Australia bound March 2010

I am going to Australia for a three week self guided tour. Starts in Melbourne and end in Darwin. My son in law calls it the Big Red Center of Oz.
I am renting An F650gsTwin like I have at home in Toronto.
Has anyone done this route before?
5000kilometers. lots of stops. No camping just b&bs and roadhouses.
Any advise would be appreciated.

WalterW said:

I am going to Australia for a three week self guided tour. Starts in Melbourne and end in Darwin. My son in law calls it the Big Red Center of Oz.
I am renting An F650gsTwin like I have at home in Toronto.
Has anyone done this route before?
5000kilometers. lots of stops. No camping just b&bs and roadhouses.
Any advise would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

dropped you a pm with my Ph#... lived there for 2 yrs and did 28500miles in one year across the entire continent.

Outback UFO

Walter W.

I have a fellow Canadian contact who was displaced to Australia due to the economy who now is residing in Melbourne. He is an engineer by trade so you two have something in common and importantly he wants to help you being a fellow motorcyclist. Furthermore the Melbourne community of adventure rider and long distant overlanders is impressive and a hearty lot ............information might cost a few beers.

I am going to write a long post in the future of some of my trip planning along the same route and I have a contact in Adelaide who worked and rode all over Australia to assist you ( he owes me because his bike is in my garage ). I will private message you about him when I get a return email of his willingness.

I hope to be there also some time in January to March 2010 if work allows. Also there is a good friend of mine that is a Brit touring Australia about the same time on a Translap which you might be able to network with. I am not sure of his plans but he to is Darwin bound so he can ship to southeast Asia.

Keep in mind that central Australia gets very hot and it could be long and lonely in spots. Outback UFO will be a great help since he rode it.

All the best

Hey Walter, I'm an aussie now living in Seattle. Make sure you have your drinking shoes on! if I remember correct ever 2nd Thursday is dole (welfare) day in Central Australia and the Aborigines tend to binge and party hard, maybe carry a goon bag (cheap cask box wine) around with you to help make friends.
I also clipped an Emu on one trip, mate they are quick and will be in front of you before you know it, same goes for the kangaroos.
Be sure to upload some pics....

Also be sure to check out the Great Ocean road and Coober Pedy. And while in Melbourne head over to the Black Spur for some fun twistys (don't go on the weekend)

-Tom

Australia Bound.

So many things to see and places to ride.
I enjoy to ride at my own pace and like to stop along the away to meet people and take in the view.
Three weeks is enough time to get a feel for the interior.

I have been warned about the roo's and other furry things that scury across the road. I won't be doing any driving at night (if I can avoid it).
In NC and Tenn I have just missed deer and raccons as they play chicken with us in the mountains. Scary at best.

April is a better month temp wise so it should not be too bad.

I am looking forward to the various beers after each days ride. What is available. What is Crownies.

What about gas along the Stuart highway going north. I am used to getting 250 km between stops. 300 is my max so far with the bike in good tune.

The planning continues.

WalterW

You'll want to start out by going up The Great Ocean Road to Adelaide; it's world class.

Too bad I had to drive it in a minivan...

Walter - I'm planning a trip to Australia (starting in Melbourne) in February. I haven't started getting into details of rental bikes yet. Would appreciate information on whom you are renting from.
Thanks

Lucky you!!

I have done some car but not bike travel in AU.

I recollect, from a few of the Beemer dealers I stopped into, that there are very active local BMW bike clubs in most of the larger centers. They do a lot of outback traveling. You may be able to get some contacts via the net, and get some very good current advice.

I am making plans for my trip and I will post what I have later. I also have two friends there and I hope to see if they can assist us in finding the Big Dipper or tell us where to go.

Bike rental in Australia - BikeRoundOZ.com

Here is what I have for now. More to follow when I get it.
I have thought about buying a second hand bike with My son-in-law and then selling it after the trip. It may be cheaper all round.

From Bikeroundoz.com
Hi Walter,



Thanks for coming back to me.

14 days would be incredibly tight and I think the absolute minimum would be 15 based on the daily stops and distances I've worked through here. You'll need to cut back on some time in one or two areas and it will be quite a fast paced trip. 18 days is more realistic and would be a much better pace of travel. The 21 day price on the web site (AU$2,728) is for the 650GS Dakar from the out of town depot. It's lower cost than the Melbourne city centre depot's bikes as the out of town depot specialises in long term rentals and one way trips like this but it also means they have a minimum rental of 18 days for this trip. An 18 day trip would cost AU$2,309.

We could provide a two cylinder 650GS from the city centre depot but it would be quite a bit more expensive. This bike could be rented for 14 or 15 days for this trip and the total would be AU$3,398 for 14 days. In summary, the prices and options are as follows



21 day Melbourne to Darwin on 650GS Dakar - AU$2,728

18 day Melbourne to Darwin on 650GS Dakar - AU$2,309
14 day Melbourne to Darwin on 650GS twin (800cc) - AU$3,398 (each extra day AU$165)

The accommodation option listed on the Self Guided Tour page is for 3.5 to 4 star B&Bs/hotels/motels. In one or two places there's no other choice than the roadhouse which is basically a gas station, repair centre, motel, restaurant and bar all in one. It is interesting to stay at these places but the standard of accommodation tends to be a little limited and you have to take what's available. Accommodation for 15 days would be AU$2,528 and for 18 days it would be AU$2,877.

We do get other people booking this route but the chances of having them leaving at a similar time and having a similar number of days would be quite slim I suspect. I'd certainly keep an eye out for anyone else travelling around the same time and put them in touch but I don't want to get your hopes up. The bike rental market place in Australia is not huge and so you may find there are less people travelling on rented bikes than you suspect. On the other side of the coin you'll find people to be incredibly friendly and the bike is always a point of interest. You sometimes find it difficult to get away from gas stations as people keep chatting! It's great to meet people like this and often you'll find yourself regularly meeting the same people in campers, cars or bikes going in the same direction. Australians are generally a very friendly bunch and so a smile and a 'hi' will often result in meeting lovely people. Tourists are friendly too of course as they've usually been 'infected' with the laid back friendly attitude!

Internet access will be available in all the main towns on the way and so it will be only a day or two between access. You can either use PCs in internet cafes/roadhouses or take your own laptop and buy a pre-paid wireless broadband USB device from any town centre phone shop (there are many and Telstra has the bext coverage). This will give you access in all the main centres wirelessly and so Australia is well geared up for Internet access on the move.

Once again I hope that helps Walter but just let me know as other questions come up!

Best regards



Mark



BikeRoundOz
Motorcycle rental and tours across Australia and New Zealand
Web: www.bikeroundoz.com
E-mail: info@bikeroundoz.com