New Zealand - home at last.

What an amazing feeling arriving in New Zealand after such a long absence – eight years away and only 3 trips back between us. We had been on the road for 18 months since leaving England and visited 22 countries but our trip wasn’t finished – it couldn’t be finished without a lap of the country, catching up with relatives, old friends and favorite spots.

We were welcomed home by a rousing welcoming party of close family at Auckland airport. It felt amazing to be finally back and to start catching up with family and friends.
We still had a couple of weeks to wait until the bike arrived from Aus so we did what half of New Zealand appeared to be doing over the summer vacation and spent some quality time relaxing at the beach.

click here for another lovely beach

The bikes entry to NZ, being its final destination, meant we had to import it rather than use the Carnet. Because it’s old - 14 years old - there were no import duties to pay and because we’d cleaned it so well MAF let us go without any hassles. Getting it registered in New Zealand was another matter though – we seemed to have encountered a whole new level of beurocracy. We were also told we would have to wait another couple of weeks for a vehicle check as the motorcycle tester was on holiday! Bollocks, I thought – we had enough paperwork to confuse any copper that might stop us – so off we went.

First off we traded in the big city for the bucolic beauty of the Coromandel. Trips to the beach, flaming red Pohutokawa trees, card games and coffees, green lipped mussels and wine with old friends - nice and relaxing.

click here to see Opito Bay, Coromandel

We reluctantly departed after two good but too short nights, reveling in the sinuous roads transporting us through native bush and past idyllic beaches down to Tauranga and more old mates. It was not all smiles though – we picked up a nail in the rear tyre and I found out that the Australian version of Slime I was running in my tyre was not up to the job. Bugger.

Down a winding, gravel back road to smoking, bubbling sulphurous Rotorua with its huge geysers and boiling mud pools. We visited the buried Maori village of Te Wairoa, obliterated by hot ashes and dust in the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera which killed 153 people. We were surrounded by coloured lakes and misty hills covered with green - Ponga, Rimu and other native trees. South past Lake Taupo and the impressive Huka Falls then on to Napier, New Zealand’s beautiful art deco city by the sea.

Click here to see Napier art deco

Fish and chips, feijoa gelato and lamb burgers at a weekly farmers market, sunny days, art deco viewing and a long stony beach. It was here that we finally managed to catch up with Patrick and Belinda Peck (http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/peck) another overlanding couple from Cairns who we missed meeting in Bangkok but who we’ve been emailing since. It was great to hear their stories and share a bottle or two of wine.

Inland through the honey coloured sun parched hills of the Manawatu, slow paced Kiwi country towns with tractors and utes parked in the one street towns. South through the Wairarapa and over the Rimutaka mountain range, a wonderfully hilly, narrow winding road that unfortunately made Lisa feel sick and nervous but which I love.

Into Wellington around 7.30pm and home to my parents house where a welcoming party had been patiently waiting, unbeknown to us, since mid afternoon. We’d taken our time and had stopped here and there on the way, visiting a bird sanctuary and just dawdling. Pokarekareana, a traditional Maori song, sung to guitar on the doorstep, bubbly and fish and chips – what better welcome home to Wellington.

click here to see the first time I have ever got my mum onto the bike

The next few days were spent catching up with old friends and family and checking out what was happening in the compact, fun filled capital. But all too soon it was time for us to push on again.

We boarded the 7.30am Lynx catamaran for the two and a half hour crossing to the South Island. There were lots of other bikes on board, and most like us packed up for some serious touring but we had the only foreign license plate and the biggest load. The sky was clear through the beautiful Marlborough Sounds, shadows playing on the bush clad hills and sunlight highlighting the mussel farms that dot the deep waters.

The ferry docked in Picton, port, fishing harbour, retirement town and tourist stopover. Nothing for us there, Lisa was more interested in tasting some Marlborough wines, so we checked out 4 or 5 vineyards in the area. I was well and truly tired of being the sober driver while Lisa drinks so I soon lost interest in the concept but Lisa reckons what she tried was delicious and two or three days would have done it more justice.

click here to see seal colony along the Kaikoura coast

We headed south through parched farm land, past long stretches of deserted beaches and down towards the town of Kaikoura for the night. Kai means food in Maori and Koura means crayfish and we found enough evidence from roadside stalls that these tasty sea creatures are still found here in abundance. We stopped to watch seals lazing in the sun, beautifully camouflaged amongst the rocks and thick seaweed.

Kaikoura, originally a busy whaling station became a quiet fishing town but today it is again a thriving spot with tourists taking advantage of tours whale watching and swimming with dolphins or seals but we were content to just walk around the rocks looking for the seal colonies that come ashore around the town. We found a quiet campsite for the night bordering a magnificent stretch of long white sandy beach and watched the sky turn from pink to greys and purples against the sea and hills.

click here to see the sunset

The following day we rode inland and got caught in a storm so we had to put our wet weather gear on and continue in the rain and cold - not so much fun and not what we are used to anymore either. After so long traveling in the tropics outside of rainy seasons we have become accustomed to sun and heat – not rain and cold. We’d been heading to Hamner Springs to relax in the natural hot pools and enjoy the mountains but the sky was thick with dark clouds in that region so instead we turned south and eventually rode into the sunshine. Another few stops for Lisa to do some more wine tasting at Waipara, then on to Rangiora where we stopped with family friends for a night on their deer farm.

A short trip down through the flat, warm, dry Canterbury plains and over the wide Waimakarere River bought us into Christchurch, the garden city, for another day visiting friends and family. No time to dawdle though, an offer of some work back in Auckland had come through so we had to hasten our trip.

South to a cousin’s farm in Cave via a detour to look at some rock drawings. Pretty basic stuff, it did not any way resemble any Maori art we have previously seen and no information on its origins. Intriguing.

click here to see the 1st bike I ever rode down on the farm

The first time I rode a bike was on this farm 26 years ago and it was still there propped up in a farm shed. Somehow it didn’t look quite as impressive as it had to a lad of fourteen.

We continued heading inland, south west through the Mackenzie Basin, named after a sheep rustler that herded his stolen sheep over the mountain passes and up into the high country where he could elude the law. Stunning vistas through here – azure and electric blue lakes hemmed in by rugged, snow-capped mountain ranges.

click here to see us at Mt Cook

We rode up to Mt Aorangi – ‘the cloud piercer’ – otherwise known as Mt Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. A couple of hours taking in the views then on to Wanaka. Ideally we should have spent longer at both spots hiking and savouring the natural splendour but we had to push on.

The next morning we rode out to Fiordland and rode what is for me one of the most beautiful roads in New Zealand - the route from Te Anau into Milford Sound. This part of the world has some awesome scenery.

click here to get a taste of the scenery

It’s also one of the wettest places in NZ (and NZ gets a lot of rain anyway). A winding road amongst the dark green forests and mountainsides, views of hanging glaciers and snow capped peaks abound, a long dark tunnel through the bowels of a mountain, the final dramatic drop into the fiord and almost everywhere long, skinny white streaks of water falling down through the green.

want to see the beautiful Eglington Valley? click here

We were fortunate to have no rain during the trip in and although we arrived late we managed to pitch a tent in the little campground just before the sun was setting. The next morning we were up early for a boat trip out into the fiord with its high cliffs, water streaming down them everywhere. Back out that afternoon camping alone at a Department of Conservation campground. Just us and the stars, we lit a fire, made sandwiches and had an early night, long used to skipping showers and cups of tea.

click here to see the road to Paradise

A couple of days staying with Lisa cousin in Queenstown and soaking up the incredible landscapes around Lake Wakatipu, then over to the West Coast via the Haast Pass, another of my favorite roads with bends and bush views for the entirety. The West Coast bought us cold and rain and a stop at Haast, not for sightseeing but for another puncture repair – the previous repair had not held. We left there late, and rode up to Fox Glacier for the night feeling pretty low, it was almost dark and we were pushing along a flat straight road in the cold gloom when red and blue flashing lights brought us to a halt.

click here to see Fox Glacier

A cop waiting for someone rushing to get home for the night, hardly another car in sight for miles but still we got pulled. I did some fast talking about why we were traveling on the English license plate, blatant lies about how we were shipping out to South America soon and how the carnet had been incorrectly stamped with ‘permanently imported into NZ’. Somehow we were lucky to escape with a warning on that one; however the cop still gave me a speeding ticket, the first one of our entire trip.

We arrived into Fox Glacier feeling even lower, all the B&B’s were full, it was too wet and cold to camp and we had to splash out and pay $NZ70 for a hotel room, probably more than we’d spent on the whole trip. Under these circumstances we were pretty disappointed to find it was tiny and cold and didn’t even have its own bathroom, just communal facilities and even these had pay showers.

We spent the next day playing tourist around Fox and Franz Joseph Glaciers then headed further up the coast and found a DoC campsite in a tranquil setting which we shared with the resident Wekas.

click here to see curious Weka

Another day riding sinuous roads through beautiful forests, patches of wild, sparsely populated farmland and along a rugged, exposed coastline. Perfect, apart from the inclement weather.

One last day exploring the top of the South Island - a foray over Takaka Hill: 55kms of grin-inducing twisties that had Lisa suffering motion sickness, a visit to the golden sands of Kaiteriteri beach and a nosey around the arty city of Nelson – then yet another scenic ride over to Picton and the ferry back to Wellington.

Our trip was really drawing to a close now and our priorities were changing. We were being drawn back into a ‘normal’ life. The next few days were not spent exploring and having adventures but rather picking up the threads of our life: sorting out housing, getting our belongings out of storage and shipping all up to Auckland and – scariest of all – setting up some work that was drawing us back to Auckland faster than expected.

The rest of the trip was a blur – straight up the main highway, a few last days visiting family and friends and then it was all over.

.........which brings us to the present. 7 months on from arriving back in Auckland and our journey, the best part of the last 2 years, all seems like a distant, fading memory. Lisa and I have both picked up the ragged threads of our respective careers. We have settled down in suburbia and my trusty TDM850 (now properly registered and well serviced) has been relegated to commuting duties.

click here to see Auckland city

But all it takes is a large waft of diesel fumes and a blast of horn and I’m transported back to India or the chaos of west Java with a silly grin playing on my face....

Australia - Down Under

Southern Australia - almost the last leg of our odessy.

Click here to see the first vehicle to drive overland from UK - Aus in 1927

Our journey is not all that is nearing it’s end, Lisa is pinning for a home and B.O.B. (our Buggered Old Bike) is showing the hard miles it’s done.

We rode out of Newcastle and into the Hunter Valley for some wine tasting. Lisa and I are both partial to a drop of vino so wine tasting was a reoccurring theme throughout the rest of our time here in Aus. By the end of the afternoon’s tasting Lisa was in good spirits. I however was still cool, calm and collected having spat out all that passed my lips - a necessary evil as we planned continuing south to Sydney that same day.

Other motorcyclists had extolled the virtues of riding the sinuous Putty Road into Sydney through mountainous national parks but alas it was not to be. On our way from Newcastle out to the Hunter Valley our rear shock blew an oil seal which meant any time we hit a bump the suspension would soak it up but then the spring would just keep bouncing for the next 100m or so. Sitting on a bike behaving like a pogo stick was making me feel quite nauseous and wasn’t the safest so we took the most direct route down the freeway into Sydney.

Click here to see Lisa and rellies in cocolate heaven

Lisa was very excited about getting to Sydney to see her relatives and we parked up for a week and spent our time socialising. Besides spending much time with family we also caught up with several friends around town, played tourist and of course repaired the rear shock.

Click here to see surfies at Newcastle

For many years now we have heard of massive droughts throughout Australia but I think the problem may well have lessened during our time here. We had several downpours during our stay in Sydney and much more to come as we worked our way south down the coast. At one memorable stage we took a detour up into the hills and rode up to a lookout. Nothing to be seen from there though as a massive thunderstorm rolled in. The sky turned black and angry, daylight disappeared with visibility dropping to around 5m, massive hailstones started pelting us and the most awesome thunderclaps rolled on for minutes at a time.

On to Canberra, Australia’s capital. Most Aussies have nothing good to say about the place, probably due to it’s being the seat of central government, but we really enjoyed it. Lots of museums and galleries to check out and the city is a small, easily manageable size. It is also the only place where we have ever been able to go to a sportsclub and get free internet access and FREE BEER.

Click here to see quirky shopfront

I replaced my chain and sprockets here as the chain started jumping. I had known since the Northern Territories that my front sprocket was well worn but had thought I could squeeze enough life out of it to see us back to NZ. Not so, in fact when it was removed for replacement there was only one wafer thin tooth remaining on it. I think I got my moneys worth out of that chain and sprocket!

South of Canberra we checked out the Deep Space Communication Complex then climbed up into the Snowy Mountains. We camped here in a peaceful spot beside a river with lots of wildlife around – kangaroos bounding through the camping area and wombats grazing around the tent at night.

Click here to see view from main divide

Having been sedentary for so long it was with great delight that we set off for a day’s walking in the high country and a hike up Mt Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak. There are several different approaches to this hillock, from a chairlift ride and short stroll to the 20km route we chose. This took us through some lovely alpine terrain and along the spine of the Great Dividing Range with some beautiful views west over ridge upon ridge of blue hills.

The flies here were horrendous. Never before have I been harassed by swarms of flies whilst walking across snow. We met one hiker who regularly walked in the park – he had a fly net covering his face and didn’t have any exposed skin – both to keep the intense sun off and to keep the biting Mayflies at bay.

Click here for snow

We returned to our peaceful riverside campsite tired from the days exertions and the following day had a delightful ride along the Alpine Way, winding through the forests of Kosciuszko National Park, and then followed the upper Murray River into Rutherglen.

Rutherglen is known as the premier area for fortified wines, so Lisa and I were in our element. Much tasting, and to my disgust much spitting out of fine liqueurs before getting back on the road down to Melbourne.

Click here to see Rutherglen farm buildings

I knew Melbourne was a big city but was still amazed when the motorway finished and we found ourselves in suburban traffic snarl-ups with signs still saying Melbourne 22km. We also managed to get a tad lost around the inner-city so arrived late and found the friends that had invited us to stay had gone out for the evening.

The next few days were spent catching up with our host Alec, who we had met and travelled with in Iran, his wife Vicki, also with Brian and Shirley who we had met in Pakistan. Alec had shipped his bike from Aus to Europe then ridden across Russia to Siberia returning via Central Asia, Iran, Turkey and southern Europe http://users.netlink.com.au/~asimpson Brian and Shirley had shipped their bike from Aus to Europe then ridden back overland following pretty much the same route as us, www.aussiesoverland.com , so it was great to share some tales and ales with all of them. We also had to arrange the shipping of our bike from Melbourne to Auckland in the new year.

Click here to see our hosts on Alec's birthday

Christmas was spent in this delightful company – we were treated to a huge seafood lunch around at Shirley’s house, which is apparently quite a normal Christmas dinner in Australia, then returned to Alec and Vicki’s for a party until the wee small hours in aid of Alec’s birthday.

Boxing Day was a bit of a slow recovery day for all but the day after we were back on the road. I have heard so much about the Great Ocean Road that I could not but check it out while we were so close. However the weather turned decidedly nasty and before we reached the coastline we were caught in a hailstorm. We spent an uncomfortable day in our summer weight riding gear crawling along in holiday traffic so went looking for a campground earlier than normal. We found a nice looking spot on Cape Otway and were directed to where all the other bikes were. Turns out we had stumbled across the BMW Club of Victoria’s Xmas rally so spent the evening talking bikes and travel for a change.

Click here to see BMW club

We awoke to find the rain had thinned out but the temperature was still far from tropical. Continuing west around the GOR brought us to the 12 Apostles and a truly beautiful stretch of coastline. The cold was dampening our enthusiasm for motorcycle travel but we had to push on as we had a restricted timeframe. We finally arrived cold and tired in Penola in South Australia and luckily the campground had a treat in store for us – private bathrooms for each campsite. We soon dived under hot showers and didn’t emerge from that nice warm room until it was time to crawl into our sleeping bags.

Click here to see early settlers houses

Penola has lots of old houses from the early European settlers in the region and we had a look around them in the morning, then we moved on to what had really bought us to the area – more wine tasting. Penola is the gateway to the Coonawarra, another well known region for Australian wines. More warm glow for Lisa, more spitting for me.

The warm glow evaporated when we went to leave our last vineyard and the bike didn’t want to start. The battery was flat and it was apparent we had a problem with the charging circuit. Push starting the bike got us under way but we were still a long way from Adelaide and any motorcycle shop where I could sort out our problem. Each time we stopped for petrol we were having to push start the bike much to Lisa’s great delight, and when we slowed down below about 50kph the bike would cut out.

We eventually made it to Adelaide but when we reached the end of the motorway and our first set of traffic lights the bike died again. We both got off and as we were trying to figure out what to do a bloke pulled up across the road and asked us if we needed a hand. When we told him what our problem was he suggested we return to his place to get a trailer, put the bike on it and come stay at his place while we sorted things out. This was how we met Dean, a lovely guy who really went out of his way to look after us. We put the battery on charge overnight but to no avail – the battery was well and truly stuffed so come the morning Dean’s neighbour gave me a lift to a bike shop where I bought a new one and took it back to charge it up.

Click here to see Adelaide streets

Dean then took us to the airport to pick up our friend Sarah who had flown in to meet us for a few days wine tasting around the Barossa and bought us all back to his place for another night. The following morning Dean ran Sarah down to the bus station as we rode down. We said our goodbyes and thanked Dean for all his help, had a look around town then swung via the Yamaha dealer that had sold me the new battery so they could test out the charging circuit.

The bad news was my regulator/rectifier had died. This seems to be a weak point on the TDM – I have already had to replace it twice before. More bad news – the bike shop didn’t have the correct part. They did however have one for another model that they thought would work so we lightened my wallet some more, hooked that up, tested it and all seemed good.

Back on the road and down to McLaren Vale. You guessed it, another wine growing region. Starting to notice a pattern? Sarah had beaten us down there on the bus but we soon joined her and spent a pleasant evening seeing in the New Year over some mighty fine local wines.

Click here to see Lisa and Sarah wine tasting

One of the guys we were chatting to offered to drive us around the vineyards the following day. Finally I was able to fully enjoy the pleasures of a days wine tasting. Needless to say much fun was had by all.

We then rode on up to Tanunda, heart of the Barossa Valley, and Sarah bussed it up to join us there. Another couple of days discovering new wines and developing silly grins.

Click here to see more wine tasting

All too soon it was time to leave and make our way back to Melbourne to ship the bike across to New Zealand. Minor problem though – flat battery when we tried to start the bike. Not Good. Push started the bike and we were underway again, however just outside Adelaide the bike died completely. We pulled up with a shrill whistle and smoke coming from under the tank. Oh Shit. Ripped off my petrol tank in a hurry, only to find my brand new battery swollen up and boiling. Unimpressed? You bet.

We phoned up Dean and he came out with his truck to rescue us yet again. The next morning we took the bike back to the Yamaha dealership but they had no solution for us. Instead they packed us off to a motorcycle auto electrician that all the bike shops in Adelaide use. There we found that the Yamaha shop had given us a completely unsuitable part – the rectifier they sold us was a very old design and did not also function as a regulator. Time for battery number two and a non-standard regulator. The bike now sports a Honda regulator/rectifier that is rated 35 watts – 10 watts more than standard, so this will never again be a problem. I was told this often happens on Japanese motorcycles as the regulators fitted to them are normally only just up to the job at hand.
Back to Dean’s place to drop off his car and trailer and thank him profusely then on the road to clock up as many miles as we could before sunset.

Click here for 3 wise men - Alec, Rich and BOB

We spent our last night on the road free camping in a reserve between highway and railway then rolled into Melbourne the following afternoon. No time to rest though, I had booked a Customs officer to meet us at the shipping agent the following morning so we were in a rush to wash the bike and all our gear – New Zealand requires everything well cleaned to try and keep nasty flora and fauna out.

Click here to see Brian, Shirleyand Lisa

All done on time – the next morning Alec helped me get the bike down to the shipping agent and crated leaving us with a weekend to finally relax in Melbourne, and relax we did, enjoying the rest of our time amongst good friends and playing tourist around their fair city.

Australa - the top bit

Q: What is bloody huge, red in the middle and covered in flies?

A: Australia.

It’s 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 we’ve 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.

Lisa’s 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 didn’t seem too bothered by them but we were forever swatting them away.

click here to see campsite

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 it’s 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.

click here to see Wangi Falls

The landscape is so different to anything we’d 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 Sarah’s 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 wouldn’t 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.

click here to see rock art

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 we’d 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 we’d 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 Trish’s 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.

click here to see Cassoway

Finally it was time to start heading south. We didn’t 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 it’s 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 it’s 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. It’s 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 it’s 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.

click here to see Pelicans

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.

click here to see Parrots

We’ve 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 - it’s all good. Except for the flies.

click here to see road train