 |
 |
|
|
The following is a transcription of
a journal I kept while touring Australia on a rented 1995 BMW F650
motorcycle.
I rode from Sydney north to Port Macquarrie,
Byron Bay, Hervey Bay/Fraser Island, Rockhampton, Airlie Beach,
Townsville, then west to Julia Creek, Camooweal, Tennant Creek,
south to the Devils' Marbles, Alice Springs, Ayer's Rock/the Olgas,
Kings Canyon, Coober Pedy, Port Augusta, Kingston SE, then along
the south coast to Warrnambool, the Great Ocean Road, Geelong, Phillip
Island, Lakes Entrance, Batemans Bay and finally returning to Sydney.
The total distance travelled was 9755 kilometers (5853 miles) by
motorcycle. The motorcycle used was rented from Clubman Motorcycle
Rentals of Sydney, Australia. (Phone (612) 519-9991; FAX (612) 9955-8169).
I have no affiliation with Clubman Rentals other than as a satisfied
customer.
(I have recorded my notes with metric
measurements and Australian dollars. At the time of this trip, $1
AUS = $0.80 US. 100 kilometers = 60 miles; 1 meter = 3 feet; 0 Celsius
= freezing; 20 C = room temperature; 38 C = 100 Fahrenheit).
Entries are exactly as
I first wrote them. Many of my notes were written late at night
by flashlight, so some entries were very terse or used poor grammar.
Any questions or comments are welcomed by the writer and can be
sent to the e-mail address: brclarke@islandnet.com
Wed., Sept. 4, 1996: (Victoria, BC -> Sydney,
AUS: by plane)
My flight from Victoria to Vancouver was delayed
90 minutes because some doorknob phoned in an anonymous bomb threat.
My flight then connected to Honululu via Canadian Airlines. As I left
Vancouver the temperature was 12 C and rainy - fairly miserable for
early September. I then switched to Air New Zealand in Honolulu and
flew on to Auckland, NZ. In Hawaii the boarding desk warned me that
because the departure tax for the Auckland airport hadn't been paid
yet on my ticket, my luggage was checked through only as far as Auckland.
In Auckland I had to get my bags, go through New Zealand customs,
pay the departure tax ($20 NZ), and check-in for the flight on to
Sydney. Annoying. Finally after some 19 hours in the air and another
five or six hours waiting in various airports, I reached Sydney on
a warm sunny day....
1. Victoria B.C. to Sydney
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
brclarke@island.net
Untitled Document
|
|
|
