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Dodging wet weather, 900km days and deserts! We left Perth early in the
morning with a cloudy sky for Manjimup. On the way we took a detour through
Armadale to see M’s old house where she grew up. M decided to take a detour
and quickly got us lost in the back suburbs.
We left Armadale via the Albany Hwy. The climb up the hill as
you exit the city was great and was as I had remembered. We didn’t fuel up in
Perth as I
thought that there were road houses not far from Armadale at the top of the
range. I was wrong. It wasn’t until Bannister Nth before we got fuel (some
100+kms). Fortunately we made it dry but bloody cold. The Albany Hwy to Bannister Nth was
deserted and pretty boring even though you pass through lots of trees on the
way.
From Bannister Nth we continued down the Albany Hwy before
detouring via Bodington on a variety of lovely scenic back roads through
small towns and locations to Boyup Brook. The detour via the back roads is a
great way to break up what can be a monotonous trip south along main roads.
The back roads were also ones that I used to ride my ’82 and ’86 MHR Ducati’s
on many years ago. However, in my dreams I always remembered them as very
twisty and it wasn’t until I revisited that I realized it wasn’t so much the
roads that were twisty but the speeds I used to travel at.
Even though we had to endure a few showers on the way,
some of which were spent sitting under trees at Dinninup, we got to Boyup
Brook relatively dry. In Boyup Bk we did a lap of the old town where I grew
up before heading for Bridgetown
and a late lunch.
Unlike Boyup Brook, Bridgetown
is busier with a greater focus on touristy things. Here we also did a loop
and checked out our old house and other things. In town we stopped for a
quick lunch in the main street sitting out yet another shower before heading
to Manjimup. Other than dodging rain the final leg to Manjimup was uneventful
and bloody cold.
We stayed with my sister and family for a few days
catching up with all the gossip and taking one of my nephews moto cross bikes
for a bit of a scoot around their track that they have made for practice
purposes. A bit of a buz! I also went marroning with Chase and his dad
bringing home a bucked load of lovely marron for tea.
From Manjimup we did a quick day trip to Margaret River
and Augusta
to take in the bush scenery and many tree plantations. The next day we did a day
trip to my dads grave at Chowerup and admire yet more tree plantations. We
did a detour from Chowerup along the old school bus route that I endured as a
student to Boyup Bk to visit an old school mate. T.B. and his family live on
a farm out the back of Dinninup. It was great to catch up and learn about
what he is doing to diversify his farm to compete in an aggressive global agricultural
market over a cuppa before heading back to Manji.
It was time to leave and head south to Albany
via Denmark
and a couple of other small towns. We stopped at Walpole for some lunch and the first good
coffee at a reasonable price I had had in WA. Until Walpole I hadn’t had a lot
of luck with coffee’s and in general are so expensive and bad I was about to
give up.
It was also in Walpole
where we got to see some motor bikes and have a chat with some of the bikers.
It could have been the weather but WA seemed almost void of bikes. Bikes
obviously exist but we hadn’t seem many since leaving Geraldton.
We stayed in Albany
for a night and left for Mt Barker the next day and visit a couple of
wineries. We wanted to stay an extra night but things were a bit booked out.
The trip to Mt Barker was wet and it rained for the whole day so we stopped
in a musty room at the Plantagenet Hotel. Unfortunately there was no shelter
for the bikes so they sat in the rain for about 24hrs. I think it was here
that the damage to the bikes that would plague us to Adelaide started.
We left Mt Barker on a glorious day, my birthday actually,
for Esperance. True to form M forgot it was my birthday well into the
morning. She quickly fixed her stuff up with a kiss and a cuddle. The trip to
Esperance took us through a number of towns all ending in UP. For example – Tambelup,
Gnowangerup, Kebaringup, Ongerup, Needilup, Jerramungup, Jacup, Jerdacuttup,
Munglinup, East Munglinup, Coombalbidgup, Dalyup, and eventually Monjingup.
All this UP stuff can drive you batty when your trying to concentrate.
It was along this road that I also thought I was going to
meet my nemesis in the form of a road train. The driver was either on drugs
or had forgotten there were trailers attached to the back of his truck. He
drove round both M and I in a rather erratic state pushing me clean off the
road into the gravel. Fortunately the old V7 didn’t slip and slide as much as
I had first anticipated before I got it safely back onto the bitumen. The
driver of the truck had realized his blunder and blinked his indicator to say
sorry. But it didn’t stop him from twisting his truck and trailers neatly
around M who wasn’t far in front.
We stayed in Esperance for a couple of nights catching up
on sleep and resting before heading across the Nullabor. I also did some
general maintenance to both bikes as I knew it would be a couple of thousand
kilometers before I would have the time again. Appart from being very windy
Esperance was cold and dry. Where we stayed was right in town so we were able
to do a bit of sight seeing, walks along the board walk and celebrate our 20th
wedding anniversary.
We left early on a very windy and cloudy day to Norseman.
The wind continued for the entire trip to Ceduna, luckily with most of it as
a slight tail and cross wind. We met a fellow biker at Ceduna who had been
traveling south from Darwin
into the wind and he looked how he felt - stuffed.
We did as much sight seeing across the Nullabor as
possible considering the aim was to get to the Flinders Ranges
by the weekend to meet H and D, and the might FRATS. The road across the
Nullabor we found was a lot more interesting than we had experienced in the
past in cars. Other than some of the straightest stretches of road in Australia
has some very interesting vegetation and offers amazing scenery. We checked
out views from the range that travels across the lower end of WA at Mildura
and Eucla and views of the Australian Bight part way between Border Town and the Nullabor RH.
On the Nullabor we camped one night at a camp ground not
far from Mildura where there is a basic dunny and a few tables. Tea that
night was a tin of tuna with a tin of baked beans followed by dry biscuits
and some yummy chocolate. The next day (Friday) we woke at about 4am to hit
the road as early as possible to get into South Australia and as far beyond Ceduna
as possible. On this day, apart from a few stops to check out things, we
traveled just over 900kms (not a bad effort for two 40 year old bikes). We
made it to Wuddina late that afternoon absolutely stuffed from the long day,
constant buffeting of wind and the fact my bike was now push start as the
starter motor shat itself just after Eucla.
From Wudinna it was a quick hop via Port Augusta to the Flinders Ranges along a road where lots of
towns end in the A letter. For example – Ceduna, Mudamuckla, Chinbingina,
Nunjikompita, Carawa, Wirrulla, Cungena, Poochera, Minnipa, Wudinna,
Kyancutta, Koongawa, Cootra, Panilya, Kimba, and finally Port Augusta (sorry
if I missed any). At Port Augusta we headed out to a place called Quorn and
on to Warren Gorge where the FRATS were hiding out.
On arrival to Warren Gorge we were greeted by S who
thought we were someone else. She bounced out of the trees flashing her legs
and wabbling her behind and about to flash some extra parts of her anatomy
when she realized that we weren’t who she thought we were. Need to invest in
a coloured visor for the helmet. We camped with the FRATS that night and had
a great time around the camp fire drinking red and chatting. H had said when
looking for the FRATS all we would need to do is look for the bikes
(especially the Guzzi’s). Well there was only one bike and it was a Norton
Commando. Just as well we turned up otherwise the non Guzzi’s would have
outnumbered the Guzzi’s.
The next morning we headed for Blinman via Parachilna
through Hawker to catch up with H and D and a bit of exploration of the Flinders Ranges. Other than the beauty of the
ranges the other thing that was striking was the desert environment where
farmers are still trying to siphon life from the soil to grow crops and
sheep. The place is littered with lots of old stone buildings from the mid
1800’s where the region must have been in better times, or the settlers of
the day built their homes and walked away when they found it didn’t rain?
This would have to be the barest and most desert like place that we have seen
anywhere in Australia
(including the Pilbara). Putting the agricultural bit aside this is one of
the most strikingly pretty places we have seen in Australia and one we will
definitely be coming back to in a 4WD or off road bikes. Simply put the Flinders Ranges are stunning and how the whole
region hasn’t been reclaimed as national park is amazing.
We caught up with H and D in Blinman where H was a chief judge
at the inaugural “Camp Cook Out” competition. We also checked out some of the
gorge delights such as Chinamans Wall and watched the sun go down across the
ranges (absolutely stunning). From Blinman we worked our way back to Hawker
on many gravel roads via Wilpena. We didn’t stop at Wilpena NP because it
costs a lot of money to take motor bikes in compared to cars.
From Hawker we headed south for the Claire
Valley via Jamestown where we stayed the night. Jamestown is quite a
nice spot where we did a bit of walking and sight seeing. It is also where it
appears the agriculture practice changes from feeding sheep pebbles to grass and
putting your stock into the crops to eat the green shoots, as south of Jamestown the paddocks
were lush, stock were fat and crops flowed in the breeze.
From Jamestown we headed
for Adelaide
stopping off at Claire to do some wine tasting and the inevitable purchase of
a variety of cases of wine. From Claire it was a quick trip to Adelaide before dark.
However, the quick trip on the bike almost became a quick trip in an
ambulance when a 4wd owner decided to cut across straight in front of me just
out from Gawler. Fortunately the drum brakes of the V7 are exceptional and I
was able to pull the bike up short of the passenger door. Not sure who was
more surprised - the passenger or the driver of the 4WD. However, I did see a
quick exchange of words between the occupants of the Landcruiser as I worked
my way around the vehicle.
Anyway the dramas didn’t just end with the Landcruiser. We
made our way up the overpass (near Gawler) and onto the highway toward Adelaide. A large truck
pulled out to pass us and a tray back 4wd pulled out behind him. The 4wd then
decided to cut in front of us and underpass the truck. The truck then decided
to change lanes and nearly took the 4wd out only meters in front of us.
Fortunately the 4wd was able to leave the road and pull back safely. Welcome
to Adelaide.
In Adelaide
we have enjoyed ourselves in the company of H and D. I spent a few days
rebuilding both bikes. Fortunately, the grinding sound on my bike has been
fixed with the metal filings found in the dif now removed and new oil added
to hide the inevitable failure of the dif sometime in the future. Meredith’s
bikes dif was also repaired when we pulled it apart to find the pinion drive
was floating around inside the carrier and some of the shim bits sitting in
the base of the dif housing. We also got to repair the starter motor for my
bike and cleanout and repair the clutch which nearly drove me up the back of
a bus in Adelaide
city at a set of lights.
Anyway, we have survived a great party at H and D’s place
on Saturday and a ride around the Adelaide
hills in the company of K who as he said doesn’t use maps and just follows
his nose. Visited a bike only swap meet and moto cross event and caught up
with D on his V7 Sport, who for some reason was just about to leave as we had
just arrived. Hopefully, if all goes well, we will be chaperoned (not kicked)
out of Adelaide
tomorrow morning (Tuesday) by E.
Where are we going from here? Dunno, just keep tuned.
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