Kakadu National Park

It’s a desperately long trek to get to Kakadu National Park high up in the Northern Territory. I’d love to boast about the amazing road we are riding, but that’s not quite it! There’s no doubt that the vastness of this wilderness, the massive distances of nothing, the endless scrub and tiny crooked trees is nothing like home. It’s fascinating enough, for a while and then it’s a bit like getting through the Atacama Desert! There has not been too much variety when it comes to riding over the past few days. The roadhouses are basic, but have entertained us with the local stories and they get everyone outside with a cold beer, chatting about the day – no mobile phone or internet here. It’s a small escape from the “modern slavery”.

By this stage we are all eating up the spare back tyres that the van is carrying. There is something in the roads here that gobbles up the rubber, even more so it gets hot and if you are less than gentle with the throttle (we’ll keep you anonymous too . . . . ) Very few riders will make Sydney to Perth on the same back tyre.

We know we are near Kakadu when we see our first Crocodile Warning Sign. That and the temperatures hitting 32 degrees and more. Suddenly things feel dense and swampy. The rains that have held on for so long mean that some of the roads remain shut, even this late into the dry season. The road to Ubirr was still under water, but the ride out to Nourlangie remained do-able to walk the escarpment and take in the rock art. We take a sunset cruise and spots crocs lazing through the beautiful waters. In the heat it could have been so tempting to take a swim, but for these beasties.

From here we have pushed west and yesterday arrived in Western Australia. Our first stop is Kununurra, just short of the Gibb Rover Road. With the infamous Pentecost River still above its seasonal norm, and various sections remaining closed, we are having to keep to the tar, but not before a day off to explore the Gibb and El Questro Wilderness Park as much as the waters allow.