Sydney to GoldCoast

The PICS!!!

2010-04-10T16:33:00.002+10:00

A good selection is here :)

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/baiazid/Sydney2GoldCoast#

I am baaack

2010-04-09T20:15:00.002+10:00

Was a BLAST!!!

Today: 804Km!
http://gpsed.com/track/7754730299019784225

Grafton -> Armidale = cool
Armidale -> Wauchope = ultra cool (Oxley)
Wauchope -> Sydney = boring

~1500 Pictures ... will take a few days to sort them out.

T minus 2

2010-03-31T09:26:00.000+11:00

It is Wednesday and Friday we set sail!

Who want to download the GPX, here is the LINK

Bike is ready to go, just had the full 20.000km service.

The weather looks funny now but I hope it will be ok.

Remember :)

2010-03-09T15:29:00.003+11:00

If you want to join or meet us on the way, always check the shared spreadsheet plan

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AgEFUfgEf50xdFNId0dBcndudmFKLVBLNmNCblY5b3c&hl=en

It contains following tabs:

day expenses - a roughly calculated expenses
accommodation details - location and contact numbers for accommodation
to see - things that are in the plan to see
road issues - possible road problems
participants - locked because contains phone numbers and I don't want to make them public. Each participant will receive a copy
bring list - a basic "need" list for this trip

I am updating this spreadsheet every week

You can also check: The Map section

Tickets are here!!!

2010-03-09T07:38:00.001+11:00

2 x Movie World & Sea World Endless Summer Pass - Adult $99.95

The Hats

2010-03-08T20:07:00.002+11:00

I thought some nice hats will look good in Gold Coast area.

I ordered from http://www.australianhats.com.au/ two hats. One for me and one for my wife.

New stuff arrived :)

2010-03-08T19:55:00.001+11:00

Today was an unlucky day: I ordered a couple of weeks ago TWO powerlet plugs in UK and TWO bum-bags.in Perth

Guess what: I received ONE powerlet and ONE bum-bags. Both claim was a mistake and will send the rest. No drama in this but I hope to receive the plug before I go in holidays.

At least the bum-bag looks ok and has a lot of options.

I had to remove old cigarette plug from power inverter and put the powerlet plug. The reason I did that is my BMW has the female part of powelet already mounted.

Have to find time to test it :)

I will need also a crappy power extender cord with 3-4 sockets for: Scala Rider Charger, Mobile Phone Charger, Photo Camera Charger.

I might pay a visit to Super Cheap Auto for some LED lighs

Preparations Preparations

2010-02-25T13:24:00.002+11:00

I started to call Caravan Parks among the way to confirm price and book the night.

Anyone can see the financial plan here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AgEFUfgEf50xdFNId0dBcndudmFKLVBLNmNCblY5b3c&hl=en

Details like: road issues, accommodation, prices ... will be reflected in that google document.

Also the page: THE MAP will be actualized with the new locations

The light for the tent is in the house

2010-02-16T20:57:00.000+11:00

Yey! In the morning I receiver the light for the tent. Is made from a bunch of LEDs and is very easy to hang-it in the tent. Is working with four AA batteries.

I payed 7$ on eBay (shipped from Hong-Kong). This amount of money included the transport also! Is incredible. Exactly the same lamp on a local online-shop was 25$.

Testing the new tent

2010-02-05T14:25:00.001+11:00

I bought from Anaconda a cheap tent: 30$ (was on sale from 60$), 2 sleeping bags (20$ each sale from 40$ each) and 2 sleeping matrices (6$ each, sale from 11$ each).

For a 30$ (60$) tent I don't have too much expectancy for the future, but this should be very good for this trip. The brand is Spiniflex. Is not Black Wolf or NorthFace but still: 20$ compared with 500$ (Black Wolf/North Face...) ...

The sleeping bags are Spiniflex brand also. They are 7-12C specification. The expensive ones were -5C ..... Well I am going to Gold Coast not to Alaska, I will be ok :)

The matrices are insufficient, I will see if I will require to buy some self-inflating matrices (60$ ea on KMart).

The tent was very easy to set up and to dismantle as well. Weight is 2.9Kg, suitable for motorcycle carry.

My power inverter is here

2010-02-04T10:01:00.002+11:00

I am happy because I just received the 150W power inverter for my motorcycle.

And for 30$ on eBay brand new ... come on... is a bargain.

This will be used to charge my mobile phones, photo camera and helmet head-set unit.

I will copy/paste from eBay description:

A power inverter allows you to use electrical equipment in your car that requires an AC power supply. It's particularly great to have when traveling or during vacation. This 150W power inverter fits into your car's cup holder and allows you to charge your mobile phone, PDA, laptop and other electronic devices whilst on the go. Simply plug it into your car's cigarette port and it will power AC products right from the comfort of your car, boat, truck or RV! It has a 300W maximum power surge and includes automatic safety monitoring circuit to protect both the inverter and your car's battery from overloading. The inverter works in two stages. During the first stage, the DC to DC converter increases the DC input voltage from the power source (eg. a 12V batter) to 300DC volts. During the second stage, the high voltage DC is converted to the watts you need (AC) using advanced MOSFET transistors or IGBT technology in a full bridge configuration. The result is an excellent overload capacity and the ability to operate difficult reactive loads.

The Map

2010-02-03T16:51:00.006+11:00

View Gold Coast Trip in a larger map

DAY nine in detail

2010-02-03T16:18:00.001+11:00

PLANNING DAY 9:

Sat 10-Apr-2010
From: Walcha
To: Sydney
Distance: 447 Km

Fuel estimated: 26.82 liters
Accomodation: at home :)
Route: Walcha - Gloucester - Raymond Terrace - Hornsby - Sydney

Things to see:
?

DAY eight in detail

2010-02-03T16:13:00.004+11:00

PLANNING DAY 8:

Fri 09-Apr-2010

From: Grafton
To: Walcha
Distance: 521 Km

Fuel estimated: 31.26 liters
Accomodation: Walcha Caravan Park
Route: Grafton - Wollomombi - Kempsey - Wauchope - Walcha

Things to see:
?

ROAD CONDITION ISSUES:

Occasional off-road conditions between Jeogla and Belbrook

DAY seven in detail

2010-02-03T16:10:00.005+11:00

PLANNING DAY 7:

Thu 07-Apr-2010

From: Jacobs Well
To: Grafton
Distance: 585 Km

Fuel estimated: 35.1 liters
Accomodation: Glenwood Tourist Park and Motel
Route: Jacobs Well - Nerang - Tweed Heads - Liston - Grafton

Things to see:

Wollomombi Falls

ROAD CONDITION ISSUES:

Off-road distance: 12 Km
Detour available: none close

Gold Coast DAY 4,5 and 6

2010-02-03T16:06:00.001+11:00

Noting planned yet.

I know I have to see:

Movie World
Sea World
Byron Bay

DAY three in detail

2010-02-03T16:05:00.001+11:00

PLANNING DAY3

Sun 03-Apr-2010

From: Inglewood
To: Jacobs Well
Distance: 309 Km

Fuel estimated: 18.54 liters
Accomodation: Jacobs Well Tourist Park
Route: Inglewood - Warwick - Ipswich - Brisbane - Jacobs Well

Things to see:
?

DAY two in detail

2010-02-03T16:01:00.002+11:00

PLANNING DAY 2

Sat 03-Apr-2010

From: Tamworth
To: Inglewood
Distance: 384 Km
Fuel estimated: 23.04 liters
Accomodation: Lake Coolmunda Caravan Park
Route: Nemingha - Tamworth - Barraba - Bingara - Warialda - Texas - Inglewood

Things to see:
The Big Golden Guitar

Day one in detail

2010-02-03T15:57:00.007+11:00

PLANNING DAY 1:

Fri 02-Apr-2010

From: Sydney
To: Tamworth
Distance: 483Km
Fuel estimated: 28.98 liters
Accommodation: Tamworh North Holiday Park
Route: Sydney - Putty - Singleton - Muswellbrook - Scone - Nemingha

Things to see:
Lake Liddell
Chaffey Dam

ROAD CONDITION ISSUES:

After a deep analysis with Google street view feature, I found some possible trouble ahead on segment Moonan Flat - Nundle

Offroad distance: 92 Km

Detour available: Go back to Scone, Scone - Nundle 97Km

Luggage preparation

2010-02-03T15:34:00.000+11:00

This is the most time consuming thingy: to put heaps of stuff into a small bag.

I made a list with what I should have:

Papers:

Driving/Riding license
Tow truck business cards

Spare:

Spare ignition key
Spare helmet key
Spare disk lock key

Camera:

Photo camera
Tripod

Tools:

Spanners 8mm - 13mm
Hex sockets 8mm - 13mm
Allen hex socket 3mm - 8mm
Torx sockets T20 - T50
Screwdrivers flat and Philips
3/4 Ratchet + 1/4 adapter
Pliers and cutters
Cable ties
Tire puncture fix kitt
Flash light
Motorcycle manual
Bungee cords
Electrical tape
Duct tape
Disk lock

Extra riding gear:

Clear visor
2x Rain suits (pilot and pillion)
Boots
Summer gloves

Clothes:

Casual shoes
Casual clothes (undies, socks, t-shirts, hats...)

Orientation:

Printed itinerary
Maps
GPS

Miscellaneous:

Credit card
Cash
Waterproof bags for electronics
Mobile phones
Chargers for camera, mobile phones, photo camera
Power inverter
First Aid Kit

Toiletries:

Sun lotion
Tissues
Towels

Camping equipment:

Tent
2x sleeping foam style matrices
2x sleeping bags
Tent light
Knife

Food:

Water
Canned food
... to be decided

Motorcycle preparation

2010-02-03T15:21:00.000+11:00

I will do this by using my BMW R1200GS Adventure.
Traveling by motorcycle puts you in the situation to carry less luggage.
The bike must be in a perfect shape in order to avoid surprises.

I had to make up a list:

Oil change before trip. Scheduled on Sat 06-Feb-2010
Check brake pads. Scheduled on Sat 27-Mar-2010
Lights check. Scheduled on Fri 02-Apr-2010
Hang the Romanian flag. Scheduled on Fri 02-Apr-2010
Assembly the luggage. Scheduled on Fri-02-Apr-2010

First POST

2010-02-03T14:44:00.002+11:00

Hey, this is my first post for planning a trip from Sydney to Gold Coast.

Trip Summary:
Trip length: 9 days

3 days UP to Gold Coast
3 days IN Gold Coast
3 days DOWN to Sydney

Total kms: ~3050

Estimated costs: ~1200AUD

Estimated day of departure: Fri 02-Apr-2010

Map: is on the screen :)

Travel method: BMW R1200GS Adventure

Accommodation: camping with tent

Who will attend: Myself, my wife Cristina

Wanna come? Please send me a message and you will be welcomed.

Riding Style: Safe, close to the speed limits.