Travel Story: jax kennedy - australia
After a short break tucked up in Sydney whilst Mo, my trusty little postie bike has been languishing in Perth, I was anxious to get back on the road for the second half of my journey around Australia at 70km/h.
Having crossed the Nullarbor by plane heading east, I was now returning westward by train on the majestic Indian Pacific. Four days to cover 4300 kilometres under the power of two locomotives pulling 26 carriages averaging 85 k/h – slightly faster than Mo. For any rail enthusiast, it is one of the must-do journeys and I was not disappointed. It was a magnificent trip lounging in the luxurious club car framed by spectacular desert sunsets and thrice daily gourmet meals served by coiffured waiters. I was very disappointed to learn that they no longer take motorcycles on their vehicle carriages. No doubt some number-cruncher has disregarded the two-wheeled tourist market concocting some lame excuse about insurance. I could probably have hidden Mo in a suitcase and smuggled him into my cabin.
My third crossing of the Nullarbor began a few weeks later with great anticipation. Was Mo up to it? How bored would I get on the endless ribbon of tarmac? How numb can one bum be?
I had been crossing paths with Linda Bootherstone on her Sherpa and after seeing her photographs of the unsealed Nullarbor in 1971 when she had tackled it on a BMW, I dismissed any lingering concerns that Mo wasn’t up to the task on today’s tar seal.