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The Y2K
BMW Safari Adventure Route
By
Paul McAlister
from September
2000
For those that
don’t know, the BMW Safari has 2
routes – the Touring Route on tar
roads and the Adventure Route which tries
to stay on back roads – tar and dirt
- as well as some bush tracks. The organisers
recommend that only bikes that have been
specifically designed with an off-road
capability and being ridden solo go on
the Adventure Route. Having said that
it doesn’t stop people riding 2 up
on mainly R1100/1150 GSs and some road
bikes having a go. On the route maps there
is a note that says “Adventure Routes
are only recommended for those riders
who have had previous experience on roads
with loose surfaces. You will encounter
steep ascents / descents on twisty narrow
tracks, fast stretches of outback dirt
with bulldust patches, shallow sand sections,
creek crossings, washouts and numerous
dips”. Well I can’t think of
a better way to tackle those conditions
than on the Safari with the back up and
support of the Land Rover support vehicle
and trailer, medical services and fellow
riders to help you out if things get nasty.
Now for the good
stuff.
15 May - Day
1 from Byron Bay to Surfers Paradise.
I had arranged to meet up and ride with
Greg Barber and we were soon winding our
way up a narrow dirt rode and on our way
towards Dunoon and Nimbin in the hills
behind Byron. It was good to get away
and it seemed like we were the only bikes
on the Adventure route until we stopped
at Nimbin when some more bikes showed
up after us. Now this was early on a Monday
morning and it only took a minute or so
before we were asked if we were after
some dope. We both declined. Also Nimbin
was where I made my first and only wrong
turn. We were supposed to go up the road
/ track that Ross Hayward rode his K1100RS
down a couple of days earlier but I missed
read the instructions and headed out towards
Kyogle. When we realised my mistake Greg
took out a real map and we found our way
to Creegans Road in the Border Ranges
National Park. We made the turn off to
Creegans Road just as a nice yellow R1150GS,
2 up, came in from the correct direction.
We followed the big GS up and up and up
along a narrow rocky track heading into
the sun. It was difficult to see with
the sun and the shadows and I just followed
the red tail light and when they turned
off into a map/information area we did
too. We then all stopped and had a rest
and on taking off our helmets we found
out that it was Gerry and Mara from the
BMW Touring Club of NSW on their newish
bike. We where to run into them a few
more times before Yeppoon.
After that stop
we had some more dirt and we made our
way onto the Lions Road which was tar
and had lots of fun corners and rises
and drops and we made it into QLD and
Rathdowney for lunch. Here I realised
that most of the bikes must have been
on the Touring Route as there was quite
a crowd gathered. After a quick bite to
eat we were back on the road and then
onto some good dirt that followed the
ridge for awhile and then into Boonah
for some petrol. After Boonah the 2 routes
came together and it seemed so claustrophobic
having so many bikes around. At Beaudesert
we thankfully went our separate ways again
and the Adventure Route headed towards
Darlington Park. We then turned onto “Duck
Creek Road” which was a highlight
of the ride. This track was fairly rough,
dusty and steep in places but it was a
great ride with some magnificent views
as it headed towards O’Reilly’s
Guesthouse. We didn’t go to the guesthouse
instead we turned left and went down through
Canungra on a nice twisty piece of tar
and then followed the dots into Surfers
Paradise where I managed to find our accommodation
with a fair bit of good luck rather than
good management. I knew it was the right
spot as Jim Reid was directing the traffic.
That night I had dinner with Jim and Ron
Andrews and a couple from Perth at a Italian
place and then had an early night after
a great day’s riding with the promise
of more to come.
16 May - Day
2 from Surfers Paradise to Mooloolaba.
After a good nights sleep it was back
on the road and climbing up into the hinterland
behind Surfers towards Tamborine. This
mornings ride turned out to be an all
tar affair. We then went and played on
the highway for awhile and then the road
wound it’s way around Wivenhoe and
Somerset Dams past what seemed like thousands
of push bike riders and into Kilcoy. Some
of the route into Kilcoy was the same
as the 1996 Safari and this continued
when we hit the dirt at Mt. Kilcoy and
the Jimna State Forest. I was riding mostly
by myself after Kilcoy and it was always
a good feeling to see the stickers marking
the route out in the middle of the scrub
– very reassuring. The dirt after
Kilcoy was a bit damp in places with a
fair few muddy puddles to get around or
blast through. Once back on the tar I
stopped by the side of the road and had
a muesli bar and a drink and then after
I had started again there was a picnic
spot about 500 metres up the road and
I ran into Gerry and Mara again. As we
were taking in the view and having a chat
a few more Adventure Routers called in
too and some were very muddy. After that
stop we all took off onto a very well
kept dirt road that wound down the range
and brought us back to the tar near Kenilworth.
We stayed on the black top for the rest
of the day through Conondale and Maleny
and onto the Bruce Highway and then into
Mooloolaba and Alexandra Headland.
Our accommodation
that night was at the All Seasons Alexandra
Beach Resort straight across the road
from the surf club which was the night’s
official evening venue. This was also
where I had my only bit of trouble with
the accommodation. The trouble was that
I was sharing with 4 big hairy bastards
and I was the last to arrive. When I finally
made it to our room/apartment the boys
tell me that I don’t have a bed so
I phone reception and they inform me that
the lounge is a pull out bed and I should
use that. Well it wasn’t and I couldn’t
so in the end I ask reception to arrange
another room but when I go down to speak
to them about it they were going to move
all 5 of us into new digs!!!! So being
the good bloke that I am I tell them that
I think it would be easier if I just moved
into another room and so I end up with
a nice quiet room to myself. Other than
that little stuff up the place was great
and I wouldn’t mind going back there.
17 May - Day
3 from Mooloolaba to Bundaberg. This
was a top day. We headed out of town towards
Nambour and onto some nice, if wet, dirt
road, on the way to Kenilworth and we
reach Imbil. At the rider briefing the
previous night we were told that if there
was any overnight rain the ride up and
over Mt. Bugary would be cancelled and
unfortunately it was although I did hear
of some early starters getting through.
Anyway after a toasted sandwich for brekkie
in Imbil our new route took us through
Gympie and out near Tansey and Goomeri.
Since no one knew how long our amended
route would be a group of us went in and
refuelled at Goomeri (I think) just to
be on the safe side. We then got back
on the dirt and went pass the historic
Boobyjan homestead on some twisty dirt
roads. It was great fun twisting in through
the trees and gullies and on this stage
I was passed by about 4 bikes that I knew
were BMW TC of NSW members so I just tagged
along. We were riding through beef country
here and I’m not too sure what the
cattle thought of us disturbing their
neighbourhood. Another feature of this
stretch was the wooden bridges with their
odd shaped logs that went straight across
from one side to the other. As I came
over a crest and saw the first of these
bridges I noticed the bike in front of
me stopping. It was Bruce Richards (R1100GS)
from Coffs Harbour and he had just seen
a new R1150GS come down on the bridge.
I think that his rear wheel must have
slipped down in between 2 logs and he
then gave it a bit and he got bucked off.
The bike only had a couple of scratches
and the rider was uninjured and he was
soon roaring off into the distance. I
then followed Bruce at a safe distance
and we made our way into Childers without
any further drama.
At Childers the
two routes came together once more and
you could tell the Touring Route riders
as they were the ones with the clean bikes.
About 12 kms after Childers on the way
to Bundaberg the Adventure route turned
left into the canefields and onto Cordalba
were the recommended stop was the Crossroads
pub. It was a beauty – fully restored
typical old QLD hotel with big verandahs
and it was just a top spot for lunch and
a light beer. If I am up that way again
I would rather stay at that pub than stay
at Bundaberg. After Cordalba we hit the
dirt again on a road called “Promised
Land Road”. This was right in amongst
the cane and was quite sandy and soft
in places so the best thing was to shift
your weight back on the bike and give
it some throttle. This went on for a few
kms until I reached the highway again
and continued into Bundaberg. The night’s
official venue was at the Bundy Rum distillery
and even though the catering people got
it wrong it was good to take the tour
and have a couple of cans the famous product.
18 May - Day
4 from Bundaberg to Gladstone. With
clouds looming overhead it was back on
the road and out to Gin Gin. The rain
that threatened didn’t really eventuate
and there was no need to put any wet weather
gear on. After a short stop at Gin Gin
it was out to the Bolboonda Tunnel which
at 192 metres long is the longest self-supporting
tunnel in the southern hemisphere. I believe
that a few of the Touring Route riders
made the effort to get out to the tunnel
and I think that they all should have
gone out there for a look. After the tunnel
it was more good dirty fun on some open
dirt roads with a couple of creek crossings
thrown in for good measure. Again it was
good to have the camaraderie of the Adventure
Routers and to just pull up by the side
of the road out in the middle of the scrub
for a break and a yarn and within a couple
of minutes there is at least a dozen bikes
stopped. Everyone that I spoke to on the
Adventure Route was having a good time.
The rest of the days ride was good fun
and today was a short day and I made it
into Gladstone by about 1:45 and in time
for a counter lunch at Hanson’s Grand
Hotel which was also that night’s
official venue. In the afternoon I had
time to have a look around Gladstone,
hose down the Funduro and I also had my
front tyre changed by the mobile tyre
blokes. This was a new initiative on the
Safari and I would say a success. I replaced
my original Bridgestone Trailwing with
the same type of tyre. The original had
done about 18,000 kms and I saw at least
3 other tyres getting replaced at the
motel.
19 May - Day
5 from Gladstone to Emerald. D Day
for some. The morning started by heading
back out the way we came into Gladstone
and out through Calliope and onto some
fairly well maintained farm roads. We
then turned onto the Dawson Highway for
a 10 km stretch of tar before heading
back onto the dirt. During this section
I was following a bloke on a R1100GS and
he was getting away from me on the straights
but I would catch him in the twisty bits
which included some creek crossings. I
was soon tired of eating his dust and
so I passed him at a creek crossing which
turned out to be a bit deeper than I thought
and I sprayed him with a little bit of
water. I did wave ‘sorry’ as
I made a break for it. The roads then
opened up and the speeds were comfortable
out on the Crossroads Callide coalfields
and then I stopped at Jambin for a top
up of fuel. After Jambin it was more of
the same good tar and dirt for a while
but then we hit the bulldust and as I
had tagged onto a group of 2 R100GSPDs
and a R1100GS I was in the perfect position
to see the 1100 go down in dust. The rider
was a bit winded but ok and the bike had
a few scratches on it. Funnily enough
this was the bloke that I sprayed water
over earlier in the day and I told him
that he had to get to Emerald so that
I could buy him a beer as compensation.
His wasn’t the only ‘oops’
on this stretch as just another 500 metres
or so another 1100 GS had fallen over
but this time it was a rider and pillion.
The pillion was ok but apparently the
bike had fallen on the rider and busted
a couple of ribs. I don’t know if
any of the older type GS’s or Funduros
fell over through this stretch but I was
very happy to be on a light bike compared
with the 1100 GS.
After that last
accident site it was more of the same
red bulldust and then we came up on a
repair crew working on the road. I had
a couple of slight moments when the bike
got a bit squirrelly but I was able to
keep control and generally enjoy myself.
After the bulldust the road was ok and
I made it into the roadhouse at Bauhinia
Downs after the rain had been falling
for a few minutes. There was quite a crowd
at the roadhouse and I saw at least one
Touring Route rider (K1100LTSE) have a
fair bit up mud up the side of his bike
from slipping over in some roadworks.
At this stop there was some discussion
amongst the Adventure Routers as to if
we should head back out onto the dirt
/ mud in the afternoon. As I have had
some prior experience in the wet with
my R1100GS (1996 Safari) I wasn’t
keen to go sliding around in the mud.
So some common sense was displayed and
along with most of my fellow Adventure
Routers we stayed on the tar for the rest
of the day. For the dirt section after
Bauhinia Downs you could ask Nigel or
Greg (if he remembers) what it was like.
So on the tar and into the rain for the
rest of the way into Emerald with a lunch
stop at Springsure where I had what would
have to have been the world’s biggest
hamburger. Emerald was a lot bigger than
I thought it would be a and the night
at the evening venue, Maraboon Tavern,
was a good time for sure.
20 May - Day
6 from Emerald to Yeppoon. Today was
the last official day of the Safari and
due to some misadventure on the afternoon
section of dirt the previous day the morning
Adventure Route had been cancelled but
there would be an adventure section from
Rockhampton to Yeppoon. I was meeting
up with my brother Mark in Yeppoon so
I just stuck to the Touring Route, which
was basically just straight in through
Blackwater, Dingo, Duaringa and Westwood
to Rockhampton. It was on this stretch
that I was saw just how many bikes were
out on the road and it was impressive
to see just how smooth and quick the K1200RS’s
were and the sound of some R1100S’s
with after market pipes was awesome. I
was just booking in at the resort when
I met my brother and his mate Butch and
his two boys at reception. Butch has a
R850R and was disappointed that there
were no test rides and that the travelling
pantech wasn’t open. Both Mark and
Butch work in an open cut coal mine out
near Dysart. I think that Mark will be
after a R1100RT later this year. So instead
of booking in we went back into Yeppoon
for lunch and a yarn and then me and Mark
came back out to the resort later in the
afternoon. Mark bought some Safari souvenirs
and met a few of the Canberra members
relaxing by the pool. By then it was time
for him to depart and for me to get ready
for the farewell function and what a function
it was. The people at the resort certainly
had their act together and it was a top
night with fireworks, good food, cold
beer and a band. Well done to all concerned.
The morning after
the night before came around and what
better way to start it than with breakfast
by the side of the pool? Very nice indeed
and so that was the end of the Safari
and now all I had to do was get home,
but that is another story.
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