The 'Enduro' tour - Melbourne-Birdsville-Alice Springs-Ayers Rock
(optional), Tanami Desert-Darwin (or vice-versa)
This tour is designed for bikers who want to experience the Australian
Outback in its original state without going on a serious expedition.
Many of the best attractions of the Northern Territory and north
west W.A. are included, but without taking the main tourist routes
to get there. More than three quarters of our stays will be at
bush camps!
We cover about 6000 kms of which 3,000 kms is on unsurfaced road
(level of difficulty: medium). There is little sand, however riders
should be reasonably experienced, especially when carrying pillion
passengers.
 We
leave Melbourne and ride via Echuca to Broken Hill and Tibooburra.
From here we take a good dirt track 56 km north and then follow
the famous Warri Warri Gate (dog fence to keep the dingo's out)
built along the border of New South Wales & Queensland. This
is the longest man-made barrier in the world. We travel to Innamincha,
close to where the famous explorers Burke & Wills perished
in 1860.
From Innamincka we cross the Stony Stuart Desert north towards
Birdsville, a characteristic hub in the middle of nowhere. We
stay here 1 day and yes we WILL visit the world famous Birdsville
Pub! Before we travel north to Bedourie in the 'Channel Country'.
We take a dirt road, called the Plenty Highway, west and cross
into the Northern Territory to visit Alice Springs.
Depending on the groups' consensus we stay 2 or 3 days in Alice
to rest and to give you the opportunity to visit Ayers Rock (Uluru).
This is an optional 2 day return trip. In the Alice Springs area
there is plenty to see including Ormiston Gorge, Standley Chasm
and Simpsons Gap in the impressive red MacDonnell Ranges and an
oasis in the middle of the desert called Palm Valley.
 After
a well deserved rest we take the little travelled Tanami Track
to Halls Creek past the Southern Kimberleys into Western Australia.
We stop at Wolffs' Crater, a huge meteorite crater. It is the
biggest crater in Australia, and you will get an idea of what
can happen in 30 years time when the next meteorite might be hitting
earth, according to some scientists. An optional extra is to take
a scenic flight over the recently opened Bungle Bungles National
Park. An enormous area, full of strange dome-shaped rock formations,
an image that will stay in your mind forever.
We continue to Kununurra, an oasis in this harsh country. Here
we enjoy a day off and a boat trip to the gorges. The next day
we head back into the Northern Territory towards Katherine and
stay at Edith Falls for a swim beneath the waterfall. The last
leg to Darwin is via beautiful Litchfield National Park where
we will stay overnight if time permits.
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