Got up fairly early and packed the essentials for an overnight campout , despite the amount of gear I took it was only for one night not a week , extra tin of baked beans and tin of tuna (cat food ?) for each day on .
My ride down the hill from Collie was nice and steady although I did notice that my kit bag carrying my self inflating airbed and tent , spare clothes etc was blocking my view slightly in the mirrors . This is the first time I've carried this stuff and may have to rig another tempory mirror up for when I cart the air bed or alternatively get a different bed set up.
My first priority was to get gasoline when I got to Dallyelup Caltex and then I'd be good for at least 400k , I spotted Brock amounst the surging throng of motorcycle enthusiasts , most of whom where bound for Windy Harbour on an annual overnight run that raises money for Lukemia Research .
I had the option to go on that ride but prefered to go with 5 others for lunch rather than 50 plus , my reasoning being that if 1 in 10 is a bit obnoxious when drunk then I would have maybe 5 idiots to contend with later and I'd prefer just to have a quiet night instead . Must be getting old.
As it was I met up with some loonies and we got a bit drunk but that was later .....
I met Turtle for the first time , always good to meet new people with the same interests , but it was a busy carpark and time for us to depart and beat the rush .
I had decided to ride at the rear but when we left the servo I was in the lead so I pulled over and then took up my position at the rear .
As we went through Busselton some peanut tried to kill me on a round about and blasted their horn at me because they felt I should have braked hard and given them right of way . I thought about this as I rode on , we were five bikes in a row and this impatient bastard decided to push his or her way through between me and Yorkie in their Landciuser wagon , how hard would it have been to have just allowed us to all flow through in the obviously same direction . Technically I was in the wrong but the Cruiser didn't have it's left hand indicator on so I assumed it was going around the same direction as us and I did probably cut them off
slow down you idiots
I can't remember how long it is since I've ventured down to Augusta so this was new territory to me as the towns we went through have changed so much , I would like to have stopped at Margret River to get off the bike and have a little stretch but Brock was on a mission and when we got onto Cave Roads proper even though we stuck to the speed limit , these guys showed their riding finese in the twisties , some with a posted 70 kph limit and some at 90 kph . I noticed on a count of heads that we had gained an extra machine and noted that it was a K75 BMW running a pillion when we got into Augusta and got a decent enough look to identify the bike.
Rather than park next to Yorkie and Turtle which would have caused the Winnebago behind us to have difficulty in getting out I parked outside the imformation centre and took this opportunity to get some clues on the best place for me to camp plus I wanted to look up an old chap probably about 80 now who was my supervisor as an apprentice that I knew had retired to Augusta.
When I caught up with the Ozstoc crew they had met up with some Farride people and had taken up some tables overlooking the river mouth on the lawn at the rear of the pub .
Service was lightning fast and I got to meet Scarp and STRay .
As well as having his mirror shroud hanging off Yorkie lost his appertite and some of his lunch on the lawn which was later cleaned up by the seagulls .
No rest for the main group and I bid them fare well , we spoke of catching up again later at York but for me I was in no rush to go anywhere and walked back to where I was parked to do do a bit of sight seeing .
I came across a radical looking bike outside the Fire Station and went back for a second look thinking at first it may have been a 650 Yamaha or even a 450 dohc Honda twin , it turned out to be a 650 Benelli Tornado , a most unlikely subject for a custom but refreshing in it's uniqueness (not just another Harley) I had a yarn with the owner and he showed an interest in the ST as a possible bike for some touring he wanted to do in Europe and I was glad to inform him of the big Honda's merits as well as it's Pan European heritage and the fact that these bikes were designed for the European market.
I rang Ed my old boss with no answer so cruised out to the Flinder's Bay Caravan Park as this was the one I had decided upon . Luck was with me and I secured a small bay suitable for my needs and just below a gas babeque setup with views of Flinder's Bay , close to the shower block and a short walk to the ocean.
My only complaint was phone reception but on a walk later once the tent was up I managed to call home and let the missus know all was well.
I chose this park over the other one because they are dog friendly and I will definately be coming back here again with my wife and two mutts .
I took a few pictures on my walk which took me out as far as the road went then back along the rocky shore .
I cooked up my marinated roo steaks and egg burger deluxe's and got chatting with some people from Manjimup which involved some beers as the sun went down and carried on till midnight at least .... we had some laughs
In the morning , after breakfast on the hill looking out to sea , it started to cloud over and
not good I'd left the wet weather gear at home , I begged a coffee from my neighbours the Manjimup mob then got the bike packed and hit the road about 9.00am .
It drissled mostly but did break into rain proper about 20 k out of Nannup , visibility not being 100% for me with fogging up glasses and moisture on the inside of the visor saw me taking it nice and steady on the Nannup to Ballingup route I'd chosen , Met up with a few of the Harley boys at Kirup where I had a free coffee for the driver , a pastie , a rest off the bike and a leak .
Sandhills road - Charlie Creek Road short cut across to just below Yabberup then on past the Mumballup Pub (didn't stop) turn left then on into Collie with a big stupid grin I arrived home a new man .... Bounder of adventure has returned .
Last Sunday I cooked , this week I drowned .... actually the rain was fairly good and could have been much worse .
446 Kilometres on the Batmobile ... Yeah Baby
