DONE AND DUSTED
It was meant to be “soft” adventure — six days of self-guided motorcycling nirvana on 1000km of sealed roads connecting Kakadu, Katherine and Litchfield —three of Australia's most drop-dead beautiful national parks. Meticulously planned over six months to coincide with the dry season in the top end, clear blue skies, rainless days and perfect riding conditions were practically guaranteed. But what I got instead was a self-guided survival course on the 1001 ways the Australian outback can bake you, shake you and basically suck the life out of you before sunrise — a trial of heat, thirst, sand and sun in an unforgiving country home to the world's largest population of saltwater crocodiles, kamikaze kangaroos, and the most technically challenging gravel roads I have come across in more than 20 years in the saddle.
LAST GROG BEFORE KAKADU
About 100km out of Darwin I pull into a roadhouse on the Arnhem Highway where a billboard warns commuters this is “Last Take Away Alcohol Before Kakadu”. I've only been on the road for an hour but I feel like I've been riding all day — a by-product of 30-plus-degree heat, air that is so dry it's already cracked my lips in two places, and a 130km/hour speed limit I feel obliged to stick to despite buffeting winds, because where else can I ride this fast in Australia without getting booked?
I grab a meat pie and some cold water and top up my fuel,
