The first kilometers in Oz

And all of a sudden we find ourselves in Australia. We landed early in the morning on Wednesday and Immigration, Customs and Immigration weren’t nearly as horrid as the TV shows try to make us believe. Everybody was very friendly and polite so we ended up on the doorstep of a very dark B&B. A quick call remedied the situation in no time at all. The landlady, Christie, was roused out of her bed and let us in. We must admit, she took it all in her stride and turned to have quite a sense of humor. Apparently the person that took our booking forgot to mention our somewhat early arrival time.

Grungle Downs B&B turned out to be a great place to catch our breaths. First we had a nice nap after which we contacted Customs about our gear. They couldn’t accommodate us that day so we made an appointment and went croc watching at Crocodylus Park, right next door. Later on the groundsman David loaned us his Toyota Land Cruiser so we could hop over to NT Motorcycle Centre. There we met the nice folks that prepped our XT’s. The bikes were good to go. Well, almost ready as they still needed to be fitted with the luggage racks from our crate…

Next day was Flight Case Liberation day. We started at 09:30 with customs and drove off with our gear around 14:30 after Quarantine gave us the go ahead. A quick rundown to NT’s and after a few hours of tinkering, the bikes were ready to go. The rest of the evening was spent packing all our stuff into our saddle bags.

Day 1, Darwin to Katherine: Criss CrOz finally on the road!

After some last minute chores we finally are off around 10:00. This first day on the road will take us from Darwin to Katherine. Now we are actually riding trough the land we, until now, only knew from books and movies. The red brown earth, wide expanses of grassy plains dotted with gum trees and big cattle stations with cows and buffalos under huge awnings and sprinklers to keep them cool. And of-course the humongous road trains, trucks pulling two, three and sometimes as many as four trailers. These big boys are the true kings of the road, a fact well remembered by any and all travelers on Australian roads. These trucks do not stop for anyone or anything, period.

We don’t see too much wild life. Occasionally we see big birds of prey and as soon as you stop we are assaulted by flies. We do see the occasional kangaroo, but these unfortunately only as road kill.
After about 300 Kilometer we arrive in Katherine, situated on the Katherine River. It’s very hot (42 degrees Celsius) but our ventilated suits are performing beautifully. Katherine is not much more than a small town by Dutch standards, but in these parts it’s the only form of civilization inside a one hour drive. It’s a good thing we have reserved our room from Holland because we are here in the height of the tourist season and the number of holidaymakers is staggering. They account for at least 90% of all the traffic we meet.

Day 2, Katherine to Kununurra: The first change of plans.

The original plan called for a relative short trip to Timber Creek to spend the night there and then continue on to Wyndham to start our Gibb River Road adventure. But after some asking around we find out the unsealed road between Wyndham and the proper Gibb River Road is rather poor so we decide to skip that bit. Instead we will ride to Kununurra and ride the “normal” route to El Questro the next day. So we will be testing our stamina on this 526 Km ride.
Fortunately the landscape is beautiful and very varied, by Australian standards anyway. Barren, dry expanses with enormous termite hills are bisected by steep, green river valleys, hills and the now familiar grassy plains with gum and baobab trees. And we see our first life kangaroo, a real “you are in Australia now” moment!
This highway is subject to seasonal flooding during the wet period and major construction works are underway to raise the road and many bridges. The bitumen also suffers a great deal from the extreme temperatures and the oversized traffic. (To give you an idea, it’s 43 degrees C, in the shade, if you can find any…) We cross a lot of new patches and we are struck by one of the typical Australian idiosyncrasies: if a stretch of road doesn’t have any markings on it, they’ll put a warning sign up, even if the stretch is only 50 meter long. And not once either, we stop counting at around 20…

After a long and hot ride we arrive in Kununurra. Here the harsh reality of tourist season hits us square on the nose. Although you hardly see any traffic while you are travelling, as soon as you reach one of the few towns you’ll find almost all accommodations filled. After a bit of looking around we finally do find a small air conditioned cabin. Time to strip and soak in the pool! All’s well that ends well.

Day 3, Kununurra to El Questro: The first kilometers on the Gibb River Road.

Every day we manage to depart a bit earlier, today we are ready at 09:30. But first we see our neighbors off in their old American fire engine. They are participating in the Variety Bash 2009, a Australian charity event. You can only join them if your car is 30 years or older, two wheel drive and pretty much stock. Modifications are only accepted if they benefit safety and/or durability. Speed modifications are not allowed.

Anyway, we’re off and after about 50 kilometers we get to the Gibb River Road turn off. This road was built to allow road trains access to the cattle stations in this part of the Kimberley’s and is also known as The Gibb. Not even 200 meters on, the road turns into gravel with rather heavy corrugation. Our adventure has truly started now! After our off-road course we kinda know the basics: stand on the pegs and when stuff gets rough, stay on the gas. Huub get’s in the swing of things rather quickly and flies across the corrugations in good, if maybe rash, form. Annemiek is taking a somewhat cautious (and much wiser) approach and takes it a bit easier. Fortunately the pace is dictated by the slower rider and we reach the El Questro turn off with no major drama.

We had already crossed a small floodway with a bit of water in it, but that didn’t quite prepare us for the two crossings yet to come. The first one is only 30 meters across and about 40 centimeter deep. Unfortunately the bottom consists of big, round boulders, as it turns out the typical surface for this type of forts. Huub isn’t deterred and bounces across while standing on the pegs. Miek has already seen enough and is more than willing to let Huub ride hers across also and we’re off again.
A few minutes later we stand before the next crossing which is at least twice as wide. Again Huub goes first and he gets well over half way before his front wheel hits a big rock. The bike veers left while Huub exits stage front right. As this is all happening, we are not quite sure whether these creeks are inhabited by crocs. But you got to get across somehow and Annemiek arrives next to the bike in a flash. Together we lift the bike and set it back on its wheels. Damage seems to be limited to a busted mirror and a bruised ego. Fortunately the bike starts up on the first try and we manhandle it to the other side. For now this seems the safest way of crossing and we decide to do it this way for the time being. Miek’s bike is collected and a few minutes later we ride into the El Questro Township.
We are shown to our safari tent so we can pull the gear of our bikes and our bodies. The saddle bag the bike was resting on in the creek is still full of water. Good thing we have all our clothes packed in plastic bags… (Hans: thanks again for this good tip!) Now, it’s time for a refreshing dive in the same river Huub already had a bath in. We have been informed it’s croc free, a reassuring after thought. The day is concluded with a romantic dinner on the porch.

Day 4, El Questro – Ellenbrae: The Pentecost river.

Today we’ve got 165 km planned. That may not seem like a lot, but it’s all dirt road. And we’ll have to cross those two darned rivers again. The biggest challenge, however, will be the crossing of the Pentecost river! We have gathered a lot of information about this one: the water is about a foot deep, the river is wide and lately no salties have been sighted, but they are there… Great.

We’re fueled up to the max. Bike tanks, tail tanks and an extra 10 liters in a jerry can. When we get to the two little rivers, we walk the bikes across. We’ll see about the Pentecost when we get there, but walking through is definitely no option. The road there is astonishing. The Kimberleys are hilly, great mountain ridges rise up from the rusty dirt. If the road would only be as good as the view: kilometers of corrugation, scattered with sharp rocks. The occasional 4WD racing by puts us in a dust cloud that diminishes our view to a few meters. We have to concentrate carefully.

After an hour we reach the dreaded Pentecost. Miek does not see the sign saying ‘No Swimming, Crocodile habitat’. Huub ignores it. Wading through to check conditions is out of the question and as going through standing up was not very successfully, yesterday he decides to just sit in the saddle and ride slowly across in first gear. To make things more exciting for Miek, anxiously waiting ashore, Huub stalls the bike halfway. But again the Yamaha restarts easily and Huub reaches the other side safely. Now it’s Miek’s turn. Ever since she learned (a few months ago) that this river houses Salties, she’s been fearing this moment. What’s got to be done, has got to be done. After a deep breath she takes the plunge, refusing to look anywhere else but ahead. With great sense of drama, she stalls the bike halfway as well, but stays cool, gets it going again and also makes it to the other side. The trip continues.

After another hour we have a little rest and we notice coolant spraying from Huub’s bike. The hose must have hit a rock yesterday and has been punctured. Time for a roadside repair! Luckily it is right at the beginning of the hose, so Huub can cut the damaged bit off, and remount the whole thing. Good thing we brought loads of water so we can refill the system. Problem fixed.
After a total of four hours we reach our camp, hot and sweaty. This campground has a waterhole with Freshies only , and as the kids come out in one piece, we dive in and soothe the muscles.

Day 5, Ellenbrae – Mt. Barnett Roadhouse: Crash!

190 Km of dirt road planned for today and it is going to be very hot again (40 C + everyday) so we decide to leave early. The first 90 Km are fantastic. Miek has really got the off road swing now and we ‘fly’ over the corrugated Gibb. But then we hit soft sand. Huub barely gets across at about 60 K/ph. He immediately stops to look around how Miek is going to do this, just in time to see her disappear in an explosion of dust. She must have come off hard, but by the time Huub reaches her, she’s already pushing the bike up, afraid to loose a drop of fuel. Only when it is on the two wheels again, she feels the pain and goes to recuperate in the ittybitty shade of a bush, as Huub inspects the bike: gear selector bent inwards, fork twisted, saddle bag ripped off. Second roadside repair necessary. The fork is straightened according to the local "pole method" (don’t ask). The bag is put back with elastic straps and the bike is OK for further riding.

We limp our way to the Mt. Barnett Roadhouse a hundred Km ahead. When we get there we get the air-conditioned granny house (!). First we festoon ourselves on an absolutely fantastic Big Ass burger (the best burger we had in a really long time) and then while Miek sets herself to fix the bag with needle and thread, Huub heads for the tool shed to spend a couple of hours fixing Miek’s bike. The fork is properly reset.Joe the local technician gets the gear selector back to shape and most of the sand is removed. The bike and the bags are as good as new, but Miek’s confidence is still badly dented…

Day 6, Mt Barnett – Derby: one more day of biting the dust.

Today is going to be a killer: 316 km en Annemiek’s body is absolute rigid after yesterdays fall off. So we get an early start. A difficult start for Miek but after a while she regains herself and we swing the Gibb road again. We’re not the only ones experiencing some trouble, we spot a fire engine next to the road. It’s our neighbors from Kununurra. When we pull up we see the whole crew, under the truck with a load of tools and a welding machine. Of course we check if we can help, but we get three thumbs up so we move on. At this stage the road gets really bad, as there are now many soft sandy patches. At noon we cross the King Leopold Range and after that, the road improves rapidly. Our speed increases and then we hit Bitumen! Yes, now we really get a move on and at 2.30 two very happy campers enter the little town of Derby.

Derby itself is a bit of a disappointment. The hotel suggested by LP is closed, as is the restaurant. We end up in a pretty grungy place, but it’s got a shower and Aircon. And in the evening, big surprise, the hotel happens to be the local hangout and they serve fantastic meals! Again, all’s well that ends well!

Day 7, Derby – Broome: back to civilization.

As Derby does not seem to have much going at the moment we decide to head for Broome, only 225 Km away. We pass the Boab Prison tree (it’s huge), and surprise, hit a detour and ride another 10 Km on gravel. No worries though, as smooth as a billiard, especially for experienced dirt riders as we now dare call ourselves. 30 Km before Broome we need a fuel refill and at this station we buy a 40 cm long rib, big enough to provide us both with a great lunch.
And then Broome, wonderful green and luscious Broome. Immediately we fall in love with this happy town. We get a room in the Roebuck Bay Hotel, the oldest in town, and decide to stay here a few days to get a proper rest and a good look around in the old pearlers settlement. We finally get a chance to check our email and get a start on this blog. We have our tea at a Thai Restaurant. Tomorrow we’ll go whale watching!

Up to now we rode 1.833 km’s, fueled up 9 times, total of 170 liters and no punctures, yet.