Distance: 317km
Dep: 9:00am
Arr: 1:30pm
Temperature: 23°C - 35°C
Total distance to date: 10,305km
Route:
- Katherine
- Adelaide River
- Darwin
Caption: My friend Kate (on the right) and I in the middle of doing a double crossing of Little Desert VIC in August 2019, as part of our training for a Simpson Desert Crossing a month later. We were clearly taking this training very seriously.
---
It was 2018, and I was standing in a 3x3m stall at the Australian Motorcycle Expo to promote my motorcycle bag brand, Flying Solo Gear Co. I was with Steph and my good friend Amelia, in a corner of the hall that didn't seem to garner much interest. Most of the patrons that weekend had been older, male, and were simply disinterested in a motorcycle gear stall run by 3 women. A friendly, confident woman around our age came up to us to say hello, and after chatting for a while, it turns out that she's also done a lap of Australia on a sportbike. She had an infectious, adventurous spirit within her that was well and truly beyond the average rider.
In 2019 I decided to sign up to be in the first all-women group to cross the Simpson Desert on dirt bikes. Kate was another member of the team of 12, and because we were among the only ones living in Melbourne at the time, we decided to do a double crossing of Little Desert National Park, VIC. It was a long and punishing weekend of hundreds of kilometres of sand training, but it was apparent that she was a expert problem solver and an extremely talented yet humble rider. We became friends since that day.
Caption: Kate and her DRZ400 on top of Big Red, a 30m tall sand dune on the eastern end of the Simpson Desert in the centre of Australia (Sept 2019).
Since then, she's started several motorcycle-related companies including Elsewhere on Wheels and Territory Motorcycle Training in addition to her full time employment. They're both based out of Darwin, where she now resides. Kate's crossed the Simpson Desert on a motorbike numerous times (my last count was 12, but it's likely now higher than that) and has travelled extensively to run adventure tours in various parts of the world.
Caption: Waiting for support vehicles to catch up, playing around in 40°C heat in the middle of the Simpson Desert (Sept 2019).
Despite several personal setbacks she has always come out on top, and has done so with kindness and integrity every single time. Kate is my close friend and personal inspiration to keep progressing in both life and bikes.
---
We woke up naturally before the sound of our alarm. Daylight and warmth seem to hit early in the NT, and our body clock agreed that it was time to start our day with the birds. We packed our bags and opened the door to find Mr. Tartare (our neighbour from last night) sitting on the chair outside his room having a smoke.
"Was the TV too loud last night?"
I gave him an innocent lie and said no, and that we were tired and fell asleep anyway.
"I stayed up until 3am to make sure your bikes were safe. Woke up early too, but now that you gals are up I'll just head out now."
"You didn't have to do that!" I continued to thank him profusely.
"Ah, I wanted to stare at the bikes anyway. They have two wheels, and they're nice to look at."
He put out his cigarette and walked back into his motel room while we started to load the bikes. We chit-chatted for a while longer, and he mentions that he's heading down to Alice to meet up with a classic bike rally that started in Darwin and will end near Adelaide.
"They left Pine Creek [90km north] this morning, so if you see a bunch of old blokes on Indians coming the other way, make sure you wave to them."
"Will do, that sounds awesome."
Steph and I set off to the nearest Shell to check Nena's tyres, but were greeted with the sight of a vandalised air pump with the valve adapter cut off. We pulled out the portable air compressor and checked the tyres in the carpark. 33psi in the rear. Well, this just tells me I'll have to check every day instead of every 3rd day. I pumped her back to 42psi and we backtracked to the motel to support the local U10 netball team at their sausage sizzle. Two bacon and egg sandwiches sounded perfect.
"That'll be $14 please."
-- I hand her a $20 bill --
(counting on her fingers) "14... 15... 16... 17... 18... 19... Oh, here's $6. Thank you"
"Have you raised much money today?"
"Oh yeah. Heaps!"
(Driving past in a van) Mr. Tartare: "It's these two again! Have a good ride!"
He then drives off with a lit smoke in his hand, hanging out the window.
Bellies now full, we slowly made our way to Pine Creek, waving to every single rider coming in every direction. There were about 80 total, though some of them were pulled up on the side trying to fix their bike. A quick toilet break and luggage check, and we were back on the bikes to Adelaide River - a popular hub for nearby camping and fishing, and a settlement particularly known for its concentrated population of saltwater crocodiles.
Caption: A view of Florence Falls in Litchfield National Park. There's a pleasant 1.1km hike down to the swimming hole at the bottom.
Caption: Perfect weather for a dip!
Caption: There's absolutely no saving this horrific tan line, but I suppose there are worse things in life. Walking back up to the carpark after a swim in 35°C weather.
Katherine to Darwin is a bit of a slab, unsurprisingly with much more traffic than what we've enjoyed in the last few days, but cruisey nonetheless. Darwin is the northernmost major city in Australia, in line with the Daintree Rainforest of Queensland and 500km closer to the equator than Cairns. Palm trees, dense jungle, tall grasses, and untouched wilderness cover both sides of the highway leading up to the Northern Territory's capital city.
Caption: The plant life is quite different from the desert bush. Humidity can reach 80% in the wet season, when they get regular bouts of monsoonal rain. Dry season is much more pleasant and liveable.
We use the term "city" loosely, because by population, Darwin is smaller than Hobart despite NT being 20x larger than Tasmania. It was a breeze getting through traffic to Kate's house simply because the population density here is similar to that in rural Victoria.
Moments after we rocked up to Kate's house, we hear a Ford Ranger making its way down the long dirt driveway. We haven't seen her since Christmas (which is about the most uncomfortable, hot, and sticky season to visit Darwin) and before that it was years prior.
Caption: I got to ride Steph's bike to the shop to get serviced. What a machine. If I were into naked bikes, the Yamaha MT-09 would be my top pick.
We spent the next few days catching up, visiting the Mindil Beach Sunset Market, getting our bikes serviced, a spa/bath day for both Nena and Winona, a sunset picnic with our new friend Stace (who we met through Kate) and a swim under a waterfall at Litchfield National Park. All made possible thanks to Kate and her generosity in loaning us a vehicle, lending some local advice, having the most epic bike shed we've ever seen, and by simply being a good human. Darwin done right!
Caption: At the Mindil Beach Sunset Market watching another of Australia's amazing sunsets.
Next, we tackle the beginning of our final leg southbound, back into the red centre.
Caption: A much needed bath for both bikes, though Nena copped the insects a bit harder because she has more fairings than Winona.
Caption: This one took the longest, but healed the soul.
Caption: My beautiful girl is ready to go again!
Special thanks to Kate of Elsewhere on Wheels for your friendship and support all these years. We'll see you again soon!
