Around Australia trip1 Chapter 5 2021 Perth to Cairns
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Country
Borders between Perth and Cairns are now Covid open, but for how long.
Lets give it a go, but it's getting hot and humid in Cairns so let's fly to Perth, pick up the bike and let's explore the area some more before heading north towards Broome in April when it starts to cool down enough for comfortable riding.
Early April we headed north to Kalbarri , only to run headlong into a Cyclone. Half the homes there lost their roofs from the 210 kms/h winds. Luckily our airbnb home was a brick 2 story house with a generator and we were living on the ground floor.
The house lost its roo very early, half landed across the street after snapping timber power pole and strewed live electrical wires up and down the street. The other half landed in the driveway. After two days of cleanup we decided to vacate to allow accomodation for tradies and SES staff to carry out more essential work.
Next significant stop was Karigini National Park just east of Port Hedland and then on to Broome where we rondezvous with old Dutch friends we met on our 2001 trip to South America and are now working in Broome for a Helicopter company.
Our Cairns friends Grant Davis and Susan Markwell , had arrived in Broome to partake in a 10 day Kimberly cruise on the northern WA coast and thought it a good idea for us to do the same.
A must see while up north is the Bungle Bungles, a strange mountain range carved by millions of years of erosion, but spectacular non the less. accomodation was expensive at the campground where a very small donger(cabin) was $350/night so we chose the cheaper option of an eco tent with a concrete floor and bathroom, minimum 2 nights for $500.
In Kathrine we were hosted by on old friend and workmate Olivia Thompson, who showed us around the area and introduced us to the Katherine hot springs of crystal clear flowing mineral water.
Normanton , at the bottom of the Gulf, had a lifesize statue of the biggest croc ever seen or killed in the area.
We really felt close to home when we hit Innot Hot Springs , only 150kms from Cairns on a Saturday night to witnessed a local band entertaining tourists and locals alike.
Irvinebank was the new home of a Cairns friend and Yoga instructor Jeany , where we took her kids for a run around the block. Unfortunately the local police station was on that block and we got pulled up and reprimanded for only having bicycle helmets on the two kids. I told the officer that in S/E Asia it is OK to have up to 6 kids on the motorcycle but he didn't see the connection. Luckily I only got a warning.