Red Devil (BMW F650GS) and Red Dwarf (BMW R1200GS) pulled out of our
driveway early on a Sunday morning in late August, both bikes dressed to the
nines with camping gear, and Steve and I smiling from ear to ear in
anticipation of a three week ride to North West Cape, the north-western tip of Australia.
Sunday's aren't as quiet on the road as they used to be and we had fun snaking
our way through the early morning traffic. The chilly 9°C had me switching my
heated grips to full bore and within the hour we had made our way to the northern
end of the freeway and were drinking tea and enjoying a bacon and egg roll at a
roadside restaurant. Fulfilled and refreshed, we rode northwards amongst the
wheat fields while bees made a mess of our visors and we developed a healthy
respect for those who ride with no visor at all.
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| Green Head |
We camped for a couple of nights at Green Head to walk amongst the
wildflowers in Stockyard Gully and Lesueur National Parks. Then it was onwards
and upwards, taking the Indian Ocean Drive and the Chapman Valley Road, to the
historic town of Northampton. In Northampton we met Tim Spiteri and his
partner Jo Noesgaard. Tim is a modern day adventurer, currently riding a
bicycle around the country. Last year Tim was part of a team rowing across the
Indian Ocean; thanks for the inspiration, Tim, we need folks like you to remind
us what is truly possible.
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| Overlander Roadhouse |
On the road from Northampton to Carnarvon, the bees were replaced with
butterflies, and they made a mess of our visors too, but it didn't matter as we
were enjoying our ride along the North West Coastal Highway. At times we had to
slow down for the great wedge-tailed eagles that were pecking at the latest
road kill. There are hundreds of travellers on the road these days and we had
to queue for fuel at Overlander Roadhouse; $1.80/lt for unleaded petrol made me
smile in the sure knowledge that we had arrived in the outback. We stopped for
a while, just hanging out with the bikes, and watched the road trains
thundering by.
Apparently the fruit and vegetable farms around Carnarvon provide 70%
of Western Australia's total requirement but more importantly, as a traveller,
Carnarvon is home to one of the best fish and chip shops in the state. We built
our own seafood basket for two at Westcoast
Fish 'n' Chips with one serve of snapper, eight prawns and eight
scallops; all fresh and truly to die for.
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| Six-pack habit |
We don't have refrigeration when we go camping with Devil and Dwarf so
at around 4pm each day we would wonder over to the nearest grog shop and return
with a cold six-pack to keep us amused and smiling until dinner time. This
ritual became known as our six-pack habit and we enjoyed beers from the big
brewers to boutique establishments, depending on what was on special.
Six-Pack
Habit
I've gotta six-pack habit when I'm on the
road,
Where I headin' know body knows.
When the sun goes down I'll be sittin'
around,
With my six-pack habit in some outback
town.
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| North West Cape lighthouse |
At Minilya Roadhouse the road forks left for those travelling to
Exmouth and this quiet run through the desert is interesting and fun with a few
curves to keep bike riders amused. On the approach into town we were warned to
lookout for sheep hanging around on the road verges and sure enough we spotted
our first woolly inhabitant 50km out of town. This unexpected desert dwelling
herd kept us on our toes for the last half hour of the ride.
We spent five nights in Exmouth enjoying Ningaloo and Cape Range
National Park. We took Devil and Dwarf for a run to Yardie Creek and a swim at
Turquoise Bay. Only Dwarf went on the 4WD only ride through the gorge at Shot
Hole Canyon. Riding pillion, I could enjoy the towering gorge walls without the
anxiety of dropping Devil in one of the stony creek beds.
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| Jane and Hini |
In Exmouth we met Hini
Krutzfeldt. Hini shipped his BMW F800GS from Germany to Perth in July 2015 and
will be riding around the country until November. Hini is an adventurer rider
and street racer and we had great conversations at dinner time. I will always
remember Hini whenever I reverse down a steep slope using the clutch (with the
engine switched off) instead of struggling with the rear brake when the front brake
won't grip.
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| The Red Dwarf, Shothole Canyon, Cape Range National Park |
On our way south I fell in love with the snorkelling and the laid back
lifestyle at Coral Bay. We didn't take a snorkelling tour; we just launched
ourselves off the beach and let the current take us for a drift over the coral
reef. We had anchored our Sparkman and Stephens 34 foot yacht, Roma II, at Pt
Maud, one nautical mile north of Coral Bay, on 16th September 1993. We enjoyed
a walk along the beach to the place where we had been before. According to our
ships log we had waited six days for the wind to drop below 25knots.
With the sun behind us we had an easy ride back to Carnarvon, to
restock the pantry pannier, and then took ourselves for a bikers look at Shark
Bay.
We had our first bad travellers experience at Hamelin Pool Caravan Park
(after over 100,000 kms of motorcycle travels). On returning from a short walk to the
old shell quarry, there was a note tucked onto my bike asking us to "come
and pay for our showers as showers are for paying customers only." We had
not been near the toilets or the showers so Steve took the note back to the tea
rooms and informed the girls that we hadn't had a shower. They accusingly replied,
"Someone told us you had." They never apologised for insulting a
couple of bikers, they just kept saying, "Someone told us you had used the
showers." There was evidence that they had tried to take our riding
jackets as ransom, fortunately they were locked onto Steve's bike. I hate to
think about the outcome had they taken our jackets. Well, Hamelin Pool Caravan Park, we'll be
spreading the word on your incompetent hospitality skills, and advising
everyone we meet not to give you the time of day.
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| Compulsory photo of Dolphin at Monkey Mia |
Monkey Mia is a must see for Western Australians and we were lucky, on
the morning of our visit, seven dolphins came to play at the sanctuary. These
days the dolphins are only fed a snack sized fish and it is wonderful to see that
the dolphins visit Monkey Mia to enjoy the people interaction and nothing more.
The weather turned against us when we were ready to ride for home so
we holed up in Kalbarri to let the wind and the rain pass through. Then we were
on the road for our last days ride, looking forward to the comforts of home and
at the same time savouring the last moments of a thoroughly enjoyable three
weeks camping with Devil and Dwarf; something deep within the soul told us
"this is how we should be living."
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| Campsite on the beach at Denham, Shark Bay |
