A quick description of my Mt Augustus trip.
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This is my first 'off centre' rally.
I had invited my brother, Peter, along.. he had a Motor Guzzi NTX. We both mounted large canvas panniers on the bikes. Then we rode via tar to Alice Springs. My brother did not have much dirt riding experience. On arriving in Alice Springs I went to pick up a new tyre I had organised weeks before, but now no tyre... I also wanted a fork seal, the bm dealer had no seal (he was the one I had organised the tyre through) but the mechanic at this dealer put me on to the susiki dealer who was doing up a bm. He had a seal and was prepared to sell it to me, he was also more helpful about getting another tyre!
On the road out to Palm Valley my new tyre proves that it needs a lot more air pressure than I normally have. Possibly a reflection of the total mass of the bike and gear. Peter & the NTX handle the sand & dirt OK. This is my second trip to Palm Valley, an excellent spot and we fluke staying the night when the ranger comes down and gives a talk and slide show. The NT national parks service has this once a week, a great idea as the ranger and all the campers socialise.
The trip to Kings Canyon is uneventful, the campsite has moved 100 metres further away. Again we fluke the rangers presentation night, top value (free). There are a few more signs up then the last time I visited.
From Kings Canyon to Ayres Rock is a short trip, but it is always good to see the rock slowly emerge over the horizon, the road out keep getting more and more tar on it though. Set up camp and visited the base of the rock. Later Russ Daniel putters up on a Yamaha single, "You guys off to Mt Augusta?". So that was him set up. Next day spent doing the tourist thing. The rest of the crew shows up. I strike 3 guys working on a G/S outside the lodge as I walk to the supermarket. They have German accents, I give them a hand as they don't realise the importance of the alternator/battery light and tell them about MT Augustus. 'Regulator' has had a fall out on the Gunbarrel, hurting her arm so they are going the easier way down towards Perth, but Mt Augustus is still doable by them. Next day is another rest day of tourist things...Macka cleans his fuel tank. General bike things get done. The next day we leave? Well Peter, Russell & me go out to the Olgas and wait and Wait and finally one shows up and says the rest are climbing Ayers rock! We go on and find a camping spot. Set up and wait. The rest eventually show up.
Some of the Gunbarrel Hwy is now "closed" ? You need two permits to travel on the road from the Abo communities along the way. And they don't give permits for the "abandoned section". There are some sandy bits close to Carnegie and a long stretch of corrugations before the sandy bits. The rest is easy, if it's dry. We had a days rain, as we were leaving Warburton. So all bar 3 stayed in Warburton and started the next day on a nice drying road. We saw the tracks left by the 3 , a few inches deep and going in all directions as we rode on a very hard clay surface. The 3 were caught up between Wiluna and Meekatharra. Wiluna is not a place to stay, the pub has two sections, and the cheaper section has no glass on the windows, just large chicken wire and plastic 'glasses'. The more expensive section is where you would want to drink until the other bar becomes noise with fights / arguments.
We stayed in Wiluna's nursers quarters... one of the riders was a nurse there so we had an invite. The next day on the way to Meekatharra a large camp of riders (including the 3) were discovered having a good time. They finally packed up and came into Meekatharra. One pub was packed out, the supermarket was doing a good trade.. its alcohol section had the largest bottle of stones green ginger wine I have ever seen! What is the next size up from a magnum? BIG! John Barret on a K100RS having tried to go in the day before and fallen as the roads were wet, and now attempting to leave had stoped some distance out of town with a cut back tyre. He managed to flag down a local woman and got her to take the tyre into town, she was very nervous stoping by herself in the middle of nowhere for a 'bike'. She found us without problem! One of the guys had found a tube on the road, that another of the guys had been carrying, so we had a tube. But taking the tyre off was a bit of a problem! The barmaid was concerned that she'd lose her job if the publican came in and found us changing a tyre on the carpet.. but we borrowed some of the pub things and had it done. I went and bought a box of chokkies and put them in the woman's car along with the tyre. John said she would now stop for any bike anywhere! And she tried to get John to eat some of the chokkies.
We left Meekatharra and camped out that night. One rider had done a rotor, and had co-opted a couple in a four wheel drive to charge his bike ... They came along, getting more and more outnumbered as time went by. He did try a joke that nigh, it was very flat in a motor cycling crowd, in fact the whole camp went silent. The noise gradually rose back up to normal, they left in the morning. We did have a rather large gathering, and a large fire... but every now and then there were calls for "more men, more men". Eventually a tree of 4 foot diameter with bodies on each side come thunders out of the darkness across the top of the fire and dumped on top of the fire. The fire got larger... no more wood was put on that fire! A road crew camped some 10 kms away came to put out the bush fire, they did bring their own beer so they stayed for some hours. The next day there was the small matter of putting out the fire, fortunately there was some water in the near by creek. A short trip to Mt Augusta with dry and dusty roads, from damp and traitorous in 2 days.
The trip was supposed to go to Cobra Station but that had been bought by Seventh Day Adventists and they had turned in the alcohol licence. So we came to Mt Augustus just down the road. Their licence was for their restraunt only, not take away. But 100 motorcyclist don't fit in the restaurant so ... The proprietors were not happy that they had not been told that these 100 would want to by food, drinks .. and could they all pay the camping fees. Half way through the next day she had been counting the money from last night, a lot happier! The showers and washing machine are "free" but "donation to the RFDS" a typical cry heard in the outback. The RFDS is the Royal Flying Doctor Service that provides medical advice by radio and doctors by air if required with air evacuation if that's require too. But you had better have your health insurance paid up.
Highlights of this trip are Shark Bay, Kalbarri National Park, and the pinnacles. Perth is a nice city, but it is a city so after servicing the bikes tis off again.
Very nice scenery in the tall forests with windy roads. Well worth the visit. But better in a season less likely to rain. All the wineries around Mt barker that I visited had a least one excellent wine! Also a good riding area. But the under done stake I had got me food poising. With that and the cool wet weather made me want to head home. Still managed to visit Wave Rock on the way through. Not much else there though.
A 'fast' trip at 120 km/h 1000 km per day. There was a police road block trying to catch an escaped prisoner, no I have not seen him, and he's not in the boot! Only encounter 4 cop cars on the whole trip back.