TRAVEL FEATURE - AUSTRALIA
ELLYSE O'CONNOR & CRAIG WOODWARD
After toying with a few travel
plans it was decided we were
going to start the trip crossing
the Gulf of Carpentaria. We
were aware it was still wet season, but
we were well prepared and knew it
wasn’t going to be an easy adventure,
but we were up for the challenge.
Cyclone Ester had hit the area
just a few weeks prior to our arrival
making things a little more difficult, a
hell of a lot of rain had been dumped
exactly where we were heading. Not
ideal, but we wanted adventure and it
looked like we were going to get it.
Getting information of the road
conditions in any of these areas
was like pulling teeth as no one had
attempted it during the wet season,
let alone after a cyclone. We decided
to go ahead with our original plan
and give everything a go whilst
keeping a close eye on the weather
and what the conditions were like day
to day. We got the gear bags loaded
with our spares, food, a few clothes
and the all important 1.5 litre hip
flask topped up with rum to make
the campfires just that little bit more
enjoyable.
After constant rain for days in
Cairns we finally saw a break in
the weather, so excited and a little
nervous of what may be ahead, we
headed for the tablelands as soon as
possible to start our journey.
Ellyse had never ridden a bike fully
loaded and setup for an unsupported
trip, so going from a 98-kilogram
motocross bike to around a 200kg
fully loaded DRZ400 would take a
little bit of adjusting to.
The first day saw us riding
some cool single trail through the
rainforest to get up to the Atherton
tablelands. The 4x4 tracks around
Herberton were faster allowing for
the kilometres to be made up and
hopefully outrun the bad weather.
We reached Chillagoe just before
dark, set up camp and headed to the
pub for a beer and to seek out the
TRAVERSE 81