Day 9: Wilcannia to Tamworth (836 km. Total now 6,437 km)

I woke up today with an acid reflux. I guess half a plate of chips for yesterday's brunch and two mouthfuls of instant maggi mee for dinner would not make up for a proper set of daily meal. I did not eat much along the journey. I was just not hungry. Perhaps my body actually went into energy-conservation mode. I couldn’t quite tell whether I also lose weight or not but I do notice that my jeans is a bit loose at the waist… heheh…

The sun is not as bright today and the temperature is just as cold. Multi-layered clothing for me again… During the quick fill-up at the pump station in Wilcannia I saw that they have a little shop open with a big sign that says “COFFEE AND BREKKIE”. I’m much wiser now from past experiences during the trip so I asked first; what kind of coffee do you have? “Instant”, replied the shop assistant pointing to a large stainless steel heating pot with coffee jar and other stuffs next to the counter. I politely declined and hit the road. Am I spoilt? I mean, instant coffee used to be good…

Anyway, it was a nice ride apart from the cold. I kinda missed my SatNav. I don’t really need the specific instruction for directions. Road signs are more than sufficient along these long stretches of country roads anyway, but perhaps I just missed knowing how far I am to the next destination and how much longer it will take me to get there. I also got the creepy feeling that I might actually missed the female voice from the SatNav – my only talking companion for most parts of the day!

The one above is a typical rest area in this part of NSW. Compare it to this one that I took earlier in the Outback!

When I stopped at the above rest area I was close to shivering from the cold. I have learnt to make a habit of stretching after I had a terrible cramp in my leg a few days before due to the cold and sitting still for hours. An elderly guy, who was also taking a break, arrived in a nice motorhome with his wife. We struck a conversation (we all just love to chat with our fellow travellers on the road!) and shared our travel stories. He was pleasantly surprised to find a Malaysian on a bike by himself exploring Australia. He was from Perth and every year, he and his wife explored Australia in their motorhome. We discovered that we share the same creepy feeling about Coober Pedy! After the nice conversation we wish each other well and he said, “I’m gonna go make myself a cuppa – take care, mate!” and off he went to his wife in the motorhome to enjoy his nice “cuppa” in the warmth of his motorhome – and I was left there, literally shivering by now… I really need to get one of those, I said to myself…

This is Cobar – it won my vote for best town sign!

I took this pic just after Cobar. Look at the torture that I put my tyres through! I most definitely need a new set of tyres when I get home!

I stopped for a nice lunch in Nyngan and also managed to solve the riddle my wife and I had during the planning of this trip – how do we pronounce this town’s name. As it turns out, it’s pronounced “Nean-gurn” rather than “Nyee-ngan” as I thought! (I must have been thinking of “Kacang Nganyin”).

Here’s the nice little café. It has a sign upfront promoting its famous Angus Burger as “How a burger should be – before McDonald’s stuffed them up!”

After that, I found this little town - and here’s my vote for the best town name!

Judging by the way the weather has been behaving today so far (I stressed here; SO FAR) I was expecting a smooth ride all the way to Armidale. It was still a nice breezy afternoon all the way passed Gilgandra and to Coonabarabran when it starts raining again! I really didn’t say anything this time. Bad or worse or anything I just have to ride through. My aim was just to cover as much distance as I could so that the ride for the last day tomorrow will be as short as it can be. The last stretch from Gunnedah to Tamworth was really one of the worst. It was getting dark very rapidly and visibility is poor in the late afternoon rain. I couldn’t stop otherwise it would be too dark to continue later on. I was almost literally using the light from the car in front of me as a guide. I think he must have known so he maintained his speed that was comfortable enough for me to follow (whoever you are; thanks, mate!). I also saw a roo by the roadside for the first time – then I remembered hearing a little clunk just a few miles before that – I took a peek on the front mudguard and true enough; my shoo-roo is gone!

It rained and it rained and it rained all the way into Tamworth where I decided that I could not push any further. I just can’t take it anymore. I was tired, I was drenched and I was hungry. If this had not been the penultimate day, I’m very sure I would have taken an extra day just to recover! I checked in to the first decent motel I saw on the way out of town – it turned out to be the second most expensive stay (after Uluru of course) but a very nice and cosy cottage-like suite…

…with some very nice facilities…

I went to bed that night with mixed feelings - happy that I will finally get to see my family again tomorrow but sad that this will be the end of this very exciting journey...

Day 8: Pimba to Wilcannia (836 km. Total now 5,601 km)

[The comfort of home seems to have negative impact on my writing ability. Here’s the recount of Day 8, after the long break…]

Well, at least today started with the sun shining brightly. Hope it stays like this for as long as it can. I was all packed and ready to go and as soon as the sun is up, I was already on my bike. My buddy from Coober Pedy was probably still fast asleep but obviously he does not have a distance to cover as much as I have. I went for a fill up and to bid farewell to my nice hosts for last night. “Spuds” (the name of the roadhouse) does look very welcoming during the day.

As I was about to enter Stuart Highway heading to Port Augusta, the temperature was already showing 7°C and the wind was rather moderate but on the bike, it was freezing! I had an extra layer on and even put on my windbreaker underneath my jacket (this weather is for an “all-season” jacket; not this “airflow” one!). I even put a pair of thin cotton gloves on the inside of my leather ones, pulled my fleece neck warmer all the way up to cover my ears. By the time I’m done, I reminded myself of The Marshmallow Man! But hey, I’d rather look uncool than catching a cold! I prayed for good weather and safe path home… and turned both my grip and seat heaters on to “high”.

Apart from the wind and the cold, it was a very nice early morning ride. It reminded me of one of my Sunday morning rides back home. Although the sun was shining, I can still see dark clouds far in the horizon… the way I was heading…

There was no drama all the way to Port Augusta. During one of the fill-up and quick espresso stop in Port Augusta itself, I saw a big group of bikers. The guy at the pump station said there was some charity ride or something. Then I realized, THIS IS Sunday! Wow! How I lost track of time… I also noticed that all other bikers had their winter gears on, unlike me. Being this far South, I should have known and expected colder weather. Another flaw in my plan.

I didn’t think much when I saw the first drop of rain on my visor. Then the second, the third and then they really come… This is another complete misery, I said to myself; cold, wind, rain. Hmmm… what else could go wrong! You know what they say when on a journey? My Dad used to say, “Hang jangan dok tegork (tegur)!” [Translation: Just don’t say; or it will happen!]. As I was crossing from A87 to A32, up in the highlands along the twisty road from Port Augusta to Wilmington, and as the rain gets heavier, my SatNav broke down! It kept shutting itself off all the time. Now, with poor visibility in the rain and in between having to wipe my visor with my hand every so often, I just don’t really know where I was heading. Water must have got into it when I forgot to take it inside with me yesterday when I took shelter in the roadhouse in Pimba. The road shoulder was so narrow that I could not have stopped safely even if I wanted to. The risk of getting swiped off the road by cars or trucks are bigger than the risk of getting lost so I pushed on. Notice there’s no pics in this stretch at all – taking pics was the last thing on my mind obviously!

Anyway, I also noticed that the SatNav started going crazy when I had my heaters on high. It even showed an error message that says “Power Lost”. Maybe because the heaters were using so much of the power from the battery that the electrical system had to cut the power off to the auxiliaries. I could experimentally try to switch off my heaters and see what happen. I had to choose – getting frozen or getting lost. I chose heaters!

I made it to Orroroo safely and suddenly the sun was shining again, birds chirping and the scenery was absolutely stunning. And suddenly I’m in the mood of taking pictures again; so here goes some of the finest selections for the rest of this day…

The Giant Red Gum (eucalyptus camaldulensis) tree in Orroroo with 0.89m circumference is more than 500 years old!

Leaving South Australia...

 ...and into New South Wales

Simply stunning!

And, this one especially for the guys who have once in their live watched “Mad Max”. Check this out; me with Mad Max’s “Pursuit Special” at the famous Silverton Hotel in Silverton!

Despite the few stopovers, I still tried to push hard to get at least to Cobar so that the last day’s ride will be as short as it can be. I did well but as the sun was about to set, I just made it to Wilcannia. This little highway town was never even in the plan. With population of less than 600, I didn’t expect much from it but at least a nice bed to sleep in. I rode into the first one I saw, checked in and as I was about ready to park my bike I realized that there’s no other vehicle parked around the motel. I asked the lady at the reception and she confirmed that I am their only guest that night! By then it was too late to go anywhere else. And she also told me there are no shops or restaurants in town that would still be opened. All I had that day was half a plate of chips before noon.

The deserted parking...

Quick unpack, quick shower, quick Maggi Mee dinner and ready for tomorrow…

Day 7: Coober Pedy to Pimba (368 km! Total now 4,766 km)

This has really got to be the worst day so far!

Anyway, it started well. I woke up in my dungeon and found out that I’m still alive. Some of the neighbours were already gone – they must have been on a tour package with an early departure. I quickly get ready (no, not because I’m still afraid of the place – it does look much better in daylight) to hit the road before the weather turns bad again.

But first thing I must do before that; you just have to buy opal when you’re here at Coober Pedy. With the limited time I have, I can’t afford to shop around so I just went to the nearest opal place; the one in the motel.

 

The place looks authentic, the price seems reasonable (not that I’m an opal expert!), with a wide range of choice and the guy there was very helpful so I ended up; as I promised myself, got my wife the best opal I could afford – a teardrop shaped solid pink opal found in Coober Pedy itself. Now, this would be a good 15^th year wedding anniversary present, I hope. I also got my daughter a necklace.

This is the view of the town during day time – now it doesn’t look so scary anymore, does it.

This is a picture I have been aiming to take since the day before but never quite had a good opportunity or suitable place to stop. But finally I got it!

The journey was all fine except for slightly cold temperature (just around 11°C but the wind chill factor being on an exposed vehicle makes it much colder!), a bit of wind and a slight drizzle every now and then. I was hoping to get through this stretch nicely but boy; was I wrong! As soon as I passed Glendambo, it really pours and the crosswind (as I checked later) was up to 30 km/h with up to 60km/h gusts! It seems like every time I said it was the worst; then a much worse one will come! But this has got to be the lowest point so far – close to 2 hours of riding at a side inclined angle in the heavy rain with very poor visibility with nowhere to stop! I had both my grips and seat heaters on max but still my hands are numb. I pray that my tyres will keep their grip well on the road and oncoming traffic will see me and keep well on their side of the lane. I can’t help being reminded of Ezran’s words on how ludicrous he thinks this idea was – and at this precise moment, I had to agree; this is indeed ludicrous!

[By the way, obviously I do not have any pictures for this, unlike any other events during the trip. How could I? I couldn't even stop. And even if I were to stop; my hands would be too frozen to open up the bag to get my camera. I didn't even record the view of the road with the camera mounted on my windshield as I couldn't switch it on. Both my hands were tight on the handlebar - hanging for my life! So, just bear with my stories only here...]

After what seems like forever I finally approached a roadhouse in a small town called Pimba. I’m glad I could even stop the bike properly and not fall on my side as my legs could not feel anything at all by then. I entered the roadhouse dripping wet but was warmly welcomed by the owner and a few other customers (all either in caravans or trucks) taking shelter there. I had the best hot chocolate in the world while watching the rain still going on strong out there…

I have done less than 400 km today and way behind my daily target. It was a very uncomfortable two hours of wait; trying to decide to just abandon everything and put up there for the night (luckily they have rooms at the roadhouse) or wait until the weather gets better then rush for the next destination. At the same time you can’t help building certain camaraderie with others taking shelter there but the only sad thing is that, they all come and go but I just sat there waiting and hoping…

A very nice German couple on their holiday commented on my nice bike and the husband told me he has a similar R1150RT back home and it has always been his dream to ride around Australia like what I’m doing now on one of his holidays. I smiled as I said, “But not in this weather, I’m sure…”. He chuckled and replied, “Ya! That’s why we have the motorhome!”. They left shortly after, wishing me good luck for the rest of my journey.

I’m thankful for my great home base support who checked the weather here and in my further destinations, availability of accommodation, travel distances, time left etc. and came to conclusion that I need to put up there for the night, which I gladly agreed. There was also another guy on a Vulcan who’s on his way back to Coober Pedy. When he heard of my decision, he decided to stay as well.

I quickly checked myself into one of the room and got busy drying all my clothing using the little portable heater in the room. It didn’t turn out that bad after all but I was really hoping that tomorrow will be very much better than this!

Day 6: Uluru (Yulara) to Coober Pedy (786 km. Total now 4,398 km)

From this point onwards; it's all just about getting home... Well, not to say that I'm no longer seeking for adventure but it felt that I have been to where I want to be and have achieved what I am here to achieve so I was just aiming for a smooth and enjoyable ride home... I hope...

There's something funny, well, more like embarrassing to me about this pic. This is Mt. Connor and this pic was taken at the Mt. Connor Lookout along the Lasseter Highway between Erldunda and Yulara on my return journey. On my way to Uluru the day before, I had probably missed the sign that tells me that this is Mt. Connor and I had mistakenly thought this is the Red Centre (Ayers Rock). How excited I was that I have reached my destination, punched my hand in the air triumphantly and only a moment later began to notice that the shape of the mountain is not quite the same as Ayers Rock I had remembered all along. I quickly came to realization when I saw that according to my SatNav, I am still a long way away from Ayers Rock! It's a good thing no one was around at that time... Haha!

The journey to Erldunda felt shorter this time and I stopped again for another fill up, preparing for the long stretch after that. I did my routine check around the bike to find if anything is amiss and all the panniers, top box and the tied-on items are properly secured. Then  I noticed something odd about my front brake caliper. It looks like something; like a cover, was missing. I took this pic and send it to my service guy in Brisbane. I hope nothing was wrong.

As I finished my drink and was about to go fill up, two guys on GS (BMW R1200GS - all terrain bike) rode into the service station. They saw me and waved so I thought I'd go over and say hi to them. They are two Hungarians who are here for a holiday. They rented the bikes (no wonder they look brand new!) and off for a ride from Melbourne to Darwin with a stop over in Uluru. Now, THAT's the kind of holiday for me! I also took the opportunity to compare their brake calipers with mine and fortunately, they look just the same! So, nothing to worry about. Here's the pic of me with one of them. The other guy doesn't seem to speak English well, so he had to be the photographer!

This is the sign as I left Northern Territory and enters South Australia. Hey, I've covered three states already so far!








Remember I said I was hoping for a smooth and enjoyable ride? This is where the first of the series of tests begins. Test one: Wind! With the flat terrain and virtually nothing on either side of the road to block the wind on this stretch, you are so exposed. The combined weight between the bike, me and the things I carry could have easily been close to 400 kg but we were swept easily by the wind and it was a tough job trying to maintain the bike on course. There's no point stopping either as rest areas along this stretch are all just an empty space with nowhere to hide! I remember stopping at one rest area and came across this couple in their motorhome enjoying their hot beverages inside the warmth and comfort of their motorhome. I don't suppose knocking on their door asking for a cup of hot coffee would be a good idea so I just ride on for the next two hours in the strong wind and the fast dropping temperature (this reminds me more like Scotland in autumn!)... Talking about test; imagine riding on 5th gear (on a six-gear bike) at 80 km/h for 2 hours straight, inclined to about 10 degrees! Both tyres were terribly worn out on the right edges!

It started getting dark as I approached Coober Pedy. I had listed this as one of the places to visit and spend at least a night there because I heard so much of it on (1) the opal centre of Australia and (2) the underground living of the people there - apparently the only way to get away from the scorching heat of the area is to build everything underground - how fascinating, I thought.

This was my first view as I entered the town. It was about dusk but darker due to the rain clouds. It was something about the town that gave me an uneasy feeling. If you're old enough to have watched Twilight Zone; you know what I mean. The whole town has that Twilight Zone feeling about it. As if something is not quite right or something terribly wrong is about to happen but I'm the only one who doesn't know about it... It's an unexplainable eerie and creepy feeling...



I checked in myself at an underground motel and chose the cheapest room they have - single dorm with communal bathroom and toilet. It's just one night; I thought.

 This is the view going down to my room. Now, imagine, having seen the Twilight Zone town, by now it's getting dark and then were told to go down here 6.5 meter underground to a dungeon-like place to spend the night. I would have really hesitated if not for the many other younger international tourists I saw, just going about happily in their own little groups.I quickly unload my stuffs then went out looking for something to eat. It wasn't that scary after all once you get used to it, really, I was convincing myself...

This is the room. No window, no power outlet and no night light! I thought it would be pitch dark once I turned out the light but there were nice little crevices in the wall that allows the corridor light to shine in. I also noticed there's a gap between the laminated-wood wall and the ceiling which means you can hear every word from your neighbours! On the far end of the corridor there are three very chatty elderly Aussie ladies and a man who keep chatting throughout the night. Next to me were 2 young European ladies with a guy and they were giggling away too and in between them were two young Japanese ladies who were "whispering" and must be complaining about the other two groups. It was tough trying to get to sleep in such a merry neighbourhood but I think I must have finally dozed off at some point... and this time, it would be them complaining! Haha... zzzzzzzzzzzzz....!!!!

I dreamt that night that I dug out the biggest and rarest opal in the whole area and became the envy of all!