March Meander

nev

Super Térrarist
An early start from Quorn to beat the heat later in the day, we were out on the road at 8:30 and heading north, past Hawker and off the bitumen at the Bunyeroo Rd. The dirt started off pretty good, got a little narrower and rockier but pretty good shape for the first 15km or so.

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Every adv ride report from the Flinder's Ranges includes a photo taken at Razorback lookout so this shall be no exception. (I'm sure the National parks service only manicure this small stretch of road which is visible in photos from this lookout because they are so common, however it is by far the best section of road for the entire length of Bunyeroo Rd.

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A few km further on we reach the Bunyeroo Gorge. The road is the creek for the next few km. Fortunately it is not sandy or muddy. The creek bed / road consists mostly of small shaley type rock and I guess a lot of 4WD vehicles passing through keep it well compressed. Even under the weight of the Super Tenere it feels like riding on bitumen.

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Once off there we're on the Brachina Gorge road heading west. This road is also a rocky creekbed for the first 9km but no water and the rocks don't move around under the wheels like some of the rocky creek beds we rode on the NZ south island.

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The last 10km of this road was almost a racetrack down to the Outback Hwy.

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South again, to Hawker. On this leg of 70km or so we saw many emus and a few roos. Most of the emus were in the scrub but a couple were on the road. One roo was asleep in the shade under a tree on the gravel on the edge of the road. I stopped right in front of him. He wearily looked up, like anyone rudely awoken from a nap, took a few seconds to come to his senses then the shock that 2 motorbikes were only a few feet away then scrambled to his feet and hopped off.

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Seeking shade and cold drinks in Carrieton. There was a small amount of shade, but no cold drinks.

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Fortunately we found cold drinks at a cafe in Orroroo

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Some snug shelter for the bikes at motel behind a pub in Jamestown.

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nev

Super Térrarist
I plotted a route avoiding as much of the main highways as possible back into Victoria. Through Booborowie, and past many wind turbines, and rolling treeless hills.

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Down the World's End Highway

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Through Robertson

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and Eudunda.

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Saw the odd bit of wildlife

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Crossed the Murray on the Swan Reach Ferry

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Stopped in Loxton for Lunch

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And an icypole at Lake Cullulleraine. Did I mention the temp was in the low-mid 30s all day

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Not sure about the plastic covers over the grape vines...
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And finally across the Murray River again into NSW and stopped for the night at Wentworth at the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers.

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dougman1

Part of the furniture
Ride your bike to work tomorrow. After work, instead of turning left, turn right. Tell them you might be absent for a few days :)

I wouldn't call it work, more like the place i go to get paid. I will take your advice though..:lao
 

nev

Super Térrarist
So what did you think of the S10 in the dirt?

I haven't really thought about it, but since you ask, I have, and I find it very easy to ride on the loose stuff, even the not too deep sandy sections it pushed through quite nicely. Although, all of the dirt roads I have done on this trip have been at a very leisurely pace. I'm sure on a 660 single I'd have been tempted to tear up the roads a bit more, but to compare like to like, the S10 feels very comfortable off the bitumen and I had no 'moments' at all. Always feels very much under control. In comparison, to say a Vstrom 1000, the Vstrom always felt quite distant, not so much as the bike and rider were a connected package that I can feel on the S10.. Maybe because it has the electronic suspension and I can choose an appropriate setting for different conditions while on the Strom, the suspension was never touched?
 
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