Matty's Outback Adventures - Perth to Darwin and back

[sysie]

Awesome stuff.....looking forward to the rest

[siraxanz]

Nice rr, keep going, greetings from Greece!

[aspad]

Hey Matty - still out there? Hope all's well.
Very interested in hearing the rest of this story if you have the time.
cheers

[egret]

Nice one mate ! Keep it coming . Love those outback colours !
-zie egret .

[GypsyWriter]

*poke* How's the ride going?

[Mowster]

Originally Posted by MattyBooms

These birds were so unorganized (broke) she didn’t even have her own mug when I made tea but insisted that we could share from mine. I won’t bore you all with the details (and no, I didn’t take pictures) suffice to say she was most enjoyable company and wishes to see “Cape Esperance” (you’re gonna have to try and imagine how sexy Esperance sounds when pronounced by a 24yo from the Alps) .

Daaayyum....

fap fap fap faaap

[MattyBooms]

Apologies for the delay...been a tad busy. Without further ado...

Banka Banka – Katherine

Nothing too exciting today. Lazy 580km into Katherine.
Convoys of defence trucks made for some entertaining overtakes.



Lunch at the Daly Waters Pub. It is a must stop on the way but has some pretty rude prices (good grub mind). Cooper’s Pale @ $7.70 per schooner…2L Milk @ $8.00!







Not far up the road I pull over for a pair of rather adventurous Germans.



I’m sure a few of you would’ve seen Helle & Bea around the traps by now. They’ve ridden across Europe and Asia then island hopped to Darwin spending a few weeks there before heading over to Queensland. I found it quite entertaining that the two Germans were on (barely recognisable) Hondas whilst the Aussie’s on a Beemer. That’s some serious weight they’re carting but it includes all their cold weather gear from Russia as well. Made me feel pretty good about my pissy little pair of panniers. Good onya guys, have fun in Oz!







Just up the road are more bushfires, very common from here all the way to the top. Always heaps of raptors circling overhead watching for dinner trying to avoid the flames.





Arrived in Katherine early afternoon and stayed at one of the dreaded caravan parks. Neighbour was a bloke travelling around in a troopy with his dog, trailer & shovelhead Harley. He had beers and a telly, which was convenient as the footy was on.

[MattyBooms]

Today’s plan is to explore Nitmiluk National Park and I’ve been looking forward to kayaking through the gorges. First item of interest is this turd...



Now this is a cubic foot of bovine shite. I've seen my fair share of cow shit over the years but this particular sample caused me to back off the throttle quick smart. The culprit was a massive water buffalo who I spotted in the scrub just around the corner. I wasn't in the position to stop and get a pic but here's one from the net to give an idea why practicing emergency stopping's a good plan;



Katherine Gorge isn't far out of town and I'm soon hiking through the bush.
This is a Blue-Winged Kookaburra (a type of kingfisher), we generally only get the less colourful Laughing Kookaburra in the south-west. Always been one of my favourite critters.



And a rather suprised looking Kanga-walla-rat.



This is Katherine Gorge. Where I am informed I can't kayak as there's too much water
This fucking shits me. I understand duty of care and safety obligations but everything's so fucking tame these days. Just because an overseas visitor may be unable to negotiate the pissy excuse for rapids shouldn't mean I can't have a crack. Next time I'll take my own bloody boat. (One of these is on the want list; https://www.alpackaraft.com/index.cf...3&ProductID=66 )

So, back to hiking then...

[mustardfj40]

Really enjoy reading your riding report! Nice pictures. Thanks.

[MattyBooms]

From memory this hike was about 6kms, nice change from riding but not the best fun in motorcycle boots. It's not unbearable though, I have a pair of the Forma Adventure boots they do the job. Sure you sacrifice a bit of protection for comfort but if you've only got one pair of footwear for a few months you'd wanna be comfortable.
Anyway a bit further north I turn off to Edith Falls. The map shows the river winding quite close to the road and I follow a rather sketchy goat track in its general direction. Finally fishable water! A chance to use the brand new rod and reel I've carted halfway across the country.



Looks fishy enough... and yes crocs live in this creek too.





Lunch takes about half an hour and comes in the form of a Sooty Grunter. Pretty similar to a Black Bream from what I can tell, not a bad chew. That's a pretty big barra lure he's taken, fish is probably about 280mm.







This is Edith Falls. Good campsite. You can normally swim here but they haven't trapped all the crocs that come through with the wet. The ranger also says I'm not allowed to fish here despite my assurance that I'll use barbless hooks and release everything. Next time I'm claiming 1/16th aboriginality.













Green Ant's nest



All in all a nice relaxing day. Kakadu National Park tomorrow.

[Lemondelicous77]

Nice work with the RR Matt, very enjoyable

[Irish John]

Tis, a grand ride report you have going here. More please!

[aspad]

Welcome back.

[Matt 82]

Cracking RR. I've seen many of these sights myself though sadly not by bike. That was less than a year ago and you've got me hankering to go back already.

I'd never heard of packrafts either so thanks for highlighting them.

[Thommo]

Yes Matt...nice report..don't know how its escaped me until now. Also like some (at least) of your aesthetics..including the brown rice, pink floyd in the outback, and the Hennesey Safari. I have one...like it a lot..especially for putting the legs up after riding..but have been a bit suss about using it for an inland trip. Still no problems?