On The Road Again

Paddle steamer Rothbury,
Murray River

River Camp #1 Mildura
Murray Darling Confluence

The desert does not share it’s warmth between day and night. But there is hope in the desert sun as the day warms up quickly. While we are riding along at 110km per hour, we have the sure knowledge that, by the end of the 1^st hour of riding, we'll be standing in the sun and the frosty morning will no longer seem like a possibility.

 

South Hay Hotel

The vastness of the Hay Plains, the flattest plain in the Southern Hemisphere, took my breath away and reminded me of The Nullarbor Plain far away. Hay is home to a Shearers Hall of Fame, and a pub, with a resident bearded dragon, to entertain visitors and locals alike.

 

River Camp #2 Hay
Murrumbidgee River

We continued eastwards along the plains where we came across a large herd of cattle who had been set free and were grazing on the Mid Western Highway road verge. We approached with hazard lights on and reduced speed, still one young steer decided to cross the road as I was approaching.

 

River Camp #3 Forbes
Lachlan River

Eventually the Hay Plains slipped away in our rear view mirrors and made way for a range of hills that were made for enjoyable riding. We stopped for awhile to enjoy the utes, in various guises, at Condoblin and then we were on our way to set up camp on the banks of the Lachlan River in Forbes, as far east as we were going to ride.

 

Forbes Town Hall

We stayed in Forbes awhile, wandering amongst the historic buildings in town and entertaining ourselves at The CSIRO Observatory. The observatory played a key role in the communication with the Apollo 11 Astronauts and the live TV coverage of the first moon landing in 1969.  The Australian movie, The Dish, about the observatory's role in the moon landing was the top grossing Australian movie in 2000.  Anyone considering building a “big thing” needs to visit the observatory before starting the engineering.

 

The Dish

Our ride northwards from Coonabarabran was a non starter. Only thirty kilometers down the road, in Parkes, my ABS warning light came on, then all the instruments went blank. I pulled over, stopped the bike; there was not enough battery to start the bike again.  Roadside assistance (NRMA) to the rescue. NRMA, and Rocky, a knowledgeable local, thought it was a faulty battery. NRMA found a new battery for us at a bike shop in Parkes, jump started my bike and sent us on our way.

 

River Camp #4 Wellington
Macquarie River

Steve installed the new battery, we rescheduled our overnight stop to Wellington, and rode out of town in the early afternoon. We were encouraged by a couple of motorcycle racing dudes who were also camped on the banks of the Macquarie River that night.

 

River Camp #5 Coonabarabran 
Castlereagh River

Steve navigated a scenic route from Wellington, through Gulgong, to Coonabarabran. As the miles ticked away we became more confident that my new battery had fixed the problem.

Warrumbungle National Park

Warrumbungle National Park

The beautiful Warrumbungle National Park took our minds away from motorcycle troubles for a day. Then we were back on the road again, Queensland in our sights at the end of the day.

River Camp #6 Moree
Mehi River

Unfortunately the new battery hadn't fixed my bike. In Narribri we were broken down again; same problem. Narribri, a town of 12,700 People, had no motorcycle mechanic to look at my bike.  Roadside assistance loaded my bike on a tilt tray and took her 100km up the road to Thomas Lee Motorcycles in Moree, where she awaits a new stator (part of bike's charging system) to be shipped from Western Australia and fitted; watch this space.

Very sad

 

Bike Repairs

  

Murray River

Murray River

Only three days into our very long ride and I noticed a little oil, around my rocker cover gasket, shining in the afternoon sun. There was barely enough to dirty a white tissue but it was oil all the same. A quick call to our mechanic said we should “ride on and monitor.” To add insult to injury, Steve's rocker cover gasket also started weeping. The brains trust, at the BMW National Rally, all said this should be fixed before riding into remote places.

 

Love the little ferries across the Murray,
Did many crossings.

Getting bikes fixed can lead to long wait times as everyone is busy. Josh, from McPeake Motorcycles BMW, came to our rescue, ordered the parts and had us back on the road with only a few days delay.

 

View from the top of the Corksrew

We moved our camp from Nuriootpa to Christies Beach, so we were close to Josh's place. Steve navigated a intricate route, got us lost a couple of times and purposefully included The Corkscrew where we both admitted “We were glad no-one was coming the other way.”

 

What do you do when you are holed up waiting motorcycle repairs? You visit The National Motor Museum in Birdwood, you take a ride to Mannum to admire the cliffs and the mighty Murray River, and you hustle, in Adelaide town, and get your hair cut at the same barber who cut your hair 5 years before, on our last long ride.

 

Port Noarlunga

It was with some relief that we left behind The Adelaide Hills. Those hills still had the last word and made us pass that way in a light drizzle, which tested our temperament and the grip of our tyres. But those hills were behind us soon enough and we were on the road again, heading eastwards to Mildura.

Christies Beach,
We are camped on the point with the pine trees

2024 National BMW Motorrad Rally

 

Our camp was set up in Nuriootpa a day early and we were one of the first to register for the National Rally. Our welcome packs included a badge and a very good bottle of wine giving us reason to ponder South Australia’s wine heritage.

5 of the 7 West Aussies camped together

Morning and afternoon guided rides led us through vine country and small villages and a dirt ride option kept the dirt riders happy.

Lining up ready for the first group ride

Like herding cats,
trying to get Bee Ems lined up 
for the official photo shoot

A communal pizza night, in the host caravan park's camp kitchen, was a great success and some of us enjoyed a potato pizza, for the first time.

A walk along Nuri’s main street found us admiring sidecar’s, amongst other rides, mostly of the GS variety.

Great tour of the High School
wine making facilities

The local high school's innovative wine making program renewed our hope that the education department can see the wood through the vines. The students who participated in the demonstration all said they planned to work in South Australia’s industrious wine industry.

The Vine Inn kept us warm, and fed us well on the last night. Then, as if by the stroke of a pen, the rally was over. The BMW Owners Club of SA (BMWOCSA) hosted a  well managed and memorable event and the badge will have pride of place on my motoring jacket.

The West Aussie contingent at the rally
Photo Credit: EJ

 

Our Twelfth Nullarbor Ride

Southern Cross

Two days before our scheduled departure, Steve and I caught Covid. This delayed us leaving for sometime. 

 Eventually, Southern Cross caravan park welcomed us for our first night with the cheapest camp site of our journey at $16 per night. 

Balladonia

The next morning we were on our way again on the road to Balladonia. At Norseman we were notified of the closure of the Eyre Highway near Yalata; two trucks had collided, all occupants died at the scene. Yalata was two days ahead of us, so we rode on until we handed over $50 to camp at Balladonia together with no drinking water. The road house were willing to fill our water bottles but this was a great inconvenience to us. The Balladonia sunset soothed our souls before we settled in for a chicken parmi in the dining room and a dark night in the tent. 

Madura Pass

The open road beckoned us onwards and by lunch time we were truck spotting at Madura Pass lookout and smiling all the while. 

Eucla

There was room for our little tent at Eucla but by 5pm the camp ground was full and caravaners were turned away. The accident near Yalata had bearded those travelling west and there simply wasn’t room for everyone. 

 

Kimba, half way across Australia

Day 4 and we were on the road to Ceduna. We had passed this way many times before so the savage winds across the plains of Penong were expected and wearied us still. Ceduna was a haven amongst the dust and dreams of our Nullarbor crossing and we were delighted to camp on grass in this fishermen’s town. 

Top of Germein Pass

We never feel our Nullarbor crossing is complete until we have Port Augusta well in our sights. The western sun shining on the Flinders Range welcomed us for many a mile of riding and by early afternoon on the 5th day, our Nullarbor crossing was complete.