Central Australia adventure 1 -the coastal run

Coming over the top of the Otway Ranges from Forest

The view from Beacon Lookout over Apollo Bay is a must stop before making the final descent to the Great Ocean Road

I’ve written about this iconic roadway.

But on a windy day the sea around the monoliths at Port Campbell is foaming white.

Crossing the border into South Australia, the pretty fishing town of Beachport provided a pleasant stop

The Coorong is for me one of the most beautiful and mystical parts of Australia

A string of saline lakes separated from the Southern Ocean by huge sand dunes.

At the southern end the lakes are dry salt pans which gather water as one travels north toward the mouth of the Murray River

Crossing the Murray River near where it forms its estuary and the Coorong connects back to the Southern Ocean

At Cape Jervis which overlooks Kangaroo Island it was time to turn in land

And to night the Flinders Ranges are within striking distance and the vista has turned from sea blue to straw yellow

And the buildings in the small towns are of hard stones

And the sunset starting to gain a desert hue

Tomorrow its further inland to the Flinders Ranges!

The Steinbock ready for the outback

It has been an anxious wait to start this trip.

A covid 19 5 day lock down in Melbourne meant state borders closed and my Central Australian adventure not possible.

Life during the 5 day lockdown was not too arduous as I live near the beach

And it was only 5 days till I could catch up with mates again

And undertake preparation for the trip ahead.

In the days of GPS I still love a good map

The 5 day lockdown turned out a godsend.

The outbreak was quickly bought under control and there are no more new cases in Victoria

I recieve my permit to enter South Australia on Friday and today I complete my annual medical tests

Problem of being 63 with some heart disease.

But will soon be off on the adventure which will take in

The Great Ocean Road;

The Coorong;

The Adelaide Hills,

The Flinders Ranges,

The Oodnadatta track and surrounds,

The Red Centre of Australia made most famous by Uluru and the amazing county around it

Into Queensland and down to Longreach,

The fossil area finds around Winton,

Carnarvon Gorge.

0ver 8,000 km to get to my friends eldest daughters wedding near Brisbane.

Wouldn’t do it any other way!

A New Year, a new adventure – A new bike – OMG

Well after a 2020 full of upheaval and Australia acting as a island of refuge and safety in this strange covid 19 world it was time to take a change of direction.

Have no fear readers and followers the mighty Breva has not been cast onto the scrapheap of motorcycle blogisms

With over 180,000 Km on the clock at is time for the mighty Moto Guzzi Breva to get some TLC

So its place is on the work table in the shed at the moment

It is time to explore central Australia and the mighty Breva was not the bike for this trip

It was over 40 years ago that I rode a Norton Commando Interstate around Australia

Highway 1 – the main highway around Australia- in those days included around 2,000 km of dirt road up in the north of Western Australia and near the border of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Heading south from Darwin the Highway turns east and Tennant Creek heading to the east coast and avoiding Australia’s red centre

In 2014 I took the mighty Breva to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia but the red centre still evades me

Its time to remedy this and the I’ve chosen a BMW F800GSA to do it

The aim is to head off from Melbourne in early March and head up through South Australia to the Flinders Ranges and along the Oodnadatta Track to Alice Springs and Uluru

The next 7 weeks will be about setting the bike up for the trip

And honing up my off road skills.

So stand by friends and followers the next adventure is Australia’s Red Centre

Impressions of South Australia – Fleurieu Peninsula

It was getting hot in the Flinders Ranges and the prediction was that it was going to hit 40 celsius.

Bike loaded and ready to roll at the back of the Blinman Hotel

I couldn’t wait to get on my way south through the Clare Vand the Adelaide Hills and down to the Fleurieu Peninsula (http://fleurieupeninsula.com.au/) where the cool breezes off the southern ocean keeps the temperatures down.

There was an overnight stop at the Barbed Wire Pub at Spalding just north of Clare then through to Port Elliot where the over 100 year old Port Elliot Beach House is totally friendly and cheap.

The night at the beach was good to do some shopping. The Fleurieu Peninsula is so fertile and with 100 ks there are all types of foods. Yoghurts from the local dairy farms, dried grapes and wines from McLaren Vale and Langhorn Creek, fresh fish from the sea and lakes and tomatoes and over vegetables from Murray Bridge. All local and fresh.

The aim was to stock up them camp in one of the beautiful coastal parks that are just of the road to Cape Jervis.

Looking out to Kangaroo Island on the road to Cape Jervis

The road from Victor Harbour to Cape Jervis is listed in the top 100 rides in Australia and is a pearler, with optional detours down gravel (oh no not again) roads to beaches at the number of conservation parks along the coast.

As a 40 degree day (in October!) approached I slipped down one of those gravel roads to find a camp spot just over the dunes from the beach.

With some camp spot friends.

A beautiful place to camp on a very hot day and to bring my trip to South Australia to and end as the next day I headed back home.

Quirky Stop in South Australia

In the town of Spalding just north of the Clare Valley wine region there in the Barbed Wire Hotel (http://www.barbedwirepubspalding.com.au/)

I had fled south from the Flinders Ranges as the temperature had hit 38 degree Celsius at Hawker by noon. It was hot ride and finding the pub at Spalding serving cold, and good food with comfortable rooms. It was serendipity.

Then there was the barbed wire museum

A somewhat different collection that you wouldn’t want to get tangled in!!!