May 15th 5 days in to Aussie trip only 100km on the odometer at 51,315

So its a little depressing.  I arrived in Aus and have barely left the house due to all my time working on the darn bike.  I have replaced the brakes, fitted my Panniers, flushed the fluids, fitted a rally nav unit that I made back in Canada and fired up the bike to find that while the cam chain noise that was happening has drastically reduced, I can now hear some loud rattles from the lower left of the engine.  Looking at some of the forums, this could be a bearing issue.  I am now booked for the Mechanics tomorrow as this is a buffer issue than I want to take on at the moment.  I just hope that it is something they can deal with, and quick.  I have the Horizons unlimited meet this weekend!  then I need to head north to Darwin ASAP as it is a long trip and I want to see the sites.  I am getting nervous that I may have to pull some fairly extreme days to get me there.   I would like to swim with the whale sharks, but that will likely be the first thing that gets cut if the bike repairs need to take place.  I have decided to do the Gibbs river road http://thegibbriverroad.com/ellenbrae_station  and it looks to be a promising addition to the adventure.  My bags are basically already packed, I have just done some laundry and fitted my mosko moto tank bag.  I am still at my friends Colleen and Tony’s house while they are away in Bali.  I have had a few nice evenings of beer and chats with my friends Conrad and Clare and was even invited to come to a mothers day luncheon with them and their extended families.  It was a lovely time.  I don’t have much to report unfortunately, I hope my adventures can start soon.  I am loving the birds that fly buy and the wonderful weather though.  It has been beautifully warm and sunny  I will add photos later.