THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES ( the DJ's in Ozzi)

**ducatijim** · 27th October 2009, 08:18

.....wasn't talkn to you mate, its that feather duster over there!!!

A couple of pix from the Montecollina bore along the Strze track. The water is from the great artesian basin, available from the Flinders in the south to Mt Isa in the north. Just bore down 3000m(?) and up she comes - just like the thermal waters we have here in NZ, only without the sulphur smell, its more like kerosene to my nose! No wonder as it is rain that fell on the coastal side of the Queensland ranges some million years ago( about 3 I think?). It is quite amazing really, had been told that rain that falls in the Cape, resurfaces up in PNG.
Who knows what were drinking!( Its too bloody hot to drink right from the bore-need to go downstream a few 100 meters!)

**ducatijim** · 28th October 2009, 11:41

This pic really doesn't do the scene any justice at all, however, this area on the eastern side of the Northern Flinders ranges looked like it was the spawning ground for the dust storms that were sweeping out east.
I am no Jim Hickey(

) but it may have had something to do with the very strong sou-westers the region was experiencing, coming down from the ranges and starting up 'willy-willies' and just generally picking up dust as it goes?
Some of the 'chimneys' looked to be 50m thick and dark like burning tyres-they did not hang around long so getting a fitting pic was never going to be easy.....and I have very little patience!

**ducatijim** · 28th October 2009, 11:50

Clint pointed me to the lovely roads in the Gammon ranges, just north of the Flinders, and they were superb. Then a little further south, the ride from the eastern side of the north Flinders up to the village of Blinman was a scratchers delight-would have loved to ride this section solo unladen( but the beer was just too nice( Coopers green) to drag myself away).

It would be very easy to have a whole adventure in this region-hills, corners, beautiful scenery and great places to camp, a week( or 2?) would go nowhere!

**ducatijim** · 28th October 2009, 11:59

I am sure a couple of folk have looked and read my waffle, and to those who have commented and pm'd....glad you liked it!

Those of you who I have bored senseless....collar me on a ride sometime and I might buy you a beer and explain........................................... .....

Parting shot....these sort of historic old buildings abound on the way down to Adelaide; you could easily see 'old England' in this area.

I'm gone

**clint640** · 28th October 2009, 14:23

Mmmm... Coopers green... we sucked back a fair bit of that while in SA

You can get it at New World in Rotorua cheaper than ya can buy it in Oz

Good stuff, the Flinders / Gammon Ranges area on it's own would certainly make a great Oz adv moto trip for a traveller with only a week or 2 holiday - hire a bike in Adelaide & head North to experience a real variety of roads & scenery.

Cheers
Clint

**ducatijim** · 28th October 2009, 16:49

Originally Posted by clint640

Mmmm... Coopers green... we sucked back a fair bit of that while in SA

You can get it at New World in Rotorua cheaper than ya can buy it in Oz

Good stuff, the Flinders / Gammon Ranges area on it's own would certainly make a great Oz adv moto trip for a traveller with only a week or 2 holiday - hire a bike in Adelaide & head North to experience a real variety of roads & scenery.

Cheers
Clint

Man you are Sooooo right on both these counts Clint!

A 2 week hire/ride Flinders-Gammon area would be a great introduction to the thrills of the big island without a huge komitment of time and resources.

Now, when can I get to NW Rotorua?

**NordieBoy** · 28th October 2009, 21:10

Soooo...

You'd probably be sick of gravel and dust by now?

**ducatijim** · 29th October 2009, 09:14

Originally Posted by NordieBoy

Soooo...

You'd probably be sick of gravel and dust by now?

Yes, to some degree. For the first time in my travels over here, by the time we reached Innaminkca I wanted just to go home!
Had done 1600km straight of dirt, most of it hard to harder( loaded as we were) and that combined with the weather problems I was indeed feeling stressed and sick of forever running out of fuel on these long legs- I knew sooner or later luck would turn against us and we would have a bad outcome if it were to continue!
And yet had another 500km of dirt and another fuel issue just to get the bloody hell outta there

But, as they say, if it doesn't kill you it only makes you stronger! ( or as another brave female pillion we met in Inna says....'harden the fuck up'!)

This is the last time we will actively seek out dirt roads to travel, laden, over here. Our final legs will be mostly a sealed 'adventure';from Perth around the bottom and up to Brizzy next June.

I will return, DR650 mounted, to do more dirt sometime in the future

Maybe with companions?