Andy's Adventure Around Australia

Thanks Biker Torque for profiling my ride last year and highlighting what a great bike the Himalayan Scram is for a ride like this.

Thanks also to Royal Enfield Australia & New Zealand and Moto Machine without your help I couldn't have done it.

Anyonyone interested in supporting surf therapy for ADF Veterans and First Responders suffering mental health issues as a result of their service please take a look at Veteran Surf Project which is a registered charity and donate if you can.

🙂🙏🤙

How far can you ride a Royal Enfield Scram 411? After riding a Royal Enfield Classic 350 through India, Andy decided he wanted to do a lap of Australia on a motorcycle. He thought about a Royal Enfield Him...

I was so excited to be invited to the opening of the new Moto Machine Royal Enfield Australia & New Zealand opening of the Superstore.

Apparently I was the first to ride an RE Himalayan Scram 411 around the country. 25,000km - I f'k'n loved it!

I thought people might be interested - I rode my Himalayan Scram 411 down from Townsville to the NSW south coast last week. 3000km in 4 days. Intended to do the inland route but got hit by bad storms between Emerald and Roma so cut across to Rocky and came down the coast.

This was after having just completed a 20,000km lap of the country July-November last year on Andy's Adventure Around Australia.

Not one mechanical issue the entire trip. I replaced the chain before I came east across the Nullarbor (just in case) and replaced the stock rear tyre after 10,000km (I think the extreme heat up north wore it out a bit faster than normal).

Not a bad run for a relatively small capacity bike available for such a good price. I reckon it reflects very well on Royal Enfield Australia & New Zealand

Big thanks to all the Royal Enfield Australia & New Zealand dealers around the country who helped me keep the bike in perfect nick throughout my ride. The entire RE community has a very special vibe.

Special thanks to the lads at Steel City Motorcycles for helping safely trailer load the bike ready for the trip to Townsville and the beginning of the next adventure. 🙂🙏🤙

Moto Machine
Wayne Leonard Motorcycles
Motorcycle Territory
Motomax Motorcycles

Hi everyone - just in case you missed my last post - I'm eagerly looking for somewhere to parķ a caravan over summer while I complete my final phase of treatment at SCP. If anyone can help out or knows anyone who might be able to, please get in contact. I need to find something this week. Anywhere as far south as Batemans Bay - paddock, Bush block, or anything else would be great. TIA 🙂🙂🙏🙏

After four months and almost 20,000km on the road I've finally made it back. What an incredible country!

Big thanks to everyone who has supported me and bigger thanks to those who have donated to the Veteran Surf Project. I can't wait to get back in the water tomorrow with the VSP crew.

I plan to be in the area until February so I can complete the final phase of treatment at South Coast Private Hospital before setting off on another adventure with my love Lali Mckenzie.

One last request - while back on the coast I will be staying in a caravan. I've discovered all the caravan parks are charging crazy prices over the summer and don't have a 3 month slot available anyway. Can anyone help out with a space in a paddock, bush block (or anything else) where I can park a van? Anything within striking range (say 150km) of Wollongong or Gerroa would be so appreciated. 🙂🙏🤙

Just get out there and do something!

Royal Enfield Australia & New Zealand
Moto Machine

One bike, one hour, two time zones, three states - this morning, as I finally returned to NSW.

Over the past few days I headed up the eastern edge of the Eyre Peninsula and returned to the arid country where Port Augusta sits. Then I headed south towards the Clare Valley winemakers region then east to the Murray Riverland.

Only a few days until I get back.

Yesterday I travellelled down the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula to Coffin Bay then across to Port Lincoln and up the east coast to the little town of Tumby Bay.

The rugged coastline on the west coast is a complete contrast to the gentle protected water on the east coast of the Peninsula.

It's all about wheat and fishing down here so I rode through miles of golden fields and had gummy shark for dinner. It had been caught only two hours before I ate it. Super tasty and cheap

I've seen hundreds of emus on my ride but the little rascals are camera shy. Whenever I stop the bike and fumble for my camera they wander into the bush before I can snap a pic. Until today! At Coffin Bay, (which is famous for its oysters which I tried and can confirm are delicious - and cheap!) Emus stroll out of the bush and a mob wandered past as I was taking pics of the bay.

Yesterday I headed east from Nullabor Roadhouse and after leaving the spectacular barrenness of the Plain, hit the rich, golden wheatfields of the northern Eyre Peninsula.

Passing through the aboriginal community of Yalata then Penong (the home of Australia's largest windmill) I stopped at the regional hub of Ceduna for the night.

Today I headed south down the west coast of the Peninsula through series of small towns and villages that sit alongside beautiful bays on the rugged coast of the Bight.

Sadly, as I stopped in Streaky Bay for a coffee, I was told about a shark attack at a nearby surf break. At nearby Murphy's Haystacks, which are a group of rocks that stand isolated in the wheatfields, I ran into another traveller, Russ, who had witnessed the attack shortly before. Coincidentally, he had lived in Gerroa for 50 years, knew of Rusty Moran and was very interested in the Veteran Surf Project, as he'd surfed the NSW south coast since he was a young bloke.

I just arrived in Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula. All the locals are talking about the shark attack. Apparently it's a surfer. Just wanted to let people know - it's not me. On the bike for the rest of the day heading for Elliston. Safe and well 🙂🙏🤙

Person believed 'seriously injured' in shark attack near Streaky Bay Emergency services are responding to reports of a shark attack on South Australia's far west coast, with initial reports suggesting a person has been "seriously injured", police say.

Super stoked to run into the three boys doing Bribie to Broome 2023 this morning. Even more stoked to see one of them on a Royal Enfield Himalayan!

Great to see you guys and thanks heaps for your interest in the Veteran Surf Project.

Ride safe🙂🙏🤙

Royal Enfield Australia & New Zealand

Yesterday I continued east from Caiguna Roadhouse through Cocklebiddy and crossed into South Australia. I stopped the night at Border Village and today followed the coast of the Great Australian Bight towards Nullabor Roadhouse where I found somewhere to sleep.

Nullabor Roadhouse marks the western edge of the actual Nullabor Plains. It is vast, treeless and spectacular.

Even more spectacular is the coastline. It is not easily visible from the main road but regular viewing points allow a good view.

Being on the bike I was able to take some rough tracks which zig zag down to the cliffs to see the big swells of the Southern Ocean crashing onto the rocks and beaches far below.

Yesterday I had a look at the salt lakes, Lake Lefroy and Lake Cowan south of Kalgoorlie. I stopped at Norseman, a little mining town on the western edge of the Nullarbor Plains, which is one of the friendliest towns I've visited. It could even nudge Cloncurry out of top spot.

Today I hit the Nullabor, taking a break at Balladonia. It has a little museum attached to the roadhouse which includes amongst lots of interesting things, pieces of wreckage from "Skylab", NASA's first spacestation. It was occupied for almost a year as it orbited the earth before mostly disintegrating in the atmosphere in mid 1979. The pieces which didn't burn up fell to earth around Balladonia and there was a rush by the locals to recover pieces as NASA was prepared to pay big money for anything found. Hilariously, the local council sent NASA a notication for littering and a bill for $400. I wonder if it got paid?

I travelled 146.6km this afternoon along the road without taking a single turn - apparently Australia's longest straight road. The road here travels close to the coast along the Great Australian Bight and the wind blowing off the Bight is relentless and makes riding, and I suspect even driving, very hard yakka.

I pulled up stumps for the day at Caiguna Roadhouse where I found a Donga for the night to get out of the wind.

I haven't had a chance to ride a Super Meteor yet due to being away on my current trip around Australia on the Himalayan Scram.

Keith Walther is a vastly more experienced rider than me who has ridden a large number of bikes over many decades. His reviews always seem very honest and fair. If he doesn't like something he says so. He seems to be pretty chuffed with the new Super Meteor.

I am going to jump on one at Moto Machine as soon as I get home.

If you've been concerned about the lack of power on the Royal Enfield range try one of these at your Royal Enfield Australia & New Zealand dealer.

Like the whole RE range it is amazing value for money. I think in Australia you can pick one up for under $12k, brand new - nuts!

Great looking bike!

First Look, First Ride - Royal Enfield Super Meteor - Wahoo! I love cruiser style motorcycles. This one hits it out of the park. Wahoo! Baxtercycle.com

Today I continued east and at the little town of Southern Cross the landscape instantly reverted from golden wheat fields to outback gold country. It is different to the outback of northern WA which is all red rock, bulldust and spinifex.

The number of gold mines increased as I approached Coolgardie, the site of WA's first gold rush in the late 1800s when the town was the state's third largest after the inrush of hopeful miners. The impressive public buildings demonstrate the wealth of the town at that time. A decade later, higher yielding deposits were discovered 50kms east and the twin city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder was born.

This twin-city is an astonishing little place, perhaps what Dallas-Fort Worth might have looked like a century ago. The town has retained a great many of the lovely old buildings from the time of the initial gold rush. The rush has continued unabated and the 'Super Pit" sits immediately adjacent to the town and still produces huge quantities of gold. The huge open cut pit was formed after the consolidation and excavation of most of the underground mines late last century. The pit is over 1km deep and is so vast the giant yellow mining trucks look like matchbox cars from the viewing platform on the pit's rim.

There must still be plenty of money around the town judging by the number of polished Mercedes and BMWs I've seen on the streets.

The country east of Perth is absolutely gorgeous. Quiet mixed farming communities and the small town of York has a beautifully quaint main street with buildings constructed of mixed stone and brick which seems very typical of the wheatbelt towns.

I rode through Bullsbrook where I lived on RAAF Base Pearce for a couple of years during high school. I also had my first job at the local Caltex Roadhouse and rode my first motorbike, a Honda paddock bomb, on the adjacent farm.

I finished up at Merredin where I visited the Merredin Military Museum. The town has an interesting military history from the WWII era and has three dedicated locals who run the museum and have built up an excellent collection. Thanks Rob for showing me around 🙂🙏🤙

Well, I've had a week of rest in Perth building up the energy for the final leg home across the Nullabor.

Spending a week in a big city with all the accompanying crowds, traffic and general busyness has just reinforced to me how absolutely terrific the Australian Outback is. If you haven't travelled off the paved roads for a while - get out there! It doesn't matter how you do it or where you go - it is literally all gorgeous.

I had hoped to do a bit of surfing while in the west but the surf has sat around half to one foot all week which is a bit small even for a beginner like me. I am soooo looking forward to getting back in the water with the Veteran Surf Project crew 🙂🙏🤙

Big thanks to the boys at Motomax Motorcycles in Osborne Park, Perth, WA for getting the Royal Enfield Australia & New Zealand Himalayan Scram ready for its final leg, across the Nullarbor.

Thanks guys 🙂🙏🤙