Trouble Free Trip

We left Tom Price to another great section of dirt road out from the Park and back out to the Great Northern Highway. There is always something about being on a dirt road that adds an extra excitement and touch of risk about a ride, as well as the feeling of isolation and a road less travelled. This is only a tiny road, but it is exactly like this. You can stop and look around and there are no signs of anything but wilderness and the only sounds are the birds. The dirt road trails in front and behind and there is nothing else. It’s the best feeling!

Back on the tarmac, we’re onto the beach hunt. Coral Bay is the home to the Ningaloo Reef and some of the best diving and snorkelling in the world. A couple of the riders, Joachim and Gunter, are PADI divers and have been eagerly awaiting this opportunity; others stick to the glass bottomed boat over the reef. The waters here are warm and clear and shallow. Only a few metres off shore and manta rays shimmer in the sand and brightly coloured fish dart about. We’re also here for whale shark season, but at a ridiculous AUD$390 per person, everyone sticks to better value activities. A free snorkel in the shallows is equally rewarding.

It’s also free to be with the wild dolphins at our next stop, Monkey Mia, so at 7.45am, we are all up to our calves in warm blue waters, waiting for the dolphins to appear. Never work with animals and children. We were patient and patient and waited. After half an hour, many started to drift off and then the little buggers showed up. They are really strict about monitoring how this activity takes place now. In the old days everyone frolicked with the dolphins, touched them, swam with them and fed them anything. The result was that many ended up dying as they lost their ability to hunt and look after young. Now you have to stay back and just let the dolphins do their own thing and they only get a small fish snack.

It’s hard to believe we are only a couple days away from Perth. We’ve been in contact with the freight agents and they are all ready for us. Our pallets are all pre-built, most are shipped over from Sydney from our USA freight shipment into Australia and are being re-used (cheaper to freight the pallets across the whole of Australia than get a man to build more in Perth – crazy, eh?) It’s been a largely trouble free trip. A few minor incidents with kangaroos, turning cars and dirt roads, but nothing that has resulted in any serious issues. After a small hiccup with a few bikes in week one of this trip, there’s been no mechanical issues to deal with, and despite our initial fears, tyres held out much better than expected. Only Alex, our pseudo team photographer, with his brand new Bridgestone tyres in Sydney, rolls in smooth.

We had only three nights in Perth to turn around the team. That’s no mean feat. On Thursday lunch time we rolled into the hotel, removed luggage and immediately headed out to the airport. Our agents were already waiting and the pallets were out on the warehouse floor ready for the bikes to rolled on and strapped down. Alex, intrigued by the freight process, decided to stay behind with the support crew to help with strapping down the bikes, whilst everyone else got back to the hotel for a shower. By Friday, all bikes had been checked by Customs and the airline. On Saturday, they left for Bangkok. Many thanks to Guy in Perth and Josh in Sydney for their excellent freight service.

So we departed Australia in a flurry, with the excitement of Section 5 ahead!