I am not too sure where roads will lead to but if you stick around, you may enjoy the scenery. 

At this time an iconic Aussie expression which may be relevant comes to mind: "to go for a dingo's breakfast". 

It is to say that I am going to meander  with Draadkameel to just look around…at distant destinations yet to be determined ….even perhaps to where the land meet the ocean again north from Melbourne…if you will then a little of something for which Burke and Wills is famous for and yes not all who wanders are lost. I will be taking a loosely planned solo long distance ride all by myself purely for the fun of riding  specifically also with the aim to experience new worlds and climates never before visited. 

In a nutshell:  I am going for a sip of water and a goood look around" as far as the road north will allow me.

Destinations were quite well thought through but hypothetical in the sense of  whether they will all be included in the ride or not, even more so, the dates of reaching them. 

Travelling over such extended distances for long periods, is naturally subject to the weather systems and in Australia it continuously rolls across from west to east often including extremes. Due to the vastness of the Continent stretching from cold coastal waters through alpine regions, savannah, semi desert, outback, subtropical and tropical to warm tropical oceans, it is not possible to assess upfront all the weather impact along the distant route to prepare.  Nov - Apr is also tropical cyclone season up north. Typically four severe  tropical cyclones would cross the coast every year. The intent is therefore to be careful and sensible as the ride develops, especially with regard to what the prevailing weather will allow. 

On the other hand very high summer day temperatures are another concern.

The consideration is this: 

Up to around 36C the wind, still cooler than the body, has a cooling effect on the body by whisking excess heat away from the skin. 

When ambient reaches above 36C, the wind if allowed to contact the skin actually imparts heat into the body. Then instead of cooling the body down, the body  takes on heat from the surroundings instead. 

Thick clothing to protect all parts of the body from exposure to the ‘hotter than body temperature wind’ is then the only option. 

As necessary as it is, logically it is not sustainable over long periods because increased body temperature significantly above 36C is potentially fatal.  

High and dry ambient temperatures inevitably are also accompanied by increased bush fire danger. It is fire season over most part of the route and in event of bush fires, access to large areas and routes are often closed to the public.  

The interior of Australia is largely flat and not high above sea level. The roads across the largely flat  landscapes without distinct waterways are very prone to flash flooding during thunderstorms. It is a familiar sight to see long stretches of the road network in the interior marked with the warnings  “Subject to Flooding’.

Currently there is a tropical cyclone developing in the Gulf of Carpentaria with cyclone warnings for Cape York Peninsula and the northern parts of NT. A very warm summer had daily maximums in Perth reported up to 46C just before Christmas. How that hot weather will impact across Australia to the east remains to be seen. Logically I would not like to be caught up in either riding somewhere in the outback. 

So ever since we got to Australia that first year and travelled by car to Brisbane to visit friends for Christmas I wanted to go and see far north tropical Queensland. That time the intention was to continue after Christmas and  to travel  north all the way up to Cairns  to see what tropical far north Queensland looked like. When my friend heard the plan he advised against it. He said “You don’t want to go there in summer because this time of the year there are often cyclones there (November to April is tropical cyclone season). The humidity goes extremely high (100%+) and in addition normal daily temperatures is middle to high thirties. Also there is this one two-lane road (no dual carriage way) with 100km/h speed limit, running up all the way north, sometimes near the coast, sometimes somewhat inland from the coast passing through every little village. Rather stay the time with us instead, he recommended, until after New Year”. We took his advice and eventually returned to Melbourne from Brisbane early in the New Year, without having travelled further north then.

It appears now to have been sound advice since the same advice was repeated to me more recently by other experienced biker mates when the proposed ride became known a few months before December – I invited a serious long distance rider living near Sydney in NSW to join me in an attempt to  de-risk the 400km of remote solo dirt road travel on Cape York Peninsula. Having himself lived in Brisbane for years he also spoke out against motorcycling in the Queensland summer heat and humidity and would not accept. He recommended rescheduling to cooler times of the year but offered to ask amongst his experienced biker mates who lived around and north of Brisbane for anyone interested in joining.   After a few days he called back, empty handed except for a renewed and strong recommendation to reschedule for wintertime instead. 

With only the Christmas break available to me, I decided to keep to myself and did careful and comprehensive planning.

This time going north, I will avoid Brisbane altogether by following the alternative route some 300km inland from Brisbane via West Wyalong, Parkes, Moree, Goondiwindi, Moonie, Miles, Taroom, Banana, Mount Morgan and only join the coastal route at Rockhampton some 700km north from Brisbane and keep riding north until I reach Cape York or is turned back by cyclone restrictions. The route for the return ride  will be worked out in time.