Motorcycle Transportation

The Big Trip

2 Guys 2 bikes as at 1st Oct over 62000 miles and lots more to go. Bikes changed colour (and some shape)

Date:2009-03-01 16:08:33

Author:Robin Breese Davies

Update April 2009, Darwin, Australia My last update was written in similar hot & humid conditions onboard a boat going up the Rio Madeira in Brazil back in September 2008, now we are unfortunately leaving Australia after an amazing three months travelling from Sydney to Darwin via the south & west coasts. Asia will bring its own surprises & experiences which we are very excited about, I personally feel a little under prepared as I cannot speak any Korean, Japanese or Russian, so I hope my smiles and sign language will do the trick. It seems incredible that we have visited a further six countries, travelled 30,000 miles, crossed the Pacific and seen most of the Australian coastline since I last wrote an update. I am always a little reluctant to write these updates as they sound so self-indulgent but as I get asked to write them I do, but if you would rather not receive please let me know. Since that last update the Guiana’s brought their own unique experiences like speaking English in South America as a local language, driving on the left hand side of the road, turning up to cross a bridge into Brazil that was supposed to be completed in 2004 but hadn’t actually been constructed, using the Euro in French Guiana, for such small countries they certainly pack a punch. The coastline of Brazil is world-renowned and the best I can put it is that it did not disappoint, in fact it exceeded both of our expectations. Rik’s Mum & Brother came to visit in Rio which was wonderful. Uruguay completed one of our challenges of visiting every country in the America’s so we had to party a little in the resort town of Punte del Este. We were forced to spend another large amount of time in Buenos Aires because Rik’s clutch failed, after that we crossed Argentina in a day to get back into the mountains, as you can imagine the Andes did not disappoint, we both had smiles on our faces to get back into these majestic peaks, ice capped mountains and turquoise lakes. We had the pleasure of zigzagging our way south over different passes into Chile and then back into Argentina all the way to Tierra del Fuego, where we visited Ushuaia the southern most city in the world but also the end of the road in South America. Back north we continued the amazing roads back and for between Argentina & Chile crossing the borders a total of 15 times between these two countries alone. We then flew our bikes from Santiago to Sydney which was our 28th country & 4th continent. This being my third visit to Australia I was really looking forward to catch up with friends, see some old haunts, see Mum & Dad who were also on their own road trip and also visit Western Australia for the first time. It has turned out to be possibly the best three months of my life. It has been more straightforward than some of the South American challenges as there is no language barrier, parts are normally in stock, roads are usually excellent and people are naturally hospitable. So with these home comforts it enabled us to really concentrate on the natural wonders Australia has, and it has a lot! Australia has a lot of unique places that we wanted to visit, some of the highlights were The Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Karijini National Park, snorkelling with Whale Sharks in Exmouth both in WA, Katherine Gorge & Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territories. So it maybe a sad day leaving this wonderful country but we still have so much to look forward to, South Korea, Japan, Russia & Mongolia before we enter Europe via Finland & Scandinavia. We have always thought that the end of the trip is so far away but we can definitely confirm that we will be home THIS year! Apologies for not updating our website properly since January, but now you can see our latest adventures. Keep in touch and thank you for the ongoing support. Robin PS Thanks to the crew in Broome (Clint, Kristy, Alex, Gita, Angela & Mindy) who made my birthday weekend one to remember, or maybe not as I have definitely lost some hours from my memory……… w. thebigbiketrip.com Visit thebigbiketrip.com YouTube

Click here to add your own story and upload your own photos.