Australia
We will try to update this page every couple of days....
We're home - well in Perth!
What a great feeling to be back on home soil! We had mixed feelings before we left KL as we really would have loved to explore Indonesdia. But it wasn't long after we landed on Monday that we realised we were quite happy to be home. People speaking English, clean toilets, tap water, BBQ's, dry heat, chai lattes/decent coffee and bacon are just a few things we enjoyed on day 1!
We had quite a long Sunday night with very little sleep so as we arrived at 5:30am, the first stop was breaky and a decent coffee! We were also very keen to see if the bike had made it safe and sound. We had organised to have mum send the 'Import Approval' forms to a post office near the airport and we were hoping to get the ball rolling with customs and quarantine as soon as possible. After Taylor went to the post office and found out the documents hadn't arrived, we were quite nervous, but amazingly, they arrived at 11am! This meant we could lodge the customs clearance application which would hopefully clear overnight. There was nothing else we could do that day so we jumped on the train and headed to Browny and Emma's.
We were back bright and early at the airport on Tuesday hoping to have Tez back by the end of the day. It all went extremely smoothy and we had the bike out of customs and quarantine by 10:30am- amazing! Next stop was visiting the Department of Transport for the bike to be inspected. The bike passed with flying colours but unfortunately we couldn't register the bike as they need to see the import plate which comes from Victoria. This came as a little surprise but there was nothing we could about it so we got the papers into the mail that day via express post hoping they would arrive the next day. Amazingly, they arrived by 8am on Wednesday and they plate was back in the mail the same day. We spent Wednesday in Perth city stocking up on all our camping supplies for the home stretch and caught up with Kim for a lovely lunch!
We had quite a long Sunday night with very little sleep so as we arrived at 5:30am, the first stop was breaky and a decent coffee! We were also very keen to see if the bike had made it safe and sound. We had organised to have mum send the 'Import Approval' forms to a post office near the airport and we were hoping to get the ball rolling with customs and quarantine as soon as possible. After Taylor went to the post office and found out the documents hadn't arrived, we were quite nervous, but amazingly, they arrived at 11am! This meant we could lodge the customs clearance application which would hopefully clear overnight. There was nothing else we could do that day so we jumped on the train and headed to Browny and Emma's.
We were back bright and early at the airport on Tuesday hoping to have Tez back by the end of the day. It all went extremely smoothy and we had the bike out of customs and quarantine by 10:30am- amazing! Next stop was visiting the Department of Transport for the bike to be inspected. The bike passed with flying colours but unfortunately we couldn't register the bike as they need to see the import plate which comes from Victoria. This came as a little surprise but there was nothing we could about it so we got the papers into the mail that day via express post hoping they would arrive the next day. Amazingly, they arrived by 8am on Wednesday and they plate was back in the mail the same day. We spent Wednesday in Perth city stocking up on all our camping supplies for the home stretch and caught up with Kim for a lovely lunch!
We spent all day Thusrday and Friday waiting at the window for Postman Pat - he never came. We were a little shattered as it meant we were now staying put until at least Monday or Tuesday but there was absolutely nothing we could do so we got out and enjoyed a lovely weekend visiting Perth City, Subiaco and Cottesloe Beach. After wandering around for the day, we realised how much we had missed Australia and how lucky we are to call it home!
Street Food Market in Subiaco
Cottesloe Beach
Monday was a long day, again, waiting at the window for the postman. At 3.30pm, we were very relieved to receive the sticker we'd been waiting for. Taylor jumped straight on the bike and headed back to the Department of Transport so they could sign off on the inspection. It was too late to go anywhere that day but we hit the road nice and early on Tuesday morning after we registered the bike and got our WA license plate!
Whoo hoo! Finally on the road!
Lunch in the bush
Our first night was in a national park just south of Margaret River. We went for a great walk and ended up at a beautiful beach - Australia really has some amazing beaches! We were quite excited to finally be on the road and heading towards Mansfield! One thing we had forgotten about was how bloody annoying flies are!
Loving camping again!
We then stopped over at Walpole (Coalmine Beach) where beers on the beach were the perfect end to the day. Our days usually consist of getting on the road by about 10, riding for a couple of hours through the bush on great roads, stopping for lunch, before finding our next destination to set up camp - very easy going and enjoyable!
From Walpole we went to Bremer Bay before making our way to Esperance. It was clear to see the damage from the recent fires once we started heading north towards Norseman. Unfortunately, Saturday was a quite a wet and windy day. We definitely weren't expecting to have to rug up for the start of the ride into the Nullabor, but the weather eventually cracked us and we had to don the fleeces.
From Walpole we went to Bremer Bay before making our way to Esperance. It was clear to see the damage from the recent fires once we started heading north towards Norseman. Unfortunately, Saturday was a quite a wet and windy day. We definitely weren't expecting to have to rug up for the start of the ride into the Nullabor, but the weather eventually cracked us and we had to don the fleeces.
For our first night in the Nullabor, we set up camp in a designated free camping spot on the side of the road - strategically away from the old gum trees as thunderstorms were forecast. Luckily, they never came and we survived the night! We managed to cross the length of the Nullabor in 3 days covering 1,400kms. Again, we were very lucky with the weather. We were all geared up to endure some hot Aussie sun but we were met with days in the low 20's- perfect riding conditions.
We then spent a night in Ceduna where we met Wazza, Vicky, Kingsley and Sharon and had a great night chatting away and cooking up a feed. What we remembered very quickly in Australia, is that there can be quite a few kms between decent towns so some nights were spent in places like Port Augusta where there really isn't much too see.
Our penultimate night was spent in comfort at Emma and Tom's farm house in Mount Gambier. We enjoyed a few beers and a BBQ along with a comfy bed, which was extremely welcome after a long stint in the tent on hard ground. We then pushed on to Torquay on what turned out to be one of the most uncomfortable rides of the whole trip. Having sent all of our warm clothes home a week earlier, we spent the day frozen to the bone in an unseasonal icy blast. We made it to Torquay - just 300 Kilometres short of home.
We then spent a night in Ceduna where we met Wazza, Vicky, Kingsley and Sharon and had a great night chatting away and cooking up a feed. What we remembered very quickly in Australia, is that there can be quite a few kms between decent towns so some nights were spent in places like Port Augusta where there really isn't much too see.
Our penultimate night was spent in comfort at Emma and Tom's farm house in Mount Gambier. We enjoyed a few beers and a BBQ along with a comfy bed, which was extremely welcome after a long stint in the tent on hard ground. We then pushed on to Torquay on what turned out to be one of the most uncomfortable rides of the whole trip. Having sent all of our warm clothes home a week earlier, we spent the day frozen to the bone in an unseasonal icy blast. We made it to Torquay - just 300 Kilometres short of home.
We made it! After another cold day on the bike, we arrived in Yarck (50 kms short of Mansfield) to be met by Pete, Stella and Gran on Harleys along with a group of around 8 others. We rode in convoy into Mansfield to meet the rest of the families and friends waiting for us. It was a really special day and something we will never forget.
A huge thanks to everyone we met along the way, who hosted us as their guests, helped us out, rode with us, waved to us, gave us directions, fed us, and contributed to our trip in any other way. Thanks to our families for being behind us the entire way. We know that it must've been extremely difficult to not try to talk us out of it.
The trip finished after 173 days, 28,300 kms and 22 different countries visited. With zero break downs, zero punctures and zero falls, we are extremely grateful for what can really only be attributed to an extremely long run of good luck.
A huge thanks to everyone we met along the way, who hosted us as their guests, helped us out, rode with us, waved to us, gave us directions, fed us, and contributed to our trip in any other way. Thanks to our families for being behind us the entire way. We know that it must've been extremely difficult to not try to talk us out of it.
The trip finished after 173 days, 28,300 kms and 22 different countries visited. With zero break downs, zero punctures and zero falls, we are extremely grateful for what can really only be attributed to an extremely long run of good luck.
