Compass Expeditions “Ultimate South America”, our second major overseas adventure motorcycle expedition is fast approaching. You would assume we had learned a lot about preparing ourselves, the bikes and what (and what not!) to pack from our Cairo to Cape Town expedition in 2017. Well, partly true I guess… Our preparations started in March 2022 … More Ultimate Prepping!
A planned long weekend away with son Tim and grandkids at Dubbo Zoo back in August had us (well me to be honest!) considering how we get there…ride on roads we had been on many times and in the cold and likely wet conditions – nah. Drive the mid-size SUV and stay at motels, a … More Ad-van-turous!
Back in Alice Springs. No need for maintenance, all fluids replete. We were now regulars in the town – we knew where to park, what the specials were in the supermarket, where the best restaurants were, where the cheap petrol was… Unfortunately no-one had a clue about that. It was nice to have a sleep … More Rolling Home! Ride to the Rock Part 3
We left Part 1 at Lawn Hill Gorge. It was time to move on for various reasons – our booking at Lawn Hill had expired, we had a booking at Uluru, and most importantly we had run out of red wine and snacks. The ants had also gotten into everything resembling food and a lot … More Rock On! Ride to the Rock Part 2
The plan was simple. Ride to The Rock a.k.a Uluru a.k.a Ayers in late April 2022. Could we leave earlier? Too wet and hot up north. Could we leave later? Too many grey nomads a.k.a Gomads. Late April decided as close to perfect, and the grand send-off aligned beautifully with the Cane Toad Rally. So … More Rally Ho! Ride to the Rock Part 1
The 2021 transition to 2022 marked the second time we have had the Christmas/New Year week in Hobart – excellent timing with weather, activities such as the incoming Sydney to Hobart yachts and the wonderful ‘Taste of Tasmania’ food and wine event. A bonus is that our daughter Kate is now Hobart based so with … More Ho Ho Hobart
We really hadn’t done enough miles and miles to Miles (in the Western Downs region of QLD) for the BMW Motorcycle Club Queensland “Back to the Bush” No.18 (B2B18) in early October, so decided to do it all over again-ish. Miles was supposed to be just a mid-way point for our “second long weekend in … More Hello Possums
We’d long talked about doing the ride to the top of Cape York before we were too old. Unfortunately we missed that window, but fortunately didn’t realise it. So how do these things come to pass? The Women’s Adventure Rider Australia (WARA) must be held fully accountable, Cindy has ridden with them and follows their … More In Cape Able
Day 21. A Sunday. The 4:45am awakening is an 8 on the scale between rude and harsh, closer to the harsh end because they are quite polite. No calling in sick from a cabin on the Spirit of Tasmania though, it’s down and at ‘em on the vehicle deck. Bags jammed into panniers, let others … More Up. Tasmania Part 3
Tasmania. The mere mention of the name brings up happy thoughts of glittering golden temples, tropical beaches, and green curry. Oh hang on, that’s Thailand. Pretty much all happy dreams are taken out the back and shot by hooting of the 4:45am alarm as the Spirit of Tasmania drifts into Devonport, why isn’t there a … More Around. Tasmania Part 2
