When you travel solo you inevitably meet others along the way but I didn't expect to have two companions right from the start. Ziegfreida - from this point known as Ziggy - is my BMW R1200 GS Adventure, so named to remember the registration number beginning ZF.


I bought the 2006 model Ziggy in July and left her for three months in the hands of BMW whiz Tor (and Donna) at Yandina on the Sunshine Coast. Tor worked his magic on Ziggy and had the machine purring, fitted with new panniers, a rebuilt front wheel that had a 1cm wobble, a rebuilt headlight housing that had been modified and broken and a range of other things from my list of demands. Completed, I collected Ziggy with a set of knobby tyres to complete a BMW GS off-road course on the Sunshine Coast. More about that later.

So who is my second companion? Well with the frenzy around the release of iPhone 5, I bought a new iPhone 4S. Why? With limited time and high demand on the 5 I was unable to get one in the time I had before I left on the trip. The 4s was readily available and had almost the same features, so it became my first smart phone, finally graduating from an old Nokia 'dumb' phone.

For the uninitiated (that included me until a few days ago) the 's' in 4s stands for Siri, the sweet sounding electronic assistant on the iPhone. My first experience with Siri was to hear a conversation between my niece Mel and her iPhone. I thought Mel was confiding in an old school friend until I realised she had a well formed relationship with Siri and had reached the point of asking Siri whether she was seeing anyone and what she was doing when not speaking to Mel. Siri had a well planned out answer, replying "You are the only one for me, Mel".

Whilst my relationship with Siri has yet to reach such personal levels, she will play my favourite Led Zeppelin track on demand and make notes for me about the subject of my latest photograph. Likewise my relationship with Ziggy is still in early days but after our first day touring together I think we will be a trio to reckon with!

I digress. This is a travel log. So my first day of this 24 day journey has started with 300kms from north of Brisbane along the D'aguilar Highway to Esk, around the Somerset Dam, through Toowoomba and Warwick, to spend my first night in Stanthorpe near the NSW border. Not exactly an epic journey for day one but served as a good introduction to the trip and shake out any packing or bike bugs. The packing worked well with no adjustments required and the bike ran like a dream, as expected. It did get very warm during the day - around 33 degrees - so I strapped my bike jacket to the back and just rode in my mesh armour jacket - thinking I wouldn't need to do that until I reached Western Australia - but it worked a treat and the rest of the ride was very comfortable.


Just to update the history of this trip, I have been working remotely overseas for the last 18mths and in my last break I bought Ziggy. Having only intermittent Internet access, when I could I would read all of the threads about motorcycle travel and get inspired by photos and stories so it only seemed fitting I should return the favour. I have also been inspired by the Horizons Unlimited DVDs and between these two resources have researched tons of gear and have settled on the list attached.

It is difficult from a remote place to set up a bike and get the gear to carry because it was only in the last ten days I have been able to put it all together and see if everything fitted, was balanced and did not weigh too much. As per normal when one is new at this type of thing, I think I have too much gear and too much weight. But I will start at this point and cull anything I don't use in this trip, in preparation for future trips. So I had ten days to unpack all the gear I had bought and had sent to Brisbane, pick up the bike, do a two day off-road course with BMW, test ride a new 1200GS and F800GS, organise my ten boxes that represent my life off the bike and catch up with family.


The course was run at Green Park near Maleny on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland by Stay Upright with BMW staff, specifically for the BMW GS dual purpose bikes. The instruction consisted of basic skills on dirt and rough paddocks interspersed with cows. Techniques included front and rear braking, getting used to rear wheel slip, brake and clutch control, proper positioning and weight distribution for off-road riding, figure eights on the flats and slopes, hill climbs and descents, and a creek crossing. This was interspersed with increasingly challenging rides throughout the park that ultimately included steep gullies - entering and exiting, manoeuvring on grassy slopes at slow speed. For the dirt bike riders amongst you it may all seem a bit elementary but for me and the other fifteen participants it was a great couple of days that challenged all of us and showed just how capable these large bikes can be off-road. Thanks Wayne and Steve.