Perth to Margaret River.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.