Photos by Linda, Robert & Neil

On Saturday 9th March, three of us, Linda, Robert and Neil, started our 30 day journey

to the Annual Ulysses Rally , this year in Mandurah WA

A very long journey , plus the various side trips , close to 10,000ks

Linda and I , planned our trip mid last year, using our camping ute and a trailer with 2 bikes,

with the intention to get west of Port Augusta in 3 days and then take one of the bikes off the trailer and swap around every day or so.

This way, we would have the convenience of the camping ute and the option not to ride if the weather was extreme.

Early January, our newest branch member, Neil, decided to join us.

As it turned out, the weather was 40 plus degrees for the first 5 days , making it a must to have a fridge

and plenty of water on  board for the journey, before a westerly dropped it to about 24c on day 5.

The end of the first day and a hot night at the Hay showground.

 

Another hot night at Burra SA, after a long day on the road

Neil on the move

Some shade at Ceduna

Penong SA, another very hot day.

Kimba SA, Halfway Across

Nullarbor Roadhouse, not a lot to be seen but awesome to see it!

A very flooded Nullarbor near Cocklebiddy WA

Caiguna truckstop , very wet, muddy and slippery , our stop for the night.

Some fellow Ulyssians heading west.

The muddy campsite at Caiguna, both bikes back on , a great option to have in adverse weather.

Straight after Caiguna the 90 Mile stretch

Finally the old Kwaka on the road to do some of the 90 Mile Straight and beyond.

One of the pit stops, near a small salt lake

Linda and Neil back on the road and the weather was warming up again

The convenience of having the facilities on the ute for such a long journey.

The superpit , Kalgoorlie our first 2 night stopover and hot again.

The superpit carpark

We arrived at the Mandurah Rally site on Monday 18th March and chilled out a little on Tuesday 

looking for the Mandurah Giants

Wednesday morning we joined the (very well) organised ride to the local cafe at Dwellingup for morning coffee

Arrival at Dwellingup for coffee and a BBQ bun

Our return ride to Mandurah via the near empty Lake Navarino, no rain on the west coast for a while.

A daytrip on Thursday to Rottnest Island , hired some bicycles and checked out the local Quokkas

The extended NetCom meeting on Friday Morning.

The Saturday morning ride to the Dawesville Fresh Markets, a beautiful ride and amazing scenery

The Saturday evening rally dinner at the Mandurah Greyhound Club and an unexpected award for

the oldest rider/bike combined age

Sunday morning 31st March we headed back via the southern loop.

Checked out the biggest mural in Oz on the Wellington Dam wall  near Bunbury

 

Some amazing forests on the way south and Neil having a midday nap

Sunset at Prevelly

Peaceful Bay

Our camp for 2 nights at the Esperance Showground

Checking out the ( not so pink anymore) Pink Lake at Esperance

Twilight Beach at Esperance, amazing white sand and cold water, unfortunately on the way back to the showground , the

clutch cable on the old Kwaka broke, which was the end of her riding days home.

After crossing a much drier Nullarbor  a double nighter at Streaky Bay

The eastern end of the Eyre Highway towards Port Augusta

 

One of the last nights of our trip, cooking dinner in a camp kitchen at Crystal Brook SA,

with thousands of Corellas in the morning.

A very long ride, some extremely hot days , next to no rain,  some very windy days but many beautiful riding days,

meeting lots of people and stories to tell.

Hopefully a few more riders will join us next year to the 2025 Rally in Armidale.