And so endeth the journey...

All good things come to an end.

The bike that carried me for the duration of this trip is now parked up at my brothers and getting prepped for sale. The DL1000 V-Strom wouldn't be my usual choice of ride, and I probably wouldn't own one as my daily ride, but I wouldn't hesitate to take one away on another extended journey across Australia.

The DL was typically Suzuki (built tough where it counts, but with a lot of cheap plastic finish), having said that, it was super reliable, cheap on fuel, and super cheap on maintenance. It was fully serviced and had new tyres on it when I bought it, and apart from lubing the chain, the only other thing I did over the distance was replace the rear tyre in Adelaide after 7,000 k's of bolt upright riding (but almost all the wear was down to the abrasive road surface in NT). By the time I'd finished the trip, the front tyre was only half worn, and the new rear still appeared 'as new'.

It was a comfortable bike to ride, even on the longest days, and its performance in the corners far exceeded my riding capability. My only complaint is they're not designed for touring and as such luggage choice is quite limited. At speed, the Givi bags sat so far outboard of the arse-end that they acted like windsocks, creating quite a wobble at anything over 120 kph (and yes, that's legal in some states, and if you're in the red centre, there is no limit).

I've had a truly fantastic time with some amazingly unforgettable moments. Of particular note for a bike journey of such distance and time, there were only 2 occasions where it actually rained (although for the first half, rain would at least have offered some respite from the constant heat).

Next stop, home, Mainland NZ.

Brisbane - Blue skies and mid 30's

Entering the land of the long white cloud

South Island at last....

Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains - clearing but cold....

Home at last....

Last ride....

Well, today was my last chance to catch up with family before heading home tomorrow so I spent it with family and friends (on the bikes).

Went to Harrigans at Jacobs Well for coffee, then down to Mt Tamborine and Canungra for lunch.

Great to rip it up through the mountains for a blast before departing the homeland and heading back to the long white cloud.

Jacobs Well

Harrigans

Mt Tamborine - hangout of hang gliders

Last minute reminiscing....

Spent a cruisey day on the bike today and headed down into NSW (via the back way) to visit my dad in Kingscliff.

Went down the inland route through the hinterland via Murwillumbah on the old Numinbah Valley road.

Great ride, great weather (still).

Taking the shortest trip, the longest way...

Heading back to mum's today so I waited for the traffic to die down and took a 100 k detour via Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious. Nowhere near so many bikes on the mountains back in the 'good old days' of my youth.

View from Mount Glorious

Mount Glorious

You know you're in Qld when the car parks have shade sails....

Today's route.

Heading for the finish line...

Lazy day back to Brisbane today.

Ran into the Dalek letterbox on the way. Looks like the real deal.

Had breakfast with my sister in Glen Innes, a cuppa with my dad in Kingscliff, and then my sister-in-law dished up a great home cooked dinner in Brisbane.

I've come full circle today and looking forward to taking a break out of the saddle (for a few days anyway).

Meet the exterminator....

Today's route

Zig-zagging through NSW....

With the boys weekend over and the other guys on their way home to face work tomorrow, I make my way up to Taree and take some time out with a coffee and a map book to plan my route back to Brisbane. The plan was to find the most winding route that will get me into a motel by 4pm to catch the end of the big Bathurst race on tele.

Oxley Highway it is then, through Armidale and on to Glen Innes.

Planning meeting at McD's...

Ginger's Creek Roadhouse http://www.gingerscreek.com.au/

Today's route

Blokes, bikes, beers, and bullshit...

What a great weekend it's been. 50-year-olds being 20 again. Many memories of this area as a young bloke on both 2 wheels and 4, and great to again be exploring all the disused and forgotten highways that see such little traffic that grass now grows on some of them.

One of the highlights of the weekend would definitely be Wootton Way in Bulahdelah. This used to be the old highway up until the NSW Govt bypassed this mountainous section. It's 21 kilometers of beautifully smooth, 3-lane wide, winding, deserted bitumen that now only services a handful of farms. Say no more.

Enjoyed a really great couple of days with a good bunch of blokes. Really did feel like I was 20 again. Same crazy shit only at the end of the day we're knackered and ready for bed by 9. Could not believe the road conditions. These are the same roads and the same bitumen I traveled more than 30 years ago. All they've done is fill the pot holes.... and there's thousands of them.

Smoke if you've got 'em.... about every 30 to 40 k's.

and fuel up every 100 to 150 k's

The start of Wootton Way, Bulahdelah.

Suzuki parking lot...

Pot holes make for rough riding.....

The weekend playground...

Sydney Bound....

The Snowy Mountains have been a blast these past few days but now it's time for me to head up the coast to meet up with my younger brother in Sydney, and then spend a long weekend riding around the Hunter Region with him and a few of his mates.

Today's Route

Life in the mountains....

What a great little spot Bega is, and with the Caravan Park on the outskirts of town and off the highway it was a very quiet night.

Today I took off in search of corners and travelled down into Victoria again before heading back up through the mountains to Bombala, then back up to highway B72 for the 60 k's of winding road back down into Bega.

Todays Route

The town of Bombala - (Bombala Bakery to my left - nice coffee and great pies)

I've seen heaps of birds over the past few days. Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Galas, Blackbirds, Crows, Rosella, and dive bombing Magpies.

Unfortunately, the cockatoos were amongst the road kill today. When they get hit, the others all sit on the road beside them and this leads to more getting hit. A sad sight indeed.

The other animal over represented in the road kill numbers over the last few days is the wombats. Literally dozens of these laying dead by the side of the road, another sad statistic.

Birdlife in the caravan park in Bega 

My good deed....

I found a mobile phone this afternoon sitting on a picnic table 100 k's out of Bega. Called the owner to find she's only a few minutes from where I'm staying.

Here's how she said thank you... (the chocolates were gone by the time I took this photo).

The calm after the storm...

The rain pelted down for all of last night and the wind sounded like it was going to lift the roof off. By the time I ventured out to load the bike in the morning, things were looking up.

Today's plan was to ride across the Snowy Mountains, through Thredbo and Jindabyne, and eventually wind up in Bega on the south-east corner of NSW for a few days of tearing up the corners in the mountains.

The ride across the Snowy's sees the weather quickly go from overcast and windy to a really beautiful day, and the extreme gale force winds and torrential rain from last night is so apparent with the roads into Thredbo strewn with branches and leaves and the remnants of trees that had fallen across the road (road crews obviously quick to clear them this morning).

Tallangatta to Thredbo is not much more than a tar-sealed goat track.... a narrow, winding road that wouldn't be so bad if it was one way. What would normally be a hazardous ride was made all the worse by tourists oblivious to other traffic and local wankers who fly along this treacherous winding route with no regard for what's around the corner. Thankfully, from Thredbo onward it opens up to a proper piece of highway.

The ski-fields in Thredbo

Lake Jindabyne

Snowy Hydro power generation plant

Mt Kosciusko

For all those demanding another selfie.... shades of Wilson.

Today's route.

Crappy Victorian roads take no prisoners...

After such a great ride yesterday, today started on a really low note.

Went to put the panniers back on the bike this morning and found a critical bolt had snapped. Off to the bike shop for repairs.... only to find it's a public holiday.

I manage to find an engineering shop open across the border in Wodonga. Long story short, the frame's fixed but minus a part that locks the pannier to it. Number 8 wire prevailed and it's strapped with a tie-down for now.

The pannier is rated to 10kg - Loading them with 30kg+ and driving on Victorian roads is obviously beyond the rated limit of the mushroom bolts.

A motorcycle tie-down and a Zuru strap soon replaced the missing mushroom bolt.

So basically, a wasted day. Whilst not as hot as the centre of Australia, the temp is up there today and the humidity along with it, making things uncomfortable. The weather is unpredictable and I'm not sure how the pannier is going to cope without the mushroom bolt to hold it in place. I decide to head for Sydney to see if I can find a Givi dealer with the spare parts in stock.

It still has me baffled how they managed to get this submarine here from the nearest ocean.

Hot and bored (sweating profusely in my new bike pants) I detour via Holbrook and stop for coffee at the submarine cafe. This is a real life submarine, about 1000 k's from the nearest ocean.
It's a playground for kids to play on, and in. Yes, that's in as well. You can explore every inch of this thing. There were family's with kids everywhere. For somewhere you have to divert to off the highway, this is one big draw-card.

I call my brother in Sydney to chew over my day and he reminds me of just how pissed off I'll be if I don't go back south to play in the Snowy Mountains for a few days. As he put it, THE best motorcycle roads in the whole of Australia.

There's no escaping the rain tomorrow. I make plans to head back through the snow to the east coast of NSW to a place called Bega and book myself a night in a motel in Tallangata.

Made a special trip to ride over the old Hume Weir this afternoon only to find that they've built a bypass down stream. This was as close as I could get. Disappointing.

It's been about 35 years since I was last here and there's little I recognised. The old Bonegilla army base has moved across the road and a "Migrant Experience Centre" has gone up in its place. Really? Not sure what that's about.

The other thing I was hoping to see were the hundreds of Centurion tanks that lined the highway at the Bandianna Army Stores Depot. I guess they're all scrap metal by now.

Still, there were enough landmarks throughout the area to invoke some old memories from all those years ago. Oh to be 18 again.

Whilst out that way, I passed about 50 vintage motorcycles heading north. There were certainly some crusty looking riders amongst them that looked about as ancient as their machines.

With storm clouds looming I head off towards Tallangatta with wet gear at the ready but manage to make it all the way and check-in just as the rain begins to fall. Lucky yet again.

Today's route.

Getting to the fun stuff...

Just about to head off through the guts of Victoria to Wodonga, the stomping ground of my youth when I did my Corps training in Bandiana.

I've been having troubles in the afternoons and mornings with sun strike so for all those that know what I'm talking about, here's what I did with a roll of electrical tape. The adjustable sun visor. It works on so many levels.... And doesn't get in the way of your vision. How do you patent a roll of tape.

The weather in Victoria is pretty crap today and for the next few days so I came north to Albury / Wodonga.

Cold start to the day in Traralgon (new pants are getting a workout), and didn't warm up till i hit the mountains in Omeo. That changed to howling gales as I crossed over Mount Hotham. Cold and windy, but such a fantastic ride. Almost the whole day on winding mountainous roads, and the long decent off Hotham being the highlight.

Hard to top a ride like that but I'll certainly give it a try tomorrow when I follow the weather (and the mountains) over to Bega.

My day ends in Albury, an old stomping ground from days as a teen in the army.

Today's route.