Most people who have ridden motorbikes all their lives dream of one day riding a lap of Australia.
I know in Trafalgar that Peter Tuck, Ray James and David Graham have done just this.
In late May, I had wondered what I was going to do for the next couple of months as I had nothing planned.
Realising that this could be a great time to do my solo lap of Australia I put the idea to my long-suffering wife and she encouraged me to go for it.
Next came two weeks of frantically getting the Big Pig a major service and two new tyres before packing it with my clothes, camping gear, cooking gear and a handful of tools and spares.
Why is my bike called the Big Pig?
It is a BMW R1200 GSA and weighs around 260 kilograms without all my gear so she’s not a sports bike but in my opinion, the bike best suited for long distance cruising.
I set off on 5 June with my son Callan, who accompanied me for the first two days to Sydney.
The weather was typically southern Australian, cold and wet but we were both excited to be on our way.
My route took me up the east coast to Cooktown in far north Queensland, however, the threat of a lot of rain around the NSW north coast briefly took me inland to stay dry.
Then I returned to Cairns and turned west to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria and on to Mt Isa.
I then took the Barkly Highway across to the Stuart Highway where I turned north to Darwin.
At the half-way point of the trip, my wife Pauline flew from Melbourne to Darwin and spent a week with me and we had a great week together in the Kakadu National Park.
In Darwin the Big Pig had an oil and filter change and another new rear tyre fitted to get me home.
After a great rest, I was itching to be back on the bike, so I left Darwin to return to Katherine where I turned west to head towards the Kimberlys and Broome which was one of the most spectacular parts of the ride.
On my way through Broome, I was fortunate to reconnect with my wedding’s Best Man, Ralph, who I had not seen for more than 40 years.
He and I were in the Royal Australian Navy together, but he settled in Broome, and I in the eastern states so we have not had the opportunity to get together since.
It was a great time reminiscing about the shenanigans that we got up to as young sailors, and maybe I won’t divulge what was said!
Broome to the bottom of Western Australia I have discovered is a very long way with great attractions here and there but not much in between.
One memorable section was a 30-kilometre road between Pemberton and Northcliffe which runs through a Karri forest.
The trees are massive and the smell of the forest absolutely intoxicating, a must do if you’re ever over there.
The last leg was the ride across the Nullabor which I just loved.
Camping in very remote spots with no one around and no light pollution is where you really get to appreciate the natural beauty of the night sky.
I arrived home on 22 Jul, which was 42 days and 17,558 kilometres later, not including the week I had off in Darwin.
What did I enjoy the most about the adventure?
I really enjoyed the remote camping, the long days of thinking, the vastness of our beautiful country and the interactions I had with so many strangers every day.
I was generally in bed by 7.30pm and up at 5am so maybe the best part of the day was having a cup of coffee as I watched the sun come up.
What could have been better?
My cooking equipment limited my ability to cook much at all so my diet consisted mainly of 2-minute noodles or Ben’s Original rice with a can of flavoured tuna which is delicious but gets a bit repetitive!
I can recommend the ride to anyone who has ever contemplated it.
