South Australia

Sunday 15 January

Ceduna - Port Augusta

I left at 0820 at 19C.  Had a continental breakfast (included in room price) before departure.  I normally like to start the day with a full tank but for some reason (Sunday malaise?) with the odometer reading 155kms since the last fill I decided to fill at the next servo in 75kms according to my TomTom.  Well before then the bike indicated that it was on reserve, the effect of battling the wind which drastically increases fuel consumption.  When I reached the servo it was closed so I headed for the next one, only another 30kms on.  That was also closed because it was a Sunday!  I emptied my auxiliary back up container into the bike’s tank which I reckoned would get me to the next servo without going to reserve again.  That one had closed down.  I was beginning to sweat, especially as I was battling strong winds again, but I reached one that was open with 58kms displayed on the reserve mileage.  The Himalayan displays the number of kilometres/miles ridden since reverting to reserve.  I filled the bike’s tank and the auxiliary container.  The first 300kms or so of the journey was through uninteresting arable farmland, albeit with nice curves and gentle hills. 

Then came heavily wooded bush followed by arid savannah, far more interesting.  

I stopped on a number of occasions to take photos, including Iron Knob, 

and reached Port Augusta at 1615.  I filled up again 150kms before Port Augusta with 99kms showing on the odometer as that was the last servo before my destination - once bitten …….

(N.B.  The Himalayan responds positively to gentle throttle control.  When riding on largely unsealed roads with no wind from Karratha to Tom Price I maintained more or less 80kph to smooth out the corrugations and rough surface and achieved almost 350kms on a tankful.)

466kms travelled.

Monday 16 January 

Port Augusta - Port Vincent 

A lazy start to the day.  I left at 0940 at 29C.  Refuelled!  It was pleasantly warm with hills to the left and the coastal plain to the right.  The majority of landscape was cereal agriculture, nothing spectacular but making for relaxed riding.  I stopped at the interesting Lake Bumbunga near Lock Eil which is pink and features its own Loch Ness type monster.

I then had a very pleasant ride down the east side of the Yorke Peninsula with lots of twisties and hills.  Port Vincent is a small seaside township and my accommodation, a one bed self catering unit 50 metres from the pub/shop/beach, was ideal.

299kms travelled.

Tuesday 17 January

Port Vincent

Rather overcast day.  Following breakfast at a local cafe I left to ride to the end of the peninsula.  I rode to Yorktown via Edithburgh encountering occasional showers.  The sky to the south, the direction in which I was heading was very dark suggesting heavy rain.  I decided to head back to Port Vincent and it was good to have a following wind, albeit for only 40kms.  As I arrived the heavens opened and it rained off and on for the remainder of the day.  I did some laundry and wrote up some of the blog in the afternoon.

101kms travelled.

Wednesday 18 January

Port Vincent - Clare

I left at 0900 at 19C.  It was a dismal start to the day - windy, drizzle, overcast and chilly.  I decided to ride up the west coast of the peninsula so headed across to Minlaton.  From there I headed north via Maitland, Kadina and Loch Eli to Clare.  Again, like yesterday, it was wonderful to ride with a following wind for a change.  When passing Lake Bumbunga I noticed that the pink colour of the lake was reflected in the low cloud.  

From the lake the road climbed steeply, a change from the rather monotonous farmland of the peninsula.  There then followed a marshy plain before climbing again to enter the Clare Valley with its multiple vineyards.  

I reached my accommodation, the Bentleys Hotel, a large pub, in the middle of town which proved to be great value.

I walked around town and discovered an Indian restaurant which I patronised later.

211kms travelled.

Thursday 19 January 

Clare

Loafed around town.

Friday 20 January

Clare - Kingscote, Kangaroo Island 

I left at 0900 at 16C.  I rode the nice twisty road through the vineyards of Clare Valley.  

There were a number of extensive roadworks on the Horrocks Highway, at one of which I had an eight minutes wait at red traffic lights.  As a result of the roadworks the 2 hours journey had taken 2 1/2 hours.  I encountered the suburbs of Adelaide about 30 kilometres from the city.  I had arranged to have a new back tyre fitted in Adelaide and with the assistance of TomTom I found the tyre shop easily and had another Pirelli MT90 installed ($207).  I stopped for brunch and on checking the Kangaroo Island ferry booking on my phone I was unable to find the details and convinced myself that I must have not completed the booking several days earlier, so I made another online booking.  I rode the 112kms to the Cape Jervis ferry terminal.  Once I had cleared the Adelaide suburbs the road took me through hilly countryside with entertaining twisties, often overlooking the coast.  I saw my first kangaroos for some time on the outskirts of Adelaide.  On checking in at the terminal it was revealed that I had duplicate bookings.  Apparently they had been experiencing problems with their website and I was immediately refunded the cost of one of the bookings.  It was interesting seeing long road trains being reversed onto the ferry.  I was reminded of my incompetence when reversing with my caravan!  The bike was tied down by crew members with ropes around each fork stanchion above the brace.  The 45 minutes crossing was quite lumpy but I managed forty winks in the comfortable saloon.  On arrival at Penneshaw I was waiting for a crew member to untie the ropes securing the bike but they appeared to be occupied elsewhere so I decided to untie it myself.  I was unable to get to the non side-stand side so began by untying the left hand one.  As it was released the bike toppled away from me onto its side.  Fortunately a crew member saw this and came over to help me lift it up and untie the other rope.  No damage sustained.  I then had a 58kms ride to my accommodation, KI Cabins, which was located on a farm a couple of kilometres outside the town of Kingscote.  After unloading the bike I rode to a supermarket to buy supplies.  I cooked pasta for supper.

303kms travelled.

Saturday 21 January

Kangaroo Island

I left at 0900 at 20C.  I refuelled in Kingscote and headed for Seal Bay.  Seal Bay Conservation Park is a protected area located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island and is the home of the third largest Australian Sea Lion colony in Australia.  

I saw a number of females and their young resting and frolicking on the beach.  Apparently the males do not mix with the females and the young.  There were a number of young sea lions apparently left alone but it appears that the female sea lions go to sea to hunt fish, often spending up to three days away before returning to feed their young. 

These sea lions are considered endangered and the area off the coast has been declared a marine reserve which prohibits fishing thereby ensuring a ready supply of food for these animals.  I went on to Little Sahara, a series of very large sand dunes down which people toboggan and ‘sand board’.  (I resisted the urge to have a go!)

I stopped for lunch at Vivonne Bay General Store where I enjoyed a delicious  battered whiting burger.  After that treat I carried on to Flinders Chase National Park to see ‘Remarkable Rock’, ‘Admiral’s Arch’ and New Zealand fur seals.  It became very windy with the temperature not exceeding 22C.  I realised that I was some way from the nearest servo and so took advantage of an automated fuel pump inside a caravan park just before the entrance to the park.  The road through Flinders Chase National Park was narrow but excellent for motorcycling with the reasonably low speed limit facilitating admiring the views.  

The rocks were indeed remarkable, 

the arch was indeed an arch 

and the seals were indeed covered in fur!

The strong wind didn’t detract from the pleasure of the ride and the 120kms back to my accommodation.  I enjoyed a relaxed evening walking around the farm surroundings, drinking a refreshing white wine, enjoying a self cooked supper and wandering about the local kangaroos grazing around me at sunset.

281kms travelled.

Sunday 22 January

Kangaroo Island

I discovered that there was a free laundry machine in a nearby shed so did a load of laundry which I hung out to dry it being good windy drying weather.  The sky was relatively clear with sunny spells.  I left at 1030 at 21C to ride to the north coast of the island.  I headed for Emu Bay which appeared to be quite affluent with a swish resort complex, large houses and a nice jetty but no facilities. 

On the way to the road to take me west along the coast I stopped at a lavender farm cafe for the obligatory morning coffee.

  

I then rode 45kms along a gravel road to Stokes Bay.  This gravel road was different from others I had ridden in Australia.  For a start it was white rather than red and it appeared to have an element of clay in the compacted stretches hinting that it might have been very slippery when wet.  I enjoyed good views of the ocean as I went along.  

On arrival at Stokes Bay I was intrigued to find that access to the beach was through rocks and a rocky tunnel. 

 The beach was sheltered and the sea looked quite inviting; sadly I had omitted to carry swimming togs.  It had become quite warm by this stage and fortunately there was a cafe at Stokes Bay and I enjoyed a refreshing pot of tea in the shade being cooled by the sea breeze.  I returned to Kingscote via very straight roads through areas that showed the effects of the 2019/2020 bush fires which decimated a considerable portion of Kangaroo Island. 

110kms travelled