New Year's Resolution

Club and BMW related
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Swampy
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Swampy »

Reminds me of the early 70's when I was traveling to Perth from Sydney in a small Honda N360 2 cylinder car on leave from the Army with my family.

Could not sit for a week after that trip and promptly traded the N360 in on a Datsun 180B for the return journey..............Ahhhh Pure Luxury!!

Swampy
"I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains.
Of rugged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons, I love her jeweled sea.
Her beauty and her terror, the wide brown land for me."
Digger
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Digger »

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We continue to mooch westward on the Old Eyre Highway...lots of caves and blowholes to investigate...


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Pretty barren on parts of this crossing...sometimes, you can’t pick and choose your campsites. Here we seek shelter in an old quarry. Collect wood on the way so we can have a fire at night.


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Koonalda Homestead car graveyard in the early morning. Koonalda Homestead was another travellers rest stop but was abandoned in 1988 after 50 years as a sheep station. The Homestead and out buildings are still standing and in good shape.
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Digger
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Digger »

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Koonalda Cave...about 7 km north of the Homestead. This was the water supply for the Station. No access to the cave...too steep to climb down.


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One of the many blowholes. This one is 12 km from the nearest coastline and was providing a cooling breeze.


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Looks like roast chicken tonight...nobody goes hungry on these trips. Always a varied diet with lots of options.
You don't have to have a long neck...to be a goose

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Digger
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Digger »

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We entered another cave earlier today (tuesday)...the biggest and longest so far on this trip. It looks like there was some really weird shit goin’ on down here. Either that, or people have too much time on there hands.

We are currently camped just west of Eucla and will follow the coast for a while.

SPOT Link is here;
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... UCtYLNPufa
:P
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Bozo
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Bozo »

Digger

This is what the Eyre Highway was like near Koonalda 50 years ago

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Where is your hanky? Travellers in the 1930's always had them handy.

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Great trip to learn a bit of the history of the highway.

Bozo
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Bozo »

Digger

Very interesting track to get the Eyre Bird Observatory today...did not know it existed.

Bozo
bwanainoz
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by bwanainoz »

Bozo wrote:Digger

Very interesting track to get the Eyre Bird Observatory today...did not know it existed.

Bozo
I do know that in December 1990 the road into the Eyre Bird Observatory was not passable on a Z900 Kawasaki.
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Bozo »

Noel

Digger has gone along the coast from Eucla to get to the Observatory then come out on the right angle track to Eyre Highway that stopped him and you. The track that I did not know existed is the one along the bight.

Bozo
Digger
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Digger »

Bozo wrote:Digger

Very interesting track to get the Eyre Bird Observatory today...did not know it existed.

Bozo
I think you are mistaken...we didn’t get to the Observatory today. We turned north well before that. All the roads and tracks we took are marked on most (Hema) maps. I think we headed north toward the Eyre Highway between Mundrabilla and Madura. I may be wrong.
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Bozo
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Bozo »

Digger

Sorry, I got my scales wrong and Cocklebiddy mixed up with Mundrabilla. Anyway I hope it was a good day.

Bozo
Digger
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Digger »

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Early morning...just west of Eucla.


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The ruins at Noonaera. It is at this point we ran out of coastal track and had to head north to Eyre Highway (Bozo, this is as far west as we could travel along the coastline).


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Camped just shy of Cocklebiddy...had to search for wood.


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F*** it...too hard. Just light the fire under the log. It should burn all night (and tomorrow night, and the night after that, and the night after that).


From here, we explore Cocklebiddy Cave and then slab it to Norseman, Hyden to Norseman Road and should be home on Friday evening.

SPOT Link is here;
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... UCtYLNPufa

:P
You don't have to have a long neck...to be a goose

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Bozo
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Bozo »

Digger is on the Hyden Norseman Road near Disappointment Rock.

A bit of light rain in that area last night.

Hopefully the road will be OK.

Bozo
Digger
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Digger »

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Went to Cocklebiddy Cave but it has been closed off....very spectacular Cave which runs for 2km underground with a lake flowing thru it.


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Not to be discouraged, we jumped the fence and tried to access the cave. No luck, the ladder was too short.


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Collectively, we only did a spring hanger, a couple of cars suffered bits n pieces rattling loose and the same car suffered two punctures. Other then that there were no serious mechanical issues. Not bad considering the range of track conditions we encountered over the three weeks.

Arrived safely back in Perth today (Friday)...we did experience light rain on the Hyden to Norseman Road but nothing to impede progress.

The highlight for me was Googs Track. I’ve been curious about that track for a while and knew it was sandy...just wasn’t sure how sandy. Wouldn’t be fun on a R1200 but definitely doable on a smaller bike whether loaded or not (disclaimer; pending your level of experience).

Gotta get some rest now...hope you’ve enjoyed the journey.

SPOT Link is not here.

:P
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Digger
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Video...

Post by Digger »

G'Day Slackers.

Although not bike related, some of you Riders may be interested in some of the track conditions.

20 minutes of mindless entertainment.



:P
You don't have to have a long neck...to be a goose

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Bozo
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Re: New Year's Resolution

Post by Bozo »

Digger

Brilliant video.

I exhaled, aired down and relaxed for 20 minutes without experiencing a single corrugation or flood of sand adrenalin.

Neale Junction is named after one of the pilots on the 1930's aerial reconnaissance flights of outback Australia sponsored by the entrepreneur Donald Mackay.

He was Frank Neale, born Essex 1895 died Melbourne 1979 who was an accomplished outback pilot.


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Bozo
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