Andy Luck 4

Today was Thursday 26^th March and we did not bother to register today, contenting ourselves with a walk round town, an excellent meal of Spotted Red Emperor reef fish and a visit to the Cinema. We saw “As good as it gets’ with Jack Nicholson, good film, we enjoyed it. Later we found that we should have registered that afternoon as we would have received a ‘Buy one, get one free’ ticket voucher for the Cinema in our Registration Package!

The weather was still superb, high 20’s to low 30’s. This is the life! We had already met several Ulysseans at the Hotel, some of whom we knew from previous years, and the next day we were to meet several more, including Wally and Julia, who live in Viewbank, halfway to the Austin Hospital, a client of mine for about 5 years. We had not seen them since the Tasmanian AGM two years ago. The following day we registered at the AGM Office, collected our ordered tee-shirts, and found the sizing was very different to last year, mine fitted Marilyn, hers did not fit her! Fortunately it fitted John Donellan, who had not ordered one, so we gave Marilyn’s to him as a gesture to his kindness in putting us up in Adelaide.

We had a wander round the Holiday Park and met several other people we knew from the Alice Springs AGM in 1994. We looked at all the bikes and could have had test rides on just about anything. All the manufacturers turn up at our AGM’s, not surprising really, I am sure the Ulysses Club is largely responsible for the increase in Australian bike sales. I didn’t want any test rides, I am very happy with the bikes I have. Well, one day we would like a Gold Wing for touring, but at $30,000 they are a little pricey to have sitting in the garage. They are so large they do not make a good commuting machine, but one day, one day… We met John and Val Sigg again at the hotel, they were in the next room to us. They have a 1500cc 6 Cylinder Gold Wing, and they love it. John has only ever had Gold Wings apparently, I did not ask how he got his licence. We met them last year at Wagga, when he approached me, having recognised me from earlier AGM’s. They live in Templestowe in Melbourne, not far from Greensborough.

We explored the town of Bunbury, looked for Dolphins at the beach, because they come in here as well (they tell us this now!). Actually we did not see any while we were here so going to Monkey Mia was not ‘wasted’. This time was useful as I bought some more bolts to replace my temporary replacement of the engine bolt that went missing on the trip to Monkey Mia.

That evening we had the ‘Friday Night Social’ at the showgrounds and met a few more people we had met before. It was quite a night, two couples got married, someone collapsed and was carted off in an ambulance, and we all went home (by bus) to bed. Saturday we were up early to assemble for the Parade through town, a feature of all our AGM’s, oh how people love our parade! If I say it myself it is quite impressive. The mayor gave a great speech, Gary Vandersluis, our President, gave an equally good reply and ‘Ol’ Number 1’, Stephen Dearnley, our founding member positively glowed with pleasure at the sight of the assembled multitude. Stephen’s wife Jo died last year from a particularly nasty form of arthritis but Stephen has no need to feel his life is empty, he just has to look at all our members having a great time to realise that he created something wonderful.

There was an organised ride in the afternoon but I did not go on it as I wished to attend the AGM Meeting. Not many members do this, they would rather ride and socialise. I had a specific reason to attend anyway, I wished to propose that the Club set up a sub committee to investigate the idea of running an Australian Iron Butt Rally.

The Iron Butt Rally is run in the USA and is an Endurance Ride. I have just read Ron Ayres book ‘Against the Wind’ about this rally and this fired me up to investigate running a similar event here. I had previously thought about running a National Rally like the ones we had in England, but Australia is too big and lightly populated for such an event. I thought an Iron Butt format would be possible though. The club has the money and people to do this, if it wanted to. It didn’t! However I am still thinking about it. An issue I had completely overlooked was that it would be necessary to ride at night. (In the USA they cover about 1000 miles, or 1600 km, a day, every day, for 11 days) In Australia you do not ride, nor can you safely drive, at night in the outback because of the risk of impact with wildlife. At the moment it seems that such an event will not be possible. We nearly hit a Roo in broad daylight when driving through the Snowy Mountains recently, and last year we even had one in the Greensborough Shopping Centre! We have LOTS of Roos! In the year since the AGM, my daughter and her, then, boyfriend, BOTH hit a Roo between Greensborough and South Morang, so I have reluctantly concluded an Australian Iron Butt is not possible.

The Annual Dinner was OK, the food was good, but, as usual, the PA System was so bad that everyone gave up listening and started talking, which made it worse and so on. Of course part of the problem is that to seat over 1000 people for dinner you need a BIG hall. This usually means sports halls or exhibition sheds in showgrounds. Neither are noted for their acoustics! We did hear an excellent address from a young woman, Linda Brady, 28, who was struck down with Arthritis last year and was ‘rescued’ by Ulysseans. She has had her shoulder reconstructed and rode her own bike to Perth. She spoke very well. An inspiring young lady. You have probably guessed that the Club has adopted the Arthritis Foundation as its favoured charity.

The next day we went on an organised ride down to the South West corner of WA, the Margaret River area. We thought that local knowledge would be useful. Well yes, except it was more of a high speed tour rather than an exploratory ride, so we dropped out and made our own, slower, way back. We had dinner with John and Val Sigg that night, with the intention of setting off on the return trip the next day. However, I was now a little worried about my rear tyre, it was near its wear limit and I was a little reluctant to cross the Nullarbor on it. The first order of the day therefore was to see if I could get a new tyre in Bunbury. I was lucky, I found one, else I would have had to go back to Perth, or order one by Courier and stop another day in Bunbury. No worries, off we go!

We head south east on the South Western Highway through Boyanup, Donnybrook, Kirrup, Mullyup, Balingup and, just for a change from the ‘ups’, Greenbushes and Bridgetown. After a few more ‘ups’, the largest being Manjimup, we turn right to Pemberton. This little road turns out to be the most scenic we find in WA, it reminded us of the wooded parts of the English Lake District in places. Around lunchtime we arrive at a secluded country restaurant, “Tathra’, at which we take a leisurely lunch, surrounded by tiny finches eating the jam put out for them. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny with almost no wind. Ahh, this is the life! As we say on such occasions in Oz, “I wonder what the poor people are doing now?”, or, “It doesn’t get any better than this!” Lunch is not cheap, but it is good and, what the hell, we are on holiday!

We continue to Pemberton, turn left and continue down Route 10 to rejoin the South Western Highway at the Shannon National Park. Turn right and now we are passing through fairly isolated forested country. This is the land of the Karri and Jarrah trees. We finally roll into Walpole in the late afternoon and meet Linda Brady again by the side of the road. Time to seek accommodation, although we carry the tent for emergencies, a bed is always the favoured alternative! We find a Cabin at the Coalminers beach Holiday Park and begin the bike unloading procedure. I am now getting pretty good at this! It is here we meet up with Bill Allerton and Josephine. Marilyn is already in chat mode before I have finished unloading, this is fairly easy as Bill is another ‘Mr Havachat’! We discover that Bill is the proprietor of Allerton Trailers in Sydney, although the one attached to his BMW K100 is actually a ‘Classic’ Trailer, modified by Bill. It was during this conversation that he suddenly noticed that his Spare Wheel and Number plate was missing from the trailer! Last seen in Pemberton, he immediately leaves the trailer in Josephine’s care and returns 170klms to look for it!

We, on the other hand return to Walpole to find the Hotel and something to eat. Here we meet Dave, another Ulyssean from South Australia we had met in Alice Springs in 1994. We also meet up with a group of Ulysseans on Gold Wings who we are to meet up with all the way across the Nullarbor. One of these was Ian Rawlings, who was to become the new National President at the next, Cairns, AGM. After a pleasant meal, and a couple of glasses of LIGHT Beer, we return to our cabin to discover that Josephine is still awaiting Bills return. It is now pitch black! I fear that Bill is unlikely to find his missing wheel! We invite Josephine over for a coffee, and a chat of course! Bedtime comes and still no Bill. Josephine returns to her cabin and we retire to bed. The man finally returns shortly before midnight - without the missing wheel! We learn of his adventures the next day. These include nearly running out of fuel and having to get a Gas Station owner to open up his closed enterprise for him. I am not surprised he did not find the missing wheel, it is probably still bouncing!

The next day we set off to visit the ‘Valley of the Giants” Treetop walk, where we wander among the treetops on a steel walkway. Karri Trees are certainly big, as in massive, but to be honest I was expecting them to be taller somehow. Here, not surprisingly, we meet Ian Rawlings party again, and leave them to commence the walk as we head off back to the highway at Bow Bridge, where we stop for coffee and a snack at the Roadhouse. Refreshed, we climb back on the FJ and continue the remaining 120klms, through Denmark (Alas poor Yorick, I knew him well), to Albany.

I was much taken with Albany, and the Middleton Beach Holiday Park there was probably the best we experienced on our travels. We met several more Ulysseans here and had dinner with them in the local hotel. One couple, Peter and Dell Goodsir, got married the next day at Emu Point. The next day John and Val Sigg arrived on their Gold Wing, they would be staying a few more days as the Gold Wing Club were having their AGM in Albany that week. How convenient!

We stayed for two nights and one day during which we visited the Forts at Albany, the Memorial to the Light horsemen of WW1, who departed for the Middle East and Gallipoli from the magnificent harbour of King George Sound. The Forts were fortifications built during the Crimean War when Australia expected the Russians to invade. They never did, or at least history records no such event, (mind you, no-one has yet discovered the tribe of Russian speaking Aborigines in the Kimberley) and the Albany Forts never fired a shot in anger.

We also visited the Gap and Natural Bridge in Albany. These are coastal formations, Natural Bridge being, as you would expect, a natural arch. We have a photograph of me standing on it. We also have a photo of our American exchange student, Jeff, standing on London Bridge on the Great Ocean Road. It fell down 3 months later! If you hear this has happened to Natural Arch, don’t mention me! Another local feature, the Blowholes, were roaring but not blowing, this omission was compensated to some extent by coming across a train of caterpillars crossing the track!

We next visited Whale world, the last commercial Whaling Station in Australia, now preserved as a Museum. I found it fascinating, but some people were so offended by it that they had to leave. Some visitors become highly abusive to the guides. Now I believe that whales are very intelligent creatures, as are Dolphins, and should not be hunted by man. Certainly whale hunting should have been stopped, populations are now returning and this is a good thing. I do not, however, get sentimental about deceased whales. When you see what value man obtained from whales it is easy to understand why the industry flourished for so long, although I especially object to the use of whale products to make perfume! Odd that really, a whaling station stank to high heaven when in operation. One good thing was that every part of the whale was used, there was no waste.

Another interesting feature of Albany is the full sized replica of the brig Amity, the vessel that first explored Albany. This was built on-site by public subscription as a memorial and tourist attraction. It cost only $100,000, quite remarkable. It is not seaworthy, or even waterproof, you can see between the planks in places, and there is a gap just under the bulwarks, but this was done deliberately to ensure a good flow of air throughout the ship. The Brig has the internal volume of an average 3 bedroom house of modern Australia but carried 50 people, in addition to the Master, Mate and crew (number not specified), plus stores for six months ashore including livestock! The mind fairly boggles!

Tomorrow, 2^nd April, is departure day for Esperance and following a good nights rest after a busy day, tomorrow is soon today. Our packing and loading is getting really good now and we are soon off through Boxwood Hill, Jeramungup and, wait for it, Ravensthorpe! Ravensthorpe WA, unlike Northampton, is probably bigger than its UK namesake.

Here we stopped for lunch, during which I noticed I had lost yet another engine bolt, which I replaced from my supply. We also met the Ulyssean who won the ‘Hard Luck’ award at the AGM Dinner. He had just picked his wife up from the Hospital where she had been for the last week. He was also waiting for another set of spare parts for his trailer, having already received the wrong set! You can probably guess the substance of his hard luck story!

Lunch over, we remount for the remainder of the 480k from Albany to Esperance. We are old hands at this and never suffered from numb bum syndrome for the whole of the month we were away. This was probably due to the fine weather, having to wear waterproofs often induces a numb bum. We do use a sheepskin over a piece of camping bed-roll foam on long trips and I am sure this also helps.