Category: Circuit of Oz 2017

Keen to get my rear tyre replaced, I scarpered early from Mission Beach.

I was half expecting to stay 2 nights in Townsville. Halfway there I’d stopped for a coffee and noticed some emails returned from some bike shops. One didn’t have the tyre I wanted, and the other wasn’t prepared to touch the bike with the towbar on it (something about liability). I had another look at the tyre and decided screw it – it can wait – I hadn’t quite reached the wear bars so I should be OK for a while.

Since I’d left Mission Beach quite early, my arrival in Townsville was also early. I checked myself into the park and immediately started calling around. The local Honda shop in Rockhampton (720+ km away) had my tyre of choice and were OK to change it. So, I figured that’ll do. I’ll keep monitoring my tyre’s wear, but that should do nicely.

I jumped back on the bike (without the trailer) and had a bit of a tour around. I must say, Townsville is a pretty nice place. It’s clean, modern, and has pretty much everything you’ll ever need. It’s just too friggin’ hot for me.

I also checked out a few camera shops while I was there just to see if they had that USB cable I’d forgotten. No chance. I’ll get Ellie to post it to Wooli for me as I definitely want it for Tassie.

Since my way into the Daintree had changed, I took my original in-ward track south… only to avoid riding the same roads twice if I could. I’m glad I took that Gillies Ranges Rd before as while this one was good – it wasn’t anywhere near as spectacular as the Gillies.

It took me back to Atherton where I stopped for lunch. Then, I took a slight detour to Yungaburra where they have a platypus viewing platform (never seen one – even in a zoo I think). Unfortunately, I heard lots of noises, saw lots of moving reeds, and saw lots of bubbles in the water, but no platypi (sp?). I waited for around 20mins but figured that was enough.

The scenery was similar all the way to Mission Beach. It’s quite interesting with a hills/ranges/mountains almost right to the sea for pretty much the whole trip.

The caravan park was great (council run)… I was setup about 20m from the beach. So, park the bike, setup tent, go for a swim (quite warm as it’s shallow for quite a distance), shower, cook, sleep.

Ahhhh, my pants are washed. I know it’s gross, but I can’t resist showing a before and after:

I warned Ellie that when I return to Perth I’ll soon after need to buy new gear. This trip is like an additional 1.5 years of riding for me. New pants (!) and new helmet… I must say, it’s pretty sad when you don’t like your own sweat smell in the helmet. When I rode to Adelaide and back a few years ago I dunked the helmet in a tub of shampoo – I don’t think that will suffice this time.

I actually started the day catching up on some blogging – Daintree had some rain come through around 8am so I sat under the kitchen area and typed away while she dumped down. On and off, it lasted around an hour. Washing was done after that – there seemed little point hanging it out with the rain coming.

After that, just wandered around a little. The caravan park had a kind of “old 60s” kinda theme… almost a museum.

Unfortunately, the designated walking tracks were quite a distance from where I stayed – not wanting to get on the bike for the day, I decided to just hoof it up the road (advice from the local info centre)… cupla Ks in the humidity had the sweat pouring out. It was good to spend some energy.

I was waiting on a few others to return from their river cruise as I’d heard a few disappointing whispers. It seemed it was the wrong time of the year – most of the crocs were hiding (not needing to come out for heat), so it was just birdlife. In the end, none of them were that enthusiastic, so I decided to save my petrol money. Ellie & I will return at the right time for this one.

I’d noticed my rear tyre was developing the typical square shape you get when you ride in a straight line for 7,000+ km. This was quite disappointing as I’d got closer to 30,000 for the rear – and this didn’t look like it would make 10,000. Clearly, the weight on the rear of the bike (extra fuel/payload) and the trailer was the culprit. I didn’t think it would be that bad as others in the club has suggested, but I live and learn. I’d made a few phone calls to source a new tyre, and Townsville seemed the goer.

My schedule had me here at Daintree for a total of 4 days. Given the limitations here, I decided to head off tomorrow and use the extra days for some additional layover further down the track (with probably 1 extra at Wooli).

Today didn’t disappoint… Off I went heading for the Gillies Range Rd as suggested by a club member. It didn’t take long to hit the twisties.

The speed limit was only 60 kph, but with many 40 corners. It’s 19km of road with an elevation change from top to bottom of 800m, with 263 corners. Motorcycle bliss.

I’m not sure I even hit the 60 limit much… being the one who drives like an old granddad, on a big bike, on a road never ridden before, towing a trailer… I wasn’t going to take risks.

I spotted these Porsche guys lurking on the side… I wonder what they were about to do?

While the scenery looked like it was impressive, I’ll never know. As a motorcyclist on these roads you’re forever looking for and setting up for the next turn. If you choose to glance anywhere else for some sight-seeing then you’re likely to miss a turn and become a stain on a Porsche’s windscreen.

Back in 2014 (I think) I went to Atlanta for a work conference. I managed to get there a day early and rent a Kawasaki 1400GTR to ride a road between North Carolina and Tennessee, commonly called the Tail of the Dragon. It was 11.5mi long with 318 turns in it (similar speed limit of 35mph). While it had more turns over a shorter distance, many were only slight kinks in a straight section. Comparing both for fun-factor… Gillies wins! I’m told there are many others around here that are similar… so I need to keep looking.

Although trying to avoid population centres, I went through Cairns on the way to the Daintree. It was the most direct route from the bottom of Gillies Range Rd, but it also passed a Supercheap Auto where I could buy, change, and dispose of oil. I figured 7,000+ km of hot temperatures and poor roads while towing a trailer that the old girl needed a refresh.

After that, on to the Daintree for 3-4 days (probably only 3) of R&R. I settled in at this quaint old caravan park in Daintree Village. A hot humid night, but it was a time to relax.

I even had a late-night visit from a wild but not-too-timid Bandicoot:

Tomorrow is a day for washing (my m/c pants are walking around on their own), a long walk, some blogging. Then perhaps the day after I’ll take one of the river cruises to have a look-see.

Plans are just plans, right? I took a cabin to get out of the humidity, charge the devices, do a bit of blogging, get a good night sleep, and then I’d be able to head out early as I’d have less packing to do. D’oh! I still couldn’t get going until about 8am… however – I was ready for the long ride. I wanted to make to Atherton today.

The reason I was late was to take the regulation photo of me dipping my toe into the Gulf of Capenteria (literally)… who can say they’ve done that!?

As mentioned before, I expected single-lane sections of this road… I’d ridden this on Google Streetview as part of my planning and knew what to expect, but I’d hoped the QLD government would continue their upgrades. They hadn’t. The good roads were, well, good roads. The single-lane stuff were absolutely shocking. It’s old bitumen that’s been repaired and repaired, broken edges, rocks everywhere, and horrible loose gravel off the sides. It was lucky, again, no road train cam by.

Other than that, the roads/towns were quite typical country towns. Croydon was especially nice, with a bit of history to it that they’re certainly proud of. (sorry – no photos – camera malfunction).

It was a long hot slog until around 50km west of Atherton then the scenery changed dramatically. Large gum-tree (I think) forests, and then a magnificent windy ride through the hills. I didn’t expect that at all. Making it especially pleasing to end the trip was a drop in temperature from 34 down to 22 in about 100km.

Tomorrow, it’s the Gillies Ranges as recommend by PC from OzSToc…. Can’t wait!

ps. people have noticed that it didn’t take me long to cover this distance (6500km in 2wks)… the purpose of the earlier rides was really just to get to the Daintree (or here) hence the longer rides. Now they’ll be shorter and I get to spend more time in each location.

When I was first planning this trip I had a goal to minimize the amount of travel on the same roads. So, I’d always been keen on traveling to Karumba then east, rather than up and down the cost to the Daintree. I’d done my research and while I was concerned at first for the road between Karumba and Cairns, I had satisfied myself that the road was sealed (although possibly only 1 lane for a bit) from end to end. I had not expected what I experienced on the Cloncurry-Kurumba road.

There were about 10 stretches, totaling around 40km that were single lane. Most of them had a nice hard and flat gravel edge, but some were like the Gibb River Road if I veered off the black stuff. I was lucky that I’d only had to negotiate passing just 1 other vehicle (4WD) on one of these sections – we both slowed to a crawl to pass, then we were fine. I did pass 2 road-trains on a double-lane section in the middle – lucky me.

Adding to the excitement was another encounter with a kangaroo – much larger this time. I didn’t notice it until it was on the road but it was far enough away that I was pretty safe. I’d noticed a lot of road kill on this road. While most likely caused during dawn/dusk, this was a reminder that it can happen anytime:

Here’s the YouTube video of the event: here

Not much further down the road I noticed this thing crossing the road… I’m thinking WTF Is a crocodile doing this far inland and so far from water?!?!?!? As I got closer it turned out to be a Monitor Lizard (I think) around 4’ long. There was no other traffic so I could park the bike on the road right next to it:

Again, here’s YouTube video: here

I arrived at the caravan park in the early afternoon and decided to treat myself to a cabin… it had air conditioning (good for some heat rash I’ve now got on my right foot), wads of electricity to charge the devices, and was insect free throughout the evening.

A couple of dips in the pool, a tour around Karumba for a look, and then back to the park for another swim and dinner:

No swimming here though!

Tomorrow – I head east, stopping just short of Cairns for the night.

The stench didn’t continue as the wind had swung around. However, the dongas/cabins were occupied by road-work crews, who seemed to have an early start… 4:00am for many of them. This included their trucks… parked about 20m away. However, the body clock seems to be adjusting a little and I could get back to the land of nod.

Quick coffee, breaky, pack up, and I was gone by 7:45. South I went.

Back to what I said before: changing scenery keeps it interesting. This was quite boring…. Long stretches of road lined with low trees… you seen them before so no photos of them. The temperature made for quite a pleasant ride though… quickly up to 27, then peaking at 34.

What got my attention is the termite mounds on the sides of the road, with occasional one dressed by passers-by. This was pretty much from Katherine to Three Springs turnoff, and then to Tablelands. Cute. Maybe I should make a shirt deposit before I leave 😊.

The Barkly Homestead Inn is good – a bit old, but clean and tidy. I’m in the bar sipping my new friend: Great Northern Brewing Co.

The trailer is still holding up, but still a concern. I hope to be in Cloncurry tomorrow evening, after stopping in at Mount Isa for some proper repairs. I have a feeling that might take too long and I’ll end up staying the night in Mount Isa instead.

I’d forgotten to mention – on my way from Kunanurra to Lake Argle, a little kangaroo swiped the left rear of my DIY trailer. It kept going, I barely noticed a bump, so I did too given I was just around the corner from finishing for the day.

I woke this morning and noticed one of the brackets holding the left mudguard on had broken – I can only assume the impact had done the damage. So, I got out some cable-ties, and fixed it to the frame again – it would probably do until I found a hardware store in Katherine to replace the bracket properly (I didn’t want to go back to Kunanurra).

While I was attending to that, I noticed “light” coming through the floor of the cargo-pod I used. I emptied it and checked it over and found 4 separate areas of cracks – near where the steel/alloy runners bolt on to the frame. Shite! This could be disastrous! Out came the famous 100mph tape, repaired it as best I could, and also secure tied-down straps around the pod onto the frame.

If this holds out, it’ll be annoying, but I only go into the pod when I setup camp anyway. However, if it doesn’t hold out, then I’ll need to do something drastic. Fingers crossed. I can only imagine that these things are designed for roof-racks 6’ above the ground with cushy modern car suspension underneath – not 1’ above some fairly stiff suspension.

Anyway, due to the temporary repairs, I was late to leave Lake Argyle. First, was a quick ride up to the lookout above the lake:

You’re quickly across the border and into the NT – and a time-zone adjustment. So, it would be later than normal into Katherine.

Scenery was normal – all fascinating. However, my attention was mostly on my left mirror checking to see if I still had a trailer for most of the trip (ps. my temporary right-mirror fell off in the heat ☹ ).

The most notable thing on this leg of the trip though was just how crap the NT roads are. Think corrugated bitumen. Since vibrations were the likely cause of the damage to the pod it made me even more anxious.

About half-way along the trip is Timber Creek sitting alongside the Victoria River below an impressive escarpment. The town itself is rather “meh”, but the surrounds are worth a visit. (wait for the vids)

The heat and humidity set in – 39 for most of the trip, and storm clouds in the distance. So, it was ride, stop, drink, douse, rinse, repeat.

No camping tonight – I’m staying with my brother-in-law’s sister just out of Katherine… and they have air-conditioning. Just as well – a thunderstorm approaches. Camping tonight would not be fun.

Tomorrow I’ll stop in to the local hardware store, grab a new bracket and screws, more magic tape (lots), cable ties, etc. I think I’ve not planned the next few days well. I was originally going to stay in Katherine for 2 days, allowing a nice gorge walk… but in 39c heat with thunderstorms probably isn’t wise. So, I think it’s best that I get the trailer fixed, head off for a shortish ride south tomorrow, perhaps Daly Waters, then shorten the riding each day to Mount Isa.

Thanks to the pub having a live band (being a Friday night), a lot of “locals” came out to play. Not being really aware of my surrounds, it seemed I’d pitched the tent over the fence of what seemed to the main walking thoroughfare from the pub to wherever they lived. The shouting is one thing, language another, but ghetto-blasters at 2am is hard to take… throw in country music, a hot night with no wind and you have a recipe for a poor night’s sleep.
After spending some of it outside in the chair again, I did finally get some Zs – waking at 5:30am. Knowing the next evening would be in Lake Argyle I couldn’t wait, so coffee, breaky, pack, and gone by 7… via the local IGA to stock up on water… then north I went.

Well – I didn’t expect that! As I started out of Newman a few days ago I kinda new what to expect, but this bit I’d never heard anything of before.

The road itself was kinda normal it seems for this neck of the woods – but the scenery – wow! For pretty much the whole trip I found myself winding my way through various mountain ranges, with almost non-stop sweeping bends. As a motorcyclist, it was almost perfect – again, why hadn’t I heard of this before? You’ll see photos here with lots of straights – on the curvy bits … again – not wanting to become a hood ornament for a road train. So – watch for the videos later.

I stopped at Warmun for another break and thought of taking the helicopter flight to the Bungle Bungles. Then, I realised I’d be skinned alive if Ellie found out, so didn’t. I mentioned before that this part of the trip through WA was really just to get to QLD. However, it’s also turning out to be a reconnaissance mission for our anniversary holiday next year. The list of things to do keeps growing.

Kunanurra was also a surprise. I’d never really had any idea as to what it would be like – but pretty, clean, and quite the holiday destination if the 4 or 5 caravan parks is anything to go by. Certainly some of the houses would not be out of place on the riverfront in Perth.

Off to Lake Argyle… only 80-ish kms to go. Again, the ride through the ranges to the lake was spectacular:

On arrival, I thought I’d treat myself to an air-conditioned cabin if available – the only one being the “deluxe” at $359/night. I thought I’d save that until Ellie was with me. So, a tent site it was. First – a swim in the “Infinity Pool”. A bit cloudy with the chlorine – but given the heat I wasn’t complaining. Actually – my complaint was that it was too friggin’ warm! Well, not cold – which is what I was after.

I set up the tent:

…then took Jesse’s Trail (about 10mins down a rough track) to the lake for dip. Absolutely glorious! The hike back up the hill ended with another dip in the pool before an early dinner.

I’ve just had a meal at the pub, sipping a few Great Northern Brewing Co. stubbies, sweating my proverbials off again as I type. I suspect I’ll be outside again, but I do fear the mozzies this time – being so close to water. As I type my tent is surround by frogs (12+), but no mozzies yet – fingers crossed.