Denham - Quad Bike Riding

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30-10-09 Up & packed up & left the girls in the van (not happy as everything packed ready to go & we went & left them) & down at the info centre to get our permit for Fowlers Camp. The day was sunny & not as windy today, about 26deg. We were at the Quad Bikes by 9.45am & we got set up with helmets & goggles, not a good look but who cares. By the time I got the helmet off after 3 hours I would be having a bad hair day too. I was a little nervous when he started to explain how to start, brake, not to run into anything (excuse me I am an oldie & BLONDE too). There were 4 bikes plus the guide. Den & I had a bike to ourselves & there were 2 other couples sharing bikes. I was the only woman driver & I was the one to go off first. After nearly wetting myself (I did not kangaroo the bike though Marg) I got the hang of it & did well. We first went on the highway & turned off & went to Little Lagoon & went over sandy dunes rough tracks , round corners & down around the lagoon. We stopped every once in a while & the guide would explain the history of the area & it was very informative. We then crossed the highway & went past the Camel Farm, Wind Turbines & the south end of Perrin National Park. Then he said hang on , it would get a bit dusty as he was going to wind the bikes out & go up beside the highway to south of Denham & we would be going at about 4o kms. So when he wound the bikes out I got to 60 & that was enough for me I could not see for the dust & Den got to 80 , I lagged behind a bit as I was the slowest. By this time you should have seen the girl passengers, they were covered in dust & when one lady took off her glasses all you could see were two white spots & a dirty face. We were all laughing. After that we went on a track beside the road & ended up doing about 55 kph which was fast enough for me. I had to stand up on the bike to stop it hurting my back, but I was having a great time & you could not wipe the smile off Dens face. He then took us to a lookout where you could see the sharks swimming in the ocean & explained how special the area was Heritage wise & all the work that was being done to eradicate feral animals. We then went down this steep hill & onto the beach & saw the Black Reef Sharks swimming in the water & then rode down the beach & then back up the hill. We then went bush & then down the steepest - cliff- when I went over the edge I thought well I cant stop now. I made it though. We headed back to town & this terrain was pretty rough & windy & I lagged a little behind, I went round the corner & Shit they were all stopped, I put my brake on & could not stop & gently ran into the back of another couple. We all could not stop laughing, no damage done, just to my pride. Back to the beach & 3 hours of having a great time & it did not even seem that long. We thanked the guy & headed back to pick up our van & the girls were very excited to see us, we had not forgotten them.

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