Kennedy Ranges / Gascoyne Races Run 2015 (updated again)
Posted: Wed 26 Aug, 2015 10:02 pm
First up, cheers to Snagga resting up under the awesome care of staff in RPH. Get well soon mate 
Second, a big thank you to all of you who participated and shared the journey to the Ranges and back
Third, to the idea people... Keep the great ideas coming
Sure it rained... but there you go. It stopped soon enough. And then it was all good.
The tribe joined forces, so to speak, for a pie/coffee/anything warm at the Bindoon Backhaus.
Moving on to Mullewa, the weather looked to be clearing, thankfully. Wet enough to lay the dust, dry enough to be 'mudless'
A couple of oldies came along for the ride, both with significant modifications and for very different reasons.
The weather cleared and the hot rain suits started to come off.
We stopped at the Greenough River for a play. Of note, the HPM is more of a trail bike than a GSA. Don't ask how I know that
Jono beside the Greenough River...
Jono on the Greenough River...
Onto the great Murchison River, where more fun and camera clicking could be heard alongside the purring of BMW twins, old and new.
The R1200 LC making it look pretty easy.
Even the ol' R75s made it out here...
And a mixture of old and new receiving a welcome to the Murchison
On fueling up at the Murchison Settlement, a handful of your more softer-skinned-types laid up at the oasis, Murchison Settlement, on green grass, had hot showers and dunnies It's even said that an electric heater was used to dry the heavy dew off his tent 
Of note, fuel at the Murchison Settlement requires a credit card. It is quite a complicated process if you have not done it before.
With so much moisture around, it was quite difficult to know where to park those smelly boots
Polo is quite a popular sport here. The locals come from far and wide to participate on the large, red grounds. The Murchison Settlement exists as a fuel stop and home for the Murchison Shire Council. These folks are responsible for maintaining roads in the region. Chatting to a friendly grader driver gave us a heads-up on the road conditions we were to expect further on. Luckily, all his information suggested a quick, comfortable journey to Gascoyne Junction
This is where the main group (A horny bunch) camped on Thursday evening, 42 kilometres north of the Murchison Settlement.
The horny bunch...
And not afraid of blowing his own horn, or indeed somebody elses
Bill, on the fly
Tom, weighting the pegs
94 km north of the Murchison Settlement, Western Australia
At the Mt Augustus - Dooley Downs turn-off, a photo / rest stop was called. There was one lonely wet cow pat on this vast section of road. Luckily said cow pat managed a rendezvous with one large motorcycle boot.
Numerous creek crossing, all mostly dry, are along the Mullewa-Carnarvon Road. The Yarra-Yarra Creek is typical. Slowing down is recommended at all water crossings.
It's already a prolific wildflower season along the Mullewa-Carnarvon Road. Look out for that sneaky GSA peeking through the bushes...
A pleasant location to do a few repairs...
About here, Bill noticed his rear German TUV approved mudguard about to fall off. A stop was called for to find tools, remove the offending item and stow it for future use? I left mine, broken off on the corrugations, out on the Great Central Track to Alice Springs back in 2010.
The Cobra-Dairy Creek Road to Mt Augustus intersection is a part of the Kingsford Smith Mail Run ( http://trailswa.com.au/trails/kingsford-smith-mail-run ).
It was just up the road from here that I rode up to a 4WD parked on the side of the track. A lithe, tall young lass was standing beside it brushing her hair???? Obviously I slowed to ensure her safety. All appeared to be OK. So I rode on. A short distance up the track, I stopped to check with my riding partners if I was perhaps, 'hallucinating'. Apparently not... The things you see in the great Ozzy Outback beggars belief...
Most non-Australians will not know what this is... This is an Australian cattle grid. It replaces a gate on roads. It prevents animals (cattle, sheep, horses) from crossing the fence boundary at the road. It should be approached at 90 degrees for obvious reasons
Action shot: How to cross an Australian cattle grid successfully...
Finally cruised into Gascoyne Junction, fuelled man and machine, then bee-lined to the Gascoyne Race Course to set up camp.
What followed was a night of pretty damn good pizza, several beers, much loud music, little sleep. I really do like the music of the Creedence Clearwater Revival band. As grumpy as I may have gotten, I was still toe-tapping in my tent until the wee hours.
Tomorrow, out to the Kennedy Ranges. This is what the journey was all about for me.
Second, a big thank you to all of you who participated and shared the journey to the Ranges and back
Third, to the idea people... Keep the great ideas coming
Sure it rained... but there you go. It stopped soon enough. And then it was all good.
The tribe joined forces, so to speak, for a pie/coffee/anything warm at the Bindoon Backhaus.
Moving on to Mullewa, the weather looked to be clearing, thankfully. Wet enough to lay the dust, dry enough to be 'mudless'
A couple of oldies came along for the ride, both with significant modifications
and for very different reasons.The weather cleared and the hot rain suits started to come off.
We stopped at the Greenough River for a play. Of note, the HPM is more of a trail bike than a GSA. Don't ask how I know that
Jono beside the Greenough River...
Jono on the Greenough River...
Onto the great Murchison River, where more fun and camera clicking could be heard alongside the purring of BMW twins, old and new.
The R1200 LC making it look pretty easy.
Even the ol' R75s made it out here...
And a mixture of old and new receiving a welcome to the Murchison
On fueling up at the Murchison Settlement, a handful of your more softer-skinned-types laid up at the oasis, Murchison Settlement, on green grass, had hot showers and dunnies
It's even said that an electric heater was used to dry the heavy dew off his tent Of note, fuel at the Murchison Settlement requires a credit card. It is quite a complicated process if you have not done it before.
With so much moisture around, it was quite difficult to know where to park those smelly boots
Polo is quite a popular sport here. The locals come from far and wide to participate on the large, red grounds. The Murchison Settlement exists as a fuel stop and home for the Murchison Shire Council. These folks are responsible for maintaining roads in the region. Chatting to a friendly grader driver gave us a heads-up on the road conditions we were to expect further on. Luckily, all his information suggested a quick, comfortable journey to Gascoyne Junction
This is where the main group (A horny bunch) camped on Thursday evening, 42 kilometres north of the Murchison Settlement.
The horny bunch...
And not afraid of blowing his own horn, or indeed somebody elses
Bill, on the fly
Tom, weighting the pegs
94 km north of the Murchison Settlement, Western Australia
At the Mt Augustus - Dooley Downs turn-off, a photo / rest stop was called. There was one lonely wet cow pat on this vast section of road. Luckily said cow pat managed a rendezvous with one large motorcycle boot.
Numerous creek crossing, all mostly dry, are along the Mullewa-Carnarvon Road. The Yarra-Yarra Creek is typical. Slowing down is recommended at all water crossings.
It's already a prolific wildflower season along the Mullewa-Carnarvon Road. Look out for that sneaky GSA peeking through the bushes...
A pleasant location to do a few repairs...
About here, Bill noticed his rear German TUV approved mudguard about to fall off. A stop was called for to find tools, remove the offending item and stow it for future use? I left mine, broken off on the corrugations, out on the Great Central Track to Alice Springs back in 2010.
The Cobra-Dairy Creek Road to Mt Augustus intersection is a part of the Kingsford Smith Mail Run ( http://trailswa.com.au/trails/kingsford-smith-mail-run ).
It was just up the road from here that I rode up to a 4WD parked on the side of the track. A lithe, tall young lass was standing beside it brushing her hair???? Obviously I slowed to ensure her safety. All appeared to be OK. So I rode on. A short distance up the track, I stopped to check with my riding partners if I was perhaps, 'hallucinating'. Apparently not...
The things you see in the great Ozzy Outback beggars belief...Most non-Australians will not know what this is... This is an Australian cattle grid. It replaces a gate on roads. It prevents animals (cattle, sheep, horses) from crossing the fence boundary at the road. It should be approached at 90 degrees for obvious reasons
Action shot: How to cross an Australian cattle grid successfully...
Finally cruised into Gascoyne Junction, fuelled man and machine, then bee-lined to the Gascoyne Race Course to set up camp.
What followed was a night of pretty damn good pizza, several beers, much loud music, little sleep. I really do like the music of the Creedence Clearwater Revival band. As grumpy as I may have gotten, I was still toe-tapping in my tent until the wee hours.
Tomorrow, out to the Kennedy Ranges. This is what the journey was all about for me.
