Can I get to QLD via the dirt

The plan is to travel from Pindimar to Bonogin in QLD via the dirt. Of course some tar will need to be traversed, especially as I intend to knock off a couple of ferry crossings for the the ferry challenge 2016. Launch date is 21 March, stay tuned If you want to follow my trip, make sure you save this link.

Pindimar to WA coast

Hi everyone The time has come to start planning my next big trip - Pindimar to WA coast. I'm not sure whether I will ride there and back or just one way and ship Quiver back. Depends on how much time I have between study and wedding plans. Hopefully I'll have internet capability on the road, in which case I'll be able to study and will therefore have more options.

Roughly 4,500klms one way. I just love plans.

Day 24 - Waterhole Creek to Emerald

I didn't get started as early as I would wish due to the lateness of the sunrise and wildlife still on the road, and it appears it never left.

There were groups of Brolga and emus everywhere, it was amazing. The roadway was also thick with eagles feasting on fresh road kill. I kept ducking behind my screen and swerving to avoid them as they wouldn't lift off until the last minute, and they were sluggish at that.

I finally arrived in Emerald at about 9:00pm, absolutely stinking and I mean stinking. I was covered from head to toe in cow poo. There is a cattle auction on this weekend in Rockhamption, so I spent the day riding behind road train after road train, watching the runny poo slosh out the rear of the truck and splash all over me. After a while, I just got used to it!

By the time I arrived in Emerald, I had forgotten that I was covered in cow poo. Greg was waiting outside for me and came over to give me a big hug, but pulled away pretty fast. I then realised that I must have smelled. So I asked, do I smell bad, I was greeted with a chorus of eer Yes from Greg, Amanda and Manfred. They advised me to have a shower, quickly;)

Day 23 - Three Ways to Waterhole Creek

I left Three Ways and up the Barkly to Mt Isa. I've notice that the eagles have cleaned up all the road kill 2:00pm most days when it is just a red smear on the tarmac.

Today was uneventful other than the wind which I'm now used to.

I arrived in Waterhole Creek just on dark and decided it was time to get off the road, I'd seen quite a few roos on the way in. Accomodation is a very expensive donger at the pub which was in one of the Crocodile Dundee movies. The site seems to be a popular stop for the road trains. I was awoken this morning to a seranade of mooing cows, hundreds of them, all stacked up in the road trains surrounding the pub.

I also saw my first sunrise over the scrub.

I have a big day ahead of me, nearly 900k to Emerald.

Day 22 - Bitter Springs to Three Ways

Gorgeous day. Down the windy Stuart Highway I went stopping at Daly Waters for breakfast. I bumped into the two guys I met at Pine Creek who were on their way back to Mt Isa. Apparently some other bloke on a tricked up GS Adventure was trying to tag a long with them and they were trying to get away. Ha, the tricked up bloke pulled in, and boy was his bike tricked up. He had every add-on available including an onboard fire extinguisher. His getup was particularly funny though. He was wearing internal and external armour. He looked like a gladiator and he was obnoxious to boot.

I stopped at Rennie Springs for a coffee and got accosted by a very strange man. He wouldn't go away and wouldn't leave me alone. He wanted to know where I was staying the night, in fact he really freaked me out. Its the only time on this trip that I have been scared. I jumped on my bike and bolted going as fast as I could for at least 15 minutes.

After that experience I decided to stay the night at Three Ways as I didn't want to get caught and have to spend the night on the Barkly.

The Three Ways is not the Hilton, it isn't even the Peoples Palace. What a dump. My donger, which was described as a cabin, was alive with baby cane toads. I saw at least 5 and couldn't get them out of the room. In the end I went to sleep with my clothes on and my hat over my face just in case one jumped in my mouth.

Day 19 - 21 Mataranka Manor and the Bitter Springs

I'm staying here for a few days. What a lovely spot, the Manor is a motel and caravan park at the top of the road to Bitter Springs. The park fills up every afternoon with campers, winnebagos and caravans, only to empty the next morning. It's such a peaceful place. The staff are all fabulous, very friendly and chilled even though they appear to be run off their feet. (they don't even seem to mind me being a pain in the backside with my coffee!) Definitely worth a stay if you are heading up this way.


They hand feed the barramundi twice a day, I never realised how big they are.

 Link to their website www.matarankamotel.com/


There are two sets of springs available in the town, Mataranka Springs and Bitter Springs. The surrounds of Mataranka Springs have been cemented so it has a more organised and formal feel to it, whereas Bitter Springs are just a wonderful oasis in the bush. I can't describe how truly beautiful they are. Both springs feed the Roper River producing more than 30 million litres of water per day. The water temperature is about 34 degrees. Limestone from the Georgina Basin is the aquifier that supplies the springs. The springs have large concentrations of salts which definitely helps with buoyancy. 


The spring fed pool is surrounded by palms and tropical woodland. The water is turquoise blue and so clear that you can see the bottom. There are a couple of entry points to the pool, which is quite deep. Once in the water, the current drags you along, through the lillies and palms on the banks. As you meander through, dragon flies dart across the water and small fish swim through your legs. There is a the odd log submerged below the water, which makes for a good resting point along the way. Once you reach the end if the pool which is about 200 metres, you 
can walk back along the banks and through the woodland to jump in and drift down again. It really is stunning. 

There is a path that winds its way along the banks of the pool which is laden with palm fronds wrapped around the trees from when the pool and Roper river have flooded during the wet. These fronds now serve as matts on the sections of the path that are still sodden from the overflows.

Day 18 - Adelaide River to Mataranka Springs

I stayed up late writing up my lecture notes, so another late start, made even later by the local Saturday market. And you won't believe it, but someone has nicked the end off the air hose at the garage. Another day with dodgy air pressure. I do have a hand pump, but it is buried in the bag with my tent. Obviously the pressure cant be that dodgy then can it!

First stop Pine Creek to refuel and have some breakfast and maybe some air pressure. I had breakfast first, to let my tyres cool down before I added air.

Pine Creek is famous for the annual Pig and Pussy Hunt held at the end of July each year. People flock to the town hunting for feral boar and cats. The hunt lasts for a week with prizes awarded for the largest boar etc. The hunters display the boar heads on the rear of their trucks and utes, "very deliverance!"

Whilst eating breakfast, I saw something wander across the road. At first I thought it was some sort of lizard, on closer inspection it turned out to be a Pheasant Coucal. I was lucky enough to get a really good picture of him.

And now for fuel and air. Oh my God, the friggin compressor isn't working properly and the pressure in my tyres is stronger than that coming from the compressor so what ever air I have has just spewed out of the front tyre. One of the locals saw my obvious distress and he spent half an hour with me trying to get the air into the tyres. We finally succeeded.

Note to Australian Government - When granting extended visas to backpackers ( the Aus government will give you another year if you agree to work in the NT for 3 months) please teach them to treat the Aboriginal community with the same respect that they treat everyone else with.

The backpackers staffing the roadhouses treat Aboriginals like crap.  They will be serving an Aborginal person and then as soon as a white person walks in, they stop serving them and serve the white. Its disgusting.

So many eagles on the road today, it was amazing, swooping down on the road kill and not leaving until the last minute. I kept ducking behind my screen and slowing down so as not to hit them.

I'm surprised that I haven't seen many bikers on this trip. Today I bumped into two guys who had come across the desert. They had banged up their bikes pretty badly, but they were still ridable.

After Pine Creek I decided I would ride out to Katherine Gorge. It was so hot, the temperature never went below 32. There are no trees or shade on the highway and you can feel the heat coming up off the tar as you ride along. By the time I got to Katherine Gorge I was pretty dehydrated, I had been drinking a lot of water but I think I must have been losing electrolytes as I felt really faint.

I found a quiet spot and stipped off went down some steps to a pontoon that was for authorised personnel only, but no one could see me. I quickly jumped in and out to cool off, after first checking for crocs. I sat on the steps with my wet shirt on my head for about an hour.

The gorge.

I got into Mataranka at about 5:00pm only to find the Bitter Springs caravan park booked out. I made my way back up the road to Mataranka Manor and scored the last cabin. This will be home for 2 nights whilst I catch up with some study and work.