Hi Kenny,

I haven't kept my promise to stay in touch, so I thought you may like to hear about my motorbike trip to Melbourne with my friend Charlie Clegg.  Please note that I have changed my email address.

Charlie is also an anaesthetist and we have known each other since we were trainees.  Charlie has only recently gotten into motorcycling and started on a Honda VTR 250 (as did I).  He recently moved up to a Honda VFR 800 which he is very proud of.  I, of course, have my trustee Moto Guzzi V1100.  We decided to ride from Adelaide to Melbourne along the 'Great Ocean Road' in Mid February.  Planning was a bit brief as we already had most of our gear including panniers for both bikes.  We decided to equip ourselves with GPS.  Charlie bought a Garmin Zumo as it fitted easily to his Honda.  I bought a Tomtom rider as it was cheaper and didn't have to be ordered in.

 

 

 

We set out on a Wednesday morning.  You can easily follow our trip on 'Google Maps' which I used to plan the trip.  It was quite cool for the middle of the Australian summer and I initially regreted not taking my winter gloves.  It soon warmed up and I forgot about my winter gloves. We were riding for 10 minutes when we encountered our first problem.  Charlie hadn't locked his top box and lost some papers that turned out to be the instructions for his Zumo.  Anyway, small things don't stop enthusiastic motorcyclists.  So, onwards to Murray Bridge and Tailem Bend along the River Murray.  The road is a 'freeway' and similar to the large roads we rode on in KL.  We stopped for some pictures by a road side cafe (see attached).  Then on to Meningie along the Coorong National Park.  This is country South Australia.  The road is one lane either way but high speed (100 - 110 kph).  It may not sound fast but the oncoming traffic is very close.

 

We stopped to stretch our legs at Meningie.  Meningie is famous for it's lobster industry.  We parked next to the 'Big Lobster' for photos (see attached).  Next onto Robe for lunch and then Mount Gambier  before crossing the state border into Victoria.  No photos during this section as we were really just pushing on make some distance.  The wind was blowing so hard off the Southern Ocean that we had to lean sideways into it.  It made for difficult riding and I later found that it wore so much tread off the side of my rear tyre that it had to be changed when I got back to Adelaide.  We stopped for the night at Port Fairy.  No photos here either, other than the bikes in a garage overnight.

Next day we headed to Warnambool which is the start of the Great Ocean Road along the south coast of Victoria.  Lots of time for photos here.  The coast is rugged with steep cliffs due to centuries of erosion.  Lots of tourists, and signs reminding everyone that we drive on the left side of the road in Australia (you won't have any problems!).  I took a photo of my bike under a sign but facing the wrong way!  The Great Ocean Road was wonderful with winding roads along the coast and through forests.  My favourite part was around Anglsea.  By this time, I had fitted a camera to the mount for my GPS and kept snapping photos.  Unfortunately, the screen on my bike distorted most of the pictures but I have included the better ones.  We then left the Great Ocean Road and reached Melbourne via Geelong.  I had specifically bought my GPS to help me navigate around Melbourne, however when I put the Tomtom on my bike it failed and wouldn't turn on.  Luckily, Charlies GPS worked so he lead the way.I stayed at a hotel in Melbourne close to a medical conference I attended.  The hotel charged A$15.00 each time to leave the carpark so I took the 'motorbike option' and rode around the barrier.Our return trip was the more direct 'in land' route.  We decided to make the trip in one day and so started early.  Summer had returned to Australia and we expecting temperatures up to 38 C.  After battling the Melbourne traffic, we reached Ballarat by mid morning, then on to Horsham, then Nhill for lunch (not a very nice lunch).  We passed through Bordertown and Keith before arriving back in Murray Bridge by late afternoon.  We stopped for lots of water breaks but surprisingly it we weren't that hot on the bikes.  I guess riding through the wind was like having a fan going on very high all of the time.  I reached home at about 6 pm and I was very pleased that I had travelled one of the greatest motorbike roads in Australia.

Kenny, I hope you enjoyed my little story and the pictures.  Catch up with you sometime.ttached to sepamail.

 

David