Early September 2001 finds me on a trip to Brisbane Australia. Leaving Mobile's heat it is hard to imagine that I am on a journey to wintertime in the southern hemisphere. Just getting to Brisbane is an ordeal requiring a 30 hour journey each way with 4 separate legs. When we landed in Auckland New Zealand to change planes it was raining and about 45 degrees F showing me that winter did indeed live here. This gave me pause for concern because I am not a cold weather rider but Brisbane was much better at about 70 degrees F and sunny. Brisbane is at about the same latitude south as Daytona Beach is north. Thus the winters are mild and well suited for riding.
Brisbane is a beautiful modern city of about 1 million. It abounds with recreational infrastructure such as the South Park area full of shops, a convention center, museums, and restaurants. On the north side of the river is the Botanical Gardens, Eagle Street Pier and the casino. If it weren’t for the accent you would think you were in Seattle or San Diego. The prices look about the same too except that one of our dollars buys almost two of theirs. In other words things are dirt cheap.
I had made arrangements over the internet with Australian Motorcycle Adventures in Enoggera, a suburb of Brisbane. The rental business is actually out of a Yamaha shop. Upon arrival I called them and let them know I was there and wanted a rental on the following day. The service manager Ron was in charge of the rentals and had me picked up at my hotel the following morning. Ron and had a shinny new Yamaha Vstar Classic 1100 waiting for me. The service included a good gortex riding jacket, gloves, a helmet of my choice, a map book and a neat canvas carry all that slipped over the sissy bar. The rental was a whole $124 Australian a day, or about $70 US.
Ron was used to Foreign riders (although not too many Americans apparently as he asked me if we all carried guns back home) so he briefed me on the quaint custom Australians have of driving on the left side of the road. First, he affixed a piece of duct tape to the tank and with a magic marker drew an arrow and the words "keep left" on it. Next he instructed me to ride around the residential neighborhood behind the shop for a few minutes before jumping into the busy traffic on the main road. That was an excellent idea and within 2 minutes I was comfortable riding on the left. Ron mapped out a route on the map which he thought would be a comfortable ride through some interesting scenery. The ride would take me north out of Brisbane to Beerwah, home of Steve Erwin's Australia zoo.
I ventured onto Samford road in front of the shop and made my way north to Samford. This turned out to be the only day of less that post card-perfect weather. A cold front was passing through from the south and the skies were overcast with a temperature of about 65 degrees F. The jacket and gloves felt good and I was comfortable. The sun poked through a few times during the day and I never did get rained on. Sanford is in the heart of the Hinterland region, a wooded nature preserve and home to several dams and reservoirs from which much of Brisbane's fresh water comes. I passed a sign indicating a dam so I turned off and tried to find it. I did not find it but instead just ended up driving mile after mile on a lonely road engulfed in a forest of gum trees. I finally gave up and backtracked to the main road and continued on to Sanford. In Sanford I passes a comely little café with 3 sport bikes parked out front and some riders sitting on the veranda. I pulled into the parking lot and joined them. They were out of Brisbane headed for the twisty mountain roads that lay between us and Dayboro. Since that was on my route I asked if they would mind if I tagged along. We had some good coffee and chatted for about 20 minutes until it was time to mount up. A mile out of Samford We came to the twisties. It soon became apparent that I and the Vstar were no match for the kind of riding these guys were into. I tried to keep up the pace for about a mile until two things became obvious. First, I was not going to see any of Australia this way (I was totally fixated on the bike in front of me) and secondly, I would probably break my neck. I therefore reverted to my leisurely pace and they disappeared ahead of me in a cloud of dust. This was a good choice because I was riding the ridge of a low mountain with spectacular views of the valley below around every turn. The Vstar felt safe and sure-footed through the turns even though the floor boards tended to scrape on the occasional tight turn.
Back home I ride a 1500 cc Honda Valkyrie Interstate which frankly spoils you for almost any other touring bike. The Vsatr did alright, though. Best of all it was much more nimble than the Valkyrie coming in almost a hundred pounds lighter. The power was good and the bike was smooth for a twin. I really found little I disliked about it during my ride. My only complaint was a very low seat that forced my long legs into a position that made them cramp very often. I soon got used to it, however. The floor boards felt good on my feet even though they were a little more forward than I prefer. At almost half the price of myValkyrie this really has to be a lot of bike for the money. Best of all it looks great. About 20 minutes later I found my friends waiting at another cafe. I pulled in and we all had a good laugh. I explained that neither me nor the Vstar were not up to their pace. They offered to slow down but I indicated that they would be better to proceed without me as I really wanted to take in the sights.
When I arrived at Dayboro I headed northwest to catch the highway over to Beerwa. In Australia the roads are marked differently than in the States. When you join the road there will be a sign indicating the next town and that is the last sign you will see until you arrive in that town. That is very different to back home where you navigate by road number rather than city signs. In the states there will be a sign every mile or so telling you what road you are on. What this is leading up to is that I missed my turn and there was no way to find out that I had until I arrived at the next town. The town ahead was Kilcoy which was about 30 km out of my way due west. I watched as the lush timber turned to rolling brown grass lands. I passed a sign with a picture of a Koala on it near a grove of tall gum trees. I looked up but didn't see any koalas. Soon the trees disappeared completely and after that so did the road. They were doing road works and about 4 km was unpaved. When I arrived in Kilcoy I realized that I had indeed missed my turn. I am sure this was not real "out back" but it was close enough for me. I kept an eye out for kangaroos but didn't see any. Like most places the exotic wildlife is not so easy to spot from the highway exept for the Australian birds. They are indeed spectacular. Wild parrots and cockatoos are common and can easily be seen in the trees along with kookaburras and magpies. I backtracked and found my turn.
This leg of my journey was particularly interesting as I was now in the Glasshouse mountains. I was riding along a low ridge through dense forest. When ever there was break in the foliage I could see an eerie Jurassic-like landscape ahead of me. Sharp craggy monoliths jutted skyward out of the rain forest. They were apparently cores of extinct volcanoes. This other-world scenery was truly breathtaking.
Finally, Beerwah and my stomach told me that it was time for lunch. I found a small fast food stand on the main street and had a lunch of fried calamari (squid) and a Coke. Delicious! Coming out of the parking lot I pulled onto the vacant street and, as is my habit, swung over to the right side. Within 100 feet I realized my folly and got back on the left where I belonged. Fortunately, nobody noticed my only lapse of the day. From Beerwah I headed north and within 5 km came to Crocodile Steve's place. The Australia Zoo is an unassuming little place, almost like many roadside zoos you see in the states. Steve was not there (presumably out shooting the next installment of his wildly successful Crocodile Hunter series). He had plenty of helpers, however, and I watched one brave guide coax a big saltwater crock out of the water with a dead chicken. It was a nice zoo with a kangaroo petting area and, of course, lots of snakes.
After a short tour of the zoo I decided it was time to head back for Brisbane. The skies were threatening and because it was Saturday the Yamaha shop closed at 4:00 pm rather than the normal 6:00 pm. I decided to make a fast run down highway 1 which was 4 lane all the way to Brisbane. On the way to highway 1 the road came close to one of the Glasshouse monoliths and I had to stop for one last picture. The Vstar gave a good account for itself on the highway and within an hour I was in the Brisbane suburbs. Finding the shop was easy and I brought the Vstar home without a scratch. That night the heavens did open up and it poured but by that time I was safely back in my dry hotel. The next time I am in Brisbane I plan to spend a week on the bike rather than a day.
