12-14th February, 2013:
It was off to Cape Leveque today,
which is situated around 200 km’s north of Broome. For the first time this trip
though, I had someone to ride with! Sean decided to get his Yamaha WR450F out
and come for a blast north with me. First though, we needed to get his bike
ready and do some basic maintenance before we set off. Once it all organised
and ready to go, Sean was able to guide me through some backtracks before we
got onto the main roads. Thankfully, the tar didn't last for too long and we
were on the light sandy roads that have a hard packed underlying surface. This
trip was also the first for the new Metzeler tyres that had been fitted a few
days earlier. Thankfully I packed the bike light and left the majority of my
gear back in Broome, because the tyres made the ride quite a handful until I
got used to the new, crappy handling characteristics that the more road
orientated tyres had caused. Since Sean’s bike only had an 8 litre tank, we
refilled around halfway whilst there was still light. Though it wasn't too long
before we were in the dark which made navigation and choice of lines a little
more difficult, which may also be the reason why we ended up at ‘One Arm
Point’, on the eastern side rather than the North West. Not to worry though, we
spun around and found the turn off that we had accidently passed. Unfortunately
though, the road to Cape Leveque has far deeper sand than the main road, and
with headlights being the only guide we struggled to handle the tracks. With a
bit of persistence though (and myself dropping the bike a few times) we made it
there around 9 pm and organised a hut right on the coastal edge to shelter us
for the night.
It wasn’t until morning that I
got to view the coastline of Cape Leveque, which is quite spectacular. Sean and
I decided to walk around the headland on low tide to the shop to grab some
breaky and a cold drink before we had to put ourselves on the bike and through
the sand again. With a good meal and a quick dip in off the cape we re-geared
and jumped on the bikes. I think we can put our poor riding the night before
down to the lack of light, because today there were no such dramas! We stopped
in at Beagle Bay to check out the ‘Sacred Heart’ Church which has an interior
littered with polished pearl shells, making it a truly unique church. Here, we
also intended to refill our fuel tanks, but it turned out there were pump
problems or a lack of fuel, or something anyways. Though I thought I could have
made it back, we still had to divide the fuel into Sean’s bike which uses
roughly the same as mine… it would be very close! To play it safe, Sean got
hold of Simone and asked her to meet us along the road back with some fuel to
get us home. I think we must have made it around 50km’s from Broome before we
came across Simone, who along with the fuel had a few cold beverages for us too
(Thanks!). Anyways, long story short, we refuelled and made it back to Broome
in time for the Sunset where I managed a quick ride on Cable beach and the
chance to capture some great pics.
On Thursday I planned to say
goodbye and begin my journey south along the Western Australian coastline. But
first, the bike needed a wash and some basic maintenance. Unfortunately, whilst
trying to clean connections to the speedometer (which had decided to become a
temperamental piece of s#&t) the headlight fell and stripped the wires from
the low beam HID bulb. With a lack of replacements here in Broome, Sean managed
to hard wire it back in and seal up the connections. Due to the late hour it
was decided another night would be spent in Broome, along with another sunset
and beers on Cable Beach!
Again, I am extremely grateful to
Sean, Sarah, their mother and Simone for having me stay for those few nights,
and providing me with a great feed both nights!
Cape Leveque
The Sacred Heart Church alter
Cable Beach Sunset
15th – 17th of February, 2013:
On the Friday I Left for port
hedland, simply to go to the post office where I hoped to get a couple of
packages (a replacement towel and a new backpack). Unfortunately only the towel
had arrived at that point, but rather than stick around I had the mail
redirected and continued on 50km’s to stay at a 24hr rest site. Unfortunately
there is nothing really exciting to say, just a boring ride down the highway in
the heat really.
The following day I hoped to make
it into Millstream/Chichester National Park, or even to Karijini, but not
before checking our ‘Red Dog’ country… that is Dampier and Karatha. With that
done, some food supplies were sorted and a permit to ride on the Rio-Tinto road
I made for the national parks. Given the road was graded only a week or two
prior, it was in pretty good nick. Once around 100km’s in, the landscape become
quite spectacular. With rolling green hills on one side and the raw rusty rock
outcrops on the other. I made it into Millstream/Chichester NP without any
trouble and went for a quick dip in ‘Python Pool’. Simultaneously though, a
number of smaller storm systems were releasing rain in the distance. It wasn’t
long before the clouds become to come closer and began converging on my
position, so I made for a camp ground in the National Park. Due to the numerous
floodways that already had a bit of water over them, the ever increasingly
frequent and loud thunder, and the convoy of mine vehicles exciting the now
large storm and heading back for town I thought it would be wise to do the
same. It was either that or head directly into the storm and risk being flooded
in… or worse, struck by lightning. Unfortunately I knew that the caravan parks
were going to charge a small fortune like any mining based area, so I headed
for a dingy caravan park in Dampier, which still cost $20 to stick up my tent!
The storm and rain never made it
to the coastline thankfully, but I knew the roads to Karijini were going to be
a struggle, so I set off early in the morning to assess the damage. I made it
around 160km’s in before coming to a long flooded section with mine vehicles
stranded on the opposite side. After walking through half of it (which would
have been possible to cross) I came to a fast flowing section which had
apparently cause a mine 4X4 to become bogged, with water flowing onto the
bonnet! So that was a no go, and I cut across around 50m through the bush onto
the road that runs parallel to the railway. The crossing here was far shorter
and shallower, but after speaking to some workers that had travelled from the
south there was no use continuing on. So that’s 600km’s, 30 litres of fuel, and
a day and a half wasted. With nothing more to give I regrettably had to bypass
Karijini, as well as the chance to replicate Mark and Sanne’s iconic photo from
near Tom Price.
I travelled along the highway
towards Exmouth, but ended up staying at a 24hr rest site (Barradale, a few
hundred K’s from Exmouth). After passing a number of smaller storm systems (in
close proximity) I should have known better than to stop here. Despite this I
did, and to really risk it, I was lazy and didn’t peg or tie the tent down. It
wasn’t until midnight that the storm hit… and bloody hell, it was a hell of a
storm. It began with insanely strong wind that forced the red Pilbara sands
inside, covering me, my mattress and other gear in it. Whilst leaning up
against the left side of the tent that was copping the full force, attempting
to keep it from completely folding over, the intensely heavy and icy-cold rain
began. It wasn’t long before I found myself re-enacting the storm scene from
‘The Truman Show’ whilst envisaging some vengeful or wicked puppet master having some fun at my expense! The storm really played the part well, too. Soon I was
drenched with my tent now resembling a little kiddies pool. I told myself that
once the storm had passed, I would go lie on the bench outside until morning…
But never assume that the storm is over. After a short lull, it returned with
an only slightly decreased ferocity and determination to completely ruin my
spirit. Again it was gone, and I at least had the sense (only because of regret
and hindsight) to tie the tent down. The air was freezing now outside so I
retreated back to my warm kiddies pool to lie in until morning.
Not too far south of Karatha
Python Pool
The outer edge of the storm that sent me back!
18th – 19th of February, 2013:
I can’t say it was the most
restful or comfortable sleep I’ve had, but I managed a couple of hours of shut
eye. In the morning I discovered that the rest stop was trying to compete for
the title of the most fly populated region of Australia, coming a very close
second to Cammoweal. Because of this, the flies kept me occupied after laying
my things out to dry. Eventually though, I was back on the bike, and so excited
to get to a beach in Exmouth to wash off and relax! It was once again a very
hot day, and after grabbing a feed and hiring some snorkelling gear I headed
for Turquoise Bay to enjoy the clear waters and fringing reefs. The waters are
quite beautiful and scenic, but this far north, you can hardly say the waters
are refreshing, being so warm. Despite this, it was great to stretch out off
the bike and use some different muscle groups for once!
After swimming for a few hours, I
headed down to Osprey bay to set up camp. The skies were fairly clear, though
the distance clouds made me a little nervous… especially after the previous
night’s experience! I wasn’t game to risk it again, so I went to town with
every rope and rock I could use and find.
Luckily, the tent wasn’t
challenged and I actually had a great night’s sleep. After looking at the
remaining time I had left for the trip, as well as the bank balance, I’ve decided
that I really need to get a move on. With the new tyres not allowing a great
deal of ‘adventure’ riding here in Western Australia, I decided it will be one
night stays would be allocated everywhere but the city, and maybe Esperance.
Today however, I decided the bike was due for an oil change, or more honestly I
wanted to lose a couple of kilos of baggage (being the excess oil). I found a
workshop that allowed me to drain and dispose of the old stuff and following
that sweat-sesh, I refuelled and headed to ‘Holeshot’ canyon on the way out of
Exmouth. It was only a short ride, not even a 30km’s return trip, where afterwards
I had a quick dip at the beach before making headway towards Point Quabba. I
ended up getting there late in the arvo, only an hour or two before sunset. I’m
really getting tired of backtracking these roads (especially after the efforts
to get to Karijini). Because of this I stayed at ‘the blowholes’ which is
essentially a tiny shack village that becomes populated during, well, other times
of the year. The beach, whilst having cooler water was clogged with sea-weed
and challenged you with shore breakers… It was therefore just a quick swim then
before setting up camp!
Osprey Bay
Turquoise Bay
Exmouth Lighthouse
Osprey Bay Camp
Holeshot Canyon
Point Quabba Lighthouse
Whalebone Bay Camp
20th - 23nd of February, 2013:
Today I headed for Denham. With
the weather still blisteringly hot I was again excited for a swim in the not so
refreshing waters of the North-West… any water is better than nothing though.
After organising some water in a town that relies on desalination and a couple
of bites to eat I chose to check out Monkey Mia before coming back and setting
up camp. Upon arrival I was greeted with an $8 dollar entrance fee. Given I was
only planning on going for a dip (and that no dolphin feeding was occurring in
the afternoon) I said ‘bugger that’ and spun around. Only a few hundred metres
on my return trip I saw what I though was a relatively hard-packed track
leading down to the beach. Being the bargain hunter I am, and extremely sweaty
I turned off the sealed road and before I knew it I was down the embankment and
stuck around 30m from the beach in deep, soft, powdery sand. It was at
precisely this point that not only did I realise I should have coughed up those
few dollars, but much worse, that I was very much like my old man… memories of
him getting us lost in the Gloucester Buckets (mountains back home) for an
entire day after removing ourselves from the beaten track began to re-emerge.
After a quick (free) dip, I unloaded the bike completely, dropped the tyres
pressures and struggled to just turn the bike around. I soon realised that no
amount of momentum was going to get me back up the hill, so I resorted to
getting the bike onto the shore of the beach. After much struggle, and losing
both soles of my motorbike boots, it was there and loaded up. The next
challenge was finding a place to get back to the main road… the only option
being the Monkey Mia beach resort that I had so ‘sneakily’ avoided.
Nevertheless, I made my way down, much to the amusement, but mostly disgust of
the paying beach goer and resort guest. I managed to coax a fella to help me
lift the bike up onto the resort footpath, where I flew out of the resort like
a bat outa hell. Luckily, I wasn’t caught or charged the $8 either! Ya see, you
don’t have to pay these stupid little fee’s… you just have to put yourself
through some physical and mental anguish instead. It makes the reward that much
greater anyways ;)
After passing through Denham, I
set up camp in Whalebone Bay, around 25km’s outside of the township. For the
first time since the painful storm, I didn’t bother with the tent’s fly, and
let the breeze cool me down for the night. I figured it was a pretty safe bet
with the town on desalinated water and all.
The risk payed off, and after a
restful sleep I packed and set off for Kalbarri. Again, not the most
interesting ride and with my new rules being “No sand riding” and “No
unscheduled or non-researched detours” it was main road all the way. I had a
quick look at the Ross-Graham gorge, though they haven’t received much rain out
this way, so the river was intermittent, and water therefore still. It was so
damn hot though I didn’t care, and dunked myself up to the neck, in the only
slightly green tinged water. Despite the slimy subsurface, the water smelt
alright anyways. After re-gearing I set off for ‘The Loop’ and ‘Natures
Window’. The road to these spots is unsealed, a bit sandy and in some spots
quite corrugated. The lack of grip sent the bike all over the place, and I
really couldn’t be buggered playing around with tyre pressures in the heat, so
I decided I’d turn around and head straight to Kalbarri. Before I could though,
I had a bit of an encounter with a mid-sized roo who bolted straight into my
side. Fortunately, I kept the bike up right, and after a bit of a roll the roo
was up and away too.
After checking out the visitor
centre in the Kalbarri township, a fellow motorcyclist rode by and after a
double-take turned back to have a chat. As it turned out ‘Tyson’ was planning a
little adventure from here to Estonia aboard his KTM Enduro 690R. Graciously,
he offered me a place to stay for a night or two. Tyson is also quite the
photographer, and a part of his trip is based on a sponsorship and buy-in sort
of deal. To check it out head to:
I have to thank Tyson and the
Cable family for letting me stay, the great meals, and also the chance to wash
my smelly motorbike gear and clothes!
On the Saturday, I left Kalbarri
and decided to check out ‘The Pinnacles’ before finding a place to camp. It’s a
fairly good ride from Kalbarri to Geraldton, with some windy roads and nice
landscapes. Though I didn’t stop to look at the coastal sites of Kalbarri
National park, I think that the Pinnacles more than made up for it. It really
looks out of place compared to the surrounding environment, almost artificial.
After an hour or so there I left, and made it all the way to Lancelin where I
finally found a caravan park with reasonable rates! For the first time this
trip, I can honestly say it was a cold ride, and an even colder night. I also
think it’s only the third or fourth time I have actually used my sleeping bag!
Ross-Graham gorge
The Pinnacles
'Desert View'
24th to the 25th of February, 2013:
Because of the drop in
temperature, I think I had the best and most restful sleep so far… in the tent
that is. To go along with the cooler weather, today I set off for the short
ride to Perth. Upon word from my brother, a free concert was being held down on
Fremantle esplanade, with artists such as Ballpark music, Missy Higgins and
best of all, the John Butler Trio. Unfortunately, due to delays and an endless
supply of emotional hippy propaganda the trio didn’t get on stage until after
5pm, just as I set off. The traffic was grid-locked because of the event, and
it took me ages to get out and back towards the airport where I’d meet up with
my brother Mark whom had just flown in for his next mining shift.
Whilst catching up with Mark was
short and even shorter for my brother Scott whom I surprised early in the
morning (as he too set off for the flight to the mines), it’s always good to
see a familiar face on this trip. I spent Monday riding around Perth, relaxing
in Kings Park that overlooks the city, and getting a much needed replacement
backpack. Early in the afternoon I organised some accommodation at a
backpackers… Perth is by far the most expensive place so far, and because of
that tonight will be the last night before I head off down towards Margaret
River to once again camp!
A couple of pics from Kings Park:
A couple of pics from Kings Park:
