REMOTE CONTROL
Twenty-nineteen has been a busy year for the BMW Safari roadshow. On the books for its 25th year appear over 25 coaching clinics, the GS Safari, TS Safari, GS Tour, GS Trophy Qualifier and the subject of the following pages, the GS Safari Enduro. Each event provides a learning and experiential platform for the BMW rider to not just improve skills, but to use their bike for the purpose for which it was intended. To live the dream that started long before the wallet was busted out, befriend likeminded folks and feel a part of a community that includes fellow riders and the Bavarian Motor Works. BMW arguably does a better job at this than any other manufacturer, and on a scope nobody else comes close to.
The Safari comes in two offroad forms — the GS Safari, which is an all-inclusive ride, and the GS Safari Enduro, which is designed for the more technically skilled rider. The Safari Enduro visits locations and terrains that are more of a challenge than the Safari and as a result, the numbers are kept lower but expectations of ability are higher.
For 2019, the six-day route was pure outback. The start in Mildura (Vic) was followed by a cross into South Australia to Peterborough, Arkaroola, William Creek, Mount Dare and finally a run into the Northern territory to the finish line in Alice Springs. It’s a long run, with the average kilometres being about 460 per day. A lighter loop-day in Arkaroola was also thrown in to offer a shorter day and a chance to take in that breathtaking area.
THE SAFARI COMES IN TWO OFFROAD FORMS — THE GS SAFARI, WHICH IS AN ALL-INCLUSIVE RIDE, AND THE GS SAFARI ENDURO, WHICH IS DESIGNED FOR THE MORE TECHNICALLY SKILLED RIDER
LET THERE BE SAND
The first morning of a ride is always a little chaotic, but given that most of the riders on the Safari Enduro are experienced, it was quite a calm and upbeat start to the week as we left Mildura. I found my F 850 GS and fitted a Garmin Montana 650 GPS unit loaded with the ride’s GPX files, and then proceeded to miss the second turn 300 metres from the start. I didn’t stray far but it was an inauspicious start to a 2500-kilometre ride.
From Mildura we headed into Chowilla Reserve, which leads to the Danggali Track, and by the 200-kilometre mark things had gotten interesting. It’s fair to say that soft surfaces are the natural enemy of the large adventure bike and we hit a long stretch of sand that served as a
