Panoramamania...

Poor old Gosling One remains in hospital awaiting parts, although with any luck it should be no more than a day or so before she is back on her wheels. It had better be, otherwise I know of a few mechanics that could well be on the receiving end of a number of creatively explicit nouns.

To keep me from descending into premature insanity while I wait, I've assembled a few panoramas from their component photos, which you can take a gander at below this text; quite a lot of glue and sellotape was involved.

Click on any of the pictures to see the full-size version, although be warned, they are quite large.


Riding over the rolling prairie-like landscape of a drained dam

The city of Cairns, as seen from the Marina


The view you are rewarded with once you reach the very top of Australia


Creek crossing via log bridge on the Telegraph Track leading to Cape York


'Gunshot Creek' on the Telegraph Track to Cape York. The photo does not do the angle of descent involved justice at all


My camp on the far left, with the by now official support team scattered around the rest of the clearing. The was taken on the north side of 'Nolan's Brook' on the Telegraph Track to Cape York

To give you a general idea of what is left to do, here is a little map. The route is very roughly indicated by the red line, the UK shaped blob is obviously the UK, and the blue line is the USA. That should give you an incling of the distances remaining. I forget where the map came from, somewhere on the Internet though, so thanks to whoever came up with it in the first place!


The bit in red is the part of the route still left to complete

Someone shot my hamster...

This is the new VERY fuel efficient model of Gosling One:

Unsurprisingly for a mechanical device associated with me, things became a bit more complicated than a simple top-end rebuild. Various seized bolts in awkward positions meant that the engine needed to be removed to gain access. (ordinarily this wouldn't have been necessary apparently) Of course getting the engine out proved to be an impossible task due to a seized bolt / axle in the swing arm. Hammers worthy of Hercules himself, and even heat applied to the problem area proved fruitless. Eventually the only option left employ a sharp object to cut the offending bolts off.

I'm assured by the doctor that it is all "downhill from here", although hopefully he was referring to the level of difficulty for the remaining procedures and not Gosling One's survival chances!

The most annoying thing about all this is that I can't get in there and assist. I think I'd make a good nurse, I've got the hips for one of those nurses outfits. I'm stuck getting updates via telephone and pressing my nose up against the plexiglass window in the workshop; I'm not allowed in because of the insurance risk annoyingly.

My wallet may require some CPR and a defibrillator after all this though.

Stay tuned.

I come from the land of ice and snow...

Greetings oh loyal reader from almost Melbourne!

Cabramurra, highest town in Australia; deep within the Snowy Mountains. Just for reference, it's -4 deg C at this point. (Factor in the wind-chill, and it was about three days before I could feel my fingers again)

I say 'almost' as I am lurking in the eastern suburbs at the moment after booking Gosling One into a local mechanics, for the motorcycle equivalent of open heart surgery. I'm fairly certain the procedure will still involve a large hammer at some point though. A top-end engine rebuild with a new piston, cam-chain and various other complicated sounding items that probably don't come with usable instructions.

It'll be good to get the loyal steed reconditioned. I consider it a thank you gift to the bike for getting me safely 'almost' all the way round Australia. (Plus with any luck it'll add a bit to the re-sale value!) Once the work is completed early next week, I shall ride the last few hundred KM back to my start point, thus finishing the complete lap of Australia. Cue massive party, lots of press, groupies, a ticker-tape parade and loose women everywhere.

Unfortunately reality is more likely to be a celebratory pack of 2-minute noodles, a fill up at the nearest fuel station and then heading off into the central deserts. I've still got to get back to Perth you see, so it's not quite as easily finished as all that!

Over to Adelaide, up to Port Augusta, along the Oodnadatta Track, over to Ayers Rock, down the Great Central 'Road' and finally back to Perth. Only umpteen thousand km, piece of cake I'll be home in time for tea.

Meanwhile my journey from Sydney to Melbourne was fairly standard, unless you count the arctic temperatures (-4 and -2 all day for a few days) and the apparently unreported hurricane that seems to start up every time I jump on the bike. Still, it's all a bit of a laugh innit? Right?

Road conditions in the Snowy Mountains


Three points down on my effort to reach all four extremities of the Australian continent, south was the most recently visited one. Could only ride to within 20km of the actual point, so I resorted to hoofing it through Wilson's Promontory National Park. A 40km round trip in one day, on foot. I certainly knew I'd been exercising the next morning I can tell you!


The VERY uninspiring sign that greets you at the southern most point


Will post an update regarding the bike engine operation as soon as I have news. It's like waiting next to a sick friends hospital bed! Perhaps she'd appreciate a bunch of grapes? Motorbikes like grapes right?


Finally I spotted a Wombat!


Typically Australian, would you just look at all that sand and desert?!


A nicely snow-free, but still bloody cold camp in the forest


This noisy bugger decided it would be nice to try and look under my tent for food in the middle of the night


Mount Oberon in Wilson's Promontory National Park


The southern most point of mainland Australia - Lunch break


From my upcoming book of modelling poses titled: 'Christ my feet are cold' :-D