Bolt Around OZ

Lakes Entrance to Thredbo

2010-11-05T04:55:00.000-07:00

While Bob and Sandy walked up to Mt Kosciusko, Bruce,Doris,Rick and Donna went on the bob sled.

Two Jerks attacking the others, most of the time unsuccesfully.

Some of the riders after the shave.

Bob and Donna do the laps of Cooma.

Riders assemble at Nimitabel.

The four girl riders dress up,all did a great job riding around the country.

The Support crew.

Some cross dressers.

Inspector Clouseau.

The Final Day.
403kms to Thredbo,We had a dress up night on the last night and some good outfits were on show.
Neal (Inspector Clouseau, most everyone had nick names )and I left early so that we could get to Bombala and regroup the riders as they came in. Another regroup was planned for Nimitabel where we where met by a police escort for the run into Cooma and then on to Thredbo.
They closed the main street in Cooma for a while so that all the riders could have a parade and then pull up in the street and do a few interviews and TV coverage.
Then on to Thredbo, we had the film crew filming out of the back of the van as we were driving along. We did this coming out of Nimitabel and then going on to Thredbo.
All riders arrived safely and were presented with commemorative medals to signify the great achievments of all the riders and support crew.
Drinks all round.
When we had stopped in Cooma in the main street, it was quite an emotional time for all once with hugs and kisses all round and also some had family come to visit and join them for the trip to Thredbo.

D & B ~ Had nice blat up through Cann River to Bombala stopped for a coffee & regroup. Some of the group visited with Tony, the rider who broke his leg near Fitzroy Crossing up north. Off again with a final blat to Nimitabel to meet up with the police escort.
The police set a good pace & we were in Cooma in no time. We entered the main street to a rousing reception by the crowd assembled of family, friends, fellow bikers, local dignitaries and film crews. Kristin, Cameron and Naomi had made the trip to welcome us home so tears and cuddles for all.
My dear friend Dene (fellow postie challenge participant), Trish & Marilyn were also in there to show support, thanks girls!
Then on to Thredbo where the temp was 6 degrees , lucky Donna had her heated jacket which she had been wearing since Border Village SA!
Rode into Thredbo with more fanfare, Steven Walter's mum Sue was pillion on the lead bike going up and his dad Phil was one of our reliable support crew.
We had made it, 15000km in 35 days. Time to celebrate!with a beer or two.

Lorne to lakes Entrance

2010-11-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

Ferry Terminal

Tyre shop that fixed the tyre for free, gave him a Around Australia Cap and lot of thanks.

Adam , one of the riders who was on KTM (one of the Adventure Twins) and had a bad spill, a few broken ribs etc.

General ferry shot.

Only 445kms, but I had to find a tyre shop to fix a flat tyre on the van. On the way we called in and saw Mark and Cate Hunter from Spot On Lasers, who made B and D coffee. After a short chat Cate took me to the tyre shop at Drysdale where they fixed the tyre for free after he saw the stickers on the van and I explained what we were doing. Many thanks Dale. After that I made my way to the Queenscliff to Sorrento Ferry, only to find out that I had missed the 10 o'clock ferry that most of the Riders had caught. Time to kill an hour. Got of the ferry and took the scenic route around the coast then up to the freeway and on to Lakes Entrance.
Was a long day and didn't get to take any shots of Lakes Entrance, which is a pity because it is a very picturesque place.
On arrival to Lakes Entrance everyone had come to the realisation that this was the last night. With a bit of a fancy dress organised for dinner it was time to catch up with the riders who were camping and normally stayed apart from us.
They are really nice people.
D & B ~ Hard to believe that 70 people from all walks of life can get on so well, none of us wanted the adventure to end. We hope to renew these friendships in the future.
The riders had an eventful day with the GPS, after missing a turn the recalculation took us on a dirt road ( Donna's favourite) and had us bamboozled for a short time.
We ended up in Koo-wee-rup at a organic cafe for lunch & right across the road was an op shop for our evenings attire, 3 outfits for $9 what a bargain!
After deciding that our time for sight seeing was fast running out we made a move to get to Lakes Entrance by a more direct route and headed up to the Princess FWY. Once on the freeway and keeping a steady pace we came over a rise to see a familiar white van ahead of us in the distance, even though he was on the ferry an hour after us. It never ceased to suprise us that no matter what time we left that van would always catch us.

Mt Gambier to Lorne

2010-11-05T00:02:00.001-07:00

Jetty at Beach Point?

Blue lake at Mt Gambier, which is their water supply.

Great Ocean Road.

12 apostles or what is left of them.Is it 7 left??, or 6 1/2.

Cray Fisherman weighing their catch,they were a bit cagey about how much it was worth.

Mt Gambier to Lorne, 400kms,
Went to Portland, Port Fairy and then along the Great Ocean Road,and then on to Lorne.
The views along the GOR are spectacular.
The road is fun to drive along in the van as I had no passengers, and I could fling it around the corners,and then stop and fix up all the wine cases that had slipped around.
From Donna & Bob~ One of the highlights was Rebecca's bakery @ Port Fairy were Donna had the best ever Caramel slice, 6cm high x 7cm square - mmmmmm... coffee was good too.
We stopped at some of the viewing spots along GOR and assembled for an aerial shot from the film crew that had rented one of the sight seeing helicopters to video most everyone heading out from the 12 Apostles car park. Once we had traveled in a group for around 3 minutes we went back to normal speed and went "hunting" for the GOR then to Lorne. Through the Ottoways, great bike roads & beautiful scenery, the Ducati W.....s had a blast!
Had drinks & dinner at the pub and bade a final farewell to 'Clint & Kylie' who were finishing thier tour in Melb, a great couple whom we shared many laughs with. Hope to catch up with them in the future.

Lyndoch Hill to Mt Gambier

2010-11-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

The Blue Lake which has water fed by pushing up through the water table.

The Coorong

The entrance to Lyndoch Hill.

Pink Lake.

450kms ride along the coast and past the Coorong. The Coorong and Murray Lakes region in South Australia is a vast unspoiled ecosystem comprised of freshwater lakes, wetlands, ocean beach and saltwater.
Also went past the pink lakes as well, which is coloured by Beta Carotene, which is found in carrots.
Mount Gambier was totally different to what was expected. We had always assumed it had been a very industrial town but to everyones surprise it was extremley nice and well laid out. A place that would be well worth a revisit. It also has the "Blue Lake" and a bunch of "Sinkholes" (not stinkholes, I think they got rid of them).

Port Augusta to Lyndoch Hill ( Barossa Valley)

2010-10-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

This is the Chateau Barossa that is in the grounds of Lyndoch Hill Retreat where we stayed.Unfortunatly for us we didn't have time to check it out but from all accounts it was a spectacular both inside & out.

This short 307 km day started a bit wet, but soon cleared up to cool and overcast day. We stopped a couple of times and then headed to Peter Cherrys place for lunch time BBQ.
Peter is one of the riders on the trip and he kindly opened up his home for all the 50 odd riders and some guys from the local Gold Wing club. We also had a auction for a signed T shirt , a paintball experience, a bike wash from Andrew ( one of the support crew) which went for about $800.00, also a couple of wine packs. I was bidding on the T shirt and at $500.00 I put my hand up to raise the stakes and not knowing exactly what to do, the auctioneer asked me how much and I said what ever it takes, so he said $1,000 dollars and The T shirt was promptly mine. All the money goes to the foundation, which is such a good cause.
There was a engraved glass Plaque of the Around Australia Ride logo which a member of the local Gold Wing Club had donated as a raffle prize. The auctioneer Tony , also one of the riders, won the raffle and promptly offered it up to auction. Bidding was fierce and it finally sold for $3,000 dollars. There was lumps in the throats all round as the guy who donated it is still going through Chemo etc.(it is an insidious disease )
After that we booked into the motel at Lyndoch Hill, which has new owners about a year ago, they are trying to make the gardens one of the top ten gardens in the world .and currently have a breed of Rose from each Country in the World. I think that she said there was about 30,000 roses in the garden, it is quite spectacular, even though they are still bringing the gardens back to life after years of neglect.
The above 2 photos are of some of the garden.
Donna & Bob did their usual Wine Tour to end all tours loading the bike with a case on the rack plus 2 in the hand. As we rode the bike on this one there was no tasting we bought by name not taste, such as Duck Duck Goose, Seize The Day & Outlaw just to name a few.
You will have to wait till we get home to give us a rating...........

The Resort offered up an auction for a weekend and was sold for $2500 which was then given to Phil (Stevens Dad) and Alan (one of the organisers of the Snowy Ride) as an appreciation for their efforts. when the Resort saw it was for 2 couples they added the extra room and meals to round it out. Mandy & Mark are great people and highly recommend you stay there if you are over that way.

Ceduna to Port Augusta

2010-10-31T23:04:00.000-07:00

Woke up to a 470km day which started with rain pelting down and near gale force winds.
Bob and Donna counted about 73 trucks and Road Trains on the way to Port Augusta. Rained off and on all the way there and riders were getting blown around all day.
It was worse when you saw a Road Train coming for you as when they went pass the spray made seeing very difficult, even in the van with the wipers on, so I can imagine it being far worse on a bike.Don't think we stopped for to many photos as It was a case of getting from A to B.

Border Village to Ceduna

2010-10-31T22:45:00.000-07:00

A view from The Head Of Bight as it is known, some serious erosion is happening here.

Look closley, there are a couple of heads but no bite.....

Bobby with Rob the Viking originally from Sweeden with his wife Rovena on one of the lookouts at the Bight. Rob also is a Harley rider & rose grower much to everyones surprise, so now he is also called Rosebud & Petal.

494kms to Ceduna, stopped about 13kms out of Border Village to look at the Great Australian Bight, tried to take some photos but card was full, I think that Bob got some. Then it was on to Head of Bight, to try and see some whales but we were about one week to late.It was the end of the season but the views were spectacular.
Arrived At Ceduna and booked into the motel, with security fencing.
We were booked in at the bowling club around the corner for tea.All the cooking staff were volunteers, as in unpaid.
We had a great tea and then they raffled of some oyster trays, which were appreciated by all who won them. they also donated I think about $300.00 to the appeal.Some stayers then had a big night and took on the locals in a pool comp, which they won, the locals were looking on the dark side of things if you know what I mean.
I don't think that the riders were expecting what mother nature had in store for them the next day.

Balladonia to Border Village

2010-10-28T01:04:00.001-07:00

Storm at Border Village, just as we had arrived, has cleared up now into a nice afternoon.

View from Madura look out.

Royal Flying Doctor Service airstrip on highway, I think that there are a few of these on the nullabor.

A distance of 537kms from Balladonia to Border vilage.
Had a passenger today who ended driving all the way so that gave me a break,it
was nice to have some company. We are trying to organise a photo shoot at the bight tomorrow about 13kms out of town.
Will get up early and set up the video camera to get them arriving and shoot some footage while they are there.
Just finished tea,and it was great,some of the best food has been at these roadhouses,maybe not that fancy,but plenty of it and tasty.
494kms tomorrow,and I think some rain is forecast,so it may slow us down a bit.
plus we will try and go to the head of the bight,might even see some whales, even though it is at the end of the season. Yeehah have actually caught up on the blog.

Esperance to Balladonia

2010-10-28T00:58:00.000-07:00

Dried lake full of salt.

Rain Ahead.

the main street of Norseman where fashion is a big thing & hamburgers are better.

Balladonia motel, pretty dam good actually, great meals.

Before the dust storm and then it rained.

Les "muscles" Rides a gold wing with trailer and camps every night.Nice guy.

Mark on left and Wes on right, king of the one liners.

Esperance to Baladonia, a road house where bits of the space shuttle landed near by.
Had a easy drive and then the clouds built up and had a dust storm and then it rained.Gusty hot winds on the ride in.
Not much to report as no one had any dramas.
Bob & Donna stopped at Norseman (home of Norseman Gold) for lunch. had the usual hamburger and there could be a lot of places at home that could take a few pointers from the majority of small towns on how to cook one.
Yep hot & gusty, those winds were!
At around 5.00 there was a huge dust storm followed by lightening then a large dump of rain to settle everything.
This worked out well for the next day as it was cooler in the morning.

Albany to Esperance

2010-10-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

TuTu and Y fronts.

A nickel mine that BHP owned but couldn't make it work so they sold it to the Canadians. I think they spent about 2$billion dollars on getting the mine going and sold it for about $100 million.

Another bit of wildlife.

Stirling Ranges

Old Dutch style windmill.

Observatory Island, two French ships took refuge at this island, one was called the Esperance and FK what the other one was called in 1792.

Grain Train.

Super Donna.

Esperance,Bay of Isles.

What a gorgeous coastline, beautiful blue waters & white beaches.Another place on the list to revisit. Found some great coffee, so we had 2 each.
WA has great roads, in good condition, some a little too straight!

Margaret River toAlbany

2010-10-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

Tall trees walk, up to 38 metres above the ground.

Very friendly birds.

Some tourists that I found to take photos of,German I think.

Rick and Donna in tree trunk,trees are big here.

Donna climbing Gloucester Tree

Bobby doing the same.

View from Top .

Puffing Billy ( Donna )

View down from tree, bloody high.

Trip from Margaret River to Albany was short, so most riders went to the Gloucester Tree at Pemberton and the on to the Tall trees walk away's down the road.Then on to Albany where we booked in and did some sight seeing.Riders who do some thing dumb or out of the ordinary get to wear a TuTu or Y fronts, depending on Gender, male get the TuTu and females get the Y fronts.You may recognise one in the following blog.

The riders are enjoying the riding and loving being on the road every day.
Albany has some lovely old buildings and a magnificent war monument on top of the hill, definitely some where to revisit.

Perth to Margaret River.

2010-10-26T04:45:00.000-07:00

At the end of the wine tour.

About 11.00am, half shot already, could be a long day for the skipper.

Bob made some friends at the last winery, the larger puppy was rescued from the pound where it had been badly beaten by the last owner, in very good hands now and very friendly.

Near pass out stage.

This tiger moth is owned by the Edwards winery folk, it was flown solo from England to Australa by the late Brian Edwards to raise money for charity.

After a few weeks away Bob and the Lama were exchanging glances

Who could this leader be???????

Hi All,

Only 290kms to Margaret River, most riders went in different directions as the day was short and there is plenty to see on the way down to wine country. Bob, Donna, Bill and Doris headed down the coast road, while I went down the highway. I arrived in Margaret River and went downtown to sus out a place for tea.Ended up going to Winos for tea,was OK. Bob was talking to someone downtown and the local council are trying to get the local shop keepers to lift their game and give better service.The area has a big tourist input and when the locals figure it out then they will make a motsa.Next day was the big wine tour.Over here the designated driver is called the skipper, no prize for guessing whom that was.

Geraldton to Scarborough/ Perth

2010-10-26T03:03:00.000-07:00

Guess who's got a new Jacket.

Hi All,

Rick here again,

A leisurely 430kms trip to Scarborough,a suburb of Perth. The temperature had dropped about 10 degrees when we left after some hot days previously, well and truly heading south. Once we arrived, a lot of bikes were booked in for new tyres and a service, Bob's and Donna's were no exception. Both got tyres and a service. Donna also saw a new leather Ducati Jacket that she had to have, being $600.00, a real bargain. I think that she said she would pay me back some day soon now.After we booked the bikes in then we went to the SunMoon Motel, where we had a two bedroom villa,which we shared with Dicko.After a walk along the beach we went to a seafood restaurant where the two drinkers demolished a bottle of "miles from nowhere" white wine.A very apt name considering the amount of miles that we .have done.Next day Donna and Rick went into town while Dicko had some "me time".Tried to find some jewellery for Donna, but to no avail.Then we went up to Kings Park for a walk and look around,very scenic up there.For tea we went to Bill Burns place for tea. Bill was on the Postie Challenge with Donna and they have kept in touch ever since.Our thanks to Bill and Doris for tea and they are going to travel down to Margaret River with us in the Morning. Bill has a BMW touring bike.Didn't take to many photos in Perth

Carnarvon to Geraldton

2010-10-23T18:12:00.001-07:00

A couple of the roadhouse that we seem to frequent, most of the time they are really friendly and some even donate to the cause.

Above is Phil Walter, Steven's dad, a really nice guy and he always has some touching comments about his son, as they had been to a lot of the places that we are visiting. He also has a great sense of humour.

Above is a look out a few kms out of Wooramal. A great view, and as usual photos don't do this justice.

Hi all,

Only 480kms to Geraldton,

riders got a fuel discount at Wooramel roadhouse and the guy at Billabong roadhouse gave us $200.00.

Today the Geraldton Police had organised a BBQ for us at lunch, so we had to be there by 1.00pm. We gave a gold donation for the snags and drinks, and to our surprise they gave us a Chq for $530.00, they had been fundraising for some time. We also bought a Police Stubby Cooler, which had on it "catching crooks,waves and rays".
We all thought that was a good slogan to have.
Geraldton is a nice place,and at the moment we are in Albany, so if I can get some pictures to download in the next few days you should see some nice piccies from Margaret River and down to Albany. The South west of WA has a lot to offer and you could spend a lot of time here.I am going to try to find out why the photos are slow to download, as it is pissing me off as I spend hours trying to get the blogs done.
I might have to take up drinking again!!!!!!!!!!!,as the other two are doing right now.

Port hedland to Carnarvon

2010-10-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

Me Again,

The longest ride to date 870kms & 38 degrees,Bloody Hot!Like riding in a fan force oven. The riders had many stops to rehydrate & wet down their riding gear. Definitely the toughest day so far, due to the heat. Donna was off the bike as soon as they hit the motel & in the pool to lower her body temp. Thats 5 times in the pool in 10 days, more than the last 20 years!
Didn't stop for to many photos,as It was a case of getting to where your going,however one of the stops was at Roebourne, a small town with an old jail house.
As it is a few days since we did this section, it has become a bit of a blur to remember exactly what happens.It is a great experience, but time is so short wherever you go, because you get to town refuel, get ice, book into the motel, have a shower and think about tea.After tea and a long day most people are in bed at 9-10pm.
We definately need to fly to Darwin, and go to Kakadu , Katherine and then explore the Kimberlys on the way back to Broome.probably down the Gibb River Road.

I was going to send more photos,but the internet is so slow here, so as we did not stop for to much sight seeing, and there is not much to report this is it for now.

Broome to Port Hedland

2010-10-18T03:50:00.000-07:00

Salt stockpile at Port Hedland.

Ion Ore "scooper upper"

Old mining trucks.

Camels at Cable Beach at sunset.

Rob and Lea, from Vic, real genuine nice people who are also on the ride.

Hi All,

The road from Broome to Port Hedland was uninspiring,630kms, most riders left early and arrived at about 1.30pm to 2pm.we are staying at Hamilton Motel which is owned by Fortescue Metals, so Twiggy is putting us up,you have to sign a disclaimer as you book in as the Motel is used mainly for miners.Bob heard a miner say "you work like a dog and get fed like one",this didn't sound good, however we don't know what he was complaining about.
I think that we are the last private citizens to be allowed to stay.There is a strict noise curfew and you can't bring alcohol into the restaurant, also no singlets ( men or women ) They have a menu in the restaurant,which is quite nice and varied, probably one of the best motel feeds that I have had so far.
breakfast starts at 4.30 am so that will be good for the riders as we have the biggest day yet 870kms.
Have had to put another bike in the van, as the back tyre was worn out, will have a passenger to at least Geraldton.

The film crew gave me a small camera to take some interviews and some action footage.As a camera man I make a good bolt salesman. At least I am behind the camera as I have a good head for radio.

I know that we are getting behind on these blogs, but time is limited as we are trying to go and see various attractions as well.

Fitzroy Crossing to Broome

2010-10-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

Adam testing the waters for a crossing to Geikie Gorge

Heaps of cars drive onto the sand just before the sunset

Sunset at Cable Beach at Broome.

Two Jerks pondering.

Sunset.

Only 400kms today to Broome, Stopped at Willare Bridge Road house for lunch, Just a small place. Not much happened today as everyone wanted to get to Broome for a well earned rest.Staying at Mangrove Beach Resort, Bloody luxury I can tell you.
Washed Van today and did some laundry. that red dust gets everywhere and keeps coming back. went to Cable beach for the sunset, pretty spectacular.Another rest day tomorrow (Sunday)and then on Monday we have a 613km to Port Headland followed by a 870km day to Carnarvon. That will be a Long day for the riders and support crew alike, as we have another roadside refuelling stop.If the weather is cool it will be ok, but a scorcher could be a real headache for all. Rick

Started this day with a mass rideout for the cameras and had a plan to visit Geikie Gorge 20km out of FC but overnight rain had made the low level crossing impassable even for the Adventure Twins. See Adam checking the flow of the water. The water comes and goes real quick up here.
Only a 400 km ride today so we could take time for photos - more boabs! Temps were in the mid 30's, I'm becoming accustomed to the heat. Our intercoms are on the blink so I have pulled out the Ipod and Dickos ears are having a rest. Hopefully we can get them working before our 870km day.

Two days in Broome relaxing, a bit of retail therapy & as many good double shot skinny flat whites as I can stock up on as real coffee is pretty scarce out here!
Took the double decker bus tour around Broome on friday afternoon, got the low down on local history.
We have taken some great sunset shots on Cable Beach and tonight had dinner at the Sunset Bar & Grill. Having an early night as we have a 5.30am start tomorrow. Donna

Kununurra to Fitzroy Crossing

2010-10-16T03:33:00.000-07:00

The Boab tree, my favourite!
Stopped many times today to take photos, search for number plates & Micks helmet mounted video camera. We were last in today,it was dark but captured another beautiful sunset on the way!
The Kimberleys are breathtakingly beautiful, the roads are fanatstic, good surfaces and endless sweepers. Had more rain and a slippery incident to add to Dicko's entertainment.

Warmun Roadhouse (originally Turkey Creek) our first fuel for the day and a toasted sandwich.

With all the unseasonal rain we crossed a few swollen rivers, I found a rare wood fish, picture is at the end.

Accomodation in Fitzroy crossing, some salubrious, ours wasn't but we are getting used to that.

I need to stop wearing the hi-viz, they think that I am a Road worker and get accomodation that suits that.Actually apart from being a bit cramped it was OK.
Funny thing was that in the restaurant you couldn't wear rubber thongs, but dressy thongs were OK ( this is in Fitzroy Crossing not some flash restaurant )

Very scarce and endangered Wood Fish.

Day started with getting a new trailer tyre $155.00, do you think that they saw me coming. But it is what it is,after that we were behind all the bikes, but caught up with the Dukes of Ducatis, looking for Donnas number plate and rego label that had vibrated off.Couldn't find it so we kept going, nearly hit a Cow on the road, but all was good.
Got a Satellite phone call from Rachel, one of the other support crew to say that a rider was down with a suspected broken leg, so we put the foot down and arrived to help out and load the bike on the trailer, plus the film crew got some footage and interviewed the casualty, as suspected the Fibia and Tibia was in two pieces. Jack the Paramedic who is traveling with us stabilised the rider until the ambo arrived.
He will be airlifted to Darwin, but want's to rejoin the ride in one of the support vehicles,We will see what happens with that.with all the rain, the shoulders of the road are very soft, and all he did was go off on the dirt,sank down a bit and basically fell over.
Apart from that all riders arrived safely after 650kms.

Mataranka to Kununurra

2010-10-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

Arriving at Timber Creek for one of our fuel stops.

A shot of Bobs communal shower & he still lives.

Ord River downstream from dam, simply a must see.

Lake Argyle and Ord dam, bloody huge,don't know if it being used to its full potential.

Have had some rain at Victoria River as evidenced by the driveway, however the owner donated $50.00.was a nice guy too.

Of Course we all do what we read.

Where's Wally, The lengths the film crew will go to get some great footage,it was a fair climb in the heat.

I took this with Dickos long distance lens, a water fall after some heavy rain.

Had a blow out on the trailer, don't know where the rest of the tyre is,was just the beads left.Didn't even feel it, was told by one of the bike guys that it was missing.
Another 620k day,Into Western Australia Now.

From the Riders -

arrived at Mataranka with around 33 deg afternoon.
looking for a nice shower & some airconditioned bar to relax.
never the less it was not to be. limited units with air and a place called the Dorm (new word for prison)which was last renovated after WWII.
Some softies took one look and moved onto Katherine.
Being we are all on an adventure we unloaded our gear and headed to the thermal pool at the edge of the motel.
Everyone had the same idea and with 30 million litres coming out each day and 34 deg constant it was fantastic.
A 2 day stop to relax and think about the 620 k trip to Kununurra.
Next morning headed off to Kununurra for the next leg of our adventure.
Luckily we put our wet weather gear on before leaving as once again the rain beat down on us.
On arrival at Katherine it was 104ks it was time for breaky at the Coffee Club & Donna needed her 4 shots of coffee before heading off.
This was another of the days we had a roadside stop to give the riders a break and a fuel top up for the ones who only have smaller tanks.
Again lots of rain and water up to the edge of the road which was closed the night we got there and in some cases flowing across the road. it's unbelievable the amount of rain that can fall and then disappear.
Anyhow rain nearly all the way to Kununurra the beginning of the Boab Tree.

Tennant Creek to Mataranka

2010-10-16T01:04:00.000-07:00

The Larrimah Hotel, the highest pub in NT.

The Mail is still a little slow here.

The Daly Waters Pub was a welcome relief for everyone. This is a must see place.

If you thought that I sat in the van all day then you be pleased to know that I am also capable of saving precious flora and fauna from bushfire. This one started about 1 kilometre from a service station.
Stuart and I saved the day ( he is a member of the RFS )Truth be known it might have burnt it self out any how, but it was getting a bit windy so we did the right thing.
please note my safety fire fighting foot wear.

The film crew and I headed out early from Tennant Creek to catch some bikes heading out.
Had lunch at Daly Waters, a pub full of character, a must see if you get the chance,
also stopped at Larimah Hotel, has a small zoo there.
All bikes arrived safely at Mataranka Homestead and most people went down the thermal springs for a refreshing dip

From the Riders -
For those who are Seinfeld Fans we have renamed some of the roads the Seinfeld highway (highway "about nothing").
you really need to get to the little communities along the side of the road and explore there history & stories.
On this leg we refueled at a town called Elliot (not Alice), grabbed a toasted sandwich and cuppa then the guy there says lucky you weren't here 2 days ago as they topped 46 deg out the back of there shop, **ck.
Anyhow off we went to Mataranka.

Mt Isa To Tenant Creek.

2010-10-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

Above Heckel and Jeckel.

Mt Isa sign showing great Mt Isa people.

Mt Isa Mine Dominates the landscape.

Welcome to the Northern Territory

Other Support crew(Andrew, Phil, Alan & Rachel).

Okay Mt Isa to Tennant Creek,a distance of 660kms. Started out cool and pleasant but ended up HOT. A dry & dusty town, red dust everywhere! We found out what the initials NT stand for ( not today, not tomorrow but next Tuesday ), they take a while to do things.
Had the first bike on the trailer today for a flat tyre, only a temporary setback. One of the BMWs had an overfilled rear end which was causing it to leak, so we drained it and put the correct amount of fluid back in, problem fixed!
Tenant Creek has a population of only 3,500 people but had 40 Police. The police ask to get transferred up here for a 2 year stint on about double pay, but I dare say that they earn it. A lot of the indigenous just walk up and down the street aimlessly.Quite sad really but no one seems to know the answer, Alcholol and Porn are definately two major problems.
Met some interesting locals in the pub, one locals claim to fame being the best hamburgers in NT according to the Today Show.
We also met the man responsible for the roads in NT and told him what a great job he had done.
A lot of the indigenous one just walk up and down the street aimlessly. Quite sad really but no one seems to know the answer, Alcholol and Porn are definately two major problems.

From the riders -
The day started out darker than usual with the thought of rain in every ones mind.
sure enough it wasn't long before we had our first lot for the day.
after our first stop at Camooweal everyone had taken off their wet weather gear only to put it back on oround 1/2 hour down the road.
while we were putting on our gear a Road Train passed us which we thought nothing of until 10 minutes later when it was pissing down and we were behind him with no viasbility with over 100 wheels on the truck spraying a shit load of water behind them.
The truck blinked us to pass and when we did, pulling alongside we were blind and couldn't see past the front of the truch which are 53 meters long.
after that we settled into a nice pace on the 130kmh speed limit till we got to Tennant Creek.
Also if you are wondering the fuel ranges form $1.70 to $1.98 / litre.

cheers
Bob & Donna

2010-10-13T05:49:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Due to erratic internet connections out here in the boonies, I will try to update you all when we get to Broome in a couple of days time. Right now we are in Kununurra in WA.Tommorrow we go to Fitzroy crossing, but the weather forecast is not great, with some possible road closures due to the unseasonal rain that they have had here. one highlight today was when we saw Lake Argyle and the Ord dam. part of the Ord River Scheme. Very impressive.Blew a trailer tyre today, so we are off to the tyre shop in the morning. Am starting to get the hang of the camera, so the shots should be getting better.Great bunch of people on this ride, all the support crew are great and I still have the film crew with me which is great,as we get to stop along the way to film video and take some stills.Unfortunately they head home at Broome and do not hook back up until Adelaide,which will be a bit quiet for me although they are threating to leave a camera with me to continue on shooting footage.Every hour of footage that they take, they only use about one minute, so for a 30 minute doco they need about 30 hours of footage.Last night we stayed at the Mataranka Homestead, where they filmed "We of the Never Never " staring Angela Punch Magregor.

Anyway I will talk to later.

Cheers Rick.

Richmond to Mt Isa

2010-10-09T03:47:00.000-07:00

Bob and Donna with Clint Eastwood.( even his wife calls him that )

At Julias Creek coffee shop ( good coffee )Proprieters Julie from Canberra, Husband Ken from Batemans Bay, and daughter Julia from Batemans Bay.
Postie Challenge went through the day before on the way to Darwin, lucky that it did otherwise Donna may have changed bikes and went on that.

line up of bikes leaving Richmond

Road Runner Road House and Coyote Motel, Is that Chicken little filling up her Bike.
I say I say Miss Prissy I think it is.

Road from Richmond to Cloncurry was flat and boring (read Tiring),however the trip on to Mt Isa was a lot better, with some different landscape to see.As soon as you come down the hill into Mt Isa the Mt Isa mine complex dominates the landscape.Lead zinc and copper are mined there.

Once again Qlds finest were out in force.

On to Tennant Creek tomorrow, a big day of about 660 Kilometres, with a
fuel stop about 135ks out of Camooweal, which will be serviced by the support crew, for those bikes that need it.

The biggest bonus is that the weather has been really mild so that makes it easy for the riders.

any way cheers from Rickety Split.

Townsville to Richmond

2010-10-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

The Esky is at the Richmond Pub, ready for a big night tonight.
Richmond Rissole is about to go off.

Hello here from Bob.
thought it should be my turn to give Ricky a rest from the blog.
Today was really the start of the adventure for every one. As you can see we have made it to Richmond and to the most important part of the town.
When we got to the pub wearing our ride t-shirts some of locals couldn't wait to buy a shirt & cap. you'll see one of them in the photos and he was happy as rhino in mud.

This is where we had lunch today.
toasted ham & tomato plus a plate of chips, with a bottomless cup of tea to top it off.
All things said it was pretty tasty.
We only realised today that it's coming up to a week now since we left home. we can't remember what day it is though.

One of the pleased as punch locals proudly displaying the T-Shirt & cap he bought.

Just to show how tough it can be on the road this is my place for the night.

Pictures above are of the Burdiken River and the Flood tide marks.If you click on the image,it will come up in size and you should be able to read the marks.The trip today was only 500 Kilometres,although it took us about 8 and 1/2 hours, as we stop on a regular basis to catch up on the riders and do interviews and so on.
I will endeavour to hone up on my photography and blog skills to bring you some better quality photos and text.
On the way here we stopped for some road works, the Stop/Go Guy was like a Sergeant Major in the Army, He was very precise in his actions and you got the feeling that if you didn't obey then you weren't going anywhere. this brought on howls of laughter in the van.

2010-10-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
Rick here again, had an easy day from Mackay to Townsville,only 393ks.All bike riders appreciated the short day, most arrived by mid afternoon and escaped the heat by using the pools and washing the "dust" down with a few cool ales.
Bob and Donna ventured into Bowen to get a closer look at the ocean and had breakfast at Food Freaks, sounds appropriate for that pair.
Emily from the film crew went as pillion on a Gold Wing and got some good footage.
Stuart and I were cruising along when we saw a dirt road on the right with a development sign pointing to land near the sea. We drove down about 2ks and came to a dead end except for a long drive way heading up the hill, which led to a nice looking house.We couldn't see much from where we were so we decided to go up to the house and ask if we could film around it. Much to our surprise the house overlooked Bowen harbour and had about 160 degrees of views.It would have to be the best view from a private house that I have ever seen. I took some photos but they dont do it justice.We also took some cane harvesting photos.

I guess that you think it is all about me, well I am the one stuck in the motel room while the other two are drinking flat whites and living it up.
How many favours do I owe these two????.
Anyway the real adventure for the riders will begin tomorrow when we start heading west when it gets hot and dry, plus the roads are hard on tyres. we have four days to get to Mataranka. Days of 500 kilometres, 407ks, 660ks and 574ks. this will sort out the men from the boys, and the women from the girls.
Oh oh, I here them coming up the stairs.

FROM Donna's 'pen'
I am having a ball, the riding, the country side, the new bike, the crew, its all great. We have had 4 nights of seafood, stocking up on our omega 3's before we head west and have a choice of steak or steak on the menu!
This morning I had the boys up at 6am to climb Castle Hill (google that) a killer hill with amazing views of the Townsville area.

Mackay

2010-10-06T04:39:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Rick teamed up with the film crew today for some more action shots, a really nice couple, Emily and Stuart.They are very creative and go to great lengths to make sure that all shots are different and to make the DVD a first class production.
Bob and Donna headed off in the wrong direction ( jerks ), I saw them come back and I had a small chuckle to myself.After some diligent riding, they soon caught up to the pack.After a quick fill up at Rockhampton they headed off to Malborough (looking for the man )
Queenslands finest were out in force, making sure that everyone was behaving themselves on the road.
With a top of 34 degrees, the riders were getting hot under the collar.Then on to Mackay, a distance of 233ks with no overtaking lanes.
Went to the Mackay Marina for dinner, looked at some massive Boats, had some Reef Fish and salad.While Big Bob had a Steak.

monday 4th October

2010-10-04T03:50:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Bundaberg, all safe and sound. Rick had the film crew in with him today,taking stills and video footage. Had the camera guy hanging out the windows and back door( all very safe!!! )Had a few stops along the way to catch bikes coming and going.Bob and Donna left from the Tenterfield railway museum where they had a group photo. Both enjoyed themselves but it was hot at times. Bob and Donna gave interviews for both the film crew and local channel 7 news.News coverage has been positive with different riders giving interviews at Toowoomba and Bundaberg.I think that the group as a whole has raised over $200,000 dollars and climbing.

Cheers Rick.

Another Milestone!

2010-09-27T00:18:00.000-07:00

We have reached the $20,000 mark, with an online 'Everyday Hero' total of $20,203.20, plus another $2000 donated offline in cheques. with only 5 more sleeps, things are ramping up, trial packings of the bikes; Dicko is lock and loaded while Donna is sacrificing "essentials" such as 5 weeks worth of clothes, shoes and of course, her knitting. Rick is adamant that she has to carry everything she needs on the bike, as to prevent the van becoming a 'wardrobe on wheels'.

here is how the bikes look fully packed;

Just a reminder, we are still taking donations so go to our Everyday Heroes website on this link

Team Specfast Everyday Hero

19 sleeps

2010-09-13T00:15:00.000-07:00

As our trip approaches, the excitement is building. Right now we are ironing out the last few details, such as the bluetooth headsets for the riders Donna and Bob, as well as the Van Man Rick sussing out the support crew details and plans, not to mention filling the van up with Donna's entire wardrorbe and vanity for the 35 day trip.

Where are we going? I hear you ask (Click picture to enlarge)

Leaving Canberra (A) on the 2nd of October, we will be heading to Tamworth NSW for an overnight stop then onto Tenterfield(B) to meet the whole crew on sunday with a dinner & briefing sunday night. after 35 days, we will end up at the Snowy Ride in Thredbo (C)

Thise is the list of places we will be staying at;

Tenterfield, NSW
Bundaberg, QLD
Mackay, QLD
Townsville, QLD (2 nights)
Richmond, QLD
Mount Isa, QLD
Tennant Creek, NT
Mataranka, NT (2 nights)
Kununurra, NT
Fitzroy Crossing, WA
Broome, WA (3 nights)
Port Headland, WA
Carnarvon, WA
Geraldton, WA
Scarbrough, WA (2 nights – bike servicing)
Margaret River, WA (2 nights)
Albany, WA
Esperance, WA
Balladonia, WA
Border Village, WA
Ceduna, SA
Port Augusta, SA
Lyndoch Hill, SA (2 nights)
Mount Gambier, SA
Lorne, Vic
Lakes Entrance, VIC
Thredbo, NSW

As for the fundraising side of things, we have managed to raise over $15000 so far from our chocolate fundraising, raffles and online donations. You can still make a donation by going to our 'Everyday Hero' fundraising page at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/Team_SpecFast .