Eau de Roadkill - Sydney to Cairns (and back) on a GSXR

[LOE200]

Ever since my first long distance ride over a year ago to the South-East of Australia (RR here - http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=743848) I have been meaning to something slightly longer than a couple of days.

So when I had the chance to take off about 10 days over the Easter break I decided to head North.

Initial plan was to go to Cape York until I learnt that it was rainy season up north and Id be hard pressed to get too far off the sealed roads...especially on a stock roadbike.

That said, I still set off to do the below; heading north through outback Australia and then back down the coast.

This trip was more of a test for myself to see how my bike and I worked together on long distances (with the prospect of perhaps riding it internationally next year) so I didn't really stop much for photos and when I did, I used my phone rather than SLR.

All in all, apologies in advance if this is a bit of a boring RR.

Rough mapping of the ride. Sydney > Karumba > Cairns > Cape Kimberley/Daintree Rainforest > Cairns > Sydney



A couple of photos before I start on a bit of a chronological story

[LOE200]

Just like I used to prep my bike before trackdays, I thought I better get the bike ready. Changed the front and rear sprockets...however all I had lying around was a 520 conversion (1 down, 2 up) so did that...but had to throw a smaller rear sprocket on there to try and get near stock gearing ratios. Wired up a 12v socket...and left oil and filter for last





The trip was almost over before it started...the damn filter wouldnt come off no matter what I tried, broke 2 removal tools, stabbed it with various screwdrivers and used large breaker bars...finally a random rider who saw my Facebook post came around with a chisel and helped me tap it off at 1am the night before. Wouldn't have left Sydney if it wasn't for his help!



Due to all these hassles, the next morning I set out much later than expected and had to battle it out with holiday traffic so it wasn't until late afternoon when I pulled over for a photo

...Also because I was riding West and simply couldn't see looking into the sun



That night I made my stop in Nyngan, NSW (wanted to get to Bourke, NSW but simply couldn't make it). I was lucky enough to get the last motel room in town...at which point I made a mental note to carry camping gear next time.

The next morning....I had to take a short break to adjust the brand new chain since it had gotten a fair bit of slack in it



It was also my first day of proper outback riding.....dead straight roads with nothing on the horizon except the occasional road train (more on those later)



The first stop for the morning was the town of Bourke...where I was meant to be the night before



Back O' Bourke being an Aussie expression for being out in the middle of nowhere



Last night at the motel, i had been told that Bourke was not a great place to have had left my bike overnight....as I was getting breakfast outside this cafe (with a very loaded up CBR in front too)...i had a local (Aboriginal) girl approach me as I was getting off the bike.

At first I thought it was to ask for change, so I just declined politely before even hearing the question only to then hear "Can I have a kiss" :/

As I waited for breakfast..she walked up to me and twice went in for the kill only finally getting the message with a swift boot to her...I guess girls really do dig guys in leather :/



Back on the road that day was mainly long, open nothingness...except for the dozens of dead kangaroos absolutely everywhere....the smell of which I think I will never forget





Every now and then I would take an unsealed road just for kicks



It turned out to be quite a late night...something i had been trying to avoid as the kangaroos generally come out past sunset and I really didn't want to see if my bike would win against them but got into the next stop of Tambo, NSW just as the rain started. Again didn't make my target of Longreach for the day

[jmcg]

Nice pics.

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip.



Cheers,

JM.

[LOE200]

Thanks mate.

The next day I was up nice and early and looking forward to getting through Longreach...one of th main reasonI had decided to head north inland rather than up the coast...so I could see the Qantas museum....something about big jets in the middle of nowhere sounded cool

But first it was back onto the highway with those monstrous road trains...blowing me every which way and passing them is a headache







Crossed the border from NSW and into Longreach, QLD

Easter in the Outback



Qantas Museum - 747





Australian Stockmans Hall of Fame



Picked up the name of a place called the Blue Heeler Pub from my map book so decided to try and make it here for the nights stay

On the way, passed the Waltizing Matilda Centre...a tribute to Banjo Patterson who wrote the song, Waltzing matilda...one that has often been put forward as an alternate national anthem



Also got to test out what kind of range my bike gives me on WOT



A few photos of the wide open nothingness out here













Why is beer in Queensland called XXXX ? ...Because they couldn't spell beer... :P

[AusStealth]

Originally Posted by LOE200

It turned out to be quite a late night...something i had been trying to avoid as the kangaroos generally come out past sunset and I really didn't want to see if my bike would win against them

I hope you haven't found out the hard way that they come out BEFORE sunset!

[LOE200]

Originally Posted by AusStealth

I hope you haven't found out the hard way that they come out BEFORE sunset!

Thats what I meant sorry. Dusk-ish. I was lucky enough to only see them crossing the road on my 2nd day of riding and avoided them.

I did about 3 more nights of late riding (till 9-10pm) and I was petrified as my little GSXR headlights didn't light up nearly enough

So what I did was wait for a car or truck to come by and tag along behind them....not the best but some safety I guess...

[poolman]

LOE200,

Nice ride report and pictures, what a beautiful country! Passing the "road trains" would certainly add another element of challenge to a trip such as this.

Cheers,

[freax]

haha too many memories as a kid of going on long 6+ hour road trips and seeing nothing but... nothing... are rolling back :)

I've been up as far as Lightning Ridge. The artesian bore water bath there is excellent, nice and warm all night and day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L...RidgeBaths.jpg

We camped a few km's away from there overnight though as a bunch of aussie rednecks were drinking it up and making a right ruckus all night at the pools/toilet.

The forests are great, especially in Tasmania!

A great post though mate, would love to go with you once I get my 2-wheel legs + 3 years on the bike. I'm just getting my first bike and would love to go on one of these trips, though keeping up on a '77 XT500 would be a bit of a hassle.

I laughed my arse off at the aboriginal girl, yeah you gotta be careful out there when going through towns like this, one story I remember of was when the Aboriginies get their paycheque and go and hit the bottle store, then after when they're well and drunk go and try and rob the stores later on.

You've got guts I'll give you that, with leaving the bike outside overnight.

Enjoy the trip :) I'm sure the stars out there will keep you company, got tons of them.

[LOE200]

Originally Posted by poolman

LOE200,

Nice ride report and pictures, what a beautiful country! Passing the "road trains" would certainly add another element of challenge to a trip such as this.

Cheers,

Thanks mate. Yeah its challenging. I screwed up early on my ride when I was halfway past one and saw an oncoming car. I couldn't back out then, had to stay committed and JUST managed to squeeze through. Felt bad for the scare I gave the other driver though.

Originally Posted by freax

haha too many memories as a kid of going on long 6+ hour road trips and seeing nothing but... nothing... are rolling back :)

I've been up as far as Lightning Ridge. The artesian bore water bath there is excellent, nice and warm all night and day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:L...RidgeBaths.jpg

We camped a few km's away from there overnight though as a bunch of aussie rednecks were drinking it up and making a right ruckus all night at the pools/toilet.

The forests are great, especially in Tasmania!

A great post though mate, would love to go with you once I get my 2-wheel legs + 3 years on the bike. I'm just getting my first bike and would love to go on one of these trips, though keeping up on a '77 XT500 would be a bit of a hassle.

I laughed my arse off at the aboriginal girl, yeah you gotta be careful out there when going through towns like this, one story I remember of was when the Aboriginies get their paycheque and go and hit the bottle store, then after when they're well and drunk go and try and rob the stores later on.

You've got guts I'll give you that, with leaving the bike outside overnight.

Enjoy the trip :) I'm sure the stars out there will keep you company, got tons of them.

Those pools look great !

Haha yeah, well after she tried to kiss me twice, I figured the cogs in her head turned to a change in tact and she offered me her sandwich LOL

So to continue...that night, I was staying in the "town" of Kynuna

Now I use that term loosely as all this place had was 4 (count em, 4) houses, a pub and a roadhouse. All run/frequented by the same people

I first went to the roadhouse for some dinner and saw a couple of very strange characters....the guy who ran the roadhouse seemed ot wear his trucker cap and aviator sunglasses 24/7 and was married to a very angry old woman. Their best friend seemed to be a badly disfigured man who had no nose or ears and a LOT of skin grafts.

The above...coupled with what my room was like (see photos below, NO EDITING)

My mind kept racing to 'Hills Have Eyes' and I started to entertain thoughts of me being butchered and eaten out here in the middle of nowhere :/....my chicken sandwiches looked like white meat but didn't QUITE taste like chicken I was convinced

Outside the 'roadhouse'





The lonely neon sign on the highway of the Blue Heeler Pub where I stayed (in fear) the night



My room from the outside (green light no edited)



Sleeping with a chair against the door and a metal bar next to my bed





Since I was in bed by 7pm, I had to entertain myself somehow...and the look of fear in Homers eyes mirrored my own with every sound I heard...the green lights were playing tricks on my eyes

[LOE200]

After an ...adequate nights sleep it was time to get back on the road....the further I got into the outback the hotter it got





Inlcuding the place with Australias highest ever temperature...great :/



At this point I had also started tracking along the trail used by Australian explorers Burke and Wills who perished on their ill-fated journey across Australia....towns and tracks named after them marked their trail





This deep into the outback also meant the start of 'Developmental Roads'. Essentially single laned sealed roads. Not a big deal since they were still signposted at 110kmh however....they were still two way with road train barrelling towards me at the same speed meant I had to go form tarmac to loose dirt and gravel whilst still traveling at some speed....needless to say, after my first 'mistake' I was always cautious coming upto blind corners and crests



The culmintaion of this days ride however was one I was quite happy with. For the first time in my life reaching the northern coast of Australia looking out onto the Gulf of Carpenteria. On my long rides i usually like reaching 'somewhere'. last time I managed to get to the southern coast so I was quite pleased I was able to achieve the opposite this time



The next morning however, I have to backtrack from the coastal town of Karumba and back inland so that i could make my way to Cairns in tropical North Queensland and on the way stop for a picture with this bad boy.

Krys, the 8.64m saltwater crocodile which is the largest ever captured





Stopping by an old railway stop from the early 1900's and some termite mounds on the way to Cairns





The heat while riding in leathers was definitely getting to me and with more and more cattle and other wildlife on the road this was the only way I could stay alert



But eventually the landscape got progressively greener the closer I got to Cairns opening up with some nice roads and finally giving me some beautiful sweepers coming into Cairns

[LOE200]

After staying at my first hostel of the trip and feeling like I was backpacking again I woke up the next morning to explore up further north towards Port Douglas and the Daintree rainforest (something I only remember hearing about in school)



The coast on one side, the forests on the other



taking the ferry across the Daintree river into the rainforest





Heading into the lush green (and VERY humid) Daintree Rainforest



Walu Wugirriga Lookout (looking down on Cape Kimberley)



The only photo of me on this trip...taken by German backpackers who insisted...and who am I to refuse....leathers were a bad choice



I was going to try and keep going to Cape Tribulation which is where the sealed roads end (and due to being wet season, going and further on a road bike would be very tough; especially on the time frame I had) so instead I took the dirt turn off to Cape Kimberley on the way back to Cairns....turns out it was meant to be 4WD only...poor GSXR



Australian warnings



Riding boots do not make good hiking boots



The view at Cape Kimberley



On the way back I stopped by Port Douglas to relax with the setting sun

[LOE200]

After 5 days on the bike and clocking up close to 4000km I decided to have a short break in Cairns before heading back to Sydney for work and figured I may as well do some diving in the Great Barrier Reef....silly me forgot to take the waterproof housing for my GoPro though so this is the only photo I have....of the dive boat :/



And the GSXR nestled peacefully while I had a break at 'Travellers Oasis'

[LOE200]

Prose isn't the best in this RR I know, but I figure I may as well finish it off :)

The ride back to Sydney was to be over 4 days but I accidentally counted the days wrong in my head and booked in my Great Barrier Reef diving for the day I was meant to leave....oh well, a day late for work :P

Unfortunately, although I was blessed with clear skies on the way up north, the fact that it was still wet season reared its head on the way back down....combined with roadworks....it got miserable

A sign of what was to come on my first road out of Cairns




Taking shelter where I could...although I later decided to just keep powering through it and only really stopped when I had next to no visibility



Keeping the energy up





Riding late into the night to make up time....was very scared of doing this due to the hundreds of dead kangaroos I had seen so what I tried to do was tag along behind a car or truck and match their speed...not foolproof but at least I had the advantage of their more powerful headlights too



Nestled away from prying eyes in Mackay, Queensland



It was a struggle staying on the roads with these big boys in the dry....wet was even worse with the spray



Clearly an often asked question



Just one of an amusing series of road signs







Probably a smarter way to combine long distances and the joy of riding



A bit of a novelty to stay in a caravan...never been in one before







The perfect his and hers cars (Chargers)



Really hoping that the road I was on was going to take a sharp right



Hello officers (the dogs in the back started going crazy when I parked up for a photo)



On the home stretch on my last day of riding...about 200km from home !



However....it wasn't mean to tbe...18km form home, back on local streets, whilst stopped at a set of lights....I went to take of and, NOTHING. no power, no lights, nothing.

Wheeled it onto the kerb to start checking basic electrics





Unfortunately, with my limited mechanical knowledge (I tried going through some checks in the service manual) and the fact I had ot work the next day and was simply put, TIRED. I threw in the towel.

Not the way I had wanted it to end :(

[icekube1]

Nice report, pity about the ending. Hope it wasn't too expensive.

Got to say it, you must have an arse of iron and wrists like tree trunks to do that journey on a gixxer. Well done.

[Katoom119]

I've had tons of rain screw with my electrical connections before. The dielectric grease runs and will allow contact points to touch.

Nice report!