Dj & ducatijoolz head north- 2 darwin!

[ducatijim]

Hi all, I finished up seeding over here last tuesday nite, Joolz had been 'in camp' since the sunday and taken over cooking duties from 'the german girl'( much to our enjoyment!). So it was neat to finally ride out the front gate of Ranfurly Pastoral for the last time midday sunday!
We were very lucky all our luggage packing went very well-the use of homemade/designed tank panniers allowed us to take everything plus all camping gear too and have room to spare for the groceries we will need when headed 'outback'!
Did a quick 450km trip up to Kalbarri for the nite...not so warm here now so got on the road again next morning and strove for warmer climes still further north...settled on Monkey Mia.....just had too! Nice place and warm too, only about 400km so got in with time to spare and used it well at the bar!

I must mention here that I have been fooling around with intercoms for a while now-tried some stuff from the dentist-too many wires and problems. Finally bought a Cardo Scala rider teamset while over here. Fitted it into our helmets in an hour and it is FAN-BLOODY-TASTIC! A charge last 2 weeks on standby, the wee travel mains charger tops both units up simultainously in about 3-4 hours. Voice activated so its set and forget at the begining of the ride. Can't speak too highly of it so far.

The Kt then? Well, how does 12km/litre sound? 2-up with our gear...farking terrible eh!!!! And, she is eating the rear tire too:scorp mt90, at 130kph. With that and fuel comsumption I am forced to slow down to the speed limit unfortunatly!! Anyway, 2moro we do only 200km of seal then turn right at the Wooramel r/h and do 400km of gravel out to Mt Augustus Station. Then another 600km the next day thru Tom Price out to Karajini NP.The gravel will slow me down and also reduce tyre wear I hope...its Broome before I can get a replacement now...am right now waiting for a call from bike shop up there confirming just wot they can get in( Hear that Neil....NO 18" tyres in stock either!!:no:)
Other than those 2 complaints, the Kt just eats up the blacktop at 130-140kph with all that stuff( I am sure Joolz has a kitchen sink in there somewhere!!)...just hope it stays that way!
I cannot post pix right now...this dickhead sent his cameras data cable home with the x/s baggage :doh:....I have a plan 4 Bass to post a few pxt's I send if I can wrangle it!
So now I am off 4 a beer and a toastie and watch the bikini clad babes on the beach, watching me tan my love machines fuel tank....b outta touch 4 a few days while gone bush...see yas L8r!!!:Punk:

[Triwi]

DJ
Will be in Alice Springs area 19 - 30 July. What is your route and timing? Look for 990 with 2 into 1 and aux tank. Your 12kpl is scary.
Have a good trip
Triwi

[ducatijim]

Hi Triwi, we will be home milking cows by 19-25 July!!

12km/L is truely shite eh? A piteful KTM tank won't take me far here in real adventure land at that rate!!

It is such a shame that KTM didn't make a great bike while they were at it :-(

[clint640]

Hi Mate, good to hear you're on the road again. Have fun!

To get some pix up you could get a camera shop to dump your memory card onto a CD then upload from that.

Cheers
Clint

[ducatijim]

Hi Mate, good to hear you're on the road again. Have fun!

To get some pix up you could get a camera shop to dump your memory card onto a CD then upload from that.

Cheers
Clint

Great idea Clint, except....I have a 'netbook' not a notebook/laptop.....NO cd here m8!!

I am soooo glad I do adaptable, talk about stuff-ups-you can be sure I will not be getting a call anytime soon from Charlie, Ewan or even Gareth!
We turned onto the real stuff just north of the Wooremal R/H and 200km L8r we proudly turned up in....wait for it....Gasgoyne junction( I know...where?)
It was getting too late to go on to Mt Augustus as planned, another 350km so we bailed there in favour of a cold beer( or 3)
Now this was fortuitious.
I study maps when drinking you see( as all adv riders do,...).
I found that if we get to Mt Augustus, we will not be able to carry enough fuel from there to go either north( Tom Price) or east ( Kumarina then Newman), the only way for us would have been to backtrack to here...shit!
AND.....my rear tyre is really getting thin now!!
So, we did the only thing left and we bailed back to hiway 1 and Canarvon the next morning! After a great cafe brekkie we went round to the local Honda shop and guess wot? I got a new tyre, narrower than stock but it has tread!! Great!!!!:woohoo:
So, back on the road( Hiway 1) and 200km north we divert to the left and after another 250km we arrived in almost tropical Exmouth!! Cold beer. Good showers and a great meal at the pub over the road, wot more could we need( An adventure bike with a REAL fuel tank, not a Coleman fuel cell!!):yes:

Tomorrow we will head right around the peninsular and back to Hiway 1 eventually, just crawling to the next fuel stop even with 3l in cans in our bags. If the progress is good we will try for Tom Price or Paraburdoo tomorrow nite, as a jump-off to go camping in Karajini NP the next nite.

Footnote...the cruise control I fitted is indespensable on the main roads out here; makes cruising at 125-130 an effortless affair and you can wave with the right hand....really freaks the tintops out!!
The Scala rider bluetooth intercom has been fantastic so far; a great bit of kit if you can stand hearing from your pillion!
C U all, not missing NZ at all.:sunny:

[shafty]

Minus 3 Celcuis here this mornin Matey, - ENJOY that climate!

ps Did you mean: Gascoyne junction ?

[clint640]

Minus 3 Celcuis here this mornin Matey, - ENJOY that climate!


Similar @ my place, which means it's much colder in Reporoa, & probably foggy to boot! Is the cow/poodle minder sending you weather updates so you know how lucky you are? :sunny:

I spose we'll just have to wait til you get back for some pix. It was funny on our last trip down south I called into a camera shop in Wanaka & asked if they could dump my cam card onto my memory stick - they said 'no, we can only put it on a CD cos we might get a virus off your memory stick' obviously not the most computer literate people in the world despite having a shop crammed with them.

Cheers
Clint

[TLDV8]

SD card and Memory sticks will plug straight into most Netbooks.

[Highlander]

Cool, DJ on tour again. Well done.

[emaN]

Enjoy!
Amusing to read the distances involved! "after 200km...then after 250km..." How quickly one forgets the joys of long distance bike travel! :)
Don't worry 'bout the cows either man...you're the last thing on their mind!

[Jantar]

Keep the report coming. Great reading.

[Bass]

Quick pic from the DJ's, taken heading in to Exmouth.
Looks like one well loaded 990. Can't quite make out the kitchen sink though.
It's a bit fuzzy cos it's a phone photo for reasons that Jamie explained above.
I had to convert it to jpeg from bitmap as well and I have no idea what that does to the resolution.

The buggers have got me "pining for the fijords" to quote Monty Python.
I still have the packing crate from the last trip and I keep looking at it and at the bike and thinking hmmmmmm...
Then I realise that I have no holidays due and no spare cash either. Ain't reality a bitch when it comes crashing in?

[NordieBoy]

The buggers have got me "pining for the fijords" to quote Monty Python.
I still have the packing crate from the last trip and I keep looking at it and at the bike and thinking hmmmmmm...
Then I realise that I have no holidays due and no spare cash either. Ain't reality a bitch when it comes crashing in?

You're dead?


Reality is overrated.
I won tomorrows cross country race last night.
Tomorrow I won't have a chance.

[Bass]

Another phone pic from the DJ's - campsite in Marble Bar this time.
They seem to have really enjoyed the trip up from Newman through Nullagine.
Having been through there, I have to admit that it's a truly great ride.

Seems that it's a bit warmer this time than when Jamie and I were last through there. He tells me it was 25 when this shot was taken and it was 12 when we were last there - the hottest place in Australia - well, in summer anyway.

[Bass]

You're dead?


I don't think so, but then that was the whole point of the discussion and the major item of contention.

[NordieBoy]

I don't think so, but then that was the whole point of the discussion and the major item of contention.

:2thumbsup

[Bass]

Another blurry pic for you.
Had me puzzled, this one. It shows the DJ's accomodation in Newman and unless they are travelling in circles, then it's for the night before the previous pic.
Took me a while but finally discovered that Telstra actually got the first pic to me 2 days AFTER the second one.
How does that work???

Jamie tells me that they ran out of fuel 13 km short of town. Not a happy lad. Hope he didn't run the fuel pump dry as that could cause more drama further down the line.

[ducatijim]

Minus 3 Celcuis here this mornin Matey, - ENJOY that climate!

ps Did you mean: Gascoyne junction ?

Yeah Pete, I did. Good onya for careing m8!!

Oh, bugger, I forgot where I left off....amuse ur selves awhile while I goes and backtracks......

Ok, got it now, was in Exmouth and planning to do a circumnavigation of the peninsular right? Well, that did not happen:argh:. Got to a think called Yardie creek, in itself no great problem, but it was salt water and the sand approaches left me feeling decidedly unwell!:crazy: So, 120km of backtracking and we were back in Exmouth in time for lunch now! Bugger!

Put the hammer down now, got to Nannutarra roadhouse and it was of the most dubious type,not stayn here we are....so a quick 'splash and dash' and we were away to Tom Price, but will we make it before dark?:Oops:
Checked in at 1 roadside overniter stop but it was a very rocky location so decided to keep the hammer down and try to get in before dark. That went well enough until the seal ran out about 80km short, oh and that was the time the daylite ran out too:Oops:
At first the dirt road was very good ( always a BAD sign....it always gets worse!) and it did. To top it off, I had lowered the Kt's headlite sometime earlier as I did not want to annoy folk with it too high with my load, and we would NEVER ride after dark in Oz, right?:argh:
It was a real good thing the herd of cows(?) saw me before I saw them, they were only 5km out of Tom Price and bedding down on the road for the nite. Found the only digs in town and forked out $161 for a really below average motel room( least they had cold beer in the bar!!)
.................don't worry dear, 2moro can only get better.........................

[NordieBoy]

It's tomorrow here already so hurry up...

Need my "breakfast time RR fix".

[Bass]

More of same but with a variation - Jamie's comments
Pic 1
Shay gap- on shay gap rd between marble bar and boreline rd off northen hiway near sandfire roadhouse. Great ride,stayed @ 80mile beach,great park!

Pic 2
This is the 'marble bar' that town named after-jasper actualy! Met 2 adv ridas here and 1 @ 80mile beach also!

[ducatijim]

......no time to waste on this computer!
2 good things happened 2day-, 1) I got a data cable here in Broome for my camera, and-
2) we spent a memorable hour getting well aquainted with a rather nice 'boy' camel named 'tiny'( same reason a good mate is named tiny back in NZ!!).

Anyways, enough of my fun, down to the 'hardcore' eh?

Tom Price? much like any other mine town...forgettable if you are not the ones earning $60/hr + everything! It did not look any better in daylite-except there was 1 rather large rock called Mt Nameless( u gotta love the Ozzis, right!!) that just begged to be mounted via its '4wd only' track....count us in!
The views from up there would be right back to taranaki( perth?), so after an overpriced and very ordinary breakfast, we load up, fill up and head off in search of 'adventure'( all 500 kilos of us!!). At first the track was plain, then it became,well, ok....then.....it was a little 'interesting'...( the ozzis always plow their tracks/roads right up/down whatever is in their way...a lack of engineers and too much beer has prevented them finding that it is easier to make a road/track follow the contours around and up/down any given obstacle you see....), so off went MrsDj as the going got more interesting...in the name of 'investigation' you know, so I might find if indeed we could get all 500kgs to the top in 1 go.
I couldn't, sorry chaps, I let the side down I have to confess...the kitchen sink was wot scuttled us. The Pirelli Scorp was 'scrabbling' for bite and it was getting steeper when I bailed and made an about turn, and scooped MrsDj up on the way past.....too bad, down but not out, we hoist our skirts and head out to Karajini NP to peer down a few gorges( national pastime here of the older and infirm...and backpackers too).
Typical NP here, the tracks are FAR worse than the roads around the area, but we percivered and made it, albeit a few fillings short, to Oxers lookout where we could be 'economical' Kiwis and take in the meeting of 4 gorges in 1 viewing....wow, thought we had 'christoper coloumbused' a new pastime untill we found 1/2 the population of WA, some of most other states and a few real foriengers too had thought like us...:clap:.
Thats ok, we are doing the real deal here and going to camp in the bloody park...so there you poofters!! Another 60km of washboard riding brings us to Dales gorge( no, never looked) and its campground...oh, my mistake.....read camp-quarry. Rocks for the bloody moon....not for these 2 softies mate.
We rattle our way outta there and set course to Newman where I know a nice campground and bet I can find a feed too.
Fuel....have I mentioned fuel and KTM990's?
Have I mentioned their 'economy'?
Have I also maybe touched upon their 'generous'( In Austria maybe) fuel capacity?
NO?.....well, bloody listen up. 21L in the tank and 3 in cans, ok? Well at about 330km it was all gone, that was ok. The problem was that Newman was still 13km away,that was not so ok,ok! And it was about 430, about an hour till dark. We get the black bugger off the road so as a roadtrain doesn't do me a favour, then I abandon MrsDj and start walking to Newman( I could tell a 'real' good story of great hardship and suffering here now.....but......) only got 200m when a grey nomad did a fast about turn and delivered my good lady 5L of petrol.....it must have been the leg she showed eh?
So we duely made it into yet another mine town on dark and got a bed in an old bus for $60...it looked like shit but was a nice abode really :clap:
I am seriously regretting now my decision not to fit a 40L Safari tank before we set out from Moora, but I had 3 good reasons-
1) nz$2100 + sundries, would buy a whole lotta touring time
2) I really had no facilitys to install it myself and KTM in Perth was 200km away( every day I was on the farm, work or no, cost me rent and board, and now I was also paying for MrsDj to stay in the shithole as well)....and....
3) I had NO desire to have a 40L tank back in NZ, and no reasonable means to get my stock tanks home from Moora....so.....................................

.............I didn't do it.:headbang:

Still, 2moro will be better, right? Tooright mate:clap:........................................ .......................................tbc

[young1]

Great thread, thanks for keeping us updated, in the cold of winter back here I for one am envious!

[ducatijim]

Just like a lizard drinking M8.....bloody flat out here.

Carhnt find time to relax, adventureing is all go over here :soon:

[ducatijim]

......and as we will be 'truely' outback, on the Gibb river road, for the next 4-5 days and out of reach of anything bar HF radio and satfone, I 'spose I should make a wee effort for my adoreing public.....................................

We were well over Newman by morning, just did a quick visit to the radio hill lookout to show D-joolz the town and then we headed north on the gravel thru Nullegine out to Marble bar. At last, we had Darkie in her proper enviroment- good fast hard pack, some bulldust patches but she takes them well considering the loading! Played 'hopscotch' with a roadtrain a few times;we would pass him then a while later while we did nature walks or kodax he would thunder by in a huge cloud of dust!! He was very tolerant of the irritating motorcyclist! Lunch stop at the pub in Nullegine and for half an hour we doubled the population...they looked glum as the little kiwi goldmine motored out of town( I thought I could catch a hint of banjo on the wind.....)
Was a bit sad to hit the seal again at the Ripon hills road about 18km from bustling Marble bar, but it had been a neat ride and good to be covered in red dust again( it is however playing havoc with D-joolz hair...she singlehandedly trys to run each small town we stay in out of their precious water....) Pub was full, had really wanted to stay in the histioric old Ironclad....the motel also was full, and wasn't going to do takeaways either as they were so busy with feeding their own guests....so off down to the van park, it was very nice and had shadey sites, an outdoor kitchen and quite a bit of company, wot more could we want? I relived the pub of a bottle of wine to go with dinner( Beef patties and noodles!), and relived myself against the fence later as a consequence.
Next morning we motored out to see the haleys comet mine, underground tour my map says...$3? yeah right....it was a selling exercise for the woman who crafted some cheap crap to stop herself going nuts out in the desert waiting for the next sucker to come along and pay her $3. If you ever go there, don't bother with the comet mine tour, put the $3 toward a beer in the next town! Did see the 'marble' bar in the river that gave the town the name, just it turned out to be jasper on closer inspection!! While there we met 2 fellow adventurers, on those wee kawasaki things, you know, the klr650 is it? They so reminded my of Bass and I last year with all their gear and even spare tyres too-they had done Perth, to the center, up the middle and then down the west thru the best of the Pilbara and back to perth in due course....they were having fun....brought back some memorys! They did impart 2 very good bits of information thou-
1) the Gibb is prolly the best it has been for a while( That was a week ago now)...and...
2) We should take the track thru Shay gap and out to Boreline rd....I had considered it but with the benefit of previous experience over here decided it prolly would be well cut up. It was great, just like the boys said....real isolated stuff, never saw another person or vehicle along the whole distance( about 150km). Shay Gap, is a gap in the ranges, quite extensive it is too, and once was the site of a mine town, of the same name, which was dismantled and taken away when the mine was dry, just leaving some power poles, and sealed streets....nothing else! Random!
Weighed anchor at a beautiful spot-80 mile beach,off the northern hiway between Pardoo r/h and Sandfire r/h, wow, what a hidden gem this is( just don't swim anywhere along the 80 pristine miles of it- know one knows whats in the water, that is appart from the numerous threadfin salmond that was the reason everyone, bar us 2, where there!)
Met Daryl, a Taffy from Adelaide, on a BMW 1150gsa, who is sponsered by the kiwi brewery that owns xxxx to ride around the continent and take pix of their wares in some unusual places. He was a great guy. Had some fun and shared some fish and beer with each other( don't ask-its a long story who had wot and where it came from.....).
We enjoyed the camp so much that we stayed another day, as did Daryl also, it was kinda catching the laid-back nature of the place and its many 100s of inhabitants. Made some new friends there.
Then, it happend again....you know......IT.
This time at 287km for 21L.......and just 8km short of the next roadhouse.
I AM GETTING WELL OVER KTM!!!!!
But.....I was rescued by a BMW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!( he has 33L and does 20km to each 1 of them!!) Actually, this is a wee lie, you see as Daryl was grinning his way to the roadhouse with a can for me, along came some other folk we befriended at 80 mile and they dumped their 5L in my tank so we passed Daryl coming back the other way with my fuel!!!
Did I mention I am getting tired of the KTM's lack of fuel range......................:stupid:

Broome........

Pix; 2 Djs leaving Farm at Moora at start of trip and 1 Dj hard at it 'planning' in Broome.

[Waihou Thumper]

Did I mention I am getting tired of the KTM's lack of fuel range......................:stupid:

Hey there, liking the report matey, thanks.
Makes the morning cuppa go down well...
I guess when I got the 990A, I really never knew what to think until I went for a few good rides, hard, slow, hilly, flat etc...

Yep, we know about the range, it is a pity.
I did see the fuel cell you can get for the back of the bike. It is much much cheaper than the 40 litre versions and you do have to do the two into one thing with the muffler too.
The guys sell the whole she-bang and apparently it looks okay and some are using it out there for those meandering long rides across Alaska etc...
It fits onto the left side, you lose one of those big heavy cans and away you go....

Hey, enjoy it out there despite the walks at the end of the day with a fuel can...I bet you are constantly looking down at your odometer after 250Km and waiting for a little cough! :shutup:

http://www.justgastanks.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_17_162

You might have already seen this, about $660 give or take with postage from USA, it would give you extended range of 60-70 miles. I know it isn't practicle now though and there is the added price of two new cans on the end. BUT, I guess it is still cheaper than the 40 litre tank which is good but.... as you quoted earlier...etc. $1400 USD for that alone...hmm
For the next big journey, like going to the end of your driveway or checking your boundary back 'ome!

[Bass]

More cellphone pics - from along the Gibb River Road this time

Jamie's comments (relating to when we were there, last year): -

Recognise this? Cockburn range just above pentecost xing. Stayn at home vally station. Standn here right now!

[tri boy]

Go 500km east of Gibb. otherwise your just commuting.:shifty:

[ducatijim]

Go 500km east of Gibb. otherwise your just commuting.:shifty:

Steady Brent, thats the road from Kununarra to Katherine, 2moro's event and in MY book, thats COMMUTING.:woohoo:

The 700km of gravel,dust,corrugations,sand called the Gibb, is NO commute.:sick:

[shafty]

A white white frost about 4mm thick on the cage this mornin J, - ENJOY!

[Bass]

Steady Brent, thats the road from Kununarra to Katherine, 2moro's event and in MY book, thats COMMUTING.:woohoo:

The 700km of gravel,dust,corrugations,sand called the Gibb, is NO commute.:sick:


Was there any water in the Pentecost this time around?

[ducatijim]

Was there any water in the Pentecost this time around?


Fark yes, did all the research, asked all the right questions, hit it at low tide-0630- water was over my knees as I walked Ducatijoolz over!

Must have been over 400 and that made the crossing interestng, but I did not drop it this time!:Oops:

[ducatijim]

Broome, well it was a favorite destination last time i was up here, but nothing stays the same and it was quite good the morning i saw it diminish in my mirrors!
However it did provide a change of scene for a while and a chance to do some important stuff-
Like, I got the local Honda shop( only bike shop) to do an oil change on Darkie, its a hell of a job and to do it myself would have voided the warranty( having anyone except a KTM dealer voids the warranty...so there that goes eh! I was taking it to the nearest dealer, NT motorcycles in Darwin( Bass will remember them), but that would have put another 2-3000km on the already overdue oil....wot do you do?)
They were most accomadating and charged like a near dead bull. But its done and I feel better with an overheating engine under me that I know at least has new oil to cook!!

Did I mention overheating? these things can't stand the heat up here, its around 34' and when crawling along a sand track the fan is howling and the guage climbs....I would never take a bike like this on a real adventure; it would die!( I think Ewan and Charlie did make the best choice...and oh by the way....apparantly they are up here somewheres doing a filming.....) And all that heat...guess where it goes? Yup, right around the legs and crutch-the frame gets so hot it burns the lower leg thru your pants! The other evening I rode solo 6k up the road to look at the Drysdale river, second gear sandy track and the heat was near unbearable around the legs and feet before I had gone 4km!

I digress, we also did a nice wee camel ride along Cable beach 1 evening, it was a great experience actually that both of us really enjoyed; 1 of the better 'tourist' things we have done! All the other tourist traps were booked into July so we kept our cash! I got a new data cable for the camera so I can post pix.....and we went grocery shopping at a proper supermarket to provision for the next leg which has some camping where we will get to do the whole rub-2-boyscouts-together thing!
And, I got a bigger fuel container, I bought a nice 5L plastic jobbie with a spout and a breather, and guess wot? the bonus is it holds 6.5L!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!
I even got stuck in not 1 but 2 traffic jams...yes I know....hard to belive, they don't have our right hand rule here so if you are waiting to turn right onto a major road you can wait a while as no-one has to give way to you, I got so sick of overheating 1 arvo that I just mounted the kerb and went left!!!

The hiway thru to Derby is boring like most of the main road scenery up in WA, had a quick bite and refuelled everything I could find as we were off onto the Gibb River road next and more k's than I care to count to next fuel at Mt Barnett R/H. Well bugger me if its not sealed almost to the Windjana gorge turnoff now...progress! here was a broken 4x4 bus just off the seal...the corrogations had broken an axle.....ha-bloody-ha....its these bastards hooning thru that bugger the road to start with! Camp was like Mt Maunganui at New Years....brimming! I thought we were getting away from it all not bringing it with us?
Pot noodles was ok, but neither of us liked the 'mattress' that nite and we have not used the tent since.....................................Even the crox are overwhelmed with the bloody tourists and refused to show, so this was a bit of disappointment( there was even a 45 seater coach in there for the nite, 1 of 2 we saw on the GRR)
On the track about 7 next morning, 370 km to Drysdale river station today, turned out that 365km of that was severly corrugated! Must give both Darkie and Ducatijoolz top marks here as neither of them had anything fall off or break! Bloody amazing...when we dragged ourselves in thru their front gate, a wee voice comes in my ear ' wonder wot price a donga is?'....being a loooong suffering husband, I was immediatly able to translate that into; 'you better spring for hard digs if you know wots good for you M8', so I did! And scored a nice cold beer for the gesture!
I didn't exactly get off to such a good start with the old boiler manning the counter;
O/B; and how are you today.....
Me; hot tired and dusty, but....
O/B I don't really care!
Me; so, why did you ask?
O/B; I was just being polite..
Me ; so why stop now?
Julie rescued me...whew, or I would still be there! ( we got to just scowling at each other by the end of day 2, good progress I thought!)
We really enjoyed our donga, and cold beers, did I mention they had heaps of cold beers?............................................ .................................................. ...............?

Now this is my kinda place, I don't really know wot it is but it just feels 'right'.
So good in fact that we did 2 nites in their fine donga, had a couple of great home cooked meals( without CHIPS) for a change, took numerous cold beers on board, oh yes. we also did a flight over Mitchell falls in between! Now that was a high lite! 2 hours worth in a Ozzi built GA8 Airvan complete with 2 pilots...felt like royalty! I have to commit ADV riding 'blasphomy' here now and say this beat riding out there for a miserable wee glimpse of a rocky gorge and some trickle running over it....from the air we saw 1/2 of all Oarstruckingfailure( we thought!).
Last time up here we didn't even see the Drysdale river, so I made a special effort and rode down to it just before 'beer-o-clock' and did a couple of fast passes thru the water just to get cool, that was nice but the sand track I followed for a few Km ended up scorching my boots and pant bottoms from the engine heat.

Met a guy and his travel companion( a nice russian beauty!) who turned out to be a bit of a celeb here- he is known as the bush tucker man and does a tv show about wot and where to find wot you can survive on out here ( think Gordon Ramsey crossed with Steve Irwin). Anyway, his wee Landrover freelander had dropped its ( diesel) fuel filter up at the Mitchell plateau 3 days previously- had to send message for help via bush telegraph- and camped at the roadside till it arrived. Now said help was an elderly Isuzu tilt deck all the way from Broome ( 10 hrs solid) that also broke down as it arrived to rescue Norm! They all limped back to Drysdale river( about 150km) where the mechanic was able to 'jerry-rig' the fuel filter on the Isuzu but couldn't fix the Freelander, so at least the truck could now get the Freelander and its camper trailer back to an agent in Broome....bit of a bugger as Les and the Siberian beauty were headed out to Arnham land( opposite direction!).
I guess that may be the attraction of these remote places, the folk you meet and how friendly and outgoing everyone is- you cannot be lonely, unless you chose it so.
We had been told the rest of the Gibb on to Wyndham is much better than wot we had done to get here, only, we did have to do the 60km of corrugated sand back down Kulumburu road to the Gibb.

They were wrong.:Oops:

It was shite all the way!

But picture this- 120km into the mornings ride, we spy a wee sign at the side of the road threatening 'scones with jam and cream' at Ellanbrae station ahead......Really?

Yeah, really.....5km down their rough homestead track we find a bit of an oasis out in the bush....tropical gardens with the most humongous Boab tree centerplace, a nice shadey area and scones with cream and jam!!! Wow.

Made the rest of the trip, another 120km, into Homevalley Station, a breeze!!!( I exagerate!!) ....least we were in a good frame of mind!:scooter:

[tri boy]

I think the bush tucker mans name is Les, (Les Hiddens).
Ex Oz, army. (was on a survival w/end with him in the early 90's).
Nice bloke.
More pics please.

[Bass]

Had some more texts from "Our Man in Oz". Has arranged storage for the bike in Darwin and they fly out 0200 Tuesday - last leg on Emirates A380 as well. I'm looking forward to pumping him for some details when they get back - (probably not a great choice of words there).

[Waihou Thumper]

I think Ewan and Charlie did make the best choice...and oh by the way....apparantly they are up here somewheres doing a filming.....)

Funny you should say that matey, I was watching Wimbledon the other day and Ewan was in the crowd as the camera panned around between games.
He had his arm around some luscious wench...
So, maybe he popped on down before or after...He has enough dough to do anything I suppose...

Nice reading mate and interesting to hear about the great performance of the big Wilderbeast....:eek5:

[ducatijim]

Funny you should say that matey, I was watching Wimbledon the other day and Ewan was in the crowd as the camera panned around between games.:

Yeah, I did wonder if he had better things to do! Bullshit travels faster than bushfire up here!

Was a nice story while it lasted!:Oops:

[ducatijim]

out 0200 Tuesday - last leg on Emirates A380 as well...

Bum steer here m8....Emirates did not want us and from our booking being accepted in Broome, it was not for 4 more days that I found out they had dumped us!

Still on the very same Qantas ex Darwin thou, and climb on another big red for the last hop now!:argh:

[ducatijim]

I think the bush tucker mans name is Les, (Les Hiddens).
Ex Oz, army. (was on a survival w/end with him in the early 90's).
Nice bloke.
More pics please.

Well spotted Kimusabi! ( every bloke over here is either Norm, Les or Mick!)

Spot on re other comments!

I will post up some more pix later 2day once beer-o-clock comes round, off now for more 'hunter/gathering':sweatdrop

[Highlander]

And so another Ozzy adventure draws to an end.

[ducatijim]

Heres a few;

Me choosing a fast camel!

Ducatijoolz being harranged by a faster camel

Im not sure..oh yes, we thought NZ had a nanny state?

Joolz first Boab tree

[ducatijim]

Umm, digs at Drysdale river station

Ummmm...scone stop at Ellendale

Um.....Darkie posing with Cockburn ranges in background, just above the notorious Pentecoste Xing

Uh, just down the track from above at our cheap digs at Home valley station!!

( I think the tent will be staying home next time...these old bodies don't much like stone matresses!!)

[ducatijim]

Just filling in time now till our flight outta Darwin in 6 hours time,0145 local.

Bike serviced. Packed into storage. Done.

Wots that I hear......reality calling?:argh:

Will spend flight writing up some more stories!!!

[Highlander]

Wots that I hear......reality calling?:argh:



Back to the farm in a day or two? Reality will come with a thump. :bash:

[NordieBoy]

Back to the farm in a day or two? Reality will come with a thump. :bash:

Or a moo?

[clint640]

Or a moo?

Or more likely a splatter :crazy: :laugh:

[ducatijim]

12 months ago when I last passed this way, Home valley station was closed for 'renovations', we got to see the results, first hand, of 19 or 90 million $ spent! I have got to say that it is not in the spirit of the Kimberley, not least in my opinion.
Home Valley and 2 other previously abandoned stations; Durack river and Pentecost downs, are all under the ownership of the local indiginous land council, and it is they who have developed this 'resort' right out in the bush!
It is a grand job and a fine training ground for young local tribe folk to learn either station skills or resort skills....don't know where they can take them outside of this area, but i do salute the inisative to help the future of their young folk.
Why do i mention all this, well, to give you the picture that we are not really 'adventuring' here! Just taking a very expensive 'resort' break( take me back to Drysdale!!). Imagine, just 2 km up the track, on the side of the road I am able to get full 3G coverage, good chance to send some txt and pxts, which I make the most of. I took the oppotunity to take the bike round to their workshop where I convinced their mechanic that HE did not want to change my countershaft sprocket, but a couple of tools loaned would allow me to do it myself, so I fitted the 17t back on ready for the 'territory' and 130kph limits!
A couple of days of poolside lounging, nice food and cold beers( did I mention that they also had cold beer?) was not getting us across the Pentecost river, just 9km east of here( I did not have the fuel to even go down and back check it out, thats how fine the consumption/capacity thing was!), my wallet was hemoraging and i was getting itchy feet, so armed with all the knowledge obtained via careful research-that the river was indeed tidal, with full LOW being at 0630ish, and that the crossing was open to ALL VEHICLES, we departed! On the track not long after 6 in the relative cool we head very confidently down to 'Bluey O'Malleys' crossing!
Well,I did not hear D-Joolz expression when we rounded the last corner-because I was swearing loudly into the inside of my helmet( and hers too)- bloody river was well up, not the dribble I was expecting!. Park, switch off, explain that the idea that I had mentioned that she may have to walk, was now a reality, we are both well aware that good crox inhabit this waterway...there is no option girl, follow me. So I lead the way, full of confidence....well I have been here before and survived, how bad could it be? The first 100m was shallow, about 250-300 but very round slippery stones, the size of soccer and rugby balls all mixed up, cover the bottom, then, the last 40-50m it gets above my knees, prolly about 400-450? Thats the most important part of my life safely across, now I have to return to the bike and try to coax her across...all the luggage still on: it is so far across, and so laborious( dangerous too?) that I decide to go for it laden( listening Bass???....I know he will be shaking his head in disbelief). It wasn't pretty, it wasn't fast and I didn't stay dry....but I got over without dropping the sod! I am not sure wether D-Joolz or me was most relived:clap:
Chucked our helmets on and hit the track again, before everyone else gets going and making dust. Too late, 4x4s everywhere on the last 65km of gravel, so we just dig in and motor to Wyndham for brekkie at the bakery. then the croc farm for a close-up lookie, then up the hill to 5 rivers lookout...D-Joolz is looking 'peaky' now...its real hot here-34-35 and still. We have an appointment with a wee plane at Kununurra this arvo so we motor the 110k there without further ado. Arrange digs but now D-Joolz is decidedly 'off'...am lucky enough to be able to postpone the flight until 9 in morning...whew...relax and cold beer!
Now we are a full half day behind my plan to reach Darwin, as the flight while very good and worth doing, puts us back in Kununurra for an early lunch at the roadhouse at 1130. Both feeling fresh and re-hydrated now we go for it, just a few k's east we enter NT and wind the right wrist seriously...130-135 as fuel stops are reasonably spaced for us from now on. With very little traffic and no hold-ups we motor right to Katherine before dark( I don't know wot time it was as I had adjusted my watch the 1/2 hour time change after the border. We got up at 6 next morning and couldn't belive how many were up already...until later when I found out i needed to put another hour on my watch...dumbo:sleep:!!)
Darkie lapt it up!:niceone:
In the pub there that evening, we were approached by a guy and his wife,30ish, who asked if the kt outside was ours....he had just done a fair bit of the Simpson and surrounds on a bmwx650. Had a good ole yarn, compared notes, spread bullshit and had a few cold beers( yup...got them here too!:niceone:).
Dispite our 'late' arrising next morning, with only just over 300km to Darwin we bolt for it( Since Wyndham its all 'transport' stage) so I can get to NT motorcycles before they close and see if they can do my 15000km service( at 19000km!) on Monday before the kt goes into storage.
Service manager says no worries, couple of hours work(?) so have it in by 1300. Im not so sure.
Would you belive it...small world...spoke to a salesman who saw my NZ decal on the bike and asked where in NZ are we from? I always say near Taupo as very few NZers even have heard of Reporoa, so this guy says...where near Taupo? His uncles are a local farmer and businessman we know and he himself had worked there some years ago...unreal!

That is the motorcycle adventure over.:(

I will post my 'summary' of all things used and encountered soon.

[Frodo]

Really great following your stories from the comfort of a lounge chair! Mind you 35 degrees seems tempting compared to the crap we're getting now!

[Bass]

Thanks for that mate. You've got me reminiscing again though.

[ducatijim]

Thanks for that mate. You've got me reminiscing again though.
A 'birdy' we both know, told me that reminsicing may not be all you have on your horizon?:niceone:

[NordieBoy]

A 'birdy' we both know, told me that reminsicing may not be all you have on your horizon?:niceone:

Hallucinations too?

[ducatijim]

3 daze in Darwin. Thats what we allowed to tidy all the loose ends and get on the bird home early tuesday.

At Shadey Glen, all the luggage came off - geeze, look at wots underneath!( when we spread it all out in the donga, I couldn't belive it all was once on that bike!)

While I went waterblasting, D Joolz washed cloths etc like there was no tomorrow.Kt looked a million bux with all the red grime off( well, about $15K?)

Saturday nite we home cooked a meal in our donga, that made a nice change!

Sunday, I took D Joolz on a tourist trip round the traps on our nice shiney new looking KTM, no-one would imagine where we had been and wot we had encountered on this bike over the last month!

Monday, into gear early, territory time!, finalised storage( little choice and pricey- Darwin is expanding rapidly and the infrastructure is under stress?) and got bike in to NT early for the work....great they say, bike before me is at a standstill for parts so will start mine now....remember valve check?
We took the bus into town( about 8km from park) for last minute souvineers and then returned to lay about the pool, happy in the knowledge that all is well in hand!
I didn't want to rush the service so left it until 4-30 before going for the bus out to collect it. Missed that bus by 2 minutes( he was early!), next bus is after NT's closing, no choice- get a taxi!
25 minutes later, still no taxi and missed NEXT bus waiting for the taxi! NT ring-
" we haven't finished ur bike, been a bit busy, shall we keep it and you can collect in morning?"
....'arh....I will be in NZ m8!'
" well, its driveable now but we are closing, so can you collect it tomorrow then?"
....'shit no....I'm flying out to NZ at 0200 in the morning'
?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????
WTF?( I told them this when I dropped it off!)
Second taxi gets me to the shop at 5-30 in rush hour traffic, still someone there, pay up($180...wot kinda service do you get for this money? thats wot it would cost just to remove and replace the fairings alone!!)
Oh well....
I am away, have to make a right turn onto the throbing Stuart hiway( 4 lanes) thru bumper to bumper southbound traffic, guess wot? thats right......I barely put my foot down when they stopped, both southbound lanes, and let me across!:niceone:
Back to Shadey and load the staying luggage aboard, then back to my lockup, lock her away then wait 25 minutes for the bus again! Finished up our beers( cold) and the wine we had carried, washed and final pack, then wait...
.......airport at midnite.
Sydney airport at 0630...
Auckland airport at 1400...

....finished....:weep:

PIX: Shadey Glen clean-up/approach to Kununurra airport/Kununurra/'slumming 'it @ Homevalley!

[ducatijim]

THE SUMMARY;:woohoo:

The trip,
Was it good, was it worth it, would I do it again/recommend it to anyone else?
Yes, it was good, even the second time round to most places for me. It was a huge buzz to show D Joolz some fantastic things and share some unique riding experiences. I just love the ability to cover big distances in short time, and know that you can achieve it- sensible speed limits, low policing levels, very low traffic levels, fantastic climate, top roads all make riding a very different experience to back in NZ.
Most riders complain of the long straight stretches, usually they don’t bother me; I am always aware of the constantly, but subtly changing scenery( bar most of hiway 1 in WA!).
Two big complaints thou-
1) Everywhere is Soooo busy, Ozzis are staying home in droves and going bush, so now ‘going bush’ is not what it sounds like….many bush( unserviced) campsites are full to overflowing before each days end.
I ABSOLUTLY HATE having to listen to the neighbours loud TV with AFL( that’s all ozzis watch/listen to) way into the nite in a nice remote, lonely location!
I could not believe how thickly spread and far and wide the nomads have made it, and they are far from all grey now…oh no, lots of younger couples with KIDS….yuck!
Oh, and bloody ignorant, arrogant European backpackers raping the outback as well.
2) Everyone servicing these travellers are now making an absolute KILLING. Hiway-fuckn-robbery. I don’t blame them, if you are stupid enough to go out there ill prepared then you are going to PAY for it!

I would do it again. I am always learning. Be VERY self sufficient, very. And stay away from popular places( 99% of them are NOT worth seeing anyway), bush camp in remote spots you come across. Done.

The high lites,

Once again for me it was the people we met. Nomads are as a rule very friendly and helpful, quick to engage with us and have no stigma about motorcyclists. Mostly they respected us for the hardship we suffered unlike them( No AFL live!!).
We met 3 fellow motorcycle travellers. Daryl, the ‘taffey’ from Adelaide, on a 1150GSA, sponsored by XXXX on a circumnavigation!! Absolutely TOP bloke! We yarned for hours, shared in his catch of threadfin salmon at 80 mile, he went for gas when we ran out on the Roebuck plains, hope we can catch up when we go thru Adelaide…couldn’t get a nicer bloke. And humble too.
2 younger guys on those little kwakas we met at marble bar, didn’t spend long with them but could tell they were the ‘real deal’, again humble and helpful as well.
The ‘travelling’ motorcyclists? Without exception, every bike that was NOT a loaded up adventure bike, totally ignored us, wether in town or on the hiway, no recognition at all. None. I was even totally ignored by a guy on a R6 parked beside me in an empty parking lot of a camping store in Darwin, I admit I made no attempt to engage him, but he was normal, I was the unusual 1!This was weird, as almost every nomad and most road train drivers would wave to us…a motorcycle! Unreal!

And, flying from Drysdale over Prince Regent sounds and Mitchell falls.

Also, dealing with people in the service sectors who know what SERVICE is( EXCEPTION-most motorcycle shops)…with a smile, like, they actually are happy doing this!

Just riding, and not worrying if tomorrow will be a nice day too!
:done:

[clint640]

1) Everywhere is Soooo busy, Ozzis are staying home in droves and going bush, so now ‘going bush’ is not what it sounds like….many bush( unserviced) campsites are full to overflowing before each days end.


Funny, that's totally different to our experience earlier in the year through NSW, Vic & SA, more often than not we would have bush campsites to ourselves. Most other people seemed to stick to the caravan parks even though they had what looked like kick-ass bush camping setups.

Cheers
Clint

[tri boy]

Its the annual winter pilgrimage north by Vic/NSW grey voters.
They drag caravans to escape the winter.
NT and nth west WA is one big caravan trail from now till early Sept.
Good for the locals economies though.:yes:

[ducatijim]

Its the annual winter pilgrimage north by Vic/NSW grey voters.
They drag caravans to escape the winter.
NT and nth west WA is one big caravan trail from now till early Sept.
Good for the locals economies though.:yes:

Yup, thats it all right!

We found the same last year, no-one in the southern climes but frantic( not as it is this year thou) in the north.

[ducatijim]

Funny, that's totally different to our experience earlier in the year through NSW, Vic & SA,

Cheers
Clint

The differance here being; a) earlier in the year, and, b) nsw,vic & sa not being prime nomad destinations Clint!!!

[ducatijim]

BRICKBATS AND BOUQUETS…

KTM990.…I have probably said more than enough about the short comings of the kt;

Poor fuel range
Very poor fuel consumption
Inability to cool in extreme heat( in spite of replacing mx style rad gard with a ss mesh item)
Snatchy throttle( made the corrugations just that much harder to manage, this in spite of all the mods I have done.)

I should give it some bouquets shouldn’t I?

Geometry, without a doubt, one area where their ’ready to race’ philosophy is a little use; handled all surface types, obstacles and our generous load without a hint of bad manners. 10 outa 10 here KTM.

Suspension, the stock WP units went hand in hand with the above and also performed beyond what I expected. Again, 10 outa 10.

Now, why can’t KTM gel that with the rest of their bike and make something exceptional? This is 1 of the few bikes I have ever owned that is NOT better than the sum of its parts . Sorry you lounge chair ktm adv riders, until you really get out there you just don’t know. Away from ‘challenges‘; a great machine to chew up serious km’s with serious loads in comfort and on time!( just cause it will pop a throttle mono with ease and drift like a ‘70s rally car don’t make it a world leading adv bike).

But, utterly reliable

Starting with a clean slate would I buy a Kt to do this kinda trip again? Most likely. 6.5 outa 10 KTM!:nono:

PIRELLI TYRES……I have always been a Michelin fan, vehemently so!! But, they don’t make the sizes in the style I want to suit 18” rear!( The 18” rear proved to be a handicap- when it was a major reason for choosing the Kt over other 17” shod bikes…..road going 18” tyres were not sitting on shelves where I needed them!)

MT90 rear was a great tyre thou; just couldn’t fault it( except deep sand and I knew better!), I am a convert now! MT21 Ralleycross on the front just went on and on…couldn’t wear it out and it never failed to provide the grip needed, wether in deep sand or barrelling along the blacktop. All I ever did was adjust the pressures according to the surface I was facing and both of these tyres got on with it and made the job very easy indeed. I give these also 10 outta 10!:first:

CARDO SCALA RIDER intercom….. This wee Bluetooth unit was also fantastic! Only charged it twice in nearly 4 weeks- once at the start and again ½ ways. The charger would fit in a jacket pocket and charges BOTH units at once in about 4 hours.
I know most of you serious ‘he-man’ types find the thought of your wife/girlfriend being able to TALK to you while you do your ‘man thing’, positively revolting, however, I chose my wife more carefully than that and as a consequence enjoyed being able to exchange views as we travelled and also in servos! These units were still clear at 140kph, the only limiting factor would be just how noisy you helmet( wife?) is!!
Fantastic when arriving at a town or the likes to be able to both be on the same wavelength(?) about where to next: food/fuel/beer/digs/ lady’s room!! I am generous today, another 10 outta 10 from me!:first:

Well, I think I am finished now, thank god I hear the collective voice………………………………......
Got to get down to planning the next leg; Darwin to the ‘Rock’ via Kakadu, Oodnadatta and Birdsville, Cordillo downs and Innamincka thru Lyndhurst to Adelaide…late Sept and early Oct just before it gets TOO hot, so I better go now and get to the maps……..( as I look out at steady rain in 6`temps)

Thanks for following our tale, hope you found it interesting , funny(?) and informative, we did. Jamie.:clap: