Week 1 mileage
Day 1: Paringa to Port Pirie: 400kms
Day 2: Port Pirie to Ceduna: 560kms
Day 3: Ceduna to Madura: 698kms
Day 4: Madura to Norseman: 529kms
Day 5: Norseman to Esperance: 204kms
Days 6-7: Esperance: minimal riding and maximum self-congratulatory food and beer
Week 1 mileage: 2,391kms
Total trip mileage: 2,391kms
Welcome all to my blog post rounding up the frantic start which was Week 1. I have decided to do weekly blog posts which may require more reading on your behalf (depending on your interest!) but will allow me to sit and reflect on each week in its entirety. I will post shorter updates throughout the week on my Facebook page. This blog will serve as a more in depth, detailed look at what I have been up to and allow me to catalogue my thoughts and experiences to create a bit of a memory for myself (a bit selfish – sorry about that).
Day 1
So, now that’s out the way, what a fantastic week it has been. I set off on Monday, 13 March, from the family home just out of Paringa, South Australia, after a lovely farewell with some family and close family friends out at the Wilkadene Woolshed Brewery the previous day.
It is hard to explain the feeling of saying my goodbyes to the family and setting off on this three-month journey. It felt in some ways like setting off on one of my overseas jaunts (of which I have been fortunate enough to have had a few) – knowing it will be some time before I see family and friends again but excited about what is to come.
Perhaps the key difference in this endeavour is that I have only had my motorbike for 5 months and am about to ride it around Australia, so there was a bit more of a ‘shit, what have I done’ factor as opposed to my (predominantly) fear-free overseas trips. Still, fortune favours the brave (let’s go with brave over foolish) and I was buzzing my entire ride to Port Pirie. The last time I was in Pirie was a year or so back, attending what was an extremely well put together Harry Potter themed party and, still being in South Australia, it was a familiar first leg. Arriving in Pirie I was relieved to have got through my first day and, still feeling some effects from the farewell the day prior, treated myself to a feed and an early bed time (wild).
Day 2
I spoke to Trevor at 5RM radio in the morning to give a quick download of my first day before setting off to Ceduna. Day 2’s riding was where I started to really feel like my trip was underway. Officially kicking off the beginning of the Nullarbor crossing, I rode through Port Augusta, Kimba, Wudinna, Wirrulla among others on my way to Ceduna. I went to boarding school with many people from these towns, and it was nice to reminisce on the old days while I rode along. I was on a bit of a mission on Day 2 to make Ceduna so I regretfully did not organise to meet up with people through these towns. The prospect of the upcoming Nullarbor stretches was keeping me anxious, and I really wanted to get it underway.
Arriving in Ceduna Tuesday evening, I spoke to the lovely Jess from Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth about my visit to make my first personal $5,000 donation (thanks again to you all for making this possible with your donations that I will be matching!). Jess was extremely helpful, and I will be visiting Princess Margaret’s on Wednesday 22 March to give my donation and meet the staff and kids!
Port Pirie (top) to Ceduna (bottom). Days 1 and 2 of riding.
Day 3
Began with a lot of nervous energy, knowing I would be tackling the Nullarbor proper. I jumped on the bike and set off. On reflection, this was probably the most challenging day of travel in my life, let alone this trip. There was a lot of wildlife keeping me on my toes, and it was a particularly windy day across the Nullarbor with winds reaching 70kph+. I decided to keep riding though (sorry Mum) – I certainly had a lot of adrenaline charged moments throughout the day. The winds were hardly cooperative, with no simple head or tail winds - rather blustering from all directions.
I stopped off at multiple look outs across the Nullarbor, equally to calm my nerves, slow my heart rate and take in the sights. The Head of the Bight and the cliff lookouts were something else. It is a strange feeling to know you are standing at the bottom of the Australia – the sheer cliffs create a real sense of our continent abruptly ending, as opposed to standing on a beach at another coastal location. I also met plenty of lovely people at these lookouts, as they are popular break points across the Nullarbor. I had chances to chat about what I am doing, hand out my cards, and have other travellers express a lot of interest about following my journey. This is part of what it is all about for me, getting some awareness out there and getting people talking, so these encounters were, and continue to be, very motivating for me.
Crossing the SA/WA border was another ‘OK this trip is really happening’ moment. I have never been to WA, and after the police border check I was on my way and riding off into the (not quite yet) sunset. I had originally planned to stop at Eucla, WA’s easternmost locality just across the border, but with the benefit of a 2-hour time zone change in my favour, I pushed on to Madura. I was feeling very energised and not tired at all, so I couldn’t bring myself to stop. Madura is a road house with a caravan park. I set up camp and ducked in for a couple of cans. I’m sure most of you have experienced the ‘what a small world’ phenomenon many times, and I ticked off my first of hopefully many such experiences on this trip. The managers of the park I was staying in had family in Paringa, and had just moved from managing the Paringa Backpackers, some 1,700kms away. Small world.
Day 4
The morning started with more nervous energy. After feeling stoked about getting through the initial part of the Nullarbor, setting up for the final stretch and the infamous ’90 mile straight’ had me bouncing out of my skin and keen to get on the bike. The straight was a surreal experience, being my first time (aren’t all first times a bit surreal?). 147kms of dead straight road, I felt like I was Kanye West in his ‘Bound 2’ music video, sans Kim Kardashian on the front of my bike – the feeling of remaining still while the hardly changing landscape flew past conjured up similar images (apologies to those to who this pop culture reference means nothing). Speed was hard to gauge, and I constantly found myself getting faster and faster (again, sorry Mum). It was exhilarating. Not seeing any wildlife on this straight made it more bizzare. I have confirmed that the lack of any wildlife sightings on this straight is a rare occurrence, and for that I feel very lucky.
Finishing the straight and pushing on to Norseman was fantastic. I rarely get carried away with completing somewhat significant tasks, but I felt genuinely elated at having crossed the Nullarbor and ticking off what I believe will be (touch wood) one of the most challenging stages of my ride.
One of many signs like this across the Nullarbor. Disappointingly, no camel sightings.
Day 5
I was on the road to Esperance, a beautiful coastal town on WA’s south coast. I had heard good things about Esperance, and what a special treat for those reports to ring true and arrive in a truly charming and beautiful place. Population 15k odd, it is a decent sized town (read multiple pubs). I had managed to completely coincidentally time my arrival with the ‘Festival of the Wind’, Esperance’s premier annual festival celebrating all things good about the south west coast. I was happy to take a swim at the main beach, and venture out to the famous Twilight Beach just around the corner - absolutely stunning.
Twilight Beach - Esperance
Days 6 and 7
Were a chance for me to relax, experience the town and the festival, and meet some of the locals. My past travel experience has taught me that I do my best socialising/meeting people in a pub, so with that firmly engrained excuse in hand I treated myself to nightly pub visits. Three of the more interesting lads I met were John, Nige, and Murts, Kiwis who had won a motorbike trip around WA. I knocked back a few pints with these great fellas and traded stories of our rides so far. They all seemed to find it significantly amusing that I am attempting the ride around Australia on the type of bike that I am (i.e. a learner restricted road bike). I also met a bunch of riders completing the Black Dog Ride, raising awareness for suicide prevention. Great cause and was good to meet and chat with them about my own ride.
It has been great to relax and reflect. There will not be many days of such long riding for the rest of my trip, so I look forward to stopping and smelling the roses more frequently over the coming months.
Support and donate
Remember, please donate if you can and thanks to those who have. I have also started to receive some interest of support from businesses. If you know of any businesses or community organisations that may be interested in getting behind my ride and supporting the Children’s Cancer Foundation, please feel free to share my ride with them – it is all very much appreciated.
I look forward to my next week of riding and exploring our beautiful country, and will be in touch soon.
Best
James