Monthly Archives: September 2015

Day 57 – Motorbike Maintenance

It was quite a relaxing day for me as Flo had to do maintenance on the bike for basically the whole day. This is something I just have no clue about.

Flo struggling with the oil filter

Flo struggling with the oil filter

After the first 10.000km on this trip and 44.000km on the bike in total, it was time for an inspection and the exchange of some parts that wear. Flo might write the more technical post but he doesn’t have the time so here is what I saw:

The bike had to be taken apart quite thoroughly. The air filters were changed, the radiators were checked and cleaned as far as possible. The spark plugs (don’t ask me what that is) need to be changed, the oil was drained and changed. In the afternoon, the rear tire came off and new brake pads were put in. Lots of things were cleaned and the crash bars were even sprayed again in rust-preventing matt black.

Flo was very happy that he could use Tig’s garage and

Preparing the antipasti platter

Preparing the antipasti platter

tools as it made things much easier. It still took forever though and it is not quite finished yet.

To say thank you for giving us a bed and a garage, we also decided to cook for the flat tonight. Flo made gazpacho which was lovely in the hot climate of Darwin.

 

 

 

Day 56 – Arriving in Darwin

It was a weird feeling when we packed the tent for the last time for a while. Given that we camped for an estimated 25 nights in a row, Flo and I were mighty tired of packing up every morning. On the other hand, it has been our home for the last month and maybe even a bit longer. We will probably not use it through all of Asia as rooms are cheap enough to not bother with camping.

This little fellow lived in the tap

This little fellow lived in the tap

After packing and a short fright when I flushed a frog out of the tap onto my water bottle, we left Mary River National Park and headed for Darwin. For the first part of the route, Flo tried to read up on attractions along the road but then we both decided that we could do with half a day in a city and thus headed straight for Darwin.

The only stop we took afterwards was crossing the Adelaide River and seeing a giant jumping crocodile statue. It is at the place where all the “jumping crocodile tours” leave from.

The similarities...perplexing :P

The similarities…perplexing 😛

Arriving in Darwin at lunch time, we both enjoyed being in a city again. There is food everywhere and supermarkets with everything rather than a road side gas station that mainly stocks cans and tins. So we had a lovely lunch and were prepared to spend half a day while waiting for our hosts to come home when Flo checked his mails and we got the information that Tig was off work for the day and we could just drive to Coconut Grove right after lunch.

Celia and Tig’s house (it is more than a flat) is very tropical. No closed walls, slatted windows (it makes sense here) and one story up in the foliage of the palm trees. Getting out of our gear, we had a frantic hour or two. Flo started to organize shipping the bike and the information that we kept getting was quite different to what we got on the road. At some point the option was shipping today or waiting till October 23rd so we rushed around to maybe make it in a couple of hours. Luckily, all of this cleared up at some point and the cut off for the ship is now on Thursday as we had expected.

Tig gave Flo a ride to the motorbike shop to pick up all the parts that he had ordered and then we had a lovely afternoon/evening in the shade. Our hosts then invited us for dinner and cooked a delicious meal for us. We were joined by their flatmates Liz and her partner. It was Liz’s birthday so lovely Celia had bought champagne and we had a merry first night in Darwin.

Day 55 – It’s over 9000!

Exactly 10.000km!

Exactly 10.000km!

… 10.000 km actually. Still in Kakadu, 5 km before the Mamukala bird watching area, we have completed the first 10.000.000 meter of this trip, in the 2nd country along our way. Not bad, eh?

Over all, this was a pretty sweet day for us. We got up at quarter past six and had everything ready even before the bakery opened at 8am to get breakfast. As a bonus, I got a smile out of the lady at the petrol station for mentioning our next destination: She was from East Timor and was genuinely excited that we decided to go and visit her home country.

Posing with the bike

Posing with the bike

First destination for the day was Ubirr and surroundings. A nice curvy road led us to the border between Kakadu national park and Arnhem Land. Border is meant quite literally, since travel past the border store into Arnhem Land is restricted and requires a permit from the traditional owners. Geographically, the border is marked by the Arnhem Land limestone escarpment and the East Alligator River.

The road follows the escarpment for a bit, offering a great change of scenery from the monotonous savannah so far. It turns out, exploring the Kakadu National Park via the Kakadu and Arnhem Highways is a sure way to be bored out of your scull. There are great things to see a couple of km off on side tracks, but so far most of it was locked away from us behind corrugated sandy 4wd tracks.

This changed today: We started with a short walk from the Border Store along the river, croc spotting and through the nice cool Manngarree Monsoon Forest. Saltwater Crocodiles were shy, but we saw hundreds of cute flying foxes hanging from the trees. The walk was made even more pleasant by Frederike and Lars, who joined us once more.

Flo looking at the super green flood plain

Flo looking at the super green flood plain

Next stop was Ubirr itself, which we hit in time for the 11 am guided rock art tour. The style of the ranger turned out to be not quite our cup of tea, but we ducked ahead and got the highlight of the park (for us) almost to ourselves as a reward. Climbing some 250m up the Nardab Lookout on top of a limestone cliff, we got a mind boggling 360° view of everything that makes the Kakadu: Savannah, bush fires, river lands and billabongs, rocky cliffs, monsoon forest and the perfectly flat and pool table green expanse of a flood plain right at our feet. Jackpot!

Despite the lunch pack being ready on the bike, we could not resist the authentic Thai cuisine offered at the Border Store. Lunch packs can be dinner, right?

Goose posing

Goose posing

We cut the next bit of croc-watching short to head off to our final destination in Kakadu: The above mentioned Mamukala wetlands. This wetland is cut off from the South Alligator River during the dry season and holds a good bit of water that can only escape via evaporation. Now, during Gurrung (mid-August to September) thousands of birds, mainly geese, flock to this wetland to fatten up. It was in deed quite spectacular, the noise, the diving geese and seemingly endless supply of waterlilies.

So that is it than. On our way to Darwin, we gave in to the weakness once more and cut the gravel trip to the Shady Camp short by staying in the pool-providing Stuart Wilderness Lodge. It is going to be the last night of camping for a good wile. Beyond Darwin, where lovely Celia and Tig have offered us shelter, we also got a place to sort ourselves out in Dili, thanks to my former colleague Joseph.

Day 54 – Too hot

Our second day in the Kakadu National Park began and it immediately showed us that it would be hot and humid today.

While packing, the tent turned into a sauna. I simply couldn’t finish packing the sleeping bags. Flo laughed quite hard when I stormed out of the tent to cool off, completely covered in sweat. Due to the heat we needed to take our time and were late on the road.

Lookout on the Nourlangie art walk

Lookout on the Nourlangie art walk

Nourlangie, a region in the park, was our destination for the morning. When we arrived at the first walk it was already unbearable in the sunshine. We did the walk anyway, hopping from art site to art site and shade to shade.

Getting back into our biking gear was close to torture. Flo and I quickly agreed to skip the next walk and have lunch in Jabiru instead. Jabiru is the biggest town within the national park (due to the local uranium mine of all things). Luckily, a real bakery could be found and we had a lovely lunch with cold drinks and pizza pieces. Another motorcyclist joined us in the shade so we had nice lunch time company as well.

For dessert, I had one of the apricot rolls which was too sweet for Flo so I had the whole thing and then felt like rolling into a camp and sleep in the shade. Which is almost exactly what we ended up doing even if Flo was slightly frustrated with us doing so little today.

Jabiru, black-necked storch

Jabiru, black-necked storch

So we rode onto the campground in Jabiru. After a half-hearted attempt to put up the tent, we just jumped into the pool. Water is the only relief to cool down at least a little bit.

After an hour, Flo wanted to use the time to do some of our internet things. Three steps out of the pool area, we were covered in sweat again and agreed that we can check emails in the pool area.

Grabbing the laptop, a camper van with Frederike and Lars in it came our way. They also felt the heat this day and joined us in the pool for most of the rest of the day.

We promised ourselves to do better tomorrow and went to bed good and early that night.

Day 53 – Tornadoes and cathedrals

Yes, they are that big now

Yes, they are that big now

Ok, hands down, I think we are at peak termite mound now. I have mentioned before that the mounds have been constantly rising in height coming north. They are now up to 3m high fortresses. I am not sure if these actually are the famed cathedral termites building those, but the title sure would fit.

The day started earlier smooth as can be for us. We got everything packed by 9am and were ready to go explore the swimming holes of the area. Although early, by the time we reached the upper pool and waterfall, it was sure warm enough for the first swim. Splashing around in the first pool, we meet Frederike and Lars again and got talking some more. We were good around the same time and hiked the 1 km back down together. The lower pool was crowded enough to evoke images of public swimming pools during the summer break back home, so all of us skipped the second swim and headed straight for the car park.

We parted with them exchanging the remaining route, which is pretty similar for both of us. Maybe we would meet again?

Ok, was that 35°C or 36°C in the shade again?

Ok, was that 35°C or 36°C in the shade again?

Off into Kakadu National Park we went, after a brief but nice lunch stop in Pine Creek. The savannah around us is very different and now at the end of the dry scorched brown like parchment, if not blackened and scarred by bushfires. The thermometer rose to 36°C in the shade and there was very little wind going.

Except for Nina’s pants, which are waiting for us in Darwin, we are in full summer gear now. One base layer and summer suit. The Compañero is holding up well, I’d say, at least as good as can be expected. The last escalation layer left is soaking our base layers in water before starting.

The Kakadu Highway is the first nice curvy road since we left the Flinders, but other than that there are not many roadside attractions. Brown grass, some trees, termites and … oh, and the occasional mini tornado. No kidding here: maybe every half an hour we see a wind hose / mini tornado blowing up leaves and dust in a nice little whirlwind.

The campgrounds are either out of reach behind heavily corrugated roads or hellish dustbowls. When we saw Frederike and Lars just coming out of campground #3, we gave in to the lure of a pool and facilities and joined them on their way to Cooinda Resort and Campground. The $36 we had to fork off to the toll troll bought us a nice cool afternoon in one of the two pools with even nicer company.

The killer at the end: We even got invited to dinner – thanks heaps to our benevolent Kiel’ensians.

Day 52 – Caves and pools

Hmm, sweet sweet shade

Hmm, sweet sweet shade

We took our time leaving Mataranka, simply because it was such a nice place. Also, because we had two long days behind us, we didn’t have many plans for today.

The first one was visiting the Cutta Cutta Caves on the way to Katherine. Arriving at the caves at 11.10am, we were out of luck. The tour had just departed at 11am and the next one would go at 1pm. After a short discussion, we decided it was worth the wait and had an extended lunch break. The local ants were fascinating, transporting all our crumbs off into the mound.

At 12.30, the “office” opened and we fled inside as it had air conditioning. Our guide Cam, who also has a motorcycle, knows about heat problems and let us store our gear in the office rather than in the sunshine outside. *thumbs up*

The caves themselves were very cool. The limestone forms stalactites and stalagmites as well as the occasional column. The air flow is quite bad so the caves are hot but bats seem to like it as the live further towards the back of the cave.

Stalactites

Stalactites

Cam then demonstrated how the caves got their current name by turning of the light and having us stand there in utter darkness. Where the light of his torch touched the stone, most surfaces sparkled in the darkness. ‘Cutta’ means star and through the repetition of the word, it is indicated that there are many of them: Cutta Cutta is many stars.

Coming back out of the cave after an hour, we were lucky to see a rock wallaby with a baby in the pouch. So cute!

Afterwards, we drove to Katherine Gorge in a National Park to camp there and hire a canoe for tomorrow. Paddling through to the second gorge must be quite epic. We, and especially Flo, were in for a disappointment: We did get a campsite but there was no more canoe available for tomorrow.

Flo then saw no point in us staying here anymore. Luckily, we got a refund for the campground and drove another 100km to Edith Falls/Leliyn to a campground in a different corner of the national park.

Again, we just put our tent up and then jumped into the “lower pool” with a waterfall in the back, just as the sun was getting low. It was beautiful and we were the only ones in the water. I was slightly scared of crocodiles (there is much talk of them up here) but signs assured us that this is croc-free water.

While preparing our dinner, Flo managed to meet a German couple who are travelling around Australia in a camper van: Lars and Frederike.

Day 51 – The tropics

We got on the road in very good time, around 9am. Which was well and good, since we had 560km to go *sigh*.

Heaps of memorabilia

Heaps of memorabilia

I wish I could report anything of the trip, but really, there was very little besides refuelling and brief breaks. That is probably the main reason why two otherwise unremarkable pubs have become somewhat iconic roadside attractions. We had an ice cream at Renner Springs and a couple of cokes at the more prominent Daly Waters Pub. Filled with all sorts of memorabilia left by travellers coming through, it has sort of developed into a go-to place. As I said, in the end, what else would you do?

So we had plenty of time to talk, muse and most of all listen to audio books along the way. The landscape changed rather abruptly at Newcastle Waters. Temperatures go up again, humidity increases and all around trees and shrubs have replaced the arid plains of the centre. A more subtle change is the constant rise in height of the termite mounds, of which some are now taller than we are.

Why?! 30 Minutes without shade ...

Why?! 30 Minutes without shade …

One last annoyance was a red lollypop on a construction site about an hour before our destination. We were the first to be stopped, so for the next 25 minutes we had front row seats to observe how roads are re-sealed. Thank you incompetent stick lady for no info at all and not waving past the only vehicle without AC to come through in 3 hrs …

But the light shines bright at the end of the tunnel. And it came in the form of the Bitter Springs, a ‘thermal spa’ stream in the bush. We arrived just in time for one quick swim before sunset. The perfect way to end a sweaty long day in the saddle. We swam along in the stream for a couple 100m. The water is actually ground water, leaking from an aquifer. Where the water flows, it is perfectly clear and has a lovely 34°C.

Day 50 – The road goes on and on

Yummy!

Yummy!

Leaving Alice Springs, we decided to wave good-bye to Claudia one more time. So we pulled up at her work place, the Water tank cafe, and had a coffee and a ‘Chunky Nana’: A banana, milk, honey, pistachio and chocolate bits drink. Luckily, she was able to have a 15min break so we could talk a bit more before leaving.

The Stuart Highway continues on to Darwin now. Today, the plan was for a longer ride. 510km to Tennant Creek which is the next town after Alice Springs.

We stopped shortly in Aileron to take pictures of the larger-than-life statues there but then continued on. A forced break at a road closure and a couple of refueling stops were the only interruption of the monotony.

The road closure took 20min and we were told that it was due to “a movie being shot”, or rather a commercial for a car.

Marbles ahead!

Marbles ahead!

Lunch was at one of the roadside rest areas and the most exciting thing that happened was that a poor dingo nearly got run over.

In the afternoon, we reached Devil’s Marbles. . Many people had told us to camp there as Devil’s Marbles the marbles are best seen in sunrise or sunset. The late afternoon light made them look pretty already. The main reason that we drove on to Tennant Creek is that tomorrow is another 500km day which would have become a 600km day if we had camped early.

Going towards Tennant Creek, the landscape gets greener already and is dotted with big termite mounds. Flo liked them and we tried to take a picture of them. Most were right next to the highway though without a good place to stop nearby.

Day 49 – Encounters

We ended up staying alone on the bluff campground in Trephina Gorge. At least counting other humans. There were things going on, for sure. The “rain” tree, for example. Half the campground was cordoned off, because of a precariously leaning red gum tree as it turns out. The tree was marked “cracked or termites”. The eerie sound coming from it at night left little doubt which of the two was the case 😉

The ross highway along the eastern MacDonnell ranges

The ross highway along the eastern MacDonnell ranges

We stayed longer, not having much else planned and only 90km out of Alice Springs. Even on our way back, we stopped often and took some “dream roads” photos. So in the end, we made it back to town around lunch time.

First thing on our first stop, we checked our phone for emails and texts. Through our encounter with Georg yesterday, we got handed a mobile number with the comment “Werner and Claudia, they live in Alice now. Met them in Ushuaia, they are real travelers.” Since we count ourselves among this illustrious group, we gave them a text last night.

Nice bikes, nice people

Nice bikes, nice people

Well, it turns out they were not over advertised and after helping us out to find a supermarket instead of a kmart, Claudia had lunch with us in town. All plans of touristy stuff were soon abandoned and when she dropped us off at a campground in town to get around some chores an invitation was extended for tonight. This would give us a chance to meet hard working Werner as well.

In the end, we had a lovely night in town. After more than a month without meeting other motorcycle travelers, it was just what we needed. Swapping expat stories was an added bonus. Thank you, Claudia and Werner, I am sure we will meet again somewhere, some time.

Day 48 – East MacDonnell Ranges

Obligatory tigerpose at Alice Springs

Obligatory tigerpose at Alice Springs

From our roadside camp in Desert Oaks, we continued further up towards Alice Springs. Distance-wise, we had to cover another 200km to reach Alice Springs.

At a gas station, we had a chance meeting with two other travellers: Georg (worldbiker.info) and Jazek. Georg, at least, has started this part of his journey in Switzerland and, after Australia, there is only New Zealand left to explore. We exchanged blog address and wished each other safe travels as you do. 🙂

We arrived in Alice Springs around lunch time. I was getting warm on the bike (29 degrees) and started disliking cities again because you have to go so slow, when we managed to sit down in the Page 27 Cafe for a lovely lunch and a large chocolate brownie as dessert.

Alice Springs is surely a city that you can explore for a day but we decided to head out again into the East MacDonnell Ranges.

Emily Gap in the East MacDonnell Ranges

Emily Gap in the East MacDonnell Ranges

The MacDonnell Ranges are divided into West and East by Alice Springs itself which lies in a gap of the ranges. The East is the less popular side for daytrips but I had read about Trephina Gorge and wanted to camp there.

Heading east, we first came to Emily Gap which is a natural gap in the region. The local people believe that a giant caterpillar has formed this gap. We skipped Jessie Gap as we thought it would be quite similar and instead stopped at Corroboree Rock. As a formation, it is quite peculiar. Just a freestanding rock with much meaning to the indigenous people. Here, for the first time, the info sign asked tourist to treat the place as they would treat a church.

The last stop was Trephina Gorge itself where we set up camp in the Bluff Campground and so far, we are the only ones here. But there are two more campgrounds in close proximity with people on it.

As the end to the day, we went on a 2km loop walk through the gorge and up on the rim which was amazing. The gorge itself was already in shadow but the higher walls of rock were glowing in the red evening light.