Death of Kawasaki Bayou 300 Quadbike ATV

Flat Tire at Pernatty Station

Well, I'm camped at Gum Woolshed, the shearing shed at Pernatty Station in the Northern Pastoral District of South Australia and discovered a flat tire on the ute. Obviously it's gone down overnight and I'm really glad it happened the way it did because it would have been a major task had it been on the highway.

Landrover wheel nut on Holden Rodeo. Fits! — Landcruiser wheel nut on Holden Rodeo. Fits!

Kayak

Kayak on Bega River

Not only is a kayak a great fitness machine but it gets me around the flat water rivers and lakes to enjoy and photograph their unique landscape, near on impossible otherwise.

Quadbike

Hut overlooking Lake Eucumbene

With a cruising speed of around 50k/h on good going, the 4x4 bike and trailer carry photography gear, camp and tucker over considerable distances, allowing camping on site for the best light.

Mountain Bike

Lily and Granddad on mountain bikes

On the mountain bike I travel close enough to the ground and slow enough to see quite a bit that may otherwise be missed. Of course, the bike is mainly for travel on rural roads and tracks.

On Foot

Beach near Point Hicks

With a pack on my back, it's often not necessary to cover a great distance to capture the wilderness landscape. Anything from a few hundred metres to 15km can make a great day out in an isolated environment.

Details: Created: 07 May 2013

Well, my good old Kawasaki Bayou has come to the end of it's run. No longer sufficiently reliable for my lone, outback trips into remote areas of the South Australian arid region, I've parked it and bought a new, second hand Yamaha Big Bear 400 4x4 ATV (quadbike).

Yesterday I took the new bike for a run to get the feel for it and was quite happy. About 45k/h was all I was game to push it too on a bush track but it felt like it had plenty more to give.

The task now is to fit the boxes from the front and rear racks of the old bike to the new, with some modifications I suspect.

It's with mixed feelings that I make the changeover. The red Kawisaki has taken me to great places that I'd have had no hope of reaching without it:

Swindons Crossing at the southern extremity of Lake Torrens
Beda Hut
Red Lake
Coulthard's Grave
Yeltacowie Homestead
Bottle Hill
Elizabeth Creek
Pernatty Lagoon
Wirrda Wells and the hut
Andamooka Waterhole
Lake Richardson
Arcoona Lake
Chimney Hole Dam
Trig Bluff
Sketching Pile
Yarloo Bank
Whitatta Homestead
Andamooka Island

And so many other places out in that isolated country where the unprepared can die, just for being there.

I've slept beside the bike under a tarp tied to the handle bars, in the little tent and enjoyed the dubious luxury of several abandoned stockmen's huts in varying states of decay.

Oh, the freedom of powering along the sometimes sandy, rocky, washed out, barely discernible station tracks! The satisfaction of photographing the landscape without the intrusion of power poles, garbage bins, TV aerials, communication towers, signs! Just me, my bike and my camera in the midst of an inspiring landscape. Huge skies, vast distance and a grating environment to match my personality and facilitate personal expression through my visual art and writing.

I've loved that old quadbike and I'll miss her.

But not to dwell on my bereavement. The immediate tasks are numerous. Get the new ATV, ute and trailer ready for my coming trip. So many small items to organise too.

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