The Cormanus Chronicles: FNQ

[GoldOxide_imp]

Excellent wright-up and photos, Cormanus...very enjoyable to see the landscape and vistas of eastern Australia. I really need to visit...my idea would be to rent a motorcycle and tour parts of the country. My Adelaide living sister would expect me to "visit" for 4 weeks.

Agreed. I have learned that most visitors I know who visit Australia go for at least three weeks, many do four. More than that usually includes other "neighbouring" countries.

[Rocky_imp]

Excellent wright-up and photos, Cormanus...very enjoyable to see the landscape and vistas of eastern Australia. I really need to visit...my idea would be to rent a motorcycle and tour parts of the country. My Adelaide living sister would expect me to "visit" for 4 weeks.

Agreed. I have learned that most visitors I know who visit Australia go for at least three weeks, many do four. More than that usually includes other "neighbouring" countries.

Agreed. I have learned that most visitors I know who visit Australia go for at least three weeks, many do four. More than that usually includes other "neighbouring" countries.
That's true. We were there for nearly three weeks and made a good trip of it since we may never get there again.
We were welcomed and treated royally everywhere we went and it was one of the highlights of my life.

[rboe]

I've spent some time watching videos (reviewing bikes like the CB500X and NC750X) that just happen to be Australians. Oh man, you guys have some proper roads down there! Minnesota has a ton of roads but for the most part they tend to follow section lines so they are straight. Gah. Good for getting somewhere on time - for the most part.

Arizona has a dearth of roads and the ones that look like fun were "roads" back in the moonshine days but are not kept up and have been ruined by excess traffic by 4x4's and UTV's.

California can hold a candle to ya near as I can tell. I think coastal areas have that in common.

So. Why the reluctance to ride at night?

[noroomtomove]

Why the reluctance to ride at night?

"The best way to avoid collecting a kangaroo is not to drive at dawn, dusk and night.
It’s when wildlife generally – and kangaroos in particular – are most active. It’s also when they can’t see the car because they are blinded by the headlights. While kangaroos aren’t the most road-savvy creatures, during the day they’ll generally make a reasonable attempt to avoid ending up as a bonnet emblem. But at night they will make seemingly crazy direction changes because all they can see is a blinding light.

If you can’t avoid driving at night then slowing down is your best bet."

Sorry for my lazy quoting but just lifted the above from an local motoring (car) website, hope that sheds some light the reluctance to ride at night here on country roads.


Regards NRTM

[Cormanus]

Just to add to noroomtomove's excellent answer, Rboe, the pleasure of many of the roads we ride on is marred slightly by the stench and sight of seemingly endless roadkill. Kangaroos have a death wish and trucks are usually happy to oblige.

Of course, it varies from time to time and season to season. We didn't see too much this trip. On one of our rides in 2016 we met a bloke who told us he averaged 50 kangaroos a night driving a truck from Rockhampton to Alice Springs. That was confirmed by a bloke we chatted to this trip. If I had to have money on 'roo v CB, I'd put it on the 'roo.

[GoldOxide_imp]

You guys need some winter road side refrigeration.

[Cormanus]

Do you get style points for landing the ‘roo in one?

[GoldOxide_imp]

Heh, heh ... I mention the "road side refrigeration" in the context of winter snow banks. Sometimes the poor animals are lost until the spring thaw. I reckon the 'roos are somewhat harder to hide.

Anyway, a hot climate can't be good for road side rider fixin' a flat with something ripe behind em in the ditch. (yikes)

[Cormanus]

noroomtomove, whose olfactory senses are way better than mine, reckons he can tell the species of road kill from the scent.

[rboe]

I kinda suspected that collisions with the local fauna was the problem (I started having a huge fear of hitting a deer at night up in Minnesota - just about bought an Elk leaving Datil New Mexico at o-dark thirty on August morning after the end of a Guzzi rally. Lucky for me they had a sign declaring an Elk crossing a head, which the Elk read and followed, and I heeded).

I would not want to hit a roo either.

Did kill about a million grasshoppers on another Guzzi rally in New Mexico. On the way home, stopping at red lights in Show Low and Springerville I was wondering what the stench was. It was me, and the roasting guts of a million hoppers. Gah! Oh man the Griso was dirty after that trip.