Australa - the top bit
Q: What is bloody huge, red in the middle and covered in flies?
A: Australia.
Its also stinking hot.
click here to see a quality Aussie road
Arriving in Aus by air felt strange but good. This was easy travelling and we were excited about leaving Asia and arriving in Australia. Finally no more language barriers. Lisa asked the Darwin immigration officer how long New Zealanders were allowed to stay in Australia, about 3 minutes he joked. We jumped in the airport shuttle bus, laden down with our duty free alcohol and headed for downtown Darwin. Where is all the traffic we pondered? Where is all the noise? Such wide, clean, near empty streets and look - motorists obeying the traffic rules.
Downtown Darwin is pretty much also uptown Darwin only 90,000 people in this city, in fact only 120,000 population in the whole of the Northern Territory. The city is a nice size, clean and new and has a laid back confident air. We checked into a hostel where my cousin and his girlfriend were staying for a couple of nights and had fun catching up.
After a couple of days relaxing at the poolside, it was time to collect the bike. Australian Customs and a Quarantine officer met us at the port to inspect the bike. This was compulsory, Australia is the first country weve entered which is serious about foreign nasties entering the country, particularly about bugs, seeds and dirt which could threaten the local ecosystems. Fine by us but we had to pay A$90 for the service. Fortunately our bike cleaning in East Timor had paid off, the bike passed inspection and we were back on the road.
click here to see rainbow serpant
We contacted John, the guy from the Horizons Unlimited community who had offered to look after our tent that we posted from India, all those months ago. He met us then whisked us away to his place. In fact we ended up staying almost a week with him and his family and it was a hugely relaxing environment for us. Many thanks, John.
Lisas girlfriend Sarah flew in to meet us, hired a car and together we visited some of the national parks. As we headed inland away from Darwin the heat increased so Lisa was glad to be sitting in the luxury of an air-conditioned car while I battled on through the heat and flies.
Australian flies are a breed apart and they found us any time we stopped, even in the middle of nowhere. Instead of just buzzing around they make a bee-line for your mouth, nose or ears. Aussies we met didnt seem too bothered by them but we were forever swatting them away.
We went first to Litchfield National Park which is full of amazing water holes that you can wallow about in all day long. We never dreamed we would be spending so much time swimming in the rivers and billabongs as the north of Aus is known for its big crocs. There are signs everywhere warning of the perils of crocs but then assuring us that there were no salties around, only smaller fresh water crocs that only eat fish and are no danger unless harassed. Plenty of people were swimming and we soon followed suit.
The landscape is so different to anything wed encountered before, red, flat, hot, full of flies, burnt trees, huge termite mounds, beautiful big sunsets and we loved it. It was great to be camping again and out in the bush, cooking on little campfires at night.
Riding towards Kakadu National Park i felt the rear wheels start to move around. I pulled over and discovered that the valve stem in the rear tyre had failed, the rubber and the metal parts of the valve stem having separated. Most unusual. We flagged down a passing truck which took us back to a campsite for the night. The next day I drove back in Sarahs rental car to the last town we had passed to get a new valve and fix the tyre while Sarah and Lisa spent the morning testing the swimming pool temperature.
click here to see how I cope with flat tyre
Kakadu National Park was just stunning. We particularly enjoyed checking out the Aboriginal rock art at Ubirr and Nourlangie Rock.
click here to see the girls at Ubirr Rock
Vast landscapes here and plenty of rivers you wouldnt want to swim in. At night we went spot lighting on the banks of the West Alligator River and were astounded by the number of crocs we saw at the ford into Arnhem Land. Lots of bush camping and chatting around the campfire, all good fun.
A minor oil leak that had dogged us through Indonesia increased when we got to Darwin. I thought it was coming from the o-ring behind the starter motor so replaced that in Darwin but this proved not to be the source of the leak and by the time we got to Kakadu it was pissing out and coating the rear tyre. I nursed the bike down to Katherine and the nearest bike shop to get the oil leak sorted, another faulty o-ring was the cause, easily replaced.
click here to see the boys enjoying the river
We spent a delightful day canoeing and swimming at Katherine Gorge, a beautiful series of gorges situated in the middle of no-where, then farewelled Sarah who returned the rental car to Darwin then flew back to the east coast and work.
click here to see us canoeing up Katherine Gorge
From Katherine through to the east coast there is not much of anything, just mile upon mile of broken scrubland. It was surreal to ride all day, for several days, with no change in the scenery and very little traffic. The only break from the scrubland was the occasional small town or roadhouse every couple of hundred kilometres.
Petrol just kept getting more and more expensive as we headed inland from $1.09 in Darwin up to $1.45 along the Barkly Highway (and down to .89c in Brisbane).
click here to see sign of a big country
click here to see Lisa amongst the termite mounds
This country is huge. Many people suggested going down to Uluru (Ayers Rock) as we were in the area, it looks quite close on the map but it was a detour of two days there and two days back down the same stretch of road, so we thought wed leave it.
click here to see how I cope with flies while refueling
We headed east along the Barkly Highway then up through Normanton and on towards Cairns. And guess what? Yep, lots of straight, flat roads, expensive petrol, horrible flies that constantly try to crawl into your ears and nose and eyes, 40 degree head winds, termite mounds and some strange folk in these parts. We spent a couple of days in outback towns where pictures of big crocs adorn pub walls and tall tales are told.
click here to see lifesized replica of biggest croc shot around Normanton
From the dry flat vastness of Outback Aus we rode up into the Atherton tablelands, hills west of Cairns. We felt like wed arrived in NZ, so green and lush, mist hanging in hills full of knee depth grass and black and white cows. We camped a night in a national park and the next morning awoke to light rain, it was our 6th wedding anniversary and we sat under a shelter in a council park eating museli from plastic bowls. A woman bounded over and introduced herself as Trish, within minutes she was inviting us to her house that night. We accepted, spent the day looking around the Tablelands then retired to Mick and Trishs rainforest retreat for a convivial evening talking bikes and travel and quaffing red wine.
click here to see Mick and Trish's dining room
We wound down out of the hills to Cairns then rode north to the rainforest around Cape Tribulation. The beaches in northern Queensland are to die for: tropical climate, verdant forest down to golden beaches, warm clear water, and at many of them the coral reef comes right to up to the beach. Only problem was we dared not swim at them. The rivers and beaches of northern Queensland are inhabited by salt water crocodiles but even more threatening was the deadly box jellyfish colloquially known as stingers that live in these waters during the summer months. The campground swimming pool seemed a safer bet.
click here to see tropical beaches
click here to see Cape Tribulation
We spent a couple of very relaxing days enjoying the area, lots of short walks through mangroves, saw a couple of rare Cassowaries at the roadside, I went fishing and we had some great evenings socialising at the bar.
Finally it was time to start heading south. We didnt make it very far at first though, only as far as Port Douglas where we stayed with Dyon, a friendly South African we had met over a drink up north.
We both enjoyed Cairns, a vibrant city that appears to be riding high on the tourist dollar, had a look around the Royal Flying Doctor Service base and took in a very touristy Aboriginal cultural show. More work required on the bike after it fell over fully loaded on some soft ground bending the side stand and its mount.
The next few days were spent riding down the coast, camping at more beautiful tropical beaches. Still no swimming though plenty of signs warning of crocs and stingers.
click here to see another tempting beach
We rode in to Eungella National Park to met up with Jorgen and Cordulla, a couple we had last met on the beach in Goa many months ago. They have traveled overland from Germany in their Landrover towing a trailer containing 2 BMW R100GS motorcycles www.ziguin.de A great reunion and many travelling tales were swapped.
We have been pleasantly surprised with the amount of wildlife we have seen in Australia. We spent a pleasant time observing Platapus swimming in the creek beside our campsite. When we were eating breakfast we saw a snake hurtling down the path towards us. I jumped out of the way and Lisa on to the table. It was green, about as long as the bike and did fast s-curves sloping along with its head held high in attack position. Dreadfully exciting, climaxing with it with it catching a poor little frog just behind our tent. I got a quick photo of the frog in its mouth then it quickly slithered away into the bushes.
click here to see snake catching frog
We decided to head inland to check out more National Parks. The countryside soon changed from the green lush landscape we had been riding through down the coast to vast dry outback vistas. We were back in cattle and fly country.
We took one short cut down a dirt road then further down the line a bloke in a servo told us of another shortcut down a dirt track that he assured us was in good condition. His directions, or my memory of them proved inadequate and we were getting a bit lost so we flagged down a passing 4WD. Cattle farmers from up the road. They put down the tailgate and stand in the shade this is no quick transfer of information. We are dealing with country folk here and time has less meaning. The blokes first words are would you like a beer? and I am soon handed an icy cold Corona from the Eske built into the tray of the ute. Maps are produced but they are hesitant to recommend the route we want to take, not so suitable for our bike. They are great talkers but time is ticking away and we must push on as its getting late. We soon hit deep sand and realise why they were dubious about the route we were taking. Much to our disappointment we turn around and head back to the main road then head to Emerald for the night, a surprisingly large town servicing the nearby fruit farming and vast coal mines.
click here to see ealry settlers house
click here to see rock art at Cathedral Cave
We ride into Carnavon National Park the next morning down 70 kms of dirt, some of it badly corrugated. We judder through one section and then are surprised to find the rear brake not working. All the vibration has caused the brake pads and their retaining pins to fall out, so we continue on slowly with only the front brake to stop us. Carnavon Gorge is a lovely spot. We walk 25 kms up the gorge and back one day, checking out rock art on a couple of natural shelters, exploring the little side gorges and swimming.
click here to see Carnavon Gorge dwarfing Lisa
We have now made more of a detour inland than we had planned and have a long days ride back to the coast and down to Bundaberg. We arrive at nightfall at Mon Repos beach, set up camp then walk across to the nearby visitors centre. Mon Repos is a turtle nesting sanctuary. They get Loggerhead, Green and Flat Back turtles nesting here and we have arrived right at the start of the season. We wait around the visitors centre listening to talks as the rangers watch the beach for any turtles. Eventually we get the word a Loggerhead Turtle has come up the beach and started laying her eggs. We are formed into a group and rangers escort us to the turtle. When the turtles start laying their eggs they go into a bit of a trance and are impervious to tourists crowding around them, which is good as there are plenty of flashes going off. Its amazing to watch this huge creature lay her eggs then make her may back to the sea. Unfortunately she made here nest below the high tide mark so the rangers get us to help move the eggs to a new nest further up the beach and we eventually return to our tent on a high.
click here to see Loggerhead Turtle laying eggs
We have our first swim in the sea the next morning we are finally far enough south that there are no crocs or stingers and the water is devine. I pick up some parts to sort out the rear brake then we head further south to Rainbow Beach and Tin Can Bay. We met a nice old bloke, Bull Bar Bill, camping up the Whitsunday coast who invited us to stay with him when we hit Tin Can Bay and he treats us to dinner at the local country club. We have a big breakfast the next day at the foreshore with lots of pelicans standing around and there is a dolphin swimming right up to us as we stand knee deep in the sea. The dolphin has been coming here for years as the locals feed him and is a popular attraction.
click here to see friendly dolphin
We leave late and make our way slowly to Brisbane where we have been invited to stay with Ken and Carol from the HU community. They had emailed us a nice route to follow into town via lots of scenic winding country roads that were a delight to ride.
We roll in late and finally meet Ken and Carol after having bounced emails back and forwards for the last few months. Ken and Carol spent 4 years riding around the world www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/duval and make us very welcome. Too welcome. We end up staying for over a week. I made use of the space and tools and did some much needed maintainence on the bike for most of the week replacing steering head bearings, rechroming a fork leg that had been butchered by a dodgy English mechanic and has been eating fork seals all the way from England, changed the oil and plugs, cleaned and balanced the carbs, changed the front brake pads, etc. Lisa caught up with her diary which had fallen well behind and we even find time to go in and look around the city.
click here to see how I spent my time at Ken and Carols
Eventually we manage to drag ourselves away from Hotel California and meander south through delightful countryside. We stop for lunch at the alternative village of Nimbin then head to Byron Bay for the night. Lisa had stayed here years ago and remembered it as a quiet, beautiful stretch of coast. Fairly unrecognisable now, full of cars, houses and people. Town is heaving as its the first day of Schoolies. Schools out and the seniors all get together at beaches to drink and party hard. The campgrounds in town were full so we rode about 5 km down the coast and found ourselves a quieter campsite by the beach.
So now we are in Port Macquaire. A long days ride here as we detoured inland via Armidale and then came into town on what I thought was the best biking road we have yet found in Aus 200 kms through farmland that could pass for NZ and very winding forested hills. A motorcyclists dream but Lisa was getting a sore bum and just wanted to get there.
We are now staying with Sarah, our friend that met us up in Darwin, at her home in Port Macquarie and having a fun time catching up. We have also met up with Brian and Shirley here, www.aussiesoverland.com, who we bumped into riding up the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan. They live in Melbourne but have a time-share up here so we went around for a barbie, a few wines and a great reunion. Shirley has finished writing a book about their adventure that should hit the shelf in February.
Weve now been in Aus almost 2 months and we love it. We could so easily live here. The climate is magic, the country huge and diverse with so much to see and do, and the people so hospitable. So many people have taken us in and made us welcome many thanks to all. As we often hear Aussies saying - its all good. Except for the flies.
