away, the other side of the Gulf of Carpentaria.
“After everything that happened in Kakadu, I just knew
I could get to Cape York,” Benji enthused.
“Despite my limited riding experience, if I just pre-
pared and planned for the trip Like I had a million times
for every other ride, I could do it!”
Three days on the Old Telegraph Track was just the be-
ginning, an exhausting ride, yet for Benji the challenge
was worth it.
“To say it was challenging is a complete understate-
ment,” Benji laughed.
“I couldn’t help but feel completely overwhelmed by a
sense of achievement considering I have only been rid-
ing a motorbike off road for 6 months and completed the
whole journey solo.”
Benji apologises for talking of his adventure, his discov-
eries. He needn’t. He’s done what many won’t attempt,
many with much more experience and yet has come
through learning more about his surrounds, the encoun-
ters, and himself than anything to do with riding a motor-
cycle.
“My time on the bike not only taught me to believe in
myself, but it also taught me to take complete ownership
of my life again.”
“If things went wrong on the bike, I knew I could fix it.
If I came off, it was because I was going too fast, or didn't
walk a particularly hard line or river crossing first. It was
all on me to either succeed or fail.”
Those of us who ride know exactly what Benji experi-
enced at a personal level.
“I think I finally proved something to myself, and I’m
sorry for putting the people who love me back home
TRAVERSE 21