Motorcycle
Touring
in the Northern Flinders Ranges
Arkaroola
Background
My wife and I had a week leave reserved for July 98 and wanted to spend it
somewhere a little warmer than Adelaide. Bush walking, camping and
motorcycle touring are now 
amongst our usual recreational activities. We had visited Arkaroola in the
north Flinders Ranges on a 4 day weekend about 13 years ago - we knew it
was worth another visit but had not previously explored the nearby Gammon
Ranges National Park. The area has low annual rainfall and the average
daytime maximums in July are 15 to 17 C under normally clear skies. On
average, overnight minimums are below 0 C more than 9 days in July.
Nice Location
Arkaroola is about 600 kilometres north of Adelaide and 398
kilometres north of Port Augusta SA. The Northern Flinders Ranges of South
Australia are a great place for camping, bush walking and perhaps for
motorcycle touring. Our previous trip to the area was by two wheel drive
sedan.
Some difficulties in getting there
The main problem for motorcycle touring to Arkaroola is that access
requires travel on at least 136 kilometres of gravel roads. From the
bitumen road ending at Wilpena in the Flinders Ranges National Park it is
about 212 kilometres on gravel roads to Arkaroola. From Leigh Creek /
Copley on the Highway 83 it is about 136 kilometres of gravel roads to
Arkaroola. Difficulties associated with gravel roads in this area include
collision with wildlife, corrugations, rough surface, and an increased risk
of tyre punctures.
Objective:
Maximising enjoyment and minimising risk were amongst the objectives of our
motorcycle tour.
Maximise the enjoyment
Arkaroola is a nice destination. It is well suited and set up for bush
walking, camping and four wheel drive tours. It has a small store where
prices reflect the isolation.
Travelling on the GoldWing GL1500 touring motorcycle was comfortable for
driver and passenger. The motorcycle did not tend to skitter on loose
stones like lighter touring motorcycles I have ridden.
We drove during daylight hours. Travel at dusk and dawn was avoided to
minimise encounters with wildlife on the roads. Warm late mornings and
early afternoons were comfortable for riding.
Took a loop route and saw more areas. The last half hour of travel to
Leigh Creek on the return to Adelaide was through light showers. With
showers threatening from the north we were happy to travel at a higher
speed along the Highway 83 - fairly flat country, few curves in the road,
Flinders Ranges in the distance to the east.
Minimise the risk
The gravel roads involved increased risks related to: wet surface, stoney
conditions and loose gravel. 
Wet roads
Two to 5 days prior to our journey north, it had rained in the North
Flinders region. There were still wet / watery patches on road. These were
usually avoided by choosing the driest wheel track. Some areas were cut
with ruts these had to be avoided or crossed carefully. Variety of road
surface included sandy, stony and clay. Wet clay has potential of being
very slippery and can quickly clog tyre treads. Slippery clay on the tyres
can result in very low friction or grip. When passing through wet mud,
speed was reduced and travel was kept straight a line. Keeping the
handlebars straight helped to keep the bike upright when traversing wet or
muddy patches.
Stoney Roads
Sharp stones in the north Flinders Ranges cause tyre fractures. Tyre
failure would take more than a couple of hours to correct. Reducing speed
to 50 to 70 kilometres per hour reduced the risk of tyre failure and
allowed the driver to enjoy the scenery. Driving 20 kilometres per hour
faster would have saved some travel time, but having to repair a tyre
failure would have taken longer than the time save by travelling faster. We
enjoyed the travel as well as the destination.
Gravel roads
Locals said that touring motorcycles were uncommon in those parts. Reduced
speed helped to reduce the risk of travelling on gravel roads. Travelling
33 percent slower than typical touring speed increases travel time by 50%.
Trees and shrubs are sometimes close to the edge of the road - contact with
the thorny branches had to be avoided. Because of trees and shrubs,
wildlife could be close to the roadway without being easily visible. The
lower road speed allowed the driver to soak up the scenery - a pleasant
offset.
FYI - Accommodation
When we arrived at the Gammon Ranges Park Headquarters we found that the
entire park was closed for the coming week to allow feral animal
eradication in the park. We had planned to go bush camping in three of the
designated camping areas in that park. We rode on to Arkaroola where
powered and un-powered sites are available in the caravan park, along with
un-powered bush camping sites in the nearby creek. For motorcycle tourers
there is also bunk house and motel accommodation.
Surprises
Rough roads resulted in the trunk lid rubbing against the base, wearing
through the paint layer in some contact areas. The cosmetic damage is
exposed when the trunk is opened. This could be avoided by packing so that
the items and shapes - minimise the voids and minimise pressure against
panels.
Local roads involved numerous creek crossings - although water crossing
wasn’t a problem, but the creek beds were sometimes formed from stones of
150 mm diameter. This made motorcycle crossing difficult. Sometimes the
stones were heaped at the edges of the wheel tracks - with the low ground
clearance contact between the stones and under body occurred.
Summary
Some fine touring locations are obscured by factors that might make it
difficult to travel to the area. Examine the difficulties and look for
solutions. It did require more patience and organisation, but the views
were great from the tops of the hills.
Grant McEwing email mcewingg@optusnet.com.au
Last modified 14/06/2009