Darwin, Australia

Arriving in Darwin at 6.30am after a two-hour flight, collecting the bike turned into a marathon effort. No quarantine Officer was available to inspect the bike and we had to wait till 2.00pm when the 'magic hand' was wiped around the under-belly of the R80G/S to ensure no gremlins had been transported from overseas to pollute our pristine environment. This important procedure cost the princely sum of Aus$80.00. WOW! Combined with all the overheads and freight, this was the most expensive transfer we had encountered in all our travels.

Darwin campground with Claire and Mark At the Shady Glen Campground we met up with Mark and Claire who were patiently waiting for their XT600s' to arrive from Kuala Lumpar. We traveled with them in Iran and Pakistan. They have far more patience than we do. Twenty days is a long time to wait for your vehicles. We talked till 1.00am and staggered into our tent realizing we had been awake for over 37 hours. We slept well that night.

Roadtrains at Barkley Homestead NT

Amusing road sign on the Barkley Highway NT

Back to Queensland again, it's been a long time

Road Trains are long in Australia

Our last campsite at Benaraby Queensland

This epic journey is now over after 4 years 2 months and 17 days on the road. Our original time away was to be 18 months to 2 years maximum. Back in Brisbane we tackle the mundane task of finding work and settling into a normal life and routine. Our only redeeming factor is that we hope many of the people we have met on this fantastic journey will visit us in our humble abode to share their experiences and enjoy our hospitality. Meanwhile we plan trip number two.!!!

Ken and Carol Duval

Back home at No. 10 in Brisbane
25/07/2001
Bali Indonesia to Darwin Australia - Freight details