Australia 2008 – Day 30
Katherine to Edith Falls
Had planned to go all the way up to Darwin today, but we stopped at Edith Falls about 90km out of Katherine. It was another hot day so we went swimming in the pool and sat in the falls for a while. It was such a nice spot, we just decided to relax and camp the night there.
In the evening we hiked the 1.5km to the upper falls and swam again for a while until storms rolled in and the rain started again. Watched the lightning while eating dinner with a couple from Ireland.
Dumped rain all night but at least it brought the temperature down making it easier to sleep.
Australia 2008 – Day 29
Kununurra to Katherine
Some more nice scenery on the way to Katherine today, but also incredibly hot. By the time we get to Katherine we are exhausted. Checked into a caravan park in town, bought some cold beers and cooked up dinner. Going to be a tough night of sleep with the intense heat.
Australia 2008 – Day 28
Dawn Creek to Kununurra
Beautiful scenery all day today on the final stretch of the Gibb River Road. We made it to the Penticost River crossing and luckily its wasn’t too swollen from last nights storms. I crossed first and made it to the other side with much issue. Brendon went next, made it across, but somehow lost a pannier into the middle of the river. As it began to float down stream he ran out after it hoping the crocodiles would not bite.
Made it into Kununurra and camped on the edge of a lake. Went swimming then had dinner at a great little restaurant called The Pump House.
Australia 2008 – Day 27
Marchfly Glen to Dawn Creek
Road a couple hundred more kilometers down the Gibb River without any problems. Barnet Roadhouse was indeed open so we filled everything up with fuel and enjoyed some refreshing cold drinks. Took a short detour up to manning gorge and walked around the rocks for a bit.
Back on the road, storms were building up all around us, but we kept pushing on until we got to the edge of a massive super cell. With the rumble of thunder all around us, we setup camp and watched an incredible sunset. Just as we prepare to cook dinner, the rain begins to poor down. Cooked some beans in the tent and spent the rest of the night watching the almost constant lighting and thunder.
Australia 2008 – Day 26
Derby to Marchfly Glen
Up at 8am and on the bike to the town Woolworth’s for some oil. Then found an auto shop, ‘Rocky’s’ that let me use their shop and dispose of the oil. Changed the oil and filter quickly and headed back to camp to make a final decision on the Gibb River Road.
Tried calling the roadhouse one more time and we somehow get through! They will be open today and tomorrow, then closed for six days. As long as we make it there in two days, we are set. On this news we quickly packed up, grabbed an additional 12 liter jerry can and filled up everything to the brim with fuel and water.
At the 205km mark we pull over in some shade to re-fuel the bikes. While re-fueling a guy pulls up in a 4×4, hops out and offers us some ‘almost’ cold beers. We shoot the shit for a while and he gives us a bunch of great suggestions on places to see and camp.
Took the guy’s advise and setup camp in Marchfly glen only a few kilometers down the road. It was a warm clear evening, but with constant flashes of lightning lighting up the horizon all around us, we wondered if it was a sign of things to come.
Australia 2008 – Day 24-25
80 Mile Beach to Broome to Derby
As we head further north the heat any humidity grows. It was another hot day of riding today, stopping every 100km to take in some fluids. Made it to Broome and stayed at the Mangrove Hotel Resort. Had a great night listening to live music and eating fresh seafood on the patio.
Got up early the next day, picked up a few supplies, then tried to get an oil change done on my bike. As expected, he only bike shop in town couldn’t do it for a few days, so I just bought the filter to do it myself.
It was a short ride to Derby dodging thunder showers and sweating like mad in the humidity. Arrived in derby in the afternoon and setup camp at The Kimberly Entrance Caravan park. Our plan was to start heading east down the remote 4WD Gibb River road tomorrow morning. The road steaches 700km through the Kimberly region and there is only one roadhouse in the middle. As we inquired around Derby, the rumors were that the roadhouse was closed. Even the local visitor information center said the road is not passible and the roadhouse closed. At this point we were pretty bummed, we tried calling the roadhouse a couple times, but there was no answer. Pizza and beers for dinner.
Australia 2008 – Day 23
Port Hedland to 80 Mile Beach
Bikes need an oil change before we set off on the Gibb River Road in a couple days. Since it is Saturday, we have a day to kill before we can hopefully get it done in Broome on Monday. Made the decision to head to 80 Mile Beach and camp there for the night. it was just about half way between Port Hedland and Broome.
Arrived at the beach in the early afternoon and put our tents up. Spent the rest of the afternoon lounging on the beach and swimming in the warm ocean water. As the sun was setting, we watched giant turtles crawling up the beach to lay their eggs.
Nice easy day today, but another warm night.
Australia 2008 – Day 22
Karijini National Park to Port Hedland
Took a quick look at Dale Canyon before heading off to Port Headland. Karijini is a beautiful park full of deep canyons and green pools. Definitely a place to come back to in the future and explore.
The ride to Port Hedland was incredibly hot, but also very scenic. When we arrived in town it was well over 40 degrees. Booked a tent site at Cooke Point Caravan park and setup camp.
Went out in the evening to find a restaurant, but discovered that there was none… just plenty of bars that don’t serve food. Ended up going to the local IGA and getting dinner items there. Ate dinner while watching an awesome sunset over town.
Very hot, calm night.
Australia 2008 – Day 21
Exmouth to Karijini National Park
Very long day today with over 700km behind us. Fuel stations are now growing far apart and we often have to fill additional 10 liter jerry cans. Some beautiful desert terrain today with some table lands, canyons and rocky outcroppings.
Stopped at a roadhouse for fuel and met a young Japanese guy wearing a bright orange jumpsuit who was riding around Australia on a 1970’s Honda 125. At another roadhouse we saw another young Japanese guy who was riding around Australia on a bicycle pulling a small trailer. Crazy Japanese…
Made it to the mining town of Tom Price just before sunset. Picked up some groceries and beer and quickly headed out to town to camp. We didn’t arrive at the campground until after dark. Luckily there arn’t many kangaroos in this area.
Huge prowler spiders all over the ground tonight.
Australia 2008 – Day 20
Carnarvon to Exmouth
Started the morning off slow and a bit hungover after last nights festivities with the Germans.
It was a hot and uneventful ride up to Exmouth. the trees disappeared and were replaced with tall termite mounds. Stopped at the grocery store in Exmouth then headed off into the Cape Ranges national Park to find a camp site before sunset.
35km outside of Exmouth we found a sweet little campground right on the beach.
