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Winton to Cloncurry
28/10/2014 Tonight I am in Cloncurry Qld. The ride today stared well with good time being made to Kynuna. A little overnight rain in this area had brought the birds to life and they were having a ball chasing whatever it is they
chase. Brilliant bluey green colored birds, although once the day started to heat up they disappeared. Next stop was Mckinlay where the Crocodile Dundee, Walkabout Pub is located. I took a few pictures here, but none inside the pub as it was not open at that
time in the morning. It was only 350 km today and I made it to Cloncurry early but the heat had built up by then and it was nudging bout 41 by the time I booked into a motel. Unfortunately there is not much to do in Cloncurry. I walked the streets looking
for entertainment, and there is none, so I had a beer in the Post Office Motel bar and then holed up in my air conditioned room until dinner time. Shock number two, I am getting tired of pub grub, maybe its just the heat but I am off my food at the moment.
I think I need some junk food, I have been trying to eat healthy but its not going to happen, so I will stock up on some lollies and chips tomorrow before heading north to Normanton. Really looking forward to the next three days, I hope to spot some proper
crocodiles not those trained pets the tour operators show at feeding times. I have a few good pictures to post today, one that I took after climbing to the top of a small hill, I hope you like it. Till tomorrows post, Max the widenose
adventurer signing off.
We had one of their cousins play footy for Wallerawang once.
About 30km west of Winton
And its for sale, what a bargain. Kynuna QLD
Goodnight Walter.
Cloncurry to Normanton
29/10/2014 Really good day for riding, no wind and slightly cooler temperatures, only got to 39 on the bike so about 37 ambient. There is a breed of small light brown wallaby here that are very hard to spot at the side of the road.
I didnt have any close calls but there were quite a few that I didnt see until I passed them. There were some puddles on the road so there must have been some rain, but I have yet to ride in some, maybe on the coast It will rain, then I can complain about
it. I arrived in Normanton hoping that I could see some crocs. The locals up here say the crocs are that smart that they know people come here and they make themselves scarce. I went to the river anyway, but the locals were right no crocs could be seen. Other
than fishing there is not much more to do in Normanton, but I am glad I came here. I would like to do this trip again, but I would do it in winter, I think riding up here in the cooler months would be more pleasurable. Food and fuel is expensive and because
I'm on a bike theres not much I can do about that, no room for an esky but at least the bike doesn't need to much fuel. Tomorrow its on to around Georgetown, but I will see how it goes as I have a free camp place picked out. Theres no cool drinks,
telstra service or aircon there , so it will depend on how adventurous I'm feeling. If theres no update tomorrow then Ive done a free camp and will update the site at the next opportunity. Bye for now Max
The Burke and Wills Roadhouse, about 180 km from anywhere.
Lots of termite mounds up here.
Hmmmph, what a croc.
Normantons famous Purple Pub
Norman river, Normanton oct 2014
The journey so far 2500 km.
Normanton to Mount Surprise.
30/10/2014 Todays ride was planned to go from Normanton to a free camp site east of Georgetown. All started well, reasonable temperature and wind, no wallabies trying to become roadkill so i made good time to
Croyden were I filled both bike and rider with fuel. I then stopped at the Gilbert river and took some pictures, there was no water in the river which is a shame, I would love to see these rivers in flood. About 40km from Georgetown I thought the
bike was a little strange in the rear, so I pulled over and checked, couldnt see anything but could squeeze the tyre with my hand, not a good sign. I rode off but only another km before stopping again. This time I could see the nail in the tyre. I found somewhere
off the road in the shade and repaired the puncture, no dramas at all just as well I packed my repair kit. I was getting ready to ride off and waved to a dark colored 4wd, eventually got on the bike and rode off. Just around the next bend and here was the
4wd back on its wheels after he base over apexed it. The dust was still drifting away. I stopped to see if he was ok, and after offering water rode off to Georgetown to send back some assistance. I arrived at Georgetown and got the servo manager
to take care of things, last I saw the tow truck was heading out. Anyway back to the tyre, the repair seemed ok but I inflated it to a better pressure and decided to ride on to Mount Surprise and recheck the pressure. On arrival the tyre seemed ok so I booked
into the van park for the night. I will recheck the repair and decide what to do then. I had a good feed for dinner in the local but still feel a little uneasy about the tyre, still it makes for an interesting trip if nothing else. Funny how things like this
can give you a shake. Shame I never got a picture of the accident, there was nowhere to get a road bike safely off the road. Not sure where I will be tomorrow, but there will still be an update. Bye for now Max
First stop of the day near Black Bull siding.
Gilbert River Crossing.
Dang!!!
Mount Surprise to Mareeba
Greetings from Mareeba. The ride today wasnt much to skite about. There was a section of road near Atherton that got a bit windy and enabled me to push the rear tyre to gauge its road holding condition. I inflated the tyre to 41 psi and rechecked
the pressure at Mount Garnet. The pressure was 45 psi so i am reasonably happy that the repair is holding. I had breakfast at Mount Garnet and rode on past Atherton to Mareeba. Temperature only got to about 29 today and this made for a most pleasurable days
ride. Then Mareeba, I first spotted a ww2 DC3 parked at the old wartime airfield, so I stopped there hoping the museum was open. No it was closed, on peering through the window I could see a bloke walking around and looked like he is in the process of restoring
a ww2 Corsair fighter. He didnt look like he was interested in letting me in to take some pictures so I rode of to Becks wartime museum. Mistake number two, he is not open weekdays and maybe not on this weekend either, bugger so I rode off again to find the
caravan park. Mistake number three. The park looked like it was full of houso rejects. The filthiest mob of no hopers I have ever seen, so I went in search of a motel and found a good one. The Mareeba Lodge is central to Mareeba has excellent facilities and
is run by a most pleasant person. Who I shall call Carolyn to protect identities. Kfc was just down the road so I took the opportunity for a quick burger and will try to find some slime tyre sealant, just to give me some extra piece of mind as the tyre pressure
when cold had dropped to 38.5 psi. All tyres lose pressure when riding through shock, heat and even through the tyre compounds but it just seemed a little too much pressure drop for 250 km's. Still i could get a new tyre at cairns but I think I can nurse this
one to get me home. So tomorrow its on to Cooktown and now that I am all aeroguarded up maybe the sandflies will leave me alone. The mongrels took to me at Normantown and it looks like I have the measels. I have bites all over, lucky I have
voltaren tablets to stop most of the itching. Anyway thats all for today, stay tuned for tomorrows update. Max.
Wind farm at Windy Hill near Atherton. Temp here was 26 nice and cool for riding motorcycles.
The water looked inviting, but huge fines if caught playing in the water.
This would look good at my place.
Ok, I am allowed to post one typical tourist picture.
You have to stand on your head, but these are some of the sandfly bites. I must taste good.
Mareeba to Cooktown
1/11/2014 Made it. My first attempt to ride to Cooktown and I am here. I slimed my tyre and fixed that pesky leak, well it was still holding pressure this arvo. Today was a dream for riding nice undulating twisty
and no coppers made for a better than average speed to Cooktown. Plenty to stop and see along the way with "Bobs Lookout" being the pick. Gee its a spectacular view, but you will have to see it for yourself. Getting into Cooktown I rode to Grassy Hill lookout
and took the proverbial happy snaps, the view from here is also incredible. I was trying to imagine what it must have been like back when Cook had to repair his ship here in 1770, so far from home and no phone to call to say he would be home late. First impressions
of the place is I like it, not that much to do, but with some research I am sure you could fill a holiday up with plenty of activities. I am only here for one night but already working on plans to get back up here. I still haven't seen any crocodiles
but the locals inform me they know I'm here. I just want to see one proper croc. Tomorrow I start the trip home, but first a break in Cairns. Cathy and I have a weeks holiday here and so I probably wont update the site everyday, but I will post
somethings as we are doing some good things like a scuba dive, so maybe an underwater photo and then a trip on a skyway to Karunda, should be a great day. So stay tuned, and I will see you when I see you. Max
View from Bobs Lookout
Black Mountain, must have took them ages to pile all them rocks like that.
Max, at Grassy Hill lookout.
Cook, he left nothing unattempted. Get busy living or get busy dying.
Cooktown Hotel, nothing more to say!
Cooktown to Cairns
5/11/2014 Well its day 3 here in Cairns for Cathy and myself. I had a good ride to cairns from Cooktown, but both tyres are looking a little battered even if they have only done about 2500 kms, I think I will
put bridge-stones back on when I get home. So cairns, heaps of places to eat, heaps of places and with them all competing for market share there are great meal bargains to be taken. We have done a harbour and river sunset cruise, but no crocs to be seen, i
am beginning to think that the croc issue has been exaggerated. Yesterday we did the Karanda scenic railway trip and Skyrail return. This is an excellent day trip, there is plenty to see and do in Karanda especially the Butterfly sanctuary, Birdhouse and the
venomous creature display. We walked around Karanda doing the touristy bit until we spotted the pie shop. Never one to not try something new we had "crocodile pie" and an "emu pie". Truly a tasty and unique experience. They had other mixes of pies and I would
have loved to be able to eat more, but the cable cars can only carry so much. Today has been a rest day as tomorrow we are going out to the reef for a day of diving. I have never scuba dived before so I am a bit anxious about getting in with
the sharks, and I am not a confident swimmer. I suppose I can walk home if I get tired. I hope to get some cool underwater pictures but cant post them to the website yet. I have no technology to transfer pictures from that camera to the ipad.
I will do another update in a few days. regards Max
Best burger in Qld. When old matey bought it to me, I said " hey theres a fly on it" , he said " keep it quiet or everyone will want one"
The scenic train trip to Kuranda.
View of Red Peak near Kuranda
Here snakey snakey.
View from the Skyrail looking into Cairns
Mulga snake, or King Brown snake
Crocs at Hartleys crocodile farm, Cairns.
Check out the smile on the Wally facing the camera!
Classic
Mmmm, ribs
How this for a selfie!!!!
Cairns to Ayr
9/11/2014 Back on the road again. We had a wonderful week in Cairns, doing all the touristy bits we could. I suppose the only thing I couldn't do was the scuba dive. I just couldn't get the idea on breathing underwater, not a natural
thing for me to do, so I sat the dive out and just did the snorkelling. That was ok. I think that for scuba , some of us oldies need to have a bit more than 20 to 30 minutes talk by someone a hell of a lot younger and experienced in diving. A more professional
attitude by the instructor would have been more benefit than the offhand zany spiel we got. But we still had an excellent day out on the reef. We lucked out with the weather, expecting high humidity and scorching days didn't happen. We got very comfortable
temperatures and no humidity to talk of. Then the biggest break of them all, Rattle and Hum is a pub/restaurant where we found between 5 and 7 twenty percent discount on meals. So bbq ribs it was and one meal did for both of us so we ate there
quite a bit. They make pretty good pizza too. The esplanade at Cairn is a very cosmopolitan place, especially at night, we have some wonderful pictures and memories from there. Back to the road trip. Today I rode from Cairns to Ayr. Only
bout 450 km. ride went good, but then the wind picked up to about 20 kmh and made for a pain in the butt ride from just north of Townsville through to Ayr. I then booked into a really great caravan park, plenty of shade and even lush green grass to pitch my
tent on. I inspected my rear tyre and its got a leak again. There is a trail of slime in the wheel arch and I think if I can get the tyre changed here in the morning I will do that. The tyre was holding pressure in Cairns and I thought that it would
be ok, maybe I ran over another nail or something, the leak is in another location. Still it wouldn't be a proper Widenose adventure without some kind of drama. So thats todays update and hopefully the next update will be from somewhere south of
Mackay. Stay tuned till tomorrow. Bye for now. Max
Queenslands highest mountain, Mount Bartle Frere in Bellenden Ker national park, behind the cloud I think.
Supposed to be the original pub with no beer. I will check the data on that story.
Halt, who goes there. Not sure what they were guarding, or who they were guarding it from but some sort of compound near Ingham
Something to be wary of, one of the many sugar cane trains. Not that the train is made from sugar cane, just they carry sugar cane.
Ayr to Clairview
10/11/2014 Not much to say about today. But the worst days riding is still better than the best day at work. To day I decided to have the rear tyre changed. I went to Burdekin motorcycles to see if they could help. They didn't
have a tyre but phoned through to Proserpine who could help me. So I pumped the tyre up at the servo and headed off. Proserpine is about one and a half hours south of Ayr and it was a really good ride, just had to be careful of cane haulage tractors and trains.
I got to Proserpine ant the bloke there had the tyre changed in about half hour and I was on the road again. Full marks to Cane Country Tyres in Proserpine for helping me out. From there I rode through mainly sugar cane country, its pretty flat and not much
to talk about nor take pictures of. I arrived at Clairview with not much energy left in the tank. I got a really good camp site overlooking the water and this place is just heaven. They serve really good meals at the park bar and its gunna be so good to watch
the sun come up in the morning. I hope I can get a good picture. I saw two really stupid things happen today, first a bloke in a landrover towing a boat did a turn into a farm road and nearly got cleaned up by a kenworth and second a driver reversing
out from a servo parking spot to rejoin road traffic, gas bagging on a mobile ph the entire time. I wonder did she ever think thats how she had all the dents in the bodywork of her car. Tomorrow its on to Biloela and I will then be south of the
tropics and a little closer to home. The trip has been great, but its murder on tyres, not much you can do about that though. Till tomorrow Max
Not a good sign, time for a new tyre.
View from near the door of the tent, paradise.
Not the sandiest of beaches though.
Clairview to 1770
11/11/2014 Well the ride today didn't end up as I planned. I had intended to ride to Biloela, but the closer I got to Rockhampton the more I thought about going to the Town of 1770. I had heard about the place but never been there
so thats what I did. Distance is about the same as Biloela but the ride is not as boring. The ride from Clairview was very similar to the past few days, lots of bushland, but with not much to photograph. One thing that I have noticed is that around this part
of australia a few fools go and buy the biggest trailer boat available then commence to tow it on highways with the smallest vehicle possible. Its a wonder more accidents don't happen, it certainly makes for a anxious ride when you have to follow them and
see how trucks travelling in the opposite direction blow them across the roads. I stopped at eleven o'clock and paid my respects on remembrance day just before entering Rockhampton, i didn't have a chance to buy a poppy. I
had just got back on the bike and came across a couple towing a huge caravan behind a 4wd. The brakes must have locked on, as there were huge black marks going to where he was at the roadside, and tools were all over the place as he attempted a repair. I think
they were in for a long hot day. Anyway I got to 1770, Cooks second landing place on Australia and was immediately impressed with the place. The view from my tent is even better than yesterday. I went for a swim in the river and there are no croc
warnings here, really nice temperature in the water. This is a really nice place, I wish I could stay longer, i am glad i decided to change my destination. So now Im not sure where I will get to tomorrow, maybe Toowoomba or Warwick just depends
on how the days ride is going. This trip is fast coming to an end, there were times when everything seemed so far away, now most of it is in the past. Still there will be more trips and there will still be updates to this trip. Bye for
now Max
MVA about 100 km from Rockhampton
A bitey works on its nest.
View from the door of my tent.
Town of 1770, the river inlet.
All the way from Darwin, Barnacle Bills rust bucket.
1770 to Toowoomba
12/11/2014 Tonight I am in Toowoomba and gunna have a proper bed for the night. An early start from 1770 and I made really good time nearly all the distance of 544 km. I had the chance to wind the old girl up a few times as there
are not many coppers on this road. The road was made for just over the limit riding all day, nice rolling corners mixed with undulating country. Couple this with sub 32 degree temperatures and the day was made for riding long distances. The pictures
I took during the day didn't seem like much and maybe they aren't, but I think that they caught the essence of todays ride. Tomorrow I will be back in NSW and the day after that, home and that will be the end of this trip. I will have to plan another,
but not sure on the destination nor the timing. This trip is not quite over and as I rode along today, I could remember every evening meal I have had on the entire trip, funny how my memory works not by the name of the day, but what did you do on the day when
I had ribs for dinner. The highlights of the trip so far, just being able and willing enough to do the ride. There are too many memories to list, the pictures will bring back recollections of places visited and events witnessed. You can see
them too, give it a shot, have a go. The highlight of the holiday, being able to share my time in Cairns with Cathy. So many activities in so many days, not bad for a couple of not so young farts. Catch you all again tomorrow Max
See the face of the person laying on their back?
Roads made for motorcycling.
Hot, dry, dusty work.
View from the Toowoomba escarpment, looking north east I think.
Toowoomba to Tamworth
13/11/2014 The trip is one day away from being finished. I am in Tamworth tonight and the wind is blowing strongly. The ride from Toowoomba started early while there was a bit of fog in the air. This kept the temperature to around
20 degrees. Once up in the new england mountains the cooler temperature made for easy riding, there are plenty of photo opportunities along this part of the trip as well. I had a reasonable counter meal at the Royal hotel Guyra and lucky I did as the motel
in Tamworth is a long way " by foot" from anywhere that provides suitable food. So I had to suffer maccas, but only this once. While riding along I passed the "dad and dave" original hotel location. Dad and Dave was a early to mid nineties radio show. Their
last names were Rudd. I wonder if Kevin was related. There are some fossicking sites in the highlands too, sapphires I think, should make an interesting place to revisit sometime down the track. The moonbi range is another interesting
place, along with all the locations associated with the bushranger "Thunderbolt". Im not all that impressed with Tamworth but the area holds a lot of interest and places to see, maybe west Tamworth will be more interesting, the places seems to be full of motels.
Tomorrow I will be home, only about 390 km, my two little dogs will be happy to see me probably the cats as well. Dean will be home but Chloe is on work placement in Wyong so I won't see here for a fortnight yet. I will be glad to have some proper food
to get my teeth into, so to speak. My final update for this trip will be tomorrow night, and I will have to get busy and compose the dvds of my trips. I will also have to give some thought to the next trip. Its like my football career, there
always seemed to be able to do another one. Till tomorrow Max
Max is back in NSW
There is a little water in the rivers up here, not sure about any fish!
Bluff mountain.
Balancing Rock
Remnants of a bygone era. Imagine the men who did all the work, now its all for nothing.
Kenworth on the Moonbi descent.
Tamworth to Wallerawang
14/11/14 Well the riding part of the trip is finished and I am home. I was able to wake up at my leisure in Tamworth and with what seemed like an easy ride commenced my last day of riding. Along the way I checked out the walk to
Burning Mountain but it was an hour and a half return trip time and as I had my riding gear on and the temp was nudging 28 I decided to do the walk another day. After breakfast at Scone I continued along the New England highway and eventually turned of the
main highway at Muswellbrook and rode south along the Bylong valley way. There is some really excellent sections of road, especially if you are on a motorcycle, just have to be careful of some hairpin bends at the gap south of Bylong. Heat wise it was nearly
as bad as the ride through Longreach qld. I stopped at Bylong and had to water down as the temp was getting close to 40. Very very hot and windy. As I turned onto the castlereagh highway near Kandos I felt I was home, the last 54 km took no time at all and
soon I was home and my two dogs were all over me. I was glad to see them too. All up I rode 6642km and apart from a flat rear tyre the bike performed faultlessly. I did not see any proper crocodiles, no live snakes, I had
only two minor issues with kangaroos and everything else went as smooth as silk. I ate healthily, egg and bacon rolls were not the staple diet, for a change. I had maccas and kfc twice each and I still did not find anywhere apart from a cafe in Cairns who
could make a decent cuppa. Im sorry but frothing milk and lobbing a tee bag in it is not even close. I apologise to all those who may have thought that i had an incontinance problem on seeing me after I had watered myself down for riding in
the heat of the day. "water leaking out of my pants" I am going to place my pictures and some kind of commentary onto a dvd, when I find the time, I still havnt completed Widenose Adventures number two but I will soon. I hope you
have enjoyed reading about my trip, I have enjoyed posting the daily events on this website, I hope I have inspired some to take the chance and explore australia, I have seen an enormous amount of this country, but there is far far more to see, you only live
once. Stay tuned for my next trip or adventure, there will be more. So get busy living or get busy dying. Best regards Martin "Max" Williams
The north end of the Bylong Valley Way and I can nearly smell home from here.
A little water here, could make a good camp site.
A train for hauling coal, winds its way along the Bylong valley.
Job done!
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