GS OZ Day 23 Tom Price 636km 7:45hr

I'll be buggered if the ground isn't rusting.

I left the coast and headed inland. My intent is to see what all this mining's about before heading to the Karajini national park.

A big day today with the temperature hovering around 40 degrees. The morning was big flat red bull dust plains with low bushes. After a lunch stop at house creek (dry like all creeks around here, see photo) this yielded to rusty coloured ground slowly rising to rusty mountains. Not sure you have to be a shit hot geologist to surmise "there's iron in them there hills".

I'm now in the hart of the "mining boom" experience and its got it all. Dust every where. I had to wait 15 minutes whilst a 3km long iron ore train crossed the road. The place is ozzing with cashed up bogans and consequentially everything is expensive right up the coral coast.

Accommodation is scarce, all snaffled by Rio Tinto. I'm managed to get the last cabin in a caravan park and all my neighbours are miners. I'm now off for the miners buffet, $25 for all that you can hold down.

GS OZ Day 22 Cape Range National Park

Today I hired fins, mask and snorkel and headed for the National park. I spent a couple of hours snorkling the drift at Turquoise Bay. You walk up the beach 300m swim out to the Ningaloo reef then let the drift current take you over the fish and coral before swimming to shore before you get swept out to sea via the channel that causes the drift.

Brilliant snorkeling I did a couple of circuits until i'd had enough sun and started to cool down. Managed some shots and movies but these betray the real view. Much better than say the Whitsunday's.

After Turquoise bay I headed to Oyster Stacks but too knackered to go in. Then it was back for a late lunch via the turtle station and , the light house (no turtles there all out shagging, Nov is egg laying season)

GS OZ Day 21 Exmouth 390k 4:10hr

A quick coffee in main street Carnarvon then off to exmouth. The ride was hot Mallee giving way to Malee with haystack shaped Termit mounds for 100s of K's

Was to camp in on of the bush camps along the Cape Range Nat Park but there were no shady sites available and the wind and sun were fierce. Instead I took a motel just outside of town right near the Harold E Holt Naval Base that hands all the ULF communications with submerged submarines for both the RAN and the USN.

Had a swim in the pool then back to town for a slap up Chinese meal.

GS OZ Day 20 Carnarvon 360k 4hr20

Awoke and sauntered 100m to the beach, it's dolphin time.

Just me the dolphins ...... and 100 others. It was quite nice to see these puppies up close but also kinda sickening that its so touristy. Everyone ignoring the rangers requests to hold the line and stay out of the water so they can get a view to the detriment of others etc. Having said that its definitely worth a look especially for kids. Oh and if you want to feed them you have to be picked. Only 6 people are chosen at random by the Japanese tourist volunteers with the fish buckets.

Tips for being selected.

1, Be female. I think only one male was selected and he only because he had a child on his shoulder.

2, Wear a distinctive coloured T shirt that a Japanese tourist can pronounce the colour of. Ie red, pink, orange.

Ps they don't only chose kiddies i think one kid was chosen.

After the dolphins had scoffed third fish and pissed off I wandered up for a leisurely breakfast before the long lonely road to Carnarvon.

The malee scrub is endless, hot and beautifull. A whole lot of nothing full of something.

GS OZ Day19 Shark Bay 410km 4:30hr

Late start today as i had to have a couple of coffees and sort some banking out. So I squirted out to the national park intending to see the gorges and the "natures window". However, when I got there the road was very corrugated and it was going to take an hour each way and then I still had four hours beyond that. So I turned around and headed north.

The earth is very read now, the wild flowers spectacular but the wind is terrible, a 20kt cross winds again.

Any way the ride was pleasant enough and i stopped at Hamelin bay to see the Stromatolites. Yep more friggin Stromatolites but these are supposedly the best and most diverse collection in the world and I love these little guys.

About 5:30 I arrived at Monkey Mia and now I'm settled on the beach watching the sunset and celebrating with a cleanser.

OZ GS Day 18 Rest day Kalbarri

Just rode around looking at stuff, had a coffee, did the cryptic etc oh BTW the rock has become deep red just like I expect the Kimberly's to be like and the water is brilliant turquoise.

Wow whales again. This time they were breaching, summersaults, tail flapping and fin flipping. I sat there for some time. (pic below has tiny whale tail evidence)

Everyone loves a whale even those environmental terrorists the Japanese (albeit with steamed rice, wasabe and served in a petri dish to ensure its scientific). There is something about watching whales that gives one hope that the planet will be OK and that even they will survive the human virus. Delusion I know but delusion is powerful and after all happiness itself, is a delusion.... best embraced.

Gave my mate Ming a call to get the low down on the days to come. He and the family have spent some time in this area. Basically I hoping going the wet is not too early this year otherwise I could be riding through and having to come back for some of the key experiences at a later date.

PS , ming assures ne that The break here is supposed to be one of the best left handers in OZ (see pic) but it wasn't working to well today.

GS OZ Day 17 Kalbarri 480km 4:50hr

Cross wind all day today but judging by the trees (see photo) this is par for this course.

Arrived about 5 and just enough daylight to top up the Beemers oil. A sawn of water bottle makes a great makeshift funnel BTW.

Pizza and beer for dinner in the David Niall exotic cuisine tradition. The Beemer would make an idea pizza delivery device (see pics)

GS OZ Day 16 Cervantes 40k 0;20hr

Spent today in and around Cervantes. Its named after a ship that was wrecked nearby who in turn was named after the author of Don Quixote the morning consisted of exploring the beach, visiting our oldest living relatives, the Stromatolites, in Lake Thetis.

Then a coffee and a bite before installing my tank bag.

Around sunset I rode out to see the Pinnicle desert. It's wonderful spent a couple of hours riding and walking around. Almost lost it a couple times in the very good sandy track.

GS OZ Day 15 Cervantes 520k 8hrs

Big day late start. Rode the coast road to Dunsbourogh then up the coast to Perth.

Here I picked up a piece that I need to attach my tank bag (map etc) to my tank. It wasn't ready before leaving so just told them to hold it and I would pick up when I rode through Perth. This will give me some extra room as the tank bag has been in a pannier since Melbourne.

Next stop to pick up a helmet cam so I can shoot video and stills from the bike and helmet.

Leaving Perth as quick as possible was my goal but Perth was a sea of traffic jams. This is contrary to the experience I had 18 years ago when the locals boasted no traffic jams. Guess they have grown too big for their boots with all that mining boom stuff.

Finally out of Perth at 3:30 I rode the Indian Ocean drive up the coast for a couple of hours to Cervantes. This place is near to the Pinnicles Desert that I will visit tomorrow. The ride was spectacular with storm clouds brewing on my right and my first sunset over water on my right.

The light over saturated the greens and bleached the weird sand hills that just pop out amongst gras tree plains on the inland side of the road.

This was also a scary ride as I broke the rule of not riding after 4 as this is when the animals come out. Sure enough there were roos everywhere preparing for their suicide missions.

Arrived at6:30 knackerd and pulled into the first motel I saw as couldn't be bothered looking around.

GS OZ Day14 Margaret River Rest Day

Such a beautiful B&B I chose to stay another night. Poked around the town and beaches, checked the bike over, read, slept, played with the dog, and sat in the bush garden. Bliss

GS OZ Day 13 Margaret River 450k 6:00hr

What a ride. The roads have become twisty and take you through km's of tall Forest. Apparently some of the largest trees on the planet.

First stop Denmark chocolate factory for the best hot chocolate I've  had. Then it was off through the forests again stopping only for lunch.

Hit Augusta by 3pm and visited Cape Leewin light house where the two oceans meet, the southern and the Indian. Like most light houses the wind was wild.

From there it was a short ride to Margaret river where I got a top last minute deal on a B&B tucked away in the bush. So time for a spa and relax..