Ayers Rock with 7yo son

John_Johnny

Long Timer


This is my son Andrew. He is 7 years old and wants me to take him to Ayres Rock. (Uluru).
As you can see we are well on the way.

It's 1997 and I'm not long back from my last trip around Australia. Young Andrew reckons he can do whatever his older brother can do and besides...it's his turn. Ahhh, sibling rivaly. :)
At the time there was no law stopping a 7 year old from being a pillion passenger so long as they can reach the foot pegs. Andrew can...just!
Last time I caught the bus to Uluru from Pt Augusta after my old BMW R100RS got too hot. When I was standing on top of the rock, I naively put 2 stones in my pocket. Friends tell me I'm now cursed and they must be returned to the sacred place from whence they came.
So, off we go. The stones are in my pocket and I hope you enjoy sharing our story.
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Re: Ayres Rock with 7yo son

Whooohooo....here we go again!!

:clap::clap::glu

If I'd been one of your mob.... just call me "Footloose".
The seeds you sow.....:thumbs::chug:
(not that my tribe made a bad job of it :bs)
 

Williamson

Part of the furniture
Re: Ayres Rock with 7yo son

Looking forward to reading about Andrew's first beer, first smoke, first visit
to a topless bar, first meeting with British backpackers .......... :glu
 

John_Johnny

Long Timer
Re: Ayres Rock with 7yo son

Looking forward to reading about Andrew's first beer, first smoke, first visit
to a topless bar, first meeting with British backpackers ..........

They were Swedish backpackers and I'll tell you about them when we get to Coober Pedy. :glu

edit. The British backpacker was Kalgoorlie. Did I slip up and tell you about the Coober Pedy backpackers when we were at Eskdale?! Lol!
 
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John_Johnny

Long Timer
Re: Ayres Rock with 7yo son



Day 1. Melbourne to Adelaide. 726km. We checked into the Sands motel right beside the Arkaba pub. It's a great pub with 50 types of schnitzels. The Sands is a budget motel, but clean and perfectly adequate for our needs.
Day 2. Adelaide to Coober Pedy 845km. We're not dawdling on this trip. Not long after we stopped at the Glendambo roadhouse, a car crossed over the white line and was heading straight for us. It all happened in an instant. I made the split second decision to veer left and hit the desert sand. The ABS may have saved us here as I could hear the brrp, brrp, brrp as we hit the dirt at 100kph. We came to a stop in a cloud of dust and the car that almost killed us kept going. Maybe I should have just brushed the dirt off and kept going but I was ropeable. My blood was boiling so I turned around and took off him. After a high speed chase I dropped in beside him. I looked at my speedo and we were doing 145kph and this bastard was still asleep! The horn didn't get his attention so I banged on his window with my fist. This jolted him awake and he pulled over. My yelling at him didn't have much of an effect. He just said he'd driven non-stop from Darwin and he was sorry. I wanted to smash him in the face. I wanted to take his keys. I wanted to end this prick like he almost ended us. Instead, I told him to get some sleep at Glendambo, then I turned around and continued North. What would you have done?
 

John_Johnny

Long Timer
Re: Ayres Rock with 7yo son

I probably would've dropped the bike in the dirt and waited for help to pick the bike up.

We didn't fall off. I managed to stay upright, but it was lucky the ABS worked because trying to brake at 100kph in sand would have put the front wheel sideways. We were also lucky there were no trees, ditches or rocks.
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Re: Ayres Rock with 7yo son

They were Swedish backpackers and I'll tell you about them when we get to Coober Pedy. :glu

edit. The British backpacker was Kalgoorlie. Did I slip up and tell you about the Coober Pedy backpackers when we were at Eskdale?! Lol!


Hey, spreading confusion doesn't get you out of this! :bs
 

John_Johnny

Long Timer
Re: Ayres Rock with 7yo son



^ Andy Pandy in front of the Radaka backpackers (on the right) in Coober Pedy ^

Checked in to the Coober Pedy backpackers which is underground, as are most places here. In this hot dry part of Australia it's amazing how cool it is underground. While the outside temperature can be 45, underground remains 19-24° and this also works for freezing desert nights. This isn't an established town like Kalgoorlie and anything above ground is ramshackle with many 'blow ins' who arrive, dig, drink and leave. The whole area is covered in thousands upon thousands of holes that have been dug and just left. Very dangerous for tourists, of which there are many. My experience with backpackers lodges is they don't want kids and Coober Pedy was no different. After some sweet talk they gave us a double room/cave with a door and explained that the shenanigans going on in the dorm weren't something a 7yo should see. They had a lockable cage for bikes, so after I locked up the beemer and put the panniers in our room, I went for a shower. There was no male/female sign. Unisex! While I was pondering this interesting dilemma a Swedish girl, better looking than Elle McPherson, walked in and gave me a big smile and an accented hello.
OK!... Right in front of me she just stripped off then and there. The showers had dividers that were 2 feet off the ground and no screens so everything was out there. The water and soapy suds from her shower was flowing past my feet as I washed my hair and.....is it getting hot in here?!!
 
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