I didn't go out to Carnarvon Gorge. I have many excuses but the real one is that Tottenham play Liverpool in the Champions League final tomorrow morning, and there is no internet at Carnarvon Gorge so I wouldn't be able to watch it.
The other reasons are:
* It is too hot to ride today.
* It is too cold to ride today.
* It isn't worth packing up to ride out there only to have to set up again in the same place.
* It looks like it might rain.
* Carnarvon Gorge is actually a 25km walk (close to the real reason).
* All the campsites on the way out appear to be gravel related (old gravel pit, gravel dump, off road gravel site, ex gravel pit... I'm not making these up). They aren't very enticing. One is called a Womble Pit, which I'm curious about. Do Wombles live in gravel?
I'm really glad I didn't go out there because it started to rain last night and has been raining all day today. So I'm just laying around watching Chernobyl and reading.
Yesterday I went the Rockhampton Zoo. It wasn't bad considering it was free. Saw some chimps and then the rest were the obligatory Australian animals. There was a creepy one eyed koala.
Oh, and the people I thought were speaking Czech were actually Polish and were very nice. They invited me to join them for breakfast.
Yesterday I took the bike to the bike shop. They were really good. The exhaust just needs a spacer to move it over a bit. I also asked him about improving the suspension and he suggested heavier springs, so I'm booked in to get it done next Wednesday.
After the bike shop I headed out to Capricorn Caves for a look. It cost $35 for a tour and was probably not worth it unless you'd never seen a cave before. While I was standing there listening to the guide drone on about stalagmites and stalactites it occurred to me that I have been to an excessive amount of caves for someone who isn't interested in caves.
The entrance
They did turn the lights off at one point to demonstrate cave darkness. That was really cool. Couldn't see a thing but I'd wave my arm around and it was like I could see it, if that makes sense. Like my brain was filling in where it knew my arm was.
Candles in the cave. It looked really good but the photo isn't great.
The other interesting thing was this vertical shaft in the ceiling of the cave. During the solstice a beam of light shines down into the cave and apparently if you stand in it with a coloured shirt the cave glows that colour. But it isn't the solstice so I will just have to take their word for it.
Because I need to be in Rockhampton next week, I'm probably going to go for a trip out to Carnarvon Gorge and come back. People I have mentioned this to have responded with "Do you like walking?" I don't, but I think I'll go anyway.
I think the people camped next to me are speaking Czech so I might get up and throw a Dobry Den their way and see how it goes down.
Last night I lit a fire and tried to burn as much wood as I could. Turns out, that was all of it. While that wood burned, I saw a shooting star like none I'd ever seen before. Which isn't that unique. I haven't seen that many. It is a common thing for me to not see shooting stars. So this one continued to be like all the other one I hadn't seen. Except I saw it.
It was basically a firework but it was shooting downward. Sparks came off the back and sizzled in the air. I swear I could hear them crackling. It was one of the most amazing things I've seen and heard. I realised at the time that nobody else would give a shit and here you are proving me right or wrong.
Today I loaded up the bike and immediately discovered that despite yesterday's trip into Bundaberg, my tyre still touched the exhaust. I decided to continue. I rode a bicycle across Europe and it was far less trouble.
I stopped many times out of fear for my tyre and at one stop a grey haired man with a caravan and wife suggested I shouldn't worry about it as I'd already burnt away the knobby bits. That was all the encouragement I needed to continue. It was clear to me he also didn't know what he was on about and we were in agreement.
I zoomed up the highway, thinking I should stop for a photo somewhere. Voila.
Some river with an old bridge
I went through Rockhampton and have stopped at Fardooleys Bush Camp. It is perched up a hill and is the property of a pair of retirees. They have happy hour each afternoon and all the guests mingle.
I've been mingling for a few hours and now I'm in bed. Tomorrow I'm going to head to Rockhampton and get my bike sorted. It could mean waiting around here for a while. Pretty shit seeing as I've only had four travelling days. Happy hour is good though.
We left for Baffle Creek on Saturday. Before we left Sam and I decided to tighten my chain and noticed the tyre had been rubbing on the chain guard. Sam tried to align the tyre so it was off the guard, which just pushed the wheel out of alignment and it rubbed on the exhaust. We tinkered with it at Baffle Creek and got it closer to aligned without rubbing but it still didn't look right, so this morning I rode back to Bundaberg and got the bike shop to do it so I don't have to worry about it.
Baffle Creek is really nice. There is a big open camp ground with a bush kitchen, clean toilets and dollar showers. The couple that run the place are very nice.
Our camp is right in the middle of the photo.
Sam's boat.
Looking toward the coast. I believe Rules Beach is to the left of the mouth.
Sam and Martika left yesterday but Sam's parents, sister and brother in law stayed last night in the 2 flashest caravans I've seen. Proper off road vans. I just got back from Bundaberg and must've just missed them. They're continuing up the coast.
So tonight will be my first night camping on my own and fending for myself. Last night Sam's sister cooked a roast. Tonight I reckon I'll be having 2 minute noodles.
Tommorow I'll load the bike up and probably stay somewhere around Rockhampton.
I left Wonglepong a few days ago and made my way through Brisbane to Bribie Island to visit Grandma. She is well. I stayed an hour then kept heading north to Hervey Bay. The ride was longer than I expected. About 2 hours to Bribie and 3 1/2 to Hervey Bay.
I'm staying with Sam and Martika, who I used to work with. They moved up here at the end of last year. They are going camping on the weekend at what I was planning to be my next destination, so I am staying with them until the weekend and will head north with them.
They have an enormous German Shepard that I've always wanted to meet. This is him in his cool new bed. The picture does no justice to his enormity.
While I'm turning this into a dog blog, here is Mandy's 3 legged dog.
Today I went for a ride around Hervey Bay. I have been here before and wasn't impressed, but on a second viewing it seems quite nice.
I had lunch at River Heads where I was joined by this bird trying to scab chips.
On the way back I ran out of fuel right as I was pulling into the petrol station. I don't have a fuel gauge so use the trip meter. I usually hit reserve around 360km with probably another 50 in reserve.
Today it hit reserve at 313km which is a bit of a worry. I guess the extra weight and riding the highway has taken its toll. It has been fairly windy too. I will probably just carry some spare fuel from now on.
After Hervey Bay I feel like the trip will properly start.
I have finally left. The issue with the oil was easily resolved. It was actually really simple to unscrew the drain plug and plug it with my finger. I lost about 50ml of oil in the process.
I got on the road at 11 this morning and made my way to Mandy's house at Wonglepong. Yes, Wonglepong. It took about 7 hours to do what is ordinarily a 5 hour trip. I took the highway to Coffs Harbour then back roads the rest of the way. Coffs to Grafton was a nice ride.
My Tom Tom app doesn't put many place names on the map, which is annoying. I went through Coffs, Grafton, Casino, Kyogle and Beaudesert.
Not much of interest happened. I saw an incoming Ute lose a drum off the back and tried to signal the driver, but he just waved.
I also felt a strange drop on the back of the bike at one point, like the back wheel had gone over a really deep pothole but without the thump when it would hit the bottom. After that, in Grafton, I noticed the back brake was really weak, which I put down to the amount of weight on the bike (which really isn't much, maybe 30-40kg more than usual).
When I stopped for a pie I noticed this:
That is the strap that was holding my bag on. It had come loose and found its way into the rear wheel. A piece I'd removed before this photo had found its way into the brake callipers, hence the weak brake.
Luckily it was easy to remove. Even more luckily it had snapped without locking the back wheel up. The rest of the strap was still holding the bag. It is a good way to tighten a strap although probably not worth it.
From Grafton to Wonglepong was a fairly ordinary ride. It threatened to rain the whole way and did rain some of the way. The last 100km should have been fun on a motorbike but it was wet and dark so I had to be really careful. It was up and over this cool mountain.
Tomorrow I'm going to Bribie Island to visit Grandma then Hervey Bay to stay with Martika and Sam.
I have encountered my first mechanical problem in record time. I did an oil change yesterday in preparation for my departure tomorrow. It all went smoothly.
Today, when I was packing away all the bits and bobs I noticed the crush washer for the oil drain plug in the paint tray I was using as an oil pan. It had dropped into the oil when it was draining and I didn't notice it.
This washer needs to be on the plug to create a seal. So I need to take the plug back out. Which means the fresh 2.5 litres of oil is going to drain out.
I have worked out three work arounds for this.
1. Don't worry about it.
2. Turn the bike upside down so no oil can drain out (bike is 210kg) and replace the washer.
3. Take the plug out, stick my thumb in, put the washer on, take thumb out, put the plug back in, top up oil.
I think I'll try option 3. I don't have enough oil to replace it all so if I lose the lot I'll have to borrow a car to go to Kempsey to get more. On election day. Yuck.
That will mean I'll be delayed leaving but whatever.
Well, I'm off again. This time heading around Australia. I've heard it is nice. My knees still haven't recovered from pedalling around europe so I decided to get a bike with a motor.
My preparation has so far consisted of learning to ride a motorcycle, buying random shit for it, and watching the long way round. I can ride a motorbike, although not well. I have bought an outrageous amount of random shit - mostly on impulse rather than practicality. I've only watched the first 2 episodes of the long way round. My favourite part is in episode 1 when Charlie cracks the shits massively because KTM have decided not to give them free bikes so they have to settle for two free BMW's.
My bike is not one of those two glorious machines. Instead I have a Kawasaki KLR650. It is cheap, ugly and underpowered. We match. After I bought it I discovered I had test ridden it with two completely flat tyres and not even realised. I also paid for its history after I bought it and discovered I was it's 6th owner. The 2nd owner had totalled it in QLD (so I couldn't get more info than that because it is a different state) and at some point it had been fixed up. I did wonder why my 2008 model had 2009 fairings. Now I know.
The KLR loaded up. I have better pannier bags now and a longer kickstand. The bags in the picture were broken about 12 hours after I took this photo.
While I'm outlining the negatives, I should also point out that 2008 KLRs are known for excessive oil burning and a deep hole in the case that causes a shaft to slip partially out and crack the case. Also, all KLRs are plagued with a problem with the "doohicky" which is like a ticking time bomb for engine failure if it hasn't been replaced. I don't know if my doo has been done. I won't even mention the subframe bolts (upgraded but not drilled through on my bike, so it potentially could snap in half)
Now to the positives:
Most reviewers describe the bike as "not particularly great at anything, but good at everything". Some reviews replace great with good and good with ok. That does mean it can go basically anywhere a 4wd can except maybe some deep water crossings.
It is the best of few options in its class for someone on their P's, which I am. The Suzuki DR650 didn't look like it could handle long distance touring quite as well. The Royal Enfield Himalayan piqued my interest but it seemed to have a lot of mechanical and structural problems.
Which brings me to the real positive of the KLR. It is well known as a bike that will just keep on going. Unkillable. Here's a guy that tried.
If it breaks down, anyone with the most basic mechanical knowledge and simplest tools can get it going again. I'm hoping that there will be people with those attributes around because I don't have them. It has mechanically been basically unchanged since 1987 for this reason. In 2008 they fixed the doohickey, which is great for me. Now it is only the spring connected to it that breaks and falls into the engine.
I noticed on The Long Way Round that when they set off they had about 30 support staff who helped plan the trip. A trip that includes 2 support vehicles, a doctor and a cameraman on a third bike. I don't have any support staff and my preparation reflects that. I have, however, decided to go anticlockwise as we drive on the left and that way should be slightly shorter. I am also going to visit Uluru at some point. Thats Ayers Rock for the colonialists amongst you.
Preliminary route/itinerary
And so concludes my planning.
I was thinking of calling the trip "The Wrong Way Round" as I have a few friends doing similar trips but they're all going the other way.
