5 Months 5000km

© 2024 Tofisch & Partner Also on this trip I was together with my friend Tilmann Waldthaler and already from our last trip (surrounding 14 eight thousand meter peaks) we were a good team. Both of us knew what followed: assembly of the bikes and the trailer, buying food for the next months and some adds and ends, we didn't carry with us. After some days of preparation and settling down we started our adventure. We left Perth on the Highway towards the North.
Constant dripping wears away the stone. That's the only thought I had when I have to describe our situation in Australia. Slowly, day after day we did more kilometers and our goal was always nearer. The first leg to Geralton was very varied in comparison with those which followed to Carnarvon, Port Headland, Broom, Halls Creek and Darwin. We tried to break off the monotony of the Highway doing excursions in the near national parks. Those trips where quiet easy because Australia offers a lot of phenomenally nature.

The heat towards North got always more disagreeable. We weren't able to bike anymore during the day and so we had to pedal accompanied by the moon. The heat with its temperature of 52°C (in the shadow) can cause physical and psychically problems, but also the obtaining of water was a very tricky subject for us. After two months our journey our partners (Manuela and Renate) joined us in Darwin. Tilmann and I, we already had prepared a full equipped car, because of our experiences we decided to do the Tanami Track with a supporting car. Our water consummation was to high to carry it on the bike, so each day another one of us went by car the others did the way on bike. Of the 1300km long Tanami track I could write a book full with impressions and adventures of the varied landscape from Halls Creek to Alice Springs.

© 2024 Tofisch & Partner In Halls Creek Tilmann and me went to the police Station to register our expedition. At first the officer showed us a list of 190 prisoners, who were taken into custody last night because of a brawl they had. But when we finally explained him what we needed, he shake his head, gave us a form to fill in and just whispered: crazy! The following day we started our expedition through the Tanami desert. The first 100km were also the hardest ones. After the heavy rain, that's why Katherine was over flown, the stream bed of the Tanami Track increased and was very hard to carry our bikes through the mud. At the beginning of the outback the vegetation was still quite lush, but decreased constantly till there were only stones and some grasses left. The landscape changed from hilly, rocky area to never ending, wide plains. Most fascinating were thousands of meters high termites nest, which were standing like soldiers in the blazing sun. Our water consumption was enormous; each one of us needed 15 liters of drinkable water. A hard strain was also the bad street, if you can nominate this track a street, but nevertheless we did 70km a day. After two thirds of our route the distances of our resting places got more bearable: Rabbit Flat Roadhouse Tanami Gold mine (there we could use a Rock pool, a water whole of the workers) and finally the Tilmouth Roadhouse. The gravel road was now finally ended and we were just 100km away from Alice Springs.

© 2024 Tofisch & Partner The transition from gravel road into asphalt roads caused varied emotions in my head. On the one hand alleviation and on the other hand sadness, that a new section of our expeditions over.

Reached Alice Springs first of all there was a party with lots of Australian beer and lots of food. After some days of calmness and shopping in the city we went to the Uluru (Eyers Rock) and to the Kata Tjuta (Olgas) Afterwords our coordinated biker team divided in Alice Springs. Manuela and I, we decided to fly to Sydney to travel up the east cost to Cairns. The farewell scene on the airport was quiet hard but Sydney, the most fascinating world metro pole was expecting us.

The following two months Manuela and I could know Australia from its paradisiacal side: never ending beaches, friendly and helpful people, swimming, palms, jungle and absolutely light, Australian summer feelings..