To Geelong - Same Destination by Different Routes

I left home a little late from Hobart heading to the ferry terminal in Devonport. Started using Kim's motorbike GPS in th car mount and it told me I wasn't going to get to the terminal till 7.45 pm when I was due at 7.00 pm or cutoff. So had to maintain the speeedlimit to the max and it was pretty hard on the diesel but even with all the gear I could average 110kmh (where legal) so I was fairly happy.

I watched the GPS change its mind until it reckoned I would get there by 6.45 - so was fun. Clearing customs or security at the ferry terminal was a nightmare because I declared everything by the book - I was labelled (literally with a sign) a security risk and assigned to wait in a no-go area for 90 minutes while they worked out the procedures for the items declared. I spoke with a couple in Melbourne who were carrying similiar items and didn't declare and they had breezed through customs because they had gone through the same delays I had and didn't want to know about it - unfortunately over-beaurocracy seemed to discourage honesty in that case - makes you wonder.

Left from Devonport Ferry Terminal with the 4x4 camper and trailer (motorbikes and kayak etc) last night and arrived early this morning.

I made my way to Melbourne air termininal and picked up Kim using her snazzy GPS mounted in the car and we headed straight out toward Geelong. Received a call from the purchaser of my motorcycle and we met at a large service station 20 kms south of Geelong. The guy was a little like me (pushing 50 and trying to recapture his youth) and had similiar experiences with motorcycles and the good-old days of 2 strokes and serious dirt bike riding. He hopes to take the KLR650 across the Simpson Desert and I think he will do it. Glad my bike went to someone who will use it.

We continued on and decided to go for a bit of luxury and stay in a caravan park for the night with Kim starting her ride tomorrow morning. Our first snag was failing to bring the right 15 amp caravan connection so it was a great excuse to unload Kim's bike and ride up the road to buy a female 15amp socket to connect to our existing host of power cord (I couldn't stand the thought of buying a new caravan cable when I already have cables rated over 15amps but with 10amp lead on them). The ride was really cool, there's nothing quite like a Triumph Speedmaster to ride (puts Harley to shame). After returning, we set up everything on the trailer in preperation for the start of Kim's ride tomorrow and had dinner.

It probably sounds a bit uneventful and mundane but I have had many conversation with like minded people in the caravan park (like the $200K Winnebago owners along side) and have enjoyed pretending everything needs batterying done like a yacht on the trailer. Kim's currently doing a crossword and waiting for me to workout how to setup the digital tv - she has high hopes! We will probably end up with a DVD or a book instead.

Well, enough from me. It's Kim's big day tomorrow and we have scaled down our expectation from a free camp site at The Twelve Apostles to a caravan park in Lorne (a few hours less riding) giving her a chance to ease into it and iron out bugs.

Our rig before leaving.