Wed 2nd of September 2009 Sydney to Los Angeles to San Diego The big-bellied beast with the small round legs has lumbered of the tarmac at Kingsford Smith airport and the ding of 10,000 feet tells me it is time to bring this tale to a close. We are burning a gallon of fuel a second and it just occurred to me that this piece of narrative is worth about 2,700 gallons, or close to the typical lifetime mileage equivalent of a car, an American car anyway. Is this relevant? Not in the least, but I love the statistics that go [View Full Entry]

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Tue 1st of September 2009 Sydney I have always liked Sydney since the first time I visited with my parents in the late sixties. Over the years I have been back many times and yes the hustle and bustle has increased, but in some way the serenity bought by the bay has kept everything in check. And let us not forget it is one of the most beautiful harbor settings in the world. I took the train in from the airport and found a hybrid of the London Underground and the New York Subway - double decker train cars not reminiscent [View Full Entry]

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Mon 31st of August 2009 Perth This was a day for old and dear friends. First it was saying goodbye to the motorcycle at Boyz with Toyz. Not a name that instills confidence when ones life is on the line in the outback, but as you have learnt one must not judge by name alone. Brian (not Bruce as I had earlier suggested) looked at the back tire and said 5,000k. Apparently he could tell how far I had ridden based on tread wear relative to the new tire I had set of with. Smart guy, but the important thing is [View Full Entry]

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Sun 30th of August 2009 Busselton to Perth ~ 200km After a flat white (coffee) at the café on the water where I had dinner the night before, and more importantly free internet so that I can keep you informed, I hit the road for the last time. There was certainly sadness about this, but as you will see later there is also the joy that goes with the desire to return to this wonderful country, particularly to areas of harsh outback beauty such as the Kimberley Ranges in NE of WA which I have yet to see. The ride up [View Full Entry]

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Sat 29th of August 2009 Pinjarra to Bussleton via the Kauri Forest ~ 250km As you know by now Australia is a land of contrast. I was struck yet again by this as I was showering this morning in a motel room in a new establishment. The contrast has to do with ablutions. Even the smallest town in Australia has clean and stocked public toilets. Yet when it comes to plumbing it is something different - a hangover from a colonial past. Even though the mother country (UK) has managed to move on plumbing-wise, Australia still hangs on. Australia has yet [View Full Entry]

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Fri 28th of August 2009 Carnamah to Pinjarra ~ 350km The thing about travelling is you always have good and bad days. In the future, when thinking back on the trip, you only remember the good days and the bad days serve no other purpose than to make the good days seem even better. Today was one of those bad days. It started well enough. I had spent a comfortable, smell free night in a cabin in the Carnamah caravan park. The cabin was meant to sleep four. It had an expansive, except for a sofa and TV, empty living room. [View Full Entry]

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Thu 27th of August 2009 Meekatharra to Carnamah via Cue, Mt. Magnet, Mullewa and Mingenew ~ 700km Okay the smell did not kill me and hence this is a day or carnage and wild flowers. I know, I know, this is a country of contrasts. The smell may not have killed me, but I had my worse nights sleep yet. With a bad smell your olfactory senses make some adjustment, and like white noise, you don’t notice it after a long exposure. With a really bad smell, you smell it all the time since those same senses are telling you to [View Full Entry]

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Wed 25th of August 2009 Newman to Meekatharra ~ 450km Today is a day about very large trucks and philosophy. Hey Australia is a place of contrasts so this seems reasonable. I realize when I awoke at 7:40 am, really late for me, it was because I was in a place of zero noise. I was in a wing of the Newman Hotel dedicated to backpackers, but I guess I was the only one in twenty rooms or so. Never saw another soul. Had the rec. room all to myself with endless supplies of those packets of instant coffee (I crave [View Full Entry]

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Tue 25th of August 2009 Man and Machine It is time to say a little more about the motorcycling experience. If you are not into bikes you might want to skip this one. I have been with the bike for a week now and as you motor along in the middle of nowhere you appreciate the continual hum of that engine. This is far from a Zen like experience, which is almost laughable to read these days from a motor cycle maintenance perspective. Prisig worried constantly about tappets, slack in the chain etc. reminds me of my experience with a BSA [View Full Entry]

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Tue 25th of August 2009 Port Hedland to Newman via Karijini National Park ~ 500km After two nights in Port Hedland, in a way I cannot explain, I felt like I was leaving a place I had been in much longer. Maybe I have this desire to live in places of heavy industry, which would explain the attachment to Sheffield UK, the former steel capital of the UK, where I spent two years. The Great Northern Road to the Auski Roadhouse from Port Hedland was 250km and pretty much the typical arid country for this part of the world. While enjoying [View Full Entry]

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