Gabyon Sation long weekend ride

[jono]

To register follow this link http://bmwmccwa.asn.au/event-2335928

This September long weekend there will be a overnight ride to Gabyon a working sheep station 550km north of Perth on the edge of the Murchison. All but the last 17km is sealed road with the final 17km being gazetted and well maintained council dirt road.

We will stay in the Shearers quarters (14 Beds) or camp on the grass. Hot Showers, Toilets and a Camp Kitchen are available. Refreshments and Dinner will be at the homestead, Wood Fired Pizza all you can eat $20 per head and refreshments are available.

Shearers Quarters are $30 per night including linen, 2 beds per room. Its first come first served. For those who miss out there is a nice grassed are to camp behind the quarters. Camp fire facilities are available $10pp/pn.

Sunday you can hang around and explore, ride an ag bike or if you like come on a GS friendly dirt ride to see some of the Murchison and perhaps take in Walga Rock or the old Big Bell Town site. The 1200 GSA is very comfortable on these roads. If you ride the GS we may need to manage our range or carry extra fuel for Sunday.

Sunday night is back at Gabyon with Hosts Helen and Mike for a BBQ. Then Monday we make our way home taking in a stop at the picturesque Coalseam Park.

For those wanting to ride up in a group we will meet at 7am at the Caltex on Wanneroo road just on the South side of Hepburn Avenue and depart at 7:30am.

Others can join us at Bindoon Bakery were we will stop briefly by or just before 8:30. Or you can find your own way there by back roads of your choice. Fuel there and back is no problem with plenty of options available.

Registration and a deposit is requested so that we can let Helen know for Catering purposes.

Don't miss the last of the Spring scenery Summer will be here soon. This is a great destination and one that you will remember for a long time.

[jls]

I'm in
I do need to attend a Saturday morning breakfast for my daughter,s 21st ,down on the beach at Leighton ,but she has given me the ok to take off on the bike
May be a sunset arrival at Gabyon
Looking forward to a bit of wildflower spotting and catching up with club members ,and of course I'll be on the 1150 adv.

[jono]

That makes 6 so far

[BillB]

Bill and Doris will be riding 2 up on the GSA

[Kots]

I'm going. I'll see y'all at Bindoon at 8:30am Saturday. I've booked 2 nights. Kots.

[BillB]

Joining Jono's ride at Bindoon pie shop at 8.30. Doris will be going up in a car

[Kots]

I will be heading up leaving separately now (no longer from Bindoon at 8:30am) heading up in the morning but not at 8:30 from Bindoon. See you on the ride. Safe trip. Kots

[jono]

Thanks to all those who attended the Gabyon Longweekend ride, once we passed Three Springs the weather warmed up and blue skies and clear stary nights were enjoyed.
We took over the entire hearers quarters complex and made ourselves at home. Dinner at the station homestead was eagerly devoured before we retired to the camp fire outside the Shearers block and enjoyed the night sky and discussed ride options for Sunday. We opted for an easy going day, starting with a huge cooked breakfast at the homestead, we then split into 3 groups. The off road group heading to Courn Hill for few laps of the Rock and some fun trail riding for the big GS's. On to the Yalgoo North Road enjoying a great wildflower show. Here the group split in Two with some heading to Chinaman rock and the others South via Yalgoo and out to Jokers tunnel. We bumped into Jeff on his new Harley which was promptly covered in red dust. Back to Gabyon by 3pm the ladies were off horse riding, happy hour started early, there was a commotion over misplaced keys (not mine!) but all ended well and we enjoyed a splendid BBQ with hosts Mike and Helen cooking up a storm. An early start this morning on the road by 7, down to Coalseam Park which looked magnificent with abundant wild flowers in full bloom. Lunch at Mogumber Tavern midday before a relatively quiet run back into Perth saw the first of the group home by 2:30. A few photo's will be posted up on the clubs Facebook page and group.

[BillB]

A big thanks to Jono for organising this weekend. I am sure everyone thoroughly enjoyed every moment. The ride up kept the group sort of together with a few deciding to travel a bit faster than others but all coming together at stops. We did a short cut to the station that took in about 40 km of dirt rather than go the long way on the tar via Yalgoo. Kim on his K1600 GT bit down , grimaced and also tackled this with great skill handling the big monolith. This set him up as practice for handling the last 18 km of dirt into the station. The group arrived at about 3.30 in the afternoon with Jono finding some beers for everyone which went down well as the last few hours of the ride found the temp warming up creating a cold beer thirst. The girls arrived eventually with some of us ( take note Doris) getting a bit concerned as it was getting close to 6pm. They had been having a great time in Janice's V8 all wheel drive Volvo flitting around the countryside checking out wildflowers. Meanwhile the blokes had drunk all Jono's beer and had ventured down to the homestead to meet Mike and Helen and get some more beers.
Mike showed us his "green hornet" a Cessna type of aeroplane which he explained in mouth opening detail how he had pranged it a few weeks back and it was now a write off. He has now written off 3 planes now following prangs at the station and has a sore back and lots of stories to show for it.He is waiting for the insurance to pay out for another plane. Helen was busy in the kitchen getting the food ready for our group and the numerous other caravaners and campers who were also guests at the station. They were both very likeable, friendly and real outback characters.
The meal was something else , with a continuous supply of freshly cooked pizza from the pizza oven which a French backpacker who used to work for them constructed a few years back, garlic bread, salads, potato bake and so much food even Jamie was done over. Much wine was also consumed with a few feeling a bit seedy the next morning, this and the heavy snoring going on denying others sleep was the probable cause for various peoples unwellness.
A heavy bacon and egg breakfast with all the trimmings got us all going again. As Jono mentioned the group split up into 3 groups. Kim took the girls for a drive in the Volvo, Jono took a bunch riding the station tracks and I headed off to Cue to check out the meteorite crater and Big Bell mine site. Out in the middle of n- where after travelling about 40 kms on the dirt on the way to Cue as I approached an intersection "lo and behold" there was Jono and the station rider group who were now heading in the opposite direction parked up having a chinwag. They were going to head down to Yalgoo where I had just come from and then come back the same way after fueling up and check out Chinaman rock which was on the way to Cue. Without a definite plan and Chinaman rock only being about 20 km up the track I thought maybe give my original plans a miss as Cue was another 160 km on dirt and just check out Chinaman rock. I mentioned that I now probably was just going to Chinaman Rock and put it to the group that why not go there first. The group then fragmented when Jono, Nev, Dinga and Peter took off leaving the rest of us thinking it was a better idea to check out the rock then go onto Yalgoo rather than come back this way again. Colin led Jamie , Kots and myself sitting on about 90-100km/hr on the gravel looking for the signpost "Chinaman Rock". The problem was no sign or we hadn't seen it due to the rate and concentration needed to follow the lead rider. After travelling about 45 km we stopped and decided that Chinaman Rock must have been that rock about 20 kms back, so we turned around and went back and checked out this rock which we then we presumed it had to be Chinaman rock. It was not in the same scale as Uluru but was quite spectacular in its own right when we checked it out. We then decided to head back to Yalgoo and check out the Jokers tunnel. At the petrol servo Colin asked one of the locals how do you get to it. He said just go about 20 kms up the road and you will see the sign. Off the group went with Colin leading, again going quite quickly. Jamie and Kots who were following me suddenly disappeared and were nowhere to be seen behind us when we waited . Jamie was saying at the servo something about needing to fill up so Col and myself presumed they had gone back to fill up. Wrong! Following Col and 40 kms now approaching and the sign to Jokers tunnel nowhere to be seen we decided this guy at the servo had given us a "bum steer" so we headed back only to see a sign just out of Yalgoo which given was a bit hard to read had "JokersTunnel 10 km" in a weathered scrawl. Col decided he really wanted to see it and took off to check it out. I had had enough of travelling excessive distances to look at tourist features so headed home and left Col to check out the Tunnel. The blue sky had now turned into angry storm clouds as I headed back to the station and sure enough the rain started and it lasted for about 10 minutes then persisted as light scattered drizzle. When I got back to the station it had basically cleared up with just clouds and the angry bit now more to the SW
As Jono mentioned there was some drama with keys. Janice and Terri Anne went horse riding following their drive with Kim and Doris. When they got back Janice put this pod thingy bob that allows the Volvo security system to be activated in her pocket thinking it was safe tucked up in her pocket. Coming back from the horse ride they had a shower and a few drinks and waited for Col to turn up. When he arrived he wanted to get something out of the Volvo. BUT the thingy bob that Janice had put in her pocket was not there any more. Much panic arose from Mr and Mrs DB they couldn't find this thingy bob anywhere. A search party was sent into action with a number of people trying to cover the ground where the horse riding took place but still no thingy thing was found. Colin managed to use a key to open the boot crawl thru a opening and get the operating manual. This pod must be present so that one can disarm the security system to make the Volvo open doors , unlock the drive system and allow engine start up. Well what happens now, the Volvo was now marooned at Gabyon station and the girls were going to be stuck there and Bill, Nev and Colin were not going to have anyone to cook diner when they got home. Using a Sat phone we contacted the RAC. And Colin convinced them they could pick up a spare thingy bob he had at home that one of the kids would find and give it to them to courier it up to the station. This plan was accepted by the RAC and put into action. Ask Col what happened next, I won't go into it here but all ended well. Much alcohol was consumed as the stress levels were fairly high as a result of the Volvo incident, but it didn't curtail the camaraderie for the rest of the night with everyone enjoying the lamb chops and lots of other yummy food prepared by Mike and Helen.
Monday morning saw Jono, Kots, Peter, Nev, Dinger and Jamie who was going off somewhere else, heading off in the wee hours and the rest of us who weren't overly excited by the 4* temp, taking it easy following the noisy departure of the early ride group then having a leisurely breakfast. The girls departed first in the Volvo then myself, Kim , Col and Geoff who had turned up on his brand new now very dirty Harley D on the Sunday all finally departing. Col and myself did the Coalseem park gravel which was a terrible dirt road to ride on with lots of corrugations, soft patches and loose gravel. The scenery was nice though. Kim and Geoff who decided to give any more dirt a wide berth kept to the tar and we met up again at Mingnew and continued home. We arrived back at about 4pm.
A Great weekend. This is what owning a BMW and being part of the BMWMCCWA is all about.

[BillB]

Meeting the station ride group

Chinaman rock

[spacey1]

And what a ride it was...

A new phrase was coined... 'K1600 friendly' as illustrated by Kim negotiating a dip here



What next? 'Harley-friendly!' Hey, what does that Harley guy think he's up too?



Spotted a few of the now famous Wreath Flowers along the track



A bit of perspective on the size of the Wreath Flowers... and those awesome GSAs



Meanwhile the sun was setting over the Gabyon Station outhouse...



Next day while climbing to the top of the only hill (Courn Hill) within cooee of the place,



I found this little guy under a rock...

[spacey1]

Of note, this is the first time ever that I've ridden my GSA off-road without a full touring load... And I just want to say "Oh what fun it is to ride on an empty GSA"

Further down the track, past Courn Hill out to the Yalgoo North Road...



The Dalgaranga Road to the Meteorite Crater that way...



The Prez, seen here, waiting patiently amongst the wildflowers...



Yep, that way to Yalgoo...



On the track to Yalgoo, amazing what a little water can do to a parched country



That Yalgoo sign...



Stopped at the Yalgoo Lookout for a bite and a drink, no particular order...



No surprises here, you can see Yalgoo from the Yalgoo Lookout



Took on a little bit of fuel at Yalgoo. Didn't want to get the front too heavy The fuel bowser is one of those credit card thingos. Note: It displays incorrectly, dispenses less fuel than is displayed but charges correctly... go figure.

On to Joker's Tunnel, for a walk through the hill. Sadly the poor buggers found no gold after digging all the way through solid rock. The tunnel is quite low and narrow. So if you're claustrophobic, give it a miss.



Hey, there's that Harley rider again, and he's wearing a BMW jacket This is just too much...



The ride back to Gabyon Station was a ripper, but what happens on the Yalgoo North Road stays on the Yalgoo North Road