G
gallowglass
Guest
Seven weeks through the centre and around (its long report)
G’day everyone sorry I haven’t posted this sooner but after seven glorious weeks on the road we were straight back into the grind.
Had a great time and saw so much it’s hard to describe it all here; even the photos I took (and there are GBytes of them) do not seem to do justice to how big or beautiful this country is.
A short note – our interests for holidays lie within old buildings, history, quiet country and gentle companions so this may be a little boring for the hard chargers out there. You’ve been warned.
We met so many riders along the way, riders from all over Oz and even from overseas; as well as some great people who weren’t on two wheels but were out there “doin it”.
I can’t remember your names but if you happen to read this, thank you for your company and for sharing our little adventure.
We left on the 19th of June; as usual in Tassy it was cold, damn cold. At 11am it was a sunny 5C in Hobart, by Oatlands I had black ice and fog. Visibility nil, car driving idiots – too bloody many. The fog lifted by Campbell Town and after a stopover in Launceston we were on to Devonport and the boat. Boris Vstrom and the trolley packed to the gunnels
Spent the Saturday with friends in Melbourne and then headed north for Hay to meet up with our travelling companions David and Narrelle.
Melbourne skyline
Murray River
We appeared to bring the rain and cold with us and it didn’t get warmer until a week later, but at least we were on the road.
After Hay we headed west through Mildura to Renmark, Loxton and south to Adelaide via the Barossa Valley.
Hay Plains
Somewhere between Loxton and Swan Reach, Boris’ clutch decided to stop working; I nursed it into Adelaide and spent 4 frustrating days waiting for Peter Stevens to express the parts they already had in stock from Melbourne to Adelaide. Finally very late on our last day it was done and we were mobile again; no further problems to be had.
Hey, its Adelaide there’s got to be a church somewhere
From Adelaide we slowly made our way through Clare and Burra. Clare is a great little town but locked up tight over the weekend. Burra was interesting the river bank dwellings in particular but they certainly like to stick it to the tourists with accommodation costs.
Burra
Our first encounter with the van set occurred here, nice enough people but they just don’t seem to get the term “holiday”; for some reason everyone has to be awake at 5am to join the convoy rushing to the next town and if you’re not an early riser the clanging of pots, beeping of reversing indicators, good mornings shouted every 5 minutes and the roar of 4WD’s will make you one.
Each to his own I suppose but for me a little tranquillity early in the morning and a bit of consideration for others doesn’t hurt.
Heading north
After Burra we headed north to Wilpena Pound, we stayed at Rawnsley Park just outside of the Pound. Very nice.
This is my mate David, he’s a love child of Dusty from ZZ Top
Wilpena Pound
From Wilpena our mates headed west to Hawker and up to Coober Pedy as they were on a small cruiser and didn’t like the idea of dirt, while we went north through Brachina Gorge and on to Leigh Creek. Brachina Gorge was absolutely amazing, the colours of the rock were awesome.
As we cleared the gorge proper we ran into one the infamous South Australian dust storms; I hadn’t experienced one for about 30 years and I can definitely wait another 30 years for the next. Elaine and I were caught in the open and barely had time to pull off the road before we were engulfed, we huddled on the bike and sat it out for 30 minutes. By then, we and the bike and trailer were no longer resplendent in our multi coloured adventure wear; but a rather dull and uncomfortable grey/brown and yes it really does get in everywhere. Still it was definitely something to talk about when we finally staggered into the Paranchilla Pub and gulped down a few over priced soft drinks.
A bit dusty isn’t it dear?
From Leigh Creek we went north to Marree
More north
Marree
and turned west along the Oodnadatta Track to Coward Springs.
Oodnadatta Track
Douh, no shit dick tracey
Pretty obvious
What a beautiful place, we set up our tent and opened a nice bottle of red to celebrate Elaine’s birthday (the big 50). Next morning I was lucky enough to see a spectacular sunrise framing 2 cranes on their early morning flight.
Sunset
Birthday girl
Magic
West now; past a dry Lake Eyre South
Overland Telegraph, it was only operating for a short time but what an impact it had on Australia
through William Creek and into Coober Pedy. The bike and trailer handled the track with no problems at all; our only off of the whole trip occurred about 5kms east of Coober Pedy at less than 5 km/hr as I pulled up to take a photo. Cleverly disguised as a road was a very deep pothole filled with sand; at least it was soft and no one was hurt, no damage to Boris or the trolley either.
Rejoining our mates we explored the town, bought the obligatory opals, found the remains of the Millennium Falcon and headed north toward the Rock, the sun at last catching up to us and staying alongside for the next 5 weeks.
Nothing really prepares you for the sheer size of this country; photos just don’t fit enough in.
Move over truck, VStrom coming through
Its somewhere I just forgot exactly
Behind our mates’ bike is Mt Connor; first off we thought it was Ayers Rock but even after we found out different we were not disappointed by the view.
What can I say about Uluru and the Olgas that hasn’t already been said? Awe inspiring is an understatement. Kings Canyon is pretty damn special too.
our humble abode
After a wonderful rest we headed north again to Alice Springs and some more down time, exploring Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap. Anyone travelling to the Alice has got to visit the desert park just outside of town and the MacDonnell Ranges.
Big Place
West MacDonnell Ranges
Territory Humour
Travelling time again so north to Tennant Creek
Devils Marbles
Tropic of Capricorn
then east via Barclay Homestead where we met some great people on bikes and in 4WDs. There was a Nu Zoolander who arrived late on his Harley – no tent, no sleeping bag; he thought you could get accommodation everywhere without prior bookings (no no no) so he was going to sleep on one of the tables in just a jacket. Someone lent him some stuff and he survived.
Queuing for fuel took 40 minutes
Still going east to Mt Isa (I liked it),
Mt Isa
On to Cloncurry and Winton,
along the way we thoroughly enjoyed the dinosaur display and saw the (in)famous Walkabout Creek pub – no crocs or water either.
Somewhere out west
Arlo’s Wall
We parted company with our mates here as we were going onto Rockhampton and they headed south back to Raymond Terrace (Newcastle area).
On to Longreach where all of the locals seemed to have disappeared. 8pm on Saturday night you could have fired a shotgun in the main street without hitting anyone. Apparently there was a shearing competition on at the showgrounds and it was packed. Next day I spent 5 hours at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame (it was supposed to be 1 hour) and had to be dragged out by my wife so that we could reach Barcaldine before dark. The Hall was amazing, just so much history.
At Barcaldine we had a nostalgia moment; first off the pub: The Shakespeare (one of 6 in a town of 400 or so people) it was just like you would imagine an outback hotel to be – a two storey wooden edifice with the bathroom down the hall and lashings of food on your plate and then straight across the road an old radio hall now converted into the town hall and serving on this night as the local picture theatre. Canvas chairs, cheap admission, intermission and the local ladies auxiliary serving at the shop counter.
Radio Hall Barcaldine
It may sound a little strange after everything else we had seen and experienced but this was one of the best nights I had. I grew up in a country town and still recall those simple experiences. Ah! Memories or is that senility?
Reluctantly I left Barcaldine and we continued on through Emerald to Rockhampton
Rocky
Emu Park, Rocky
Yeppoon
Gladstone
then south to Brisbane to visit old friends, then on to Sydney. We stayed a while with our son but then all too soon the trip was over and it was time to go home.
Well that’s it folks, a few changes have happened along the way.
We are going to purchase a bigger trailer, hopefully one of those pull out camper types. My lovely wife; trooper though she is; struggled a little on the bike because of some old back and leg injuries especially in the last few weeks and so very reluctantly we sold Boris (14650kms averaging 58 MPG carrying the 2 of us and hauling a trailer, it was bloody good going for a 650 and I will miss it).
BUT we are still on two wheels we have bought a Suzuki C109 Boulevard to continue our travels and planning has begun for the next adventure.
Bubba and I Mt Wellington 02/09/09
Now go and have your own adventure; Stay safe all.
Gerry
G’day everyone sorry I haven’t posted this sooner but after seven glorious weeks on the road we were straight back into the grind.
Had a great time and saw so much it’s hard to describe it all here; even the photos I took (and there are GBytes of them) do not seem to do justice to how big or beautiful this country is.
A short note – our interests for holidays lie within old buildings, history, quiet country and gentle companions so this may be a little boring for the hard chargers out there. You’ve been warned.
We met so many riders along the way, riders from all over Oz and even from overseas; as well as some great people who weren’t on two wheels but were out there “doin it”.
I can’t remember your names but if you happen to read this, thank you for your company and for sharing our little adventure.
We left on the 19th of June; as usual in Tassy it was cold, damn cold. At 11am it was a sunny 5C in Hobart, by Oatlands I had black ice and fog. Visibility nil, car driving idiots – too bloody many. The fog lifted by Campbell Town and after a stopover in Launceston we were on to Devonport and the boat. Boris Vstrom and the trolley packed to the gunnels
Spent the Saturday with friends in Melbourne and then headed north for Hay to meet up with our travelling companions David and Narrelle.
Melbourne skyline
Murray River
We appeared to bring the rain and cold with us and it didn’t get warmer until a week later, but at least we were on the road.
After Hay we headed west through Mildura to Renmark, Loxton and south to Adelaide via the Barossa Valley.
Hay Plains
Somewhere between Loxton and Swan Reach, Boris’ clutch decided to stop working; I nursed it into Adelaide and spent 4 frustrating days waiting for Peter Stevens to express the parts they already had in stock from Melbourne to Adelaide. Finally very late on our last day it was done and we were mobile again; no further problems to be had.
Hey, its Adelaide there’s got to be a church somewhere
From Adelaide we slowly made our way through Clare and Burra. Clare is a great little town but locked up tight over the weekend. Burra was interesting the river bank dwellings in particular but they certainly like to stick it to the tourists with accommodation costs.
Burra
Our first encounter with the van set occurred here, nice enough people but they just don’t seem to get the term “holiday”; for some reason everyone has to be awake at 5am to join the convoy rushing to the next town and if you’re not an early riser the clanging of pots, beeping of reversing indicators, good mornings shouted every 5 minutes and the roar of 4WD’s will make you one.
Each to his own I suppose but for me a little tranquillity early in the morning and a bit of consideration for others doesn’t hurt.
Heading north
After Burra we headed north to Wilpena Pound, we stayed at Rawnsley Park just outside of the Pound. Very nice.
This is my mate David, he’s a love child of Dusty from ZZ Top
Wilpena Pound
From Wilpena our mates headed west to Hawker and up to Coober Pedy as they were on a small cruiser and didn’t like the idea of dirt, while we went north through Brachina Gorge and on to Leigh Creek. Brachina Gorge was absolutely amazing, the colours of the rock were awesome.
As we cleared the gorge proper we ran into one the infamous South Australian dust storms; I hadn’t experienced one for about 30 years and I can definitely wait another 30 years for the next. Elaine and I were caught in the open and barely had time to pull off the road before we were engulfed, we huddled on the bike and sat it out for 30 minutes. By then, we and the bike and trailer were no longer resplendent in our multi coloured adventure wear; but a rather dull and uncomfortable grey/brown and yes it really does get in everywhere. Still it was definitely something to talk about when we finally staggered into the Paranchilla Pub and gulped down a few over priced soft drinks.
A bit dusty isn’t it dear?
From Leigh Creek we went north to Marree
More north
Marree
and turned west along the Oodnadatta Track to Coward Springs.
Oodnadatta Track
Douh, no shit dick tracey
Pretty obvious
What a beautiful place, we set up our tent and opened a nice bottle of red to celebrate Elaine’s birthday (the big 50). Next morning I was lucky enough to see a spectacular sunrise framing 2 cranes on their early morning flight.
Sunset
Birthday girl
Magic
West now; past a dry Lake Eyre South
Overland Telegraph, it was only operating for a short time but what an impact it had on Australia
through William Creek and into Coober Pedy. The bike and trailer handled the track with no problems at all; our only off of the whole trip occurred about 5kms east of Coober Pedy at less than 5 km/hr as I pulled up to take a photo. Cleverly disguised as a road was a very deep pothole filled with sand; at least it was soft and no one was hurt, no damage to Boris or the trolley either.
Rejoining our mates we explored the town, bought the obligatory opals, found the remains of the Millennium Falcon and headed north toward the Rock, the sun at last catching up to us and staying alongside for the next 5 weeks.
Nothing really prepares you for the sheer size of this country; photos just don’t fit enough in.
Move over truck, VStrom coming through
Its somewhere I just forgot exactly
Behind our mates’ bike is Mt Connor; first off we thought it was Ayers Rock but even after we found out different we were not disappointed by the view.
What can I say about Uluru and the Olgas that hasn’t already been said? Awe inspiring is an understatement. Kings Canyon is pretty damn special too.
our humble abode
After a wonderful rest we headed north again to Alice Springs and some more down time, exploring Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap. Anyone travelling to the Alice has got to visit the desert park just outside of town and the MacDonnell Ranges.
Big Place
West MacDonnell Ranges
Territory Humour
Travelling time again so north to Tennant Creek
Devils Marbles
Tropic of Capricorn
then east via Barclay Homestead where we met some great people on bikes and in 4WDs. There was a Nu Zoolander who arrived late on his Harley – no tent, no sleeping bag; he thought you could get accommodation everywhere without prior bookings (no no no) so he was going to sleep on one of the tables in just a jacket. Someone lent him some stuff and he survived.
Queuing for fuel took 40 minutes
Still going east to Mt Isa (I liked it),
Mt Isa
On to Cloncurry and Winton,
along the way we thoroughly enjoyed the dinosaur display and saw the (in)famous Walkabout Creek pub – no crocs or water either.
Somewhere out west
Arlo’s Wall
We parted company with our mates here as we were going onto Rockhampton and they headed south back to Raymond Terrace (Newcastle area).
On to Longreach where all of the locals seemed to have disappeared. 8pm on Saturday night you could have fired a shotgun in the main street without hitting anyone. Apparently there was a shearing competition on at the showgrounds and it was packed. Next day I spent 5 hours at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame (it was supposed to be 1 hour) and had to be dragged out by my wife so that we could reach Barcaldine before dark. The Hall was amazing, just so much history.
At Barcaldine we had a nostalgia moment; first off the pub: The Shakespeare (one of 6 in a town of 400 or so people) it was just like you would imagine an outback hotel to be – a two storey wooden edifice with the bathroom down the hall and lashings of food on your plate and then straight across the road an old radio hall now converted into the town hall and serving on this night as the local picture theatre. Canvas chairs, cheap admission, intermission and the local ladies auxiliary serving at the shop counter.
Radio Hall Barcaldine
It may sound a little strange after everything else we had seen and experienced but this was one of the best nights I had. I grew up in a country town and still recall those simple experiences. Ah! Memories or is that senility?
Reluctantly I left Barcaldine and we continued on through Emerald to Rockhampton
Rocky
Emu Park, Rocky
Yeppoon
Gladstone
then south to Brisbane to visit old friends, then on to Sydney. We stayed a while with our son but then all too soon the trip was over and it was time to go home.
Well that’s it folks, a few changes have happened along the way.
We are going to purchase a bigger trailer, hopefully one of those pull out camper types. My lovely wife; trooper though she is; struggled a little on the bike because of some old back and leg injuries especially in the last few weeks and so very reluctantly we sold Boris (14650kms averaging 58 MPG carrying the 2 of us and hauling a trailer, it was bloody good going for a 650 and I will miss it).
BUT we are still on two wheels we have bought a Suzuki C109 Boulevard to continue our travels and planning has begun for the next adventure.
Bubba and I Mt Wellington 02/09/09
Now go and have your own adventure; Stay safe all.
Gerry
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