Wallaroo
This morning we’ll be meeting Flash who will take us fishing on his boat. Our host Mark drops us off at the jetty at 07:00 just as the boat is being put in the water. Esky’s filled with ice are loaded and the boat positively bristles with rods. It all looks very promising to us.
After a ride of about 30 minutes we’re fishing for squid. But the squid have other ideas and don’t want to be caught by us. We only catch a few and decide to up stakes and try somewhere else.
At this new spot, closer to shore we try again. This time we’re not only going for squid. We’re also trying to catch Garfish and Blue crab. In the process we’ll probably also get some Johnny Rough (Australian Herring). Again we start off slow, but then we start to reel fish in at a steady rate. The crab net is also doing quite nicely and after a morning of fishing the grand total is: 4 squid, 8 Johnny Rough, 12 Garfish and 15 Blue crab. This will be a good feed tonight!
The rest of the day is spent scaling and cleaning fish, turning squid into calamari and cooking crab (don’t ask). It doesn’t take long for us to realize that we have way too much food for four people and we decide to save the crab for a different day. Never the less, we have a big dinner and we still can’t finish all the fish and salads.
After a good night and quiet morning we’re off for Adelaide where we will visit an Indian festival. After a two hour ride we arrive at the park and are a bit disappointed by the scale of the festival. It’s rather small, but not to worry, the food is great! After having enjoyed the snacks and music, we wander into the city. Adelaide has quite a nice and different atmosphere. It feels like a mix of Southern European, San Francisco and New Orleans covered with an Aussie sauce. Good fun!
Later that day we see a few groups of people dressed up like zombies walking around. They all seem to be converging on a large field and we can only guess there is some kind of party going on. Boy, were we ever right, except the party is somewhere else and the field is merely the starting point. All of a sudden the terrace we are seated at is swamped by hundreds of living dead! Another interesting experience…
Our third day in Wallaroo is a quiet one. We have nothing scheduled and the day is spent by walking, blogging, watching the Bathurst 1000 and… cleaning crab. Miek and Lynn spend a few hours getting the meat out of the shells and turning it into a wonderful curry. Then the crab remnants are returned to the sea and the ladies go for a swim, in spite of the temperature (16) and rain. We’re going for dinner with Mark and Lynn to the house of friends of theirs: Neil and Sue. The curry is well received and Sue has cooked up a storm for all of us. It turns into a fun evening for all and Huub even get’s to ride Neil’s baby: a classic Ducati 900 SS (all original…).
Dag 28, Wallaroo to Robe: Storms!
We’re off again and so is the weather. It was nice enough during our stay, but now the sky is filled with cloud, rain and wind, lots of wind.
We ride to Lynn’s store to see if we can find some waterproof boots. Unfortunately she doesn’t have anything suitable in Miek’s size. Huub is lucky and finds a pair of boots. They are one size too big but warm and waterproof.
Mark and Lynn see us off and we head for Adelaide. The first stretch isn’t too bad, the wind being mostly at our backs and the showers mostly in the distance. But after Adelaide conditions get slowly worse. We fuel in Tailem Bend and turn onto the coastal road. Less than 10 Km down that road we stop to put on our rain trousers and to let a big black storm pass us. By varying our speed between 70 and 120 Km/h we are able to avoid the worst of the rain. But there is no way to avoid the wind and by the time we reach Robe we are dead tired and stone cold.
Day 29, Robe to Port Campbell: More storms…
After the tough ride to Robe, Miek opts for a restday. A wise call as the weather continuous to be atrocious. But today we have to get a move on. Not that the weather has changed, it’s just as bad as the previous days. Annemiek has donned plastic bags on her feet to keep them dry and off we go.
In spite of the bad conditions, the ride is actually quite nice. We leave the coast and enter the forests and meadows of South Australia and Victoria. Huub even spots a sleeping Koala high up in a tree.
As we ride on, we keep meeting more and more bikers, all heading the same way: East to Phillip Island. The route we’re taking is very popular with “bikies”: The great ocean road. Famous and infamous for it’s views, mountains and the many tight curves. Today we only ride a very tiny bit of it, tomorrow the rest.
In Port Campbell we quickly check into our cabin to get warm and dry. Then we go for a short walk and can’t help but notice that most of the town has been taken over by bikers and their machines. The familiar GP tingles are definitely setting in and after a good meal we crawl deep under the nice comfy blankets.
Day 30, Port Campbell to Williamstown: Rain and curves.
The next morning we are awakened by a hellatious shower beating down on the roof of our cabin. The noise is deafening and doesn’t really motivate us to get out of bed. After about an hour the sky breaks a bit and we start to mount our gear on the bikes. By the time we’re done it’s starting to rain again…
We decide to shove off in spite of the rain, Miek again with her plastic bags in her boots. This time she’s also wearing two pairs of socks…
We leave town as part of a convoy of bikers. Everywhere you look we see bikes, bikers, sidecars, the lot. Everybody heading to Phillip Island and, hopefully, better weather. We figure out that the average Aussie bikie is not used to the combo of rain and a twisty road. We travel at speeds that really have us worried, worried that we will fall over. On the other hand, it’s good that riders are respecting their personal limits and are not trying to show off skills they do not posses. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule as we find out when we get some clear road ahead of us. A lone rider on his brand spanking new Suzuki V-Strom decides he needs to keep up with Annemiek, nearly binning his bike several times before he gives up.
We have a nice brunch in Apollo Bay and run into a bunch of riders from Manjimup, WA. They have ridden all the way here in this crappy weather. Hard core!
When we continue it’s more of the same: great road, gorgeous views, the occasional shower and slow riders. Boy, these guys would get the scare of their lives if they ever would ride in the Eiffel or Ardennes in these conditions. We decide to take it easy and not scare any of the locals. Miek is starting to consider herself quite the rider and adopts the nickname Stáh… (That’s star for those of you who haven’t heard Aussies speak yet.)
After a long and rather wet ride we arrive in Williamstown, a suburb of Melbourne. We park our bikes in Rob’s workshop; he runs a truck repair business. We met Rob on the Gibb where he was one of the crewmembers of the Variety Bash Fire engine. We’re staying the night at his place and spend a wonderful evening with him and his wife Sue. It turns into quite a late night, but that’s ok as we only have a very short ride to Phillip Island ahead of us.
Day 31, Williamstown to Phillip Island: To the racetrack!
The forecasts are quite good but obviously somebody forgot to inform the weather… It’s showers galore as we ride out and across the highlight of the day: the huge bridge across the river to the city. It offers magnificent views of the city on one and the bay on the other side. The traffic is pretty hectic and it’s slow going through town.
Fortunately, it gets much better on the other side of town and we cruise leisurely to our destination. But then, just 30 Km short of the Island, Huub is stopped along side the road. His chain has run off the rear sprocket! This chain has been causing problems for a while, showing excessive wear in spite of our daily greasing. In under 2 minutes Huub has the chain back in place and we’re off again. 20 Km down the road the same problem stops us again and after fixing it we limp onto Phillip Island.
The beach house we have rented for the GP weekend is great and we are allowed to check in early. After settling in we call our friends Auke and Catherine, who are on their way from Sydney. We leave the key for them and go meet our contact person with Yamaha Motor Australia: Ray Howard. Ray immediately takes us for a meet and greet with the official Yamaha teams competing in the Supersport and Superbike championships. We talk with Bryan and Jamie and the team owner who gets to manage all this. Bryan rides a R6 in the Supersports and is leading the championship ranking. Jamie competes both in the Supersports and Superbikes, being the reigning Supersport champion and ranked second in the current standings. These guys know what they are talking about…
Afterwards we are taken to the Club Y VIP pavilion. This will be our base for the next three days and we receive a warm welcome. We watch some of the GP free practices and some very close and exciting races for the national championships.
Back at the house we meet up with Auke and Catherine. They have suffered some car trouble on the way but Auke is a magician with cars and got the Landy going again. The four of us pile into the car and head for the Penguin Parade, a local tourist trap. Every night, hundreds of Little Penguins (no joke, that’s what they’re called) leave the ocean to return to their nests. As they are vey vulnerable on the beach, they cross just after sunset in large numbers. What undoubtedly started as a way to protect the dunes and birds, has turned into a “cleanthepockets” money maker. But fair is fair, it is good fun to see the little birds across the beach.
The next few days are spend at the track. We see a lot of good races. Bryan and Jamie maintain their lead in the Supersport rankings, we see Julian Simon (250 cc) and Valentino Rossi (Moto GP) take their respective world championships and see Casey Stoner win the Moto GP in front of his home audience. It turns out to be his birthday to boot. As the Moto GP winner is honoured, we are standing on the fronts straight and sing the Happy Birthday dear Casey with the crowd. (When in Rome…)
Then the great exodus starts and the island is relieved of thousands of bikers. We are staying on a bit, enjoying the sun, sand and sea. We even take some surfing lessons.
But all good things must come to an end and so will our stay here; tomorrow we have to go to Albury and attend another party…
Wednesday 21 October 2009
Sunday 11 October 2009
Alice Springs to Wallaroo
Day 24, Alice Springs to Marla: Heading South again.
Today we want to ride all the way to Coober Pedy so we can have an extra day there, but due to the school holidays all accommodation is booked solid. Even Marla, a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere, has no room left. But at least they have shaded camping spots (or so they say), so we’ll head there.
Because the ride isn’t too far (only 458 Km) we’re not in a great hurry to get going. Alice hosted a big triker meet yesterday (Sunday) and we keep running into small groups on our way down. (For those of you who don’t know, a trike is the front end of a chopper welded to the back end of a car. So, for all practical purposes, it’s got training wheels…)
After about an hour we spot a bearded dragon in the middle of the road. Think of it as a midsize lizard with an attitude. Instead of running for safety, it adepts an intimidating pose, not really a smart move. Fortunately, we’re able to avoid a meeting of attitude and front tire.
Not long afterwards we see a monitor lizard ambling along the road. Again, not a trace of fear and Huub is able to get some nice shots of this impressive reptile.
When we arrive in Marla, Miek goes inside the office. She asks if there are any cancellations, just to be sure. The lady behind the counter looks a bit flabbergasted; she just received one not two minutes ago. That’s all right, we’re not proud, we’ll take it!
Day 25, Marla to Coober Pedy: Going underground.
There really isn’t anything to do in Marla so after turning in early, we’re on our way as soon as we wake up. It just a short run, 245 Km, to Coober Pedy and, save for a few monitor lizards and birds of prey, we don’t see much of interest.
Then, as we close in on Coober Pedy, the landscape starts to change. Everywhere you look you see small mounds of earth and stones. Sometimes by themselves, sometimes in lines or groups. Here and there we spot bigger ones and occasionally we come across mini mountains of the stuff. Could all this have something to do with Opal mining?
We ride to our hotel, a closed down mine itself and get rid of our luggage. Tonight we’ll be sleeping under more then 10 meters of rock, but for now we are going to visit a working mine.
It’s at this mine where all the riddles are solved. The small mounts are caused by prospect drilling. They use a 10 cm diameter drill to make a hole about 30 meters deep. If there are any traces in the muck coming up, they drill a bigger hole to inspect, causing the bigger mounds. If the prospects are good, they drill a hole two meter across to lower the tunneling machine. It’s this kind of work causes the huge mounds of rubble.
Opal comes in many guises but you can divide the lot into two groups: with and without color. The opal without color is called potch and is pretty much worthless. The stuff with color comes in various grades of quality and prizes range from dear to absurd. Needless to say we found plenty of potch…
After a fun and informative afternoon at the mine we head back for tea and a good night of sleep. Tomorrow we’re gonna go see the rockets!
Day 26, Coober Pedy to Woomera: Missiles galore!
The road from Coober Pedy to Woomera is straight, flat, boring and… gorgeous. The desert here deserves to be called desert, being as empty as we have seen so far. When the road rises slightly you have the feeling you can see forever. As we are riding through the Woomera Prohibited Area, the road and everything on it (including us) fall under military rule. Not that you’d really notice, or it would have to be absence of car wrecks along side the road.
We ride past huge salt lakes and cross the Trans Australian Railway coming in from the Nullabor plains.
Woomera was the British answer to the Germans Penemunde (the place where the V1 and V2 rockets were developed). After the Second World War the decision was made to build a huge testing and launching facility here to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles. It grew to become one of the most important development centres in the Western world. The base is now all but closed and the most vivid reminders of Woomera’s heydays are the numerous missiles, rockets and aero planes on display all through the town. We visit one the two major museums and come away with a nice impression of the successes and blunders of Woomera.
Walking down the streets we can’t shake the feeling we are on some American film set, something like JAG or NCIS maybe. To stay true to the theme, we sleep in the former bachelor’s quarters.
Day 27, Woomera to Wallaroo: Meeting friends.
For various reasons we have decided to skip Port Lincoln and ride to Wallaroo. We have been invited to come and stay a few days with or new found friend Mark, the BMW rider we met in Kalgoorlie.
But right now we are trying to sort out a bit of a problem. For the last few days we haven’t been quite sure about the time. Various clocks and people, even the television, seem at odds as to what time it really is. Fortunately we crack this one today: it’s daylight saving time. For somebody coming from the Northern hemisphere it’s a long shot, but we guess it makes sense changing to DST in October when you live down under. Curiously, the morning show on the telly still shows the time as EST, Eastern Standard Time, the viewers will have to add the hour themselves.
With that mystery solved we continue our way further South. We still keep running into small groups of trikes, remainders of the big meet in Alice. But that’s not all that surprising in a region where there really is only one route South.
We stop in Port Augusta, once an overnight stop in our original plan. Good thing it isn’t anymore as there is very little to see and nothing to do. Onward to Port Pirie, a quaint fishing village on the same gulf. It has a really nice main street with old buildings and a few museums. Of course, you have to always be wary when they call something a museum here. It might consist of only one small room jam-packed with old tools and some black and white photographs.
We visit the Shakka exhibition in the visitors centre. Shakka was a 23 year old female Great White shark that got caught in a line and drowned. (Sharks need to swim to breathe.) They made a cast from her body and the resulting model measures over 5.5 meter long, making her the biggest great White ever caught. She is a truly impressive sight!
After being properly humbled by the notion that there are quite a few sharks like her cruising just off shore, right here, we ride on to Wallaroo. We are welcomed by Mark and his wife Lynn and will be their guest for the next few days. Not that we’ll be sitting still: it’s fishing on Friday and Adelaide on Saturday. There we will be visiting an Indian festival. Jummy!
New Supporters!
We would like to list (and thank) the following people for their donations:
Leo Veger Amsterdam Netherlands 10 Km
Martin – Ulysees Perth Australia WA 4.5 Km
Addy Vrienten Uitgeest Netherlands 50 Km
Rob Serne Baarn Netherlands 100 Km
Today we want to ride all the way to Coober Pedy so we can have an extra day there, but due to the school holidays all accommodation is booked solid. Even Marla, a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere, has no room left. But at least they have shaded camping spots (or so they say), so we’ll head there.
Because the ride isn’t too far (only 458 Km) we’re not in a great hurry to get going. Alice hosted a big triker meet yesterday (Sunday) and we keep running into small groups on our way down. (For those of you who don’t know, a trike is the front end of a chopper welded to the back end of a car. So, for all practical purposes, it’s got training wheels…)
After about an hour we spot a bearded dragon in the middle of the road. Think of it as a midsize lizard with an attitude. Instead of running for safety, it adepts an intimidating pose, not really a smart move. Fortunately, we’re able to avoid a meeting of attitude and front tire.
Not long afterwards we see a monitor lizard ambling along the road. Again, not a trace of fear and Huub is able to get some nice shots of this impressive reptile.
When we arrive in Marla, Miek goes inside the office. She asks if there are any cancellations, just to be sure. The lady behind the counter looks a bit flabbergasted; she just received one not two minutes ago. That’s all right, we’re not proud, we’ll take it!
Day 25, Marla to Coober Pedy: Going underground.
There really isn’t anything to do in Marla so after turning in early, we’re on our way as soon as we wake up. It just a short run, 245 Km, to Coober Pedy and, save for a few monitor lizards and birds of prey, we don’t see much of interest.
Then, as we close in on Coober Pedy, the landscape starts to change. Everywhere you look you see small mounds of earth and stones. Sometimes by themselves, sometimes in lines or groups. Here and there we spot bigger ones and occasionally we come across mini mountains of the stuff. Could all this have something to do with Opal mining?
We ride to our hotel, a closed down mine itself and get rid of our luggage. Tonight we’ll be sleeping under more then 10 meters of rock, but for now we are going to visit a working mine.
It’s at this mine where all the riddles are solved. The small mounts are caused by prospect drilling. They use a 10 cm diameter drill to make a hole about 30 meters deep. If there are any traces in the muck coming up, they drill a bigger hole to inspect, causing the bigger mounds. If the prospects are good, they drill a hole two meter across to lower the tunneling machine. It’s this kind of work causes the huge mounds of rubble.
Opal comes in many guises but you can divide the lot into two groups: with and without color. The opal without color is called potch and is pretty much worthless. The stuff with color comes in various grades of quality and prizes range from dear to absurd. Needless to say we found plenty of potch…
After a fun and informative afternoon at the mine we head back for tea and a good night of sleep. Tomorrow we’re gonna go see the rockets!
Day 26, Coober Pedy to Woomera: Missiles galore!
The road from Coober Pedy to Woomera is straight, flat, boring and… gorgeous. The desert here deserves to be called desert, being as empty as we have seen so far. When the road rises slightly you have the feeling you can see forever. As we are riding through the Woomera Prohibited Area, the road and everything on it (including us) fall under military rule. Not that you’d really notice, or it would have to be absence of car wrecks along side the road.
We ride past huge salt lakes and cross the Trans Australian Railway coming in from the Nullabor plains.
Woomera was the British answer to the Germans Penemunde (the place where the V1 and V2 rockets were developed). After the Second World War the decision was made to build a huge testing and launching facility here to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles. It grew to become one of the most important development centres in the Western world. The base is now all but closed and the most vivid reminders of Woomera’s heydays are the numerous missiles, rockets and aero planes on display all through the town. We visit one the two major museums and come away with a nice impression of the successes and blunders of Woomera.
Walking down the streets we can’t shake the feeling we are on some American film set, something like JAG or NCIS maybe. To stay true to the theme, we sleep in the former bachelor’s quarters.
Day 27, Woomera to Wallaroo: Meeting friends.
For various reasons we have decided to skip Port Lincoln and ride to Wallaroo. We have been invited to come and stay a few days with or new found friend Mark, the BMW rider we met in Kalgoorlie.
But right now we are trying to sort out a bit of a problem. For the last few days we haven’t been quite sure about the time. Various clocks and people, even the television, seem at odds as to what time it really is. Fortunately we crack this one today: it’s daylight saving time. For somebody coming from the Northern hemisphere it’s a long shot, but we guess it makes sense changing to DST in October when you live down under. Curiously, the morning show on the telly still shows the time as EST, Eastern Standard Time, the viewers will have to add the hour themselves.
With that mystery solved we continue our way further South. We still keep running into small groups of trikes, remainders of the big meet in Alice. But that’s not all that surprising in a region where there really is only one route South.
We stop in Port Augusta, once an overnight stop in our original plan. Good thing it isn’t anymore as there is very little to see and nothing to do. Onward to Port Pirie, a quaint fishing village on the same gulf. It has a really nice main street with old buildings and a few museums. Of course, you have to always be wary when they call something a museum here. It might consist of only one small room jam-packed with old tools and some black and white photographs.
We visit the Shakka exhibition in the visitors centre. Shakka was a 23 year old female Great White shark that got caught in a line and drowned. (Sharks need to swim to breathe.) They made a cast from her body and the resulting model measures over 5.5 meter long, making her the biggest great White ever caught. She is a truly impressive sight!
After being properly humbled by the notion that there are quite a few sharks like her cruising just off shore, right here, we ride on to Wallaroo. We are welcomed by Mark and his wife Lynn and will be their guest for the next few days. Not that we’ll be sitting still: it’s fishing on Friday and Adelaide on Saturday. There we will be visiting an Indian festival. Jummy!
New Supporters!
We would like to list (and thank) the following people for their donations:
Leo Veger Amsterdam Netherlands 10 Km
Martin – Ulysees Perth Australia WA 4.5 Km
Addy Vrienten Uitgeest Netherlands 50 Km
Rob Serne Baarn Netherlands 100 Km
Sunday 4 October 2009
Kalgoorlie to Alice Springs
Day 16, Albany to Esperance: into the sun we ride
After a perfectly good night sleep in the Albany Hotel we depart at 09.00 for Esperance.
What do you know, the sun is shining! Today we have high winds but fortunately they are predominately from the West and at our back. The first part of the ride is through farmland and forests. Then we're back in the bush. We even see mountains in the distance but the road stays in the low lands. After about 5 hours we smell the ocean. Not long thereafter we reach our destination.
We check into a motel on the bay and make plans for tomorrow. We end our day with a nice walk along the bay and the jetty, see a huge sealion patrolling the shallows and have a great dinner in a nearby restaurant.
Day 17, Esperance to Kalgoorlie: A strange day indeed.
De road from Esperance to Kalgoorlie is mesmerizing. Everywhere you look you see gum trees dotting the landscape. The winds are still blowing and we are fighting quite a crosswind. The first 20 Km are a real challenge for Miek, struggeling to keep her bike on the road. But after a short stop and some useful tips from Huub she’s fine and starts enjoying the ride and scenery. After about 150 Km, the wind shifts a bit to the South and we pick up the pace a bit.
A few hours into the ride we come upon a fight in the middle of the road. Three drunken friends have run of the road, damaging the car they are travelling in. Now the tempers have flared out of control and they are really going at it (and each other). The car driving in front of us has also stopped and together we calm the fighters down a bit. The driver of this second car is a local, knows these boys and says he will “sort them out”. We gladly take his word for it and get back on our bikes.
Half an hour later we’re stopped on the side of the road again. A caravan/trailer has overturned and caused quite a mess. Fortunately nobody is hurt. We are told that help is on the way and we are not needed here. Sounds good enough to us and we climb back onto our bikes. As we ride away we ask each other what’s going on today: we haven’t seen this much mayhem on the road since we have set off from Darwin. A strange day indeed.
Around 2 P.M. we ride into Kalgoorlie, or Kal for short. Kal is a gold town, with is being the operative word. Gold is being mined and found here since the late 1800’s and the town reflects this. You kinda feel caught up in a surreal Wild West movie set. The buildings hark back to those early golden days and the main roads are wide enough to turn a camel caravan on. That last bit isn’t a joke either, the camel caravan U-turn being the exact specification used in those days. We see a lot of men walking around in soiled working clothes. As the evening sets in, they al seem to have showered and are now cruising the main strip in the low slung, sooped up utes and street racers.
We spend the afternoon applying for our permits (so we may enter aboriginal lands) en taking our trusty bikes to the local Yamaha dealer. We’re having nobbies (off-road tires) mounted as we have decided to ride the Great Central Road. The reports we have received describe the road to be in descent to good shape so we have decided to take the plunge.
As we walk back to our hotel we pass a “somewhat older” biker, Mark. Festooned in classic black leathers on his 1980 BMW R 100 named Brunhilde (Brunni for friends). On the back of Brunni he has strapped a mountain of luggage that boggles even our minds. He turns out to be a very friendly character with an easy laugh and a great sense of humor. He’s looking for his brother in law. They are travelling from the Adelaide area to Perth, but he lost his companion at one of the two (!) t-junctions they were to pass today. It’s quite a funny story and we exchange phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Then he’s on his way again and so are we! Onward to the local Thai restaurant and a good night sleep!
Our “free” day in Kal is going to be spent by playing tourist. As we exit the hotel we see a “somewhat older” biker on a motor scooter. We burst out laughing and tell him somebody is looking for him. He reacts quite grumpy and informs us he already found “the bastard”. Then Mark shows up and joins the conversation and asks us if his in-law is still being grumpy… It’s obvious that these gentlemen know each other quite well and a sort of comic relief situation unfolds before our eyes.
Then Huub turns around to find himself face to face with Lynn, the lady from the Yamaha store. She tells us that our tires haven’t come in. But before we can panic, she shows us the tires in the back of her car. Turns out she’s spent the best part of the morning driving around Kalgoorlie, tracking down tires for us. She just happened to drive by and saw us standing on the sidewalk. Talk about a coincidence, talk about service… Anyway, we pick out two sets and she rushes off to the store, reassuring us the bikes will be ready today.
Slightly confused by all these coincidental meetings we stagger off in search of breakfast. Afterwards we visit the mining museum that’s situated right on the main street of Kalgoorlie. There we get a nice insight in the life of the mining community of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Then it’s time to go collect our bikes. And one thing really should be mentioned here: the way we were treated at J&J Motorcycles and the level of service we received really is unbelievable! Two thumbs up and a very big thank you to the team at J&J Motorcycles! After we have literally been seen of by the staff, we go back to the hotel to regroup and make plans for dinner.
As we are contemplating our options on the balcony of our hotel, we meet a couple from Laverton, Maida and Paul. Laverton is our next stop and after a nice conversation we decide to visit them at their home the next day.
Then it’s off to dinner. We have a great meal at the local Indian restaurant. As we make it back to our hotel we are surprised by a live band playing in the bar. Did we mention our room is right above the bar..? Fortunately the music stops at 00:00 and we enjoy another good night sleep.
Day 18, Kalgoorlie to Laverton: Back to the Outback.
Before we leave Kalgoorlie all together we pop in at the Super Pit, a huge goldmine. And before you start thinking about shafts and tunnels, let us tell you that in this case the name is aptly chosen. The Super Pits is a big hole, a few kilometers long and wide and 400 meters deep. The machines used here are huge but are dwarfed by the sheer size of this mine. After a bit the car park is swamped with motorcycles, the Ulysses Bike Club is having a meet in Kal this weekend. We decide to make a run for it, but before we can make our get away, we have to tell our story yet again. Then one of the audience pulls out his wallet and donates all his change, $7,60 for the Dutch Cancer Society…
Then we’re off. Our route takes us through Menzies, a tiny town that’s been around for over 100 years. The old buildings are still there, making for a few quaint photographs. The local roadhouse is completely covered in license plates and metal signs. Interesting…
We fuel in Leonora where we meet a familiar feature from a corny country song: The pub with no beer! (Thanks Alwyn!)
Nowhere on our travels so far have we seen so many dead kangaroos on the side of the road as we do between Leonora and Laverton. We are saddened by all these dead animals and wonder why we see so many of them here. Maybe it’s something in the water as a goanna runs out in front of Huub’s front wheel. It’s a close call, but the collision is avoided by a combination of hard breaking and a course reversal by the big lizard.
Laverton itself is a small town at the end of the bitumen road. It’s only unsealed from here on out, no matter which way you go except back the way you came. The aboriginal/alcohol problem is painfully apparent here, which is a sad thing to see. We spend a very nice evening with our new friends en enjoy their stories, wine and a great mussel dinner.
Day 19, Laverton to Tjukayirla: Back on the gravel.
Today we’ll have a bit of a spin, travelling “only” 300 Km on unsealed roads. In view of this we make an early start. Fortunately the quality road is reasonable to good and we’re making good time. The road doesn’t resemble the Gibb much, which is a good thing as the distances here are about double! The first two things to strike us are the width of the road (at least four lanes wide) and the high number of car wrecks on the side of the road. In the coming days the width will vary, the number of wreck will not…
We arrive at the roadhouse around 15:00. The place is very tidy and colorful and it doesn’t take long before we meet Taylor (5). She’s the granddaughter of the proprietor and has to make do out here without any other children. She has three dogs to keep her occupied, which is a good thing. Still, we can’t shake the feeling she’s a bit lonely.
We have a late lunch and it consists of two huge burgers. We buy a BBQ package for dinner. When around 9 P.M. we finally feel like a bite, Huub fires up the communal BBQ and we dine under thousands of stars.
Day 20, Tjukayirla to Warburton: A bit of a disappointment.
Today we “only” have to ride 250 Km. The road is pretty descent and we arrive around 2 P.M. The contrast between Tjukayirla and this place is enormous. The grounds look a bit messy, the buildings are a bit drab, but worst of all: the roadhouse is closed! Turns out today is a WA holiday. After a bit of asking, complaining and lobbying, we receive the key to our unit. How or what we are going to eat is an entirely other matter… Why they didn’t tell us this when we called from Kalgoorlie when we made our reservation will remain a mystery.
We meet three bikers, travelling the road in the opposite direction. They’ve been having a rather rough ride, having lost a substantial number of their party to injuries. Wind, rain and poor road conditions have really taken their toll on this bunch, with crashes and punctures occurring pretty much everyday.
While we are contemplating our options for dinner, we are joined by Bucko. He comes from Tasmania and is working here at the roadhouse. He is a very avid biker and we swap riding stories back and forth. When he hears we are having our emergency rations for dinner, he disappears. After a little while he reappears with a black bean and beef meal, piping hot en very tasty. When we try to pay for it he won’t have anything from it. So we give him a T-shirt and a team-patch. Well, he earned them! Next year he plans to go to visit Africa and maybe ride through the whole continent. We hope he’ll be able to live this dream and wish him the best of luck!
Day 21, Warburton to Warrakurna: Crash!
We say our goodbyes to the group heading for Tjukayirla en wish them the best of luck. They are heading into the rain and we fear the worst for them. They don’t look all that confident and relaxed themselves either. We hope they’ll make it to the bitumen in one piece.
Our third day on gravel starts great. The road is firm and smooth and we make good time. Unfortunately conditions change and sometimes we really have to work hard for every kilometer travelled. Still, we are getting there, still maintaining a good pace.
But then fate strikes back. Only 30 Km from our destination Miek finds herself in a patch of loose gravel. She makes a tiny mistake, she closes the throttle just a bit. Immediately the front wheel digs in and she’s off. Fortunately she lands on her back, which is protected by her integrated back protecter and the partly filled water backpack. She walks away without so much as a scratch or bruise. The bike is also in good shape. Only her brake pedal is a bit bent, which is bent back by Huub.
As we catch our breath, a car stops. It turns out to be a police patrol, the first one we meet on an unsealed road (after riding more than1300 Km unsealed roads). After he hears we are allright he tells us what we can expect on the remainder of the road. Then he turns to Annemiek and tells her he thinks she is really brave traveling this road on a motorcycle. What he thinks of her mental state, he chooses not to mention…
The last 30 Km go off without a hitch and we are happy to arrive at the roadhouse. The atmosphere here is a major improvement over our last stop and after feuling up we go for a walk. We wander over to the Giles meteorological station. It’s too late for a tour but we see a lone dingo cross the road right in front of us, so our day is made anyway. A colleague of ours used to overnight here during one of his earlier flying jobs. A bit desolate but a great view Mark!
As the bikes are not parked behind a fence and the unlocked tail tanks are full we are a bit worried about fuel theft. We end up parking the bikes right in our motel room. A bit tight but very cozy.
Day 22, Warrakurna to Yulara: Sand, wind and dust!
Today we’ll ride our last stage on unsealed roads. Almost 290 Km of gravel and clay followed by more than 45 Km bitumen. Reports indicate a stretch of soft and sandy road so it’s going to be a killer and we know it. To make matters worse, we’ve found out that the weather is moving in. Looks like Pluvius has us in his sights again and this ride will become a race against the approaching rain. We’ve seen the pictures and heard the stories, we definitely do not want to meet rain on the unsealed road. The rock hard clay will turn to sludge that will be almost impossible to get through.
Not that everything is doom and gloom. The landscape is overwhelming and we spot wild camels and dingo’s. After 100 Km we are approaching the NT border. We know the road is poor in this area and as on cue we are confronted with soft sand.
The road remains sandy for about 50 Km. Then it turns into firm gravel and we pick up the pace. Travelling at speeds up to 100 Km/h our spirits soar. Too bad it only lasts for 20 Km, followed by red clay. Normally you can ride this clay pretty fast but not this time. It has rained the preceding weeks and passing cars have made deep ruts. After the road dried out it was graded, but this only served to fill these ruts with sand and dust. These conditions don’t hamper the cars much, their wide tires floating across the ruts. Our narrow tires, on the other hand, tend to sink into them. Not a great feeling, take our word for it.
To make matters worse, the wind has picked up blowing sand and dust diagonally across the road. Spotting ruts becomes impossible and sometimes blowing dust reduces our visibility to less than 100 meters. Progress is hard and slow.
Then, after much hardship, we spot a mountain range in the distance. These can only be the Olga’s! And that’s where the bitumen starts! The last 20 Km are pure hell, but we drag each other through them. And then, without warning, just 200 meters away, bitumen. After more than 1200 Km in four days, we are standing on a sealed road again. This is celebrated in style with hugs, kisses, tears and photo’s! And off in the distance, we spot…rain!
Tired but relieved we ride into Yulara. We know prices here are more akin to highway robbery and you don’t get much luxury in return. But we have decided not to let this spoil our victory. From a viewing dune behind our unit we watch as the sunset lights up Uluru (Ayers Rock). Later we devour our well deserved burgers and hit the sack.
It’s up and at them early the next morning: we want to go see the sunrise over Uluru. Unfortunately, the weather system that caught up with us last night, hasn’t moved on yet. We get rained on and the sunrise is thoroughly ruined by an overcast layer. As the sky gets darker instead of brighter, we decide to head for shelter. Our plans of a walk around the base of Uluru are scrapped in favor of a major sleeping session.
Later that day the sun finally peeks through and we go for a stroll around the resort, do some shopping and buy two cool hats. It’s Annemieks mothers birthday today and we celebrate in style with big slices of cheese cake. We climb the dune again to see the sunset but again clouds spoil the event. We’ll try again tomorrow.
Day 23, Yulara to Alice Springs: To the center of the continent.
For some reason it’s just not meant to be: clouds still cover the sky and we get rained on again. Still, we take some nice pictures and get on our way. This may be the middle of the desert but the combination of yesterday’s cold front, this morning’s rain and the stiff breeze blowing makes our ride miserably cold. Even when the sun finally beats the clouds for supremacy of the sky, it’s not able to break the severe chill.
After an hour we stumble into Curtin Springs Station, cold and stiff. We warm up in the sun drinking hot thee/coffee and eating a hearty breakfast. When our bodies start to approach the normal operating temperatures we get back on the road.
This is some of the barest land we have travelled through so far, we are truly in the desert now. The effect is a bit spoiled by all the rain of the last few weeks: the desert is green! Apart from the road kill and obligatory carrion birds we don’t see much wildlife. Traffic may have something to do with that as it has picked up considerably. We are almost the victim of a poorly executed passing maneuver by a car coming up from behind. Fortunately everything works out OK and we reach Alice Springs without any further drama.
This town, also known as Alice or The Alice is the only settlement resembling a city for many, many kilometers. The nearest town you could qualify as a city lays 1225 Km to the South. This makes Alice a very important town indeed, it being the center for every- and anything you can think off. Maybe it’s because of this Alice isn’t as picturesque as Kalgoorlie. But the atmosphere is nice and relaxed and the Sunday market is definitely worth visiting. As is the reptile center on the south side of down town. Miek, not being a great fan of snakes, handles a python and falls in love with a couple of lizards. We also walk to the waterhole that has given this town it’s name: the Alice spring.
After a perfectly good night sleep in the Albany Hotel we depart at 09.00 for Esperance.
What do you know, the sun is shining! Today we have high winds but fortunately they are predominately from the West and at our back. The first part of the ride is through farmland and forests. Then we're back in the bush. We even see mountains in the distance but the road stays in the low lands. After about 5 hours we smell the ocean. Not long thereafter we reach our destination.
We check into a motel on the bay and make plans for tomorrow. We end our day with a nice walk along the bay and the jetty, see a huge sealion patrolling the shallows and have a great dinner in a nearby restaurant.
Day 17, Esperance to Kalgoorlie: A strange day indeed.
De road from Esperance to Kalgoorlie is mesmerizing. Everywhere you look you see gum trees dotting the landscape. The winds are still blowing and we are fighting quite a crosswind. The first 20 Km are a real challenge for Miek, struggeling to keep her bike on the road. But after a short stop and some useful tips from Huub she’s fine and starts enjoying the ride and scenery. After about 150 Km, the wind shifts a bit to the South and we pick up the pace a bit.
A few hours into the ride we come upon a fight in the middle of the road. Three drunken friends have run of the road, damaging the car they are travelling in. Now the tempers have flared out of control and they are really going at it (and each other). The car driving in front of us has also stopped and together we calm the fighters down a bit. The driver of this second car is a local, knows these boys and says he will “sort them out”. We gladly take his word for it and get back on our bikes.
Half an hour later we’re stopped on the side of the road again. A caravan/trailer has overturned and caused quite a mess. Fortunately nobody is hurt. We are told that help is on the way and we are not needed here. Sounds good enough to us and we climb back onto our bikes. As we ride away we ask each other what’s going on today: we haven’t seen this much mayhem on the road since we have set off from Darwin. A strange day indeed.
Around 2 P.M. we ride into Kalgoorlie, or Kal for short. Kal is a gold town, with is being the operative word. Gold is being mined and found here since the late 1800’s and the town reflects this. You kinda feel caught up in a surreal Wild West movie set. The buildings hark back to those early golden days and the main roads are wide enough to turn a camel caravan on. That last bit isn’t a joke either, the camel caravan U-turn being the exact specification used in those days. We see a lot of men walking around in soiled working clothes. As the evening sets in, they al seem to have showered and are now cruising the main strip in the low slung, sooped up utes and street racers.
We spend the afternoon applying for our permits (so we may enter aboriginal lands) en taking our trusty bikes to the local Yamaha dealer. We’re having nobbies (off-road tires) mounted as we have decided to ride the Great Central Road. The reports we have received describe the road to be in descent to good shape so we have decided to take the plunge.
As we walk back to our hotel we pass a “somewhat older” biker, Mark. Festooned in classic black leathers on his 1980 BMW R 100 named Brunhilde (Brunni for friends). On the back of Brunni he has strapped a mountain of luggage that boggles even our minds. He turns out to be a very friendly character with an easy laugh and a great sense of humor. He’s looking for his brother in law. They are travelling from the Adelaide area to Perth, but he lost his companion at one of the two (!) t-junctions they were to pass today. It’s quite a funny story and we exchange phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Then he’s on his way again and so are we! Onward to the local Thai restaurant and a good night sleep!
Our “free” day in Kal is going to be spent by playing tourist. As we exit the hotel we see a “somewhat older” biker on a motor scooter. We burst out laughing and tell him somebody is looking for him. He reacts quite grumpy and informs us he already found “the bastard”. Then Mark shows up and joins the conversation and asks us if his in-law is still being grumpy… It’s obvious that these gentlemen know each other quite well and a sort of comic relief situation unfolds before our eyes.
Then Huub turns around to find himself face to face with Lynn, the lady from the Yamaha store. She tells us that our tires haven’t come in. But before we can panic, she shows us the tires in the back of her car. Turns out she’s spent the best part of the morning driving around Kalgoorlie, tracking down tires for us. She just happened to drive by and saw us standing on the sidewalk. Talk about a coincidence, talk about service… Anyway, we pick out two sets and she rushes off to the store, reassuring us the bikes will be ready today.
Slightly confused by all these coincidental meetings we stagger off in search of breakfast. Afterwards we visit the mining museum that’s situated right on the main street of Kalgoorlie. There we get a nice insight in the life of the mining community of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Then it’s time to go collect our bikes. And one thing really should be mentioned here: the way we were treated at J&J Motorcycles and the level of service we received really is unbelievable! Two thumbs up and a very big thank you to the team at J&J Motorcycles! After we have literally been seen of by the staff, we go back to the hotel to regroup and make plans for dinner.
As we are contemplating our options on the balcony of our hotel, we meet a couple from Laverton, Maida and Paul. Laverton is our next stop and after a nice conversation we decide to visit them at their home the next day.
Then it’s off to dinner. We have a great meal at the local Indian restaurant. As we make it back to our hotel we are surprised by a live band playing in the bar. Did we mention our room is right above the bar..? Fortunately the music stops at 00:00 and we enjoy another good night sleep.
Day 18, Kalgoorlie to Laverton: Back to the Outback.
Before we leave Kalgoorlie all together we pop in at the Super Pit, a huge goldmine. And before you start thinking about shafts and tunnels, let us tell you that in this case the name is aptly chosen. The Super Pits is a big hole, a few kilometers long and wide and 400 meters deep. The machines used here are huge but are dwarfed by the sheer size of this mine. After a bit the car park is swamped with motorcycles, the Ulysses Bike Club is having a meet in Kal this weekend. We decide to make a run for it, but before we can make our get away, we have to tell our story yet again. Then one of the audience pulls out his wallet and donates all his change, $7,60 for the Dutch Cancer Society…
Then we’re off. Our route takes us through Menzies, a tiny town that’s been around for over 100 years. The old buildings are still there, making for a few quaint photographs. The local roadhouse is completely covered in license plates and metal signs. Interesting…
We fuel in Leonora where we meet a familiar feature from a corny country song: The pub with no beer! (Thanks Alwyn!)
Nowhere on our travels so far have we seen so many dead kangaroos on the side of the road as we do between Leonora and Laverton. We are saddened by all these dead animals and wonder why we see so many of them here. Maybe it’s something in the water as a goanna runs out in front of Huub’s front wheel. It’s a close call, but the collision is avoided by a combination of hard breaking and a course reversal by the big lizard.
Laverton itself is a small town at the end of the bitumen road. It’s only unsealed from here on out, no matter which way you go except back the way you came. The aboriginal/alcohol problem is painfully apparent here, which is a sad thing to see. We spend a very nice evening with our new friends en enjoy their stories, wine and a great mussel dinner.
Day 19, Laverton to Tjukayirla: Back on the gravel.
Today we’ll have a bit of a spin, travelling “only” 300 Km on unsealed roads. In view of this we make an early start. Fortunately the quality road is reasonable to good and we’re making good time. The road doesn’t resemble the Gibb much, which is a good thing as the distances here are about double! The first two things to strike us are the width of the road (at least four lanes wide) and the high number of car wrecks on the side of the road. In the coming days the width will vary, the number of wreck will not…
We arrive at the roadhouse around 15:00. The place is very tidy and colorful and it doesn’t take long before we meet Taylor (5). She’s the granddaughter of the proprietor and has to make do out here without any other children. She has three dogs to keep her occupied, which is a good thing. Still, we can’t shake the feeling she’s a bit lonely.
We have a late lunch and it consists of two huge burgers. We buy a BBQ package for dinner. When around 9 P.M. we finally feel like a bite, Huub fires up the communal BBQ and we dine under thousands of stars.
Day 20, Tjukayirla to Warburton: A bit of a disappointment.
Today we “only” have to ride 250 Km. The road is pretty descent and we arrive around 2 P.M. The contrast between Tjukayirla and this place is enormous. The grounds look a bit messy, the buildings are a bit drab, but worst of all: the roadhouse is closed! Turns out today is a WA holiday. After a bit of asking, complaining and lobbying, we receive the key to our unit. How or what we are going to eat is an entirely other matter… Why they didn’t tell us this when we called from Kalgoorlie when we made our reservation will remain a mystery.
We meet three bikers, travelling the road in the opposite direction. They’ve been having a rather rough ride, having lost a substantial number of their party to injuries. Wind, rain and poor road conditions have really taken their toll on this bunch, with crashes and punctures occurring pretty much everyday.
While we are contemplating our options for dinner, we are joined by Bucko. He comes from Tasmania and is working here at the roadhouse. He is a very avid biker and we swap riding stories back and forth. When he hears we are having our emergency rations for dinner, he disappears. After a little while he reappears with a black bean and beef meal, piping hot en very tasty. When we try to pay for it he won’t have anything from it. So we give him a T-shirt and a team-patch. Well, he earned them! Next year he plans to go to visit Africa and maybe ride through the whole continent. We hope he’ll be able to live this dream and wish him the best of luck!
Day 21, Warburton to Warrakurna: Crash!
We say our goodbyes to the group heading for Tjukayirla en wish them the best of luck. They are heading into the rain and we fear the worst for them. They don’t look all that confident and relaxed themselves either. We hope they’ll make it to the bitumen in one piece.
Our third day on gravel starts great. The road is firm and smooth and we make good time. Unfortunately conditions change and sometimes we really have to work hard for every kilometer travelled. Still, we are getting there, still maintaining a good pace.
But then fate strikes back. Only 30 Km from our destination Miek finds herself in a patch of loose gravel. She makes a tiny mistake, she closes the throttle just a bit. Immediately the front wheel digs in and she’s off. Fortunately she lands on her back, which is protected by her integrated back protecter and the partly filled water backpack. She walks away without so much as a scratch or bruise. The bike is also in good shape. Only her brake pedal is a bit bent, which is bent back by Huub.
As we catch our breath, a car stops. It turns out to be a police patrol, the first one we meet on an unsealed road (after riding more than1300 Km unsealed roads). After he hears we are allright he tells us what we can expect on the remainder of the road. Then he turns to Annemiek and tells her he thinks she is really brave traveling this road on a motorcycle. What he thinks of her mental state, he chooses not to mention…
The last 30 Km go off without a hitch and we are happy to arrive at the roadhouse. The atmosphere here is a major improvement over our last stop and after feuling up we go for a walk. We wander over to the Giles meteorological station. It’s too late for a tour but we see a lone dingo cross the road right in front of us, so our day is made anyway. A colleague of ours used to overnight here during one of his earlier flying jobs. A bit desolate but a great view Mark!
As the bikes are not parked behind a fence and the unlocked tail tanks are full we are a bit worried about fuel theft. We end up parking the bikes right in our motel room. A bit tight but very cozy.
Day 22, Warrakurna to Yulara: Sand, wind and dust!
Today we’ll ride our last stage on unsealed roads. Almost 290 Km of gravel and clay followed by more than 45 Km bitumen. Reports indicate a stretch of soft and sandy road so it’s going to be a killer and we know it. To make matters worse, we’ve found out that the weather is moving in. Looks like Pluvius has us in his sights again and this ride will become a race against the approaching rain. We’ve seen the pictures and heard the stories, we definitely do not want to meet rain on the unsealed road. The rock hard clay will turn to sludge that will be almost impossible to get through.
Not that everything is doom and gloom. The landscape is overwhelming and we spot wild camels and dingo’s. After 100 Km we are approaching the NT border. We know the road is poor in this area and as on cue we are confronted with soft sand.
The road remains sandy for about 50 Km. Then it turns into firm gravel and we pick up the pace. Travelling at speeds up to 100 Km/h our spirits soar. Too bad it only lasts for 20 Km, followed by red clay. Normally you can ride this clay pretty fast but not this time. It has rained the preceding weeks and passing cars have made deep ruts. After the road dried out it was graded, but this only served to fill these ruts with sand and dust. These conditions don’t hamper the cars much, their wide tires floating across the ruts. Our narrow tires, on the other hand, tend to sink into them. Not a great feeling, take our word for it.
To make matters worse, the wind has picked up blowing sand and dust diagonally across the road. Spotting ruts becomes impossible and sometimes blowing dust reduces our visibility to less than 100 meters. Progress is hard and slow.
Then, after much hardship, we spot a mountain range in the distance. These can only be the Olga’s! And that’s where the bitumen starts! The last 20 Km are pure hell, but we drag each other through them. And then, without warning, just 200 meters away, bitumen. After more than 1200 Km in four days, we are standing on a sealed road again. This is celebrated in style with hugs, kisses, tears and photo’s! And off in the distance, we spot…rain!
Tired but relieved we ride into Yulara. We know prices here are more akin to highway robbery and you don’t get much luxury in return. But we have decided not to let this spoil our victory. From a viewing dune behind our unit we watch as the sunset lights up Uluru (Ayers Rock). Later we devour our well deserved burgers and hit the sack.
It’s up and at them early the next morning: we want to go see the sunrise over Uluru. Unfortunately, the weather system that caught up with us last night, hasn’t moved on yet. We get rained on and the sunrise is thoroughly ruined by an overcast layer. As the sky gets darker instead of brighter, we decide to head for shelter. Our plans of a walk around the base of Uluru are scrapped in favor of a major sleeping session.
Later that day the sun finally peeks through and we go for a stroll around the resort, do some shopping and buy two cool hats. It’s Annemieks mothers birthday today and we celebrate in style with big slices of cheese cake. We climb the dune again to see the sunset but again clouds spoil the event. We’ll try again tomorrow.
Day 23, Yulara to Alice Springs: To the center of the continent.
For some reason it’s just not meant to be: clouds still cover the sky and we get rained on again. Still, we take some nice pictures and get on our way. This may be the middle of the desert but the combination of yesterday’s cold front, this morning’s rain and the stiff breeze blowing makes our ride miserably cold. Even when the sun finally beats the clouds for supremacy of the sky, it’s not able to break the severe chill.
After an hour we stumble into Curtin Springs Station, cold and stiff. We warm up in the sun drinking hot thee/coffee and eating a hearty breakfast. When our bodies start to approach the normal operating temperatures we get back on the road.
This is some of the barest land we have travelled through so far, we are truly in the desert now. The effect is a bit spoiled by all the rain of the last few weeks: the desert is green! Apart from the road kill and obligatory carrion birds we don’t see much wildlife. Traffic may have something to do with that as it has picked up considerably. We are almost the victim of a poorly executed passing maneuver by a car coming up from behind. Fortunately everything works out OK and we reach Alice Springs without any further drama.
This town, also known as Alice or The Alice is the only settlement resembling a city for many, many kilometers. The nearest town you could qualify as a city lays 1225 Km to the South. This makes Alice a very important town indeed, it being the center for every- and anything you can think off. Maybe it’s because of this Alice isn’t as picturesque as Kalgoorlie. But the atmosphere is nice and relaxed and the Sunday market is definitely worth visiting. As is the reptile center on the south side of down town. Miek, not being a great fan of snakes, handles a python and falls in love with a couple of lizards. We also walk to the waterhole that has given this town it’s name: the Alice spring.
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