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Hello again, After Cairns I headed into the Outback. Australia is really a land of
extremes, and it's amazing how quickly you can move from one to another. I left
the wet tropical rainforests around Cairns in the morning, and by the afternoon
I was into the dry bush!
I rode south from Cairns, then headed up an amazing twisty road back onto the Tablelands. This road has literally hundreds of tight curves and great views over the rainforest. To make it even better, the sun was shining and the temperatures were mild, and the traffic was light/non-existent. What a morning on the bike! After a few hours on the high plateau, I started to drop down the back side of the plateau and the vegetation got more sparse and drier. I still saw lots of wildlife - huge wedgetailed hawks, red-winged parrots, cockatiels, and 'roos. I made my way to Undara Lava Tubes, supposedly the largest lava tube system in the world. I took a 2-hour tour of the tubes where I learned about the history of the tubes and the wildlife and plants around the park. Inside the tubes we even saw some torpid bats hanging right in front of us. Luckily these bats were the small mouse-like variety, not the huge flying foxes I saw in Queensland! That night I camped near the lava tubes for $5A. The next day I rode 450 miles across the flat Gulf Development Road to Normanton, then south to a small roadhouse call Burke & Wills. I camped here as well for $5A. The day was quite hot - near 95 I'm guessing, but it was a dry heat. Dry or not, it was damn hot out in the pounding sun all day in my riding gear :-) The next day I rode another 500 miles across the start of the true outback to Barklay Roadhouse. The land got flatter and the vegetation even more sparse. It's amazing how far you can see when there's nothing to block your view for a hundred miles :-) Still, it's refreshing to be out in such open and vast terrain. Most of the people I encountered in passing cars (just a few each hour) all smiled and waved. We felt like we were sharing a unique and awesome experience as we traveled "together", in passing, through the empty vastness. At Barklay I decided to get a room instead of camp. I wanted to get an early start the next morning and a room makes that easier. Also, after 2 days sleeping on the ground, a cool room and bed sounded good! The downside was that the room cost $85, and gas was $1.28 per liter! They've really got you in the middle of the Outback, and we all know it :-) True to my plan, I got up early the next morning, and was on the road shortly after sunrise - around 7 AM here. It was a beautiful morning - sunny and cool. The Outback is especially green right now, so soon after the rainy season. I rode the 500 miles into Alice Springs in the sun with temperatures near 80 - almost perfect except for a blustery wind that kept me dancing in my lane. In total I covered about 1,500 miles in the 4 days since leaving Cairns. So here I am in Alice. I like Alice - it's a refreshing oasis in the middle of the desert. I've got a free day today to do laundry, get some supplies for my trip to Uluru, and work a little on my bike. The BMW has developed a small oil leak on the right valve cover, so I'm going to remove it today and see if I can clean it up and get it to seal. Luckily there's a BMW dealer in Alice - the only one for 1,000 miles I think - so I can get parts or help if I need it. Next stop - the true Red Center! Story |