Sunset in Melbourne

Sunset over Keysborough
Originally uploaded by carollyn.thompson

This was one of the many magnificent sunsets I have seen in Melbourne. This photo was taken at the park near our house sit in Keysborough, while Colin and Richard flying a 2 metre kite surfer.

The Pink Rose

The Pink Rose
Originally uploaded by carollyn.thompson

This is one of the many beautiful paintings Colin and I saw during our visit to the Victorian National Art Gallery which was fantastic.We spent over three hours there and realized at closing time how little we had seen.
A great reason to come back again.

At Last...I get the riding seat!!!

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Originally uploaded by carollyn.thompson

Now my turn!!!!! Yahooo....I had my first solo ride (since I was 11 years old)on this cute Yamaha Virago.
It took me a couple of laps around the very quiet block to get used to the gear changes and then it was all so easy. It was a short lived gift that I enjoyed whilst I had it. ( on loan while Colin had Pegasus the Honda serviced)

The Lobster Cave

The Lobster Cave
Originally uploaded by carollyn.thompson

Ooolaa laa!!!! The Lobster Cave Restaurant has been another culinary delight for me. It is one of Melbournes top restaurants where a crayfish burger costs $99. I had the most succulent piece of wild Barramundi.Yummm it was exceptionally mouthwateringly tasty and very filling.It was great that we went on the bike because I didn't have to worry about getting dressed up. When you walk in with a helmet, it is accepted that you have to have you safety gear on and nobody cares, least of all me.

Nepalese Meal with Sam

Mongolian Meal with Sam
Originally uploaded by carollyn.thompson

Here we are sitting, enjoying the food with Sam and Steve at Gurka's Nepalese Restaurant. Sam and I spent the latter part of the day walking the streets of Melbourne, window shopping and buying some things for Sam..

Time out at Montsalvat

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Originally uploaded by carollyn.thompson

What an amazing place to visit. This is Montsalvat, an Art Centre with a difference. It has layers of Melbourne history and is a residential art workshop where artists come to create, from guitars to flutes, paintings and more.
Check out the web site. www.montsalvat.com.au.

I would recommend a days visit at least, for anyone even slightly interested in the arts.

Beautiful Mallacoota

Mallacoota! What can I say? It is so beautiful and is such a calm, friendly place. The people are friendly, and if you hang around with the fishermen, you will become friends with the pelicans.

Mallacoota at Sunrise

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Originally uploaded by carollyn.thompson

The sweeping, serene beaches of Mallacoota are so beautiful and as a contrast, are interrupted by the powerful, rugged rock formations. We watched the sun rising in one of the most beautiful places I have been to. Colin, standing on top of the rocks, created a beautiful silhouette.

Toorak-Mallacoota

Arriving in Toorak was a lovely surprise. The house was very upmarket and beautifully decorated. Colin's friend, Steve was a very down to earth, fun guy (a country boy)who was very  welcoming and easy to talk to. His partner was overseas so he seemed pleased to have some company.
We left Toorak and I drove Colin's car down towards Mallacoota stopping off at several places. One being the Bellbird Hotel where we stopped off to have a drink and to stretch our legs.

This pond was part of the grounds of the hotel which was on a 3 acre block surrounded by rainforest. Beeautiful!!!!

Laughing with John

We arrived in Melbourne safely with no hitches. That evening I met John, one of Colin's interesting friends who invited us over for a BBQ. I don't think I stopped laughing all night. He is also into NLP and so of course we hit it off immediately.

Afterwards, Colin and I rode to the casino in the heart of Melbourne to see the sights. I was amazed at the number of people there and how huge it was compared to the Burswood.

Ferry from Queenscliff

After leaving the surf behind, we put the bike onto the ferry at Queenscliff and arrived in a place called Sorrento. The coastline was interesting with brightly coloured little bathing sheds all along the edge of the sand. We pulled into the McRae sailing club on the beach in the photo, to stretch our legs and check out the sailing scene. Colin sails a 14 ft catamaran and was checking out the details of the 18 ft cats. They were amazingly light at 75kg. Didn't buy one cos it wouldn't fit on the bike.

Surf's Up

The famous Bell's Beach was stunningly beautiful but the surf was not very "up". No surfers in the water at that point.

This is the land of Ripcurl, Quicksilver, O'Neil etc.

 I believe all the gear is very expensive so haven't even ventured into the shops. 

Emu Stew for Dinner?

Another volcanic crater in the Great Ocean Rd area, but this one has little water, very rich plains and emus everywhere.

Mt Gambia's Blue Lake

Mt Gambia's precious water supply, Blue Lake. This is the most amazing blue, blue lake in a rare Australian site, a volcanic crater. The colour changes over several days from grey to vivid blue in November so we saw the beautiful blue.

I felt like I was in New Zealand for a bit

Spooky Tale

Arriving in Adelaide with nowhere to stay, Colin randomly chooses a hotel that he has a discount card for. 

I walked into the lobby of the Mecure in North Terrace, Central Adelaide, and to my surprise and delight, I saw a very familiar site. Can you believe this, there were 3 of Tom Gleghorn's paintings hanging on the lobby wall as you walk in. Then we went into the restaurant to see 2 more. Tom was my college lecturer painting inspiration and friend from 1977. A very spooky and sentimental moment...

Coffee near the sea

After having cooler weather across the Nullarbor where we experienced an incredible ride in the rain, surrounded by storms, it was relaxing to sit in the sun near the beach.

This was an upmarket coffee shop where we indulged in soy caps and a slice of toasted banana bread. YUM!!
From the looks of this, Colin was contemplating riding the bike onto the jetty.

Sunset over Ceduna

After traveling across the amazing Nullarbor we found a great spot for the night at Ceduna near the water.

The cloud formations were wonderful all the way across the Nullarbor and I found my mind wandering, up in the clouds.(So what's new?)

Nullabor Plain

We stopped after 500km in the middle of this section where we met Bill & Tim riding around Australia anti clockwise from Sydney on their push bikes.

Colin's Blog

Colin and I decided to explore the surrounds of Esperance. I had been there as a child and remember it being beautiful, but the beaches were the best I have ever seen in my life.The aqua blue was truely spectacular against the white sands. Breathtaking!!!
The following morning at 6:30am we set off for Norseman, then the Nullabor.

New Banner from Esperance

Colin showed me how to make and upload a banner onto my blog, how cool is this one, that's me riding Pegasus, (well almost.)

Rich riding

SATURDAY 15TH 

How fantastic is it that we have Rich riding with us for the first few days. It's a shame he can't come the whole way. 

 I'm sure it won't take long for me to appreciate the bike"things". The bike bum, the wind in your ears and my favourite, bike hair. 

Experiencing the full moon on the beach in Busselton last night was incredible.I sat with Colin, Rich and Gene(the amazing guy we are staying with) under the stars on the shore, listening to the small waves lapping up onto the beach.  

                                                                

Setting Off

It's Friday 14th November and it's time for Colin and I to load up and take off. 

Everything is in order on the home front (I think). Bills paid, goodbyes said.

We have space for two outfits and our toiletries, not an easy task, but we manage to minimise to the barest essentials. 

 I don my padded protective riding gear, feeling much like a space walker in my Shoei helmet, hug my three beautiful kids, Dior, Klay and Kia and dog Pebbles farewell, mount the bike as though getting onto the back of a horse. 

We are on our way.

YYeehhaaa!!!!

First stop Mandurah....

Planning the Ride

I know that what I am about to do on the back of a white ST1300 Honda (police bike), may seem crazy to you and most other people, but it has been a dream that I have had since I can remember. I have taken on the challenge of traveling across to Victoria via the south west of WA with my friend Colin.(A Harley was more accurate in my dream, but never mind.)

Everyone I know has a dream of doing something in their life as I did. Only difference is, I'm about to realize that dream. Yahoo!!!

I know that there will be some hard times but also know that the good times will be awesome.

The plan is to go where our noses take us and to end up in Melbourne by the 5th December where Colin is house sitting, by the sea.

Over the past fortnight, I have been out searching the bike shops for my protective riding gear.  I think I tried on everything available for women in Perth, as the selection is very limited but I did finally find the right outfit in a little shop in Angove St, North Perth where they have the biggest range of bike clothing in Perth. The jacket and pants both have padding covering the elbows, back, hips and knees which is the minimum protection needed. Then there is the helmet, the most essential safety part of the outfit. Colin purchased two of the best you can buy for maximum protection.

I'm so excited and apprehensive about this journey of a lifetime and would love to share it with you as I go...so keep checking this site for updates and you can read more....