Setting off the next morning, we let the gorgeous Flores scenery roll under our wheels. Arriving in Labuan Bajo, we saw the first big concentration of other tourists so far on the trip – drawn here by the…
Finally in Flores
We had arrived in Kupang on Thursday night, having heard there was a ferry on Saturday that could take us to Flores, the next island in sequence. On discussions with the staff in the office, and the friendly locals running…
Mountains to Maubisse, then Into Indonesia
With the bike finally back in hand, and the need to return to the Indonesian embassy at 2PM to collect our passports, we set off early for a day trip into the mountains south of Dili – the target town,…
The End of the Beginning…
From Camooweal you cross the NT border almost immediately, and are granted by one of Australian speed freaks’ favourite signs – 130 kph (NT is the only state to allow more than 110). It ended up being an…
Banking miles…
A couple of long, hot days on the road! With blue skies overhead I hit the road early, and had a good, uneventful run to Longreach, 615km away. The next morning, I decided to do…
First steps
After a two day delay caused by needing to wait for an embassy to return my passport (thankfully with the visa I wanted inside), I finally set off after lunchtime. A bittersweet farewell with my parents, who…
A new adventure…
The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step – Lao Tzu So after two years of dreaming, scheming, planning and preparing – including a not-inconsequential ‘shakedown’ trip around Australia last year – I have begun my…
Day 42 – This is (not) the End…
Leaving Parkes that morning, my first impression was one of cold – the central west of NSW is not pleasant during winter, and there was an icy wind blowing all day. Thank god for heated hand grips! The cold weather…
Day 41 – Telescopes and Volcanoes
Leaving Coonabarabran in the morning, I headed west into the Warrumbungle National Park. This is a mountain range formed as the remnants of an ancient extinct volcano – with the hard igneous rock jutting out sharply in strange eroded patterns.…
Day 40 – Back in NSW
Almost immediately after hitting the road, I came to my final State border crossing, back into New South Wales. Very close to the border is the fascinating town of Lightning Ridge. It’s the centre of opal mining in Australia, and…