hundreds of kilometres. The further
inland we rode the less water we saw
and when we reached the Calvert
river we were stoked as straight away
we knew we would be able cross
it. It was low enough that we rode
it without any issues and after only
a few kilometres down the road we
bumped into the station owner, he
was surprised to see us and told us if
we had made it this far we shouldn’t
have any more trouble with water
crossings though warned us to be
careful as it would quickly turn into
black soil country which could make
riding difficult if an unexpected storm
came through.
We pushed on and as we rode
further inland, the country started
changing dramatically. It was getting
dryer by the minute and after riding
through cattle country for a few hours
we finally reached the black soil
plains that the station owner had told
us about. Luckily, there was no rain
around, but there was super high
spear grass all over and on each side
of the track. Underneath the grass
were huge dried out 4-wheel drive
ruts which made riding difficult. It
was slow going through this type
of track as hitting any square edge
would see you on your side real fast.
After a few hours and a few hairy
moments, we made it to the other
side of the plains and onto the
blacktop of the Tablelands Hwy.
We were excited to see the
bitumen and had a real sense of
achievement as we knew that we had
made it across the Gulf despite what
we were told by everyone we spoke to
or met. They said it wasn’t possible
and that we were crazy for even
attempting it in the wet season.
We headed north for Cape
Crawford when our excitement
quickly faded as we realised that our
fuel was now extremely low. We’d
had a leaking fuel bladder which we
didn’t realise and lost a lot of our
reserve fuel. We still had a couple
of hundred kilometres to get to Cape
Crawford, so we rode very steady
in the hope that we would make
it. About 60km out of town Ellyse
spluttered to a stop. We then used
a water bottle to transfer some fuel
from the 650 into her bike.
Long range tanks on bikes can
often create a vacuum as they get
low on fuel, meaning the fuel will
no longer move from the tank, we
spent the next 60km blowing into the
breather hose of the tank to force
fuel into the carburettor. Not an
ideal way to finish the Gulf crossing,
but after rolling into town with
head spins from blowing into the
tanks and with next to no fuel left
in each bike, the first beer at the old
Heartbreak Hotel never tasted better!
As we planned to be on the road
travelling Australia for the next few
months, we were exhausted but
thrilled about the first stage of our
adventure.
It had been exactly what we were
chasing when we planned our trip.
Adventure riding at its best and
having a blast along the way.
Over a few beers that night we were
excited and once again had the maps
out at the pub planning our next
adventure heading further west … on
to the next pub … EO'C & CW
Ellyse, a motocross and desert racer of
note (classed fastest female at the 2018
Finke Desert Race), rode a guided tour to
Australia's Cape York with her father, Woody
was the guide.
They spent a week exploring Australia's
north together and soon realised their
shared love of motorcycles and travel had
brought them together. They've been riding
as a pair ever since.
They set their bikes up and started
riding across the remotest regions of the
Australian continent before the COVID-19
pandemic brought a halt to it.
They will head back out on the road and
we can't wait to hear about it.
TRAVERSE 89