It’s what we do

This entry is part 1 of 17 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #43

wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Main-series-img-9.png

I expect everyone has had a heap of riding cancelled. I possibly had more cancelled than most, but in a backhanded way I didn’t feel that stress too badly. For me nearly all the riding was for work, and I thought staying home would be a luxury.

It was, too. For a while.

It didn’t take long before I was dragging my bottom lip around and scowling at not being able to do rides I’d been looking forward to, especially as state borders closed, then opened, then began to shut down again.

But one big advantage we have in Australia is our states are big bastards, and staying within NSW still leaves a lot of riding room. A rider going hard and heading west from the coast can still ride two full days before hitting an administrative border. That’s pretty impressive. And if the rider decided to wander around a bit instead of travelling in one compass direction the whole time, a week or more can be frittered away in some truly superb riding covering every-thing from desert to chilly mountaintops and subtropical jungle.

Members of the adventure-riding fraternity in other states are even better off. Queenslanders can slope around the Gold Coast wearing boardshorts and sunglasses before spending a few days trailing up the coast, stopping in at places like Airlie Beach, Townsville and Cairns, then head into serious adventure “ One big advantage we have in Australia is our states are big bastards. ”

country all the way to Cape York. If they feel the need for some variety they can track south and west along the Gulf Of Carpentaria and through places like Cloncurry, Mount Isa and Birdsville before spearing off toward the coast again through places like Windorah, Quilpie and Charleville.

That’d be a very pleasant and interesting few weeks for anyone not in a hurry.

Our germ-bag Victorian chums probably have the best riding of all, even though they’re in the smallest state. They can kick off in Geelong, wander along the Great Ocean Road to get warmed up, then strike north for the goldfields of Ballarat and Bendigo. From there they’re spoiled for choice. Bonnie Doon and Eildon, Benalla and Wangaratta, Bright, Beechworth and Myrtleford are all fabulous adventure-riding destinations, and the whole of Victoria is pretty much an adventure-rider’s playground.

Tasmania’s one of the world’s most fabulous destinations. Stick a pin any-where in a map of the Apple Isle and it’ll be a fantastic place to go. West coast? North-east? North-west? South? The east coast? The mountains?

It’s all nearby and it’s all fabulous all year round.

South Australia and Western Australia offer an even more massive palette of choice thanks to their sheer size and the sparsity of their populations. The Flinders.

The Otways. The Kimberley. The Great Australian Bight. Port Hedland and Eighty Mile Beach. Weeks and months could be spent riding in each of those states and there’d still be plenty left to see.

And there’s not enough room here to list the stunning, heartbreaking offerings in the Northern Territory. Just think about connecting Uluru, Alice, Tennant Creek, Kakadu and Darwin. That doesn’t even get you close to covering the NT.

There’s an incredible amount of glorious riding to be enjoyed in each state of this amazing country, and, best of all, the most premium riding is far, far away from any population centres.

Our restricted-riding situation may be far from ideal, but Australians have been gifted some of the world’s most fantastic and wondrous opportunities.

Let’s make the most of it.

Series NavigationKennedy Range >>