BMW Safari celebrates two decades

Not many events stand the test of time like the Australian BMW Safari has. Since 1994, thousands of riders have joined in the fun and celebrated riding their BMW motorcycles all over Australia.

This year three major events have been held to celebrate two decades: the GS Safari Enduro was held in July, taking 85 riders from Darwin to Palm Cove, and then in November the TS Safari (road) and GS Safari (off road) ran back-to-back in Tasmania.

All up there were 435 participants in 2014, including a few dedicated souls who rode all three events. Riders came from Russia, New Caledonia, Dubai, Denmark and New Zealand.

Tasmania was a natural choice for the combined TS and GS Safari event in November, with some of the best on and off-road riding in Australia.

The TS leg kicked off in St Helens, and over the next five days the riders they traversed the state twice, before finishing up in Launceston.

At the same time, over 240 GS riders were making their way into town for the following week's GS Safari. But first there was a big celebration at Launceston's Albert Hall with a total of 350 Safari faithful. Stephen Marshall, who worked on the first event and went on to run BMW Safari for 13 years, told some stories, as did Steve Adcock, who was with BMW Motorrad for over 30 years. Ian Anderson, the most loyal Safari-ista, who has been on every TS Safari since 1994, shared some great memories also.

On the GS Safari, the first stop was Cradle Mountain National Park. Then over the next four days the riders ventured to some of Tasmania's classic destinations including Hobart, Gordon Dam, Freycinet National Park, St Helens, before returning to Launceston.

BMW Australia's Motorrad Marketing Manager Miles Davis said: "It has been an amazing year; the three Safari events have been a total success and a fitting tribute to an impressive 20-year history of BMW Safari.”

Information on 2015 BMW Safari Events will be released very soon. For updates, register at www.bmwsafari.com.