CHASING THE HORIZON

LAKE EYRE TRIP

Lake Eyre is a huge inland dry salt lake that millions of years ago was a massive inland sea. These days it rarely holds water, but approximatly every 10 years or so, when there is a big wet season in Nth Qld, the waters flow into Lake Eyre and instantly transforms it from dry salt lake to once a gain a huge inland sea. When this occurs the lake comes alive with bird and plant life and tourists flock from all around the country to witness this rare event.

On saturday the 25th of April (Anzac day lest we forget) Myself, Buzz and Ian are going to take the time to go and witness the Lake in all its flooded glory. We will be taking the scenic route via Coffin bay in SA for the Vstrom owners meeting then meeting Chris & Dom in Hawker for the trip to the Lake via the Flnders ranges, then up the Birdsville track to innamincka and Camerons corner. 

You will be able to track our progress via my Spotcasts here from Saturday morning.

http://jasonjonas.org/spot/tripViewer.do?id=1268

I will also be updating the blog as I go, but expect next g coverage to be a bit dodgy, when away from towns, so updates may be a bit patchy.

Hope you enjoy the ride. :-)

Day 1 Bris-Eulo

Departure time was set at 7am. Buzz was very coy as to why he was 15 minutes late but i reckon i know the real reason hey Sue ;-) . Iain however was bright & early however he did forget his beard and is having one airfreighted to Coffin Bay. When buzz finally arrived we made it as far as ipswich before Buzz realised he had forgotten his backpack and had to backtrac to home to pick it up. I know the real reason though hey Sue ;-) . Iain and i continued on at a leisurely pace towards nindigully pub where we had lunch and buzz caught us up. From there we dodged a heap of roos and rabbits towards Cunnamulla then onto Eulo in the dark for a feed of some of the biggest snags i have ever seen. Made me feel quite inadequate really. Then it was out the back to roll out the swag, although Buzz being exhausted from all his exertion got himself a pub room. A big day of 900 klms. Tomorrow we hit the dirt.

Day 2 Eulo-White cliffs

Was a sleepless night for me due to a punctured sleeping mat ,....again :-( we hit the dirt bound for Hungerford and our brekky of toasted sangas and beer :-) we crossed the dingo fence then had a high speed blast to Wanaaring for yet another beer. The high crosswinds and bulldust did their best to toss us off but we all made it safely to the very bizare white cliffs where we had a few beers with the locals, then we checked in to the worlds largest underground motel. Very cool and the bikes even have their own luxurious garage.

day 3 White Cliffs-Mildura

A day of high drama but more on that later. Iain kept us awake all night with his snoring so i got up early and checked out the sun rise from the roof of the motel. We then had breakfast with the Honda dealer from coffs and his wife who are touring around on their STR. Al if your reading this Brian Short sends his regards. Iain then went looking for a coffee shop (i tell ya he shoulda bought a bmw) while buzzz and i went to visit Jock, One of the crazy locals. Will post video when i get home but was the funniest hour have had in a long time. We then headed off for Menindee to meet a friend of Iain's who obviously. Knew he was coming and promptly left town. Oh and iain decided that we didnt need fuel and we would get some in Poocary. Wrong !!! Anyway off we went into some decidedly dodgy looking weather. Buzz being the team player that he is took a hit and threw the big strom down the road on a particularly slippy piece of road so saving the rest of us the indignety of laying down in the mud. Sorry no pics till we get home. Luckily no injuries but the bike is in serious need of a set of bars. The decision was made to head for poocary to get fuel except there hasnt been any fuel at the shithole for 6 months. This was cause for some concern but fortunatly Buzz being the considerate soul that he is was carrying 10 litres and that got Iains sorry ass out of trouble. We made it into Mildura literaly on fumes and then Buzz led us on a scenic tour to find some accom for the night and this is when the 2nd & 3rd crash for the day occurred. Buzz being the ignorant prick that he is caused a chain of events that culminated with both me and iain laying down on the main road of Mildura after Iain proped and i slammed into him. The bike shops in Mildura are going to do a roaring trade to morrow. We decided that the best thing to do is head to the closest Italian restaurant and get smashed on red wine and pasta. . . . And thats exactl what we did. How was your day? =

Ahhh oh and language alert on the vid below

cant post pics

having trouble emailing pics. Will try and sort it out when i get to a computer. So text only till then. I think its a problem with internets. Maybe the flux capacitater, not sure.

Day 4 mildura

No crashes today so that was nice. The morning was spent doing the rounds of the bike shops trying to get the bits we need. We ended up at Sunraysia bike wreckers who were brilliant letting up use their workshop and tools etc. Huge Thanks to Chris & John and the boys. Fantastic service and nice guys as well. I was able to score a front guard that has flames on it and apparently that will add 15 hp . I also discovered that my front wheel bearings were stuffed but being a good boyscout i had some with me and i fitted them while Mr Magoo (Iain) fumbled his way through fitting the guard. Unfortunatly Buzz couldnt find any bars and they are being airfreighted in, so we spent the rest of the day doing touristy stuff. First stop was to check out the amazing big lizzie. A huge tractor thing that was used to clear scrub back in the early 1920's. Buzz and Iain reckoned the 640 shared the same technology. The Perry sand dunes were next and Buzz tried sand toboganing but the sand was too wet. We also went to the old Wentworth gaol which was pretty interesting. We stopped to check out the amazing house boats on the way home. Some even had spas. Very flash. Dinner was at a nice little cafe then a gelati then to bed. So much for a rest day. Pics when i can.

Day 5 Mildura to Overland corner

sorry still no pics :-( Buzz headed back to the bike wreckers to strip his bent bars off. Once again the guys were brilliant. I went for a bit of a ride along the River which was really nice. Suprisingly all the bits arrived on time and the Strom was ready in no time. We had a quick lunch them headed up the old Renmark rd to Overland Corner where we are camped on the bank of the River.

pics

FW: Were back

Seems there was a problem with the alpha 4 quadrant and the pad 5 differentiator of the internets. In other words i have NFI. Have already posted reports so heres some pics from the part few days.

day 6 overland corner - port lincoln

I forgot to mention that i fell over last night. Ass over head in the slippery mud. Was quite amusing. Was a chilly start to the day with a thick fog over the river. morgan was our first stop. Very pretty place. The rest of the days ride was pretty uneventful on some amazingly boring roads. The ferry ride across the spencer gulf was pretty nice though. Then australias most boring road to port lincoln where we stocked up on wine before heading into the nearby national park to set up camp.

Day 7 Coffin Bay

The rain started falling lightly at around 3am this morning so packing up was good fun....not. By the time we got back to port lincon it was pouring and we were saturated. We had brekky at a waterfront cafe and eventually it eased off and we headed for coffin bay. Coffin Bay is the venue for the 2009 V-Strom owners gathering and after checking into our cabin we met a few of the other attendees and had a few beers. Buzz also had a crack at fishing and landed a nice little salmon. A few of us then headed off to a local cafe where we had dinner.

Day 8 Coffin Bay

We had a great day today that started with a ride out to the spectacular national park. We started with 16 but by the time we hit the dirt we were down to 5. Michael and Alex and Iain had nemes ridden in deep sand before and it was hilarious watching them battle through with arms and legs going everywhere. After that James who is one of the locals in the caravan park took Buzz and i out in his tinnie for a tour around the bay. Was brilliant and we say many dolphins and a couple of seals. Them it was off to the pub for the Vstrom dinner. Was a great night and everyone had a home time.

Day 9 Coffin Bay-Wilpena Pound

Today was basically a transport day but we managed to have a interesting day anyway. There was major concern when it was discovered that Mr magoo's bike started blowing massive clouds of blue smoke. The best minds in the business couldnt work out what was going on but turns out someone had poured some oil down the exhaust. Investigations are continuing to track down the culprit. I'll let you all know he they track me....ah ah i mean them down :-) :-):-) We had the mandatory group photo then headed off for Hawker to meet up with Chris & Dom. When we finally met up with them we discovered that Dom had forgotten his beard so we sent him off to Whyalla to get one oh and to buy a new chain and sprockets as well.. Fortunately Iains beard arrived at coffin (but bits were missing) so he didnt have to in with Dom. The rest off us then headed for wilpena pound where we had dinner and a few too many beers.

Day 10 Wilpena -Arkaroola

Happy birthday Buzz:-). We broke camp early and had a quick brekky at the resort them headed off to check out the spectacular Flinders ranges. The phone pics dont it justice. Formed some 600 million years ago the formations and colours are amazing. We had a quick beer at the prarie hotel then headed back into the ranges to Blinman for lunch them the 150klm run to Arkaroola where we set up our camp in the dirt and rocks before retiring to the bar for dinner.

FW: Day 11 Arky-Maree

Happy birthday JB. We took an old track that led us through some huge sheep stations today. The scenery was awesome. It was quite surreal and i reckon it looked like what you might expect to see in africa. I was half expected a beautiful tall black naked african woman with big tits to appear . But perhaps that was just wishful thinking. The riding was definately fun but. We had lunch at the Copley pub then checked out the Leigh ck coal mine. We called into see the local nut case Talc Alf at Lyndhurst but his philospy on life was lost on us. we just wanted beer so into Marree where we have set up camp out the back by the pool. Its very conveniently located close to the public bar. In the morning we are doing a flight over Lake Eyre with our personal pilot Maverick who is also our barman:-)

day 12 Marree-Mungerannie

Woke up early this morning and took some pics of the sunrise. We boarded our flight with our pilot Maverick for our flight over Lake Eyre. The lake hp usually dry but hp currently filling with water from the floods in NQ. This only happens every 10 years or so. We them headed up the Birdsville track and although we planned to make it to Birdsville we got to Mungerannie and decided to spend the afternoon sitting in the spa and drinking beer. We also heard today that Dom was unable to source a beard in Whyalla and hp heading home via the road. Shame really as Phil the publican at the pub has a cracker he would have lent him:-)

Day 13 Mungerannie-Innaminka

Another awesome day in the Desert. Our original plan was to head for Birdsville but after am hour or so on the track we decided to bail on birdsville and take the walkers crossing track directly to Innaminka. It was them that Iain decided he had enough of up and he hp heading directly home via the main road. I think he was feeling a little inadequate about his beard after seeing Phils at the pub last night. Our decision turned out to be a home one as the scenery and the riding was some of the best of the trip. There was a minor mishap half way across when Chris had forgotten to deactivate the abs and ploughed straight into the back of Buzz who had stopped at a point where i was taking pics. They both ended up in the sand but luckily no major damage. I was laughing so hard i lost my balance and also ended up in the sand with them. We rolled into Innaminka feeling a bit tired so we had a adds and set up camp on the banks of the Cooper Ck.

Day 14 Innaminka-Noccundra

Was a big day today. We packed up early and went for a look around then headed down the Bore track towards Camerons Corner. The track was great fun with soft sand and steep dune crossings. Chris found it tough going at first and littered the track with expensive BMW acessories, but soon got used to it. The track wound its way down to Bollards lagoon where we made a small detour to check out the yellow bus. Buzz reckoned it would make a great motorhome and was keen to tow it home but the big strom couldnt get enough traction. From there we headed into the corner for lunch and a beer. Then the long haul along a very sandy road to Noccundra pub where we have camped out the back. Looking like its going to be a big night in the bar. :-)

FW: Day 15 Noccundra-Mitchell

If I was wearing undies they would be full today. 2 sphincter tightning moments today. Buzz and Chris decided to head home via the bitchy and left me at Thargominda. I had a morning tea appointment at the Toompine pub. I swear next trip I am going to find a fellow alchoholic to come with of rather than than latte sipping, ginger beer drinking poofs :-) call themselves recon riders pfft. :-) Not long after taking the Toompine turnoff I had my first bowel loosening moment when 3 manic depressive emus decided to try and end it all by running directly into me. Emu feathers and shit (some off it mine) went everywhere but amazingly we all survived, much to their dissapointment I suspect. Useless fuckers. I had a couple of calming beers at the Toompine pub and the publican told me of a back road he used to get to home from Charleville when he is too pissed to take the main road. It looked perfect on the map, so off I went. The first part was good dirt road but before long I came to a road closed sign. There were traces of bike spore so i decided to press on. The track became quite rough with several deep washouts...perfect :-) This went on for about 30 kays and I was starting to think I wasnt going to make it out when suddenly the Paroo river appeared and the road opened up and soon turned to bitchy... And thats when i met dumbass the kangaroo. Dumbass was second cousin to dickhead the kangaroo that i had previously murdered back in January on our way back from tassie. Obviously from the same gene pool as dickhead, they are now both in kangaroo heaven and I have another sore foot. I fucken hate kangaroos. From there it was a race to beat the sun. (although the full moon was special) and i pulled into the the courthouse hotel in Mitchel where I have treated myself to a luxury suite, a surf & turf and a cheap bottle of red. Tomorrow will be a boring cruise down the highway home and back to normality. If anything remotely interesting happens i will post but otherwise thats the end of another awesome trip. Thanks to Buzz, Iain, Chris and even Dom (for all of the 5 minutes i saw him for ) for making it so memorable. I got to see a heap of stuff i havnt seen before. There will also be some new roads marked off on the big map. I hope everyone enjoyed my rantings. Cheers Guy x. P.S. Whose coming to the Birdsville races in September ? :-)