

So I'll pick up this blog on Thursday when he gets back and we hit the road south.

Cheers to everyone.

Day 31: Sliming our way to Geraldton

Up early again in the morning and hello. Hello hello hello. Olga's rear tyre has only 5psi. Hmmm. And bugger. We put her on the centre stand, rotated the wheel to find the plug and put a big gob of spit on it. Shades of Rotorua. Lots of spittly bubbles. Conundrum. Replug? Pump up and go to tyre repairer? Then Dick remembered that he had a can of slime in his kit. It was only a little hole and the trye was due to be replaced in Perth so it made a lot of sense. The pressure in the can lifted the rear tyre to 35psi and we headed off.

Stopped at the Wooramel Roadhouse for breakfast and then kept heading south. We debated going out to the Denham Peninsula, partly because it was the most westerly part of Oz and also because the road was called The Useless Loop. Common sense won out however and we continued heading south stopping off at the Overlander and Billabong Roadhouses for petrol and a break and arrived in Geraldton in the mid-afternoon. We had a look at the Lonely Planets book and thought that a backpackers called the Foreshore looked ok so - as usual in case they don't like bikers - called in by phone and made a booking. The backpackers was great - a real faded lady but good rooms adequate facilities and a good central location.

Olga's tyre was holding well so we set off and went out for a roam and dinner. Wound up in the Freemasons Hotel (I can hear my dad turning in his grave - well I could if he hadn't been cremated) where we watched Australia thrash the Irish in rugby. It was quite bizarre - in a very old hotel surrounded by aussies watching rugby. I made the mistake of ordering a schooner of Hoergarden (wheat beer) and was stunned to be charged $10.70 per glass. Goodness me! (or something like that!)

I was feeling vegetable-deprived so we went Chinese for dinner expecting to find a vegetable chop suey or something similar but ended up ordering two dishes that were almost identical - both with battered meat/fish and a spicy brown sauce. They tasted great but we were a bit overwhelmed by it all.

Tonight was Saturday night so the place was pretty rowdy that night. Also the bikes were parked in an open area and the back of the hostel so I was a bit nervous about that too. So ... not the greatest of sleeps that night but all was ok.

Day 30: Dampier to Carnarvon - quite a lot of not a lot....

A big day riding today from Dampier to Carnarvon. We got away early and stopped for brekkie at the Fortescue Roadhouse and then basically pushed on the 680kms to Carnarvon. As the heading says - quite a lot really of not a lot at all. Just sand and scrub and long long long long roads.

A highlight was recrossing the Tropic of Capricorn - we are officially out of the tropics!



Not much there really but an opportunity to stop and be silly - I'll post the silly photos when Dick gets back with his/our USB cable. Here....

On down to Carnarvon where we checked into a backpackers in the old part of town. There was a big rigmorole with opening and locking gates where we could actually have driven in the front door of the hostel and out the back to the cabins. Seeing as how we planned to stay there the night we thought this might not have been the best of ideas.

We were getting a bit worried with the state of Olga's tyre by now - it had been losing pressure right through the day. Seemed to be holding for now but we'll see how it goes in the morning. Then we went out for dinner - for the life of me I can't remember where!!!

:-)


Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Day 29: Crocs, sand and hamburgers

A gentle start again to the day today with breakfast supplied by the hostel. We spent some time getting organised and then went down to the local McCafes for a latte and some free WiFi access. We went off at about 11am for a visit to a local Wildlife Park - I was a bit doubtful about this but it was great. Lots of crocs but also lots of other animals - including the most gorgeous dingos. I'll post some good photos when I can but for now .....






Now that is something I am glad we didn't meet on the Pentecost River. We then cruised on south for about 370kms to a beach caravan park called Eighty Mile Beach. A lovely beach although the campsite itself was a bit crappy. They had heaps of tent sites in sandy locations but for some reason put us in an area with a coarse pebbly ground. Not so easy on the tent floors. So we - as you do when faced with adversity - got the port bottle out and went and sat on the beach to watch the sun go down over the Indian Ocean. It was great. A beautiful white sandy beach with people walking, swimming, fishing and generally having a good time. And a beautiful sunset.


That night was camp hamburger night so we went for that - we still have some pasta we could have cooked up but couldn't be bothered. Hamburger night was obviously a major social event as lots of the campers brought chairs and stools (and wine) up to the reception area where the cooks were being kept busy. And the hamburgers themselves were not bad.

We went back to our tent site and were invited over the neighbours's site for a glass of wine and a chat. A really interesting couple from Sydney. She was a social worker and he was obviously a successful businessman. He and Dick had a lot of fun talking business and I had a lot of fun sitting quietly and drinking their shiraz. (Yeah right) They were both strong Labor (!!) and KRudd supporters so that was interesting; especially in view of what transpired later. They had also visited NZ but had only toured around Stewart Island. She (Sue) was a bird-nut and they tended to go places where she could do lots of birdwatching. They were interested to hear that we had stayed at Parry Creek and asked us a lot about the birds in the billabong there.


That was about it so we headed off to bed. A big ride tomorrow through Port Hedland and Karratha to Dampier.

Day 28: Sweeping down to Broome....

An easy day today with a shorter run through to Broome. Dick got on the phone to BMW in Perth and got things sorted for both bikes. New pannier and tyres for Olga and a tune-up for Helga. Not sure what BMW in Darwin did but they didn't get it quite right. Helga doesnt like being shut down and then started up again straight away - also idling roughly. If she wasn't fuel injected I'd have said it was a vapour lock but I guess it's some kind of computer setting thing.

On the road then down to Broome - good sealed road and we cruised into Broome before lunch. Went to the Visitor Centre and organised accommodation at a backpackers/hotel in Cable Beach. A bit expensive but it was breakfast included with vouchers for a free beer each so that was fine. And it had a pool and comfortable beds.

So we basically spent the day lounging around and pretending we were tourists. I spent some time in the pool and some in the internet room before we went out along the street to a local pub for dinner. It was great - heaps of families, good-humoured staff, reasonable music and the best fettucini I have had since arriving in Oz.

All good so we headed off to bed again.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Day 27: The Puncture Derby

We had an early start to the day but took a while to get Dick's bike organised. He has some cloth straps which we used to hold the broken bracket against the screwhead and another to stabilise the pannier. We put all his heavier stuff into the top box and the other pannier and set off carefully back down the Manning Gorge Road. We were early out so had not too much traffic to compete with and made it back out to the main road without incident.


The road quality was then really variable - sometimes graded smooth where you could sit at 70kph, in other places as rough as a long night on the turps. About 85km down this road we came to the next roadhouse at Immtji (try pronouncing that!) and about another 65kms after that to the section where the road was supposed to be sealed. And it was!! Wahoo off we went at stellar speeds approaching 85kph when all of a sudden the road turned to crap again. And that was really the sum of our day - good road ... yahooo. Crap road ... bugger. We kept our speed well down because we didn't want any more bits to fall off Olga and eventually arrived at the information bays just out of Derby. We stopped there for the obligatory "Yes we did it" photos and a local taxi driver stopped by, having seen the UnZud stickers on Olga. He was a teacher from Timaru who had recently chucked everything in back home and come to Derby to be with his daughter and son-in-law.


We had a good chat and then .... bugger ... nothing happened!!

Nothing happened because Olga's rear tyre was all flat at the bottom.

We wheeled her into the shade and got her up on the centre stand - not an easy job when the rear tyre is flat. Spun the wheel and eventually I spied a tiny fragment of something sharp - still not sure what: a nail, a piece of glass, a sharp stone? We dug out the tyre repair kit and got to work. Just then another kiwi stopped by - he runs a motorcycle workshop just up the road. He could see that we sortof knew what we were doing so he left us to it leaving instructions on how to find him if we needed him. I tried really hard to pull out the sharp but in the end I think I pushed it in. Reamed out the hole, plugged and glued and then sat for 10 minutes with our fingers crossed. Trimmed off the ragged ends and pumped up the tyre and it held. Yes.

Apparently accommodation is impossible to find because the federal government is using motels and hotels to accommodate "asylum seekers" aka "Boat People" depending on whether you vote for Rudd or Abbott. Obviously a sore point with the locals. So we organised a tent site in the local caravan park and settled in. It was T-bone steaks night at the local pub so we went there and just to be different we had T-bone steaks. Not bad either for $12 a time.

We were pretty knackered by now. Again. So we crawled into our little tents and went to sleep. Exciting aye!

Day 26: Dick meets his quota....

Earlier in the trip I had suggested to Dick that we would probably have 3 or 4 offs during this trip around Oz. Today Dick met his quota!

Dawn comes early in Eastern Western Australia so we were up early and into the weetbix. All this from a Hubbard's man! Then back down the track from Ellenbrae towards Mt Barnett. We were warned off the Drysdale Road so kept on the main "road" towards the next roadhouse. There were a few fords to cross but generally the road was ok - a few parts with terrible corrugations and then evening out. (Nothing like a good evening out.)

When we got to Mt Barnett Gorge we decided to go up the sideroad to have a look. I was in front and working through the sandy sections when I suddenly realised that Dick wasn't behind me anymore. I parked up the bike in the middle of the track and sure enough - there was Olga lying on her side. Dick had put the front wheel into a sand drift and lost the front. All good though - no hurt and no damage so we heaved the bike upright and carried on.




Mt Barnett Gorge was lovely with a deep billabong and swimming area. Dick spoiled the scenery by stripping to his daks and going for a swim while I stayed on the bank doing crocodile watch! Not a pretty sight. Unfortunately there were no crocs.


We got Dick decent again - well sort-of - and headed back down the track to the main road. Dick in front this time and at almost the exact same place almost the exact same thing happened - Dick put his front wheel into a sanddrift and over he went. I saw it this time - a lovely dive over the handlebars and rolling in the sand. Olga went in on her right hand side this time and was in deep sand so we struggled a bit to get her upright and the sidestand out. Dick seemed to be ok. Apparently he landed on his head and it didn't hurt a bit.

Back onto the main road and Dick was determined to show he was unfazed by it all and took off like a rocket up the road. I tried to slow him down by hanging back but it didnt work.

After a while we got to the Mount Barnett Roadhouse and checked into a camping ground. Only then did we discover that the camping ground was 7kms up the Manning Gorge Road - again along a sandy track. I was in front again and again realised that Dick wasn't behind me. Went back to find him and he was ok - seemed to be having some problems with the brakes. He led off in front and then again hit some sand and went over once more - heavily this time and onto the left hand side. Dick was ok (ego damaged he said) but Olga was bit worse for the wear. The stay that holds one of the pannier mounting brackets was cracked right through and one of the lugs on the pannier itself was broken. We asked a passing motorist to take the pannier bag on to the camp and followed.

We found a campsite (the place was packed with grey nomads and families) and recovered the pannier. We then got out the straps and the duct tape and made an onthespot repair - the best we could do. A quick swim in another lovely gorge (Dick in his togs this time), some rice and fish for dinner (no port!) and we headed for an early bed.

A tough hot and rough day - but all good. Because of the damage we decided to go out to Derby the next day to arange for repairs to the bike. So a good ride tomorrow - supposedly along some sealed roads!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Day 25: Down the mighty Gibb River Road

Up early today for our next major challenge - the Gibb River Road. 800kms or so of gravel and dirt. We decided to take the easy way into the road (we thought) and cruised up to the first stopping place at Eol Questro. Here we had to cross two rivers, one being the Pentecost River. I was a bit nervous about this but Dick was keen so we gave them a go. While I hate to admit it - he was right and I was wrong. The rivers were excellent practice for what came later. They were both quite deep - over the engine cylinders - and a bit pebbly but we found if we kept the speed up and didnt worry too much about how deep it was we were ok.

A quick look around El Questro - this is the place that offers accommodation for $AUD6-8,000 per night. We weren't overly impressed so topped up our tanks and then headed back over the two rivers again and onto the Gibb.
Next challenge was the real crossing of the Pentecost. When I can I'll post some photos but let's just say it was deep, long and rough - with a reputations for saltie crocs! Dick went first and was going well untill he stalled on a huge rock in the middle. Fortunately he's got long legs and was able to hold the bike up, get it started and forge on to the other side.
My turn - I kept well up to the left hand side of the weir where it was fairly shallow with smailler rocks and did well for a while and then turned into the deeper water and went for it. Helga was great - she pushed on thru with the water coming right up over the front mudguard and me saying "We're going to make it, We're going to make it - and we did!! High fives all round - Dick has a great photo that once we work out how to do it, we'll post on the blog. The practice earlier in the day was invaluable. (Here's one photo -the River Pentecost is deep and wide!!!

Here's another!!!!
And one more!!

After that was the Durak River which, while shorter, was a bit deeper but we managed that ok as well.



We camped that night at Ellenbrae. Interesting. Basically you checked in at the farm house, had a coffee and were told to go that way and pick any spot you like along the Bushmans' Camp Track. We did exactly that and were in real Ocker camping mode for a night. We brewed up some soup and some pasta - both of which were delicious. We tried to add a tin of what I had thought was kind of a corned beef but it turned out to be more like meat paste. It was disgusting. We finished off Dick's bottle of port and - because of where we were in the time zone - found everything went dark just after 6pm. Not much for it then but to go to bed. A great night's sleep for two very tired bunnies. Tomorrow - Ellenbrae to Mt Barnett.
:-)

Day 24: A gentle day

We decided on a quiet day today. We went from Kununurra up to Wyndam stopping on the way along a dirt road at Parry Creek Farm. Such a lovely spot we decided to camp there the night. Got booked in and then went on to Wyndam. Not much there except a great little museum. We tried the copshop for some info on the Gibb River Road but didnt get much so went back towards Parry Creek. But there were some great boab trees.....



On the way we stopped off at an amazing billabong full of birds. Lots of white egrets but also large nos of brown ducks and other birds - cranes, shags and so on. Just fantastic.
Set up camp back at Parry Creek and sat out on a ramp over their billabong being eaten by tine but vicious mossies. Had dinner at the restaurant (expensive - ouch) and then went off to bed. A lovely day....