Destinations: Darwin to Melbourne

So, what would possess a person to do a round trip from Melbourne to Darwin on a scooter? The short answer is we are blessed with an amazing and diverse country and I wanted to see it. My mates thought I was crackers and that I wouldn't make it to the border but I knew better having done day rides out of Melbourne to the border and down the Great Ocean Road.

My choice of weapon for this adventure was a KYMCO Xciting 500 sports maxi scooter. My decision to purchase this scooter was easy after testing the market place; it was the best overall package in price, performance and warranty. As an inner city dweller, I needed a traffic easy, manoeuvrable machine, with the versatility to also comfortably take me 300km to my holiday house and for day rides with my mates on sport bikes.

The route for the trip was planned, 7 days up and back from Melbourne to Darwin, Darwin to Melbourne at around 570km a day.

From Melbourne I travelled to Renmark, Port Augusta, Cadney Park, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Mataranka and Darwin. My original plan had me camping all the way. However due to the extreme temperatures motels were a must!

Unfortunately, a heat wave coincided with the beginning of my trip. Through the first two days of riding, I battled against 40-50km/h head winds at 40-plus degrees and also suffered a puncture, due to a poorly repaired rear tyre.

Day three, travelling to Cadney Park saw a cool change come in and by the time I was at Woomera, I needed to put on full winter gear for the cold.

Day four had me riding into Alice with increasing temperatures and rougher road surfaces. My behind started to feel the vibrations, as normally this scooters seat requires no AirHawk cushion.

Day five to Tennant Creek was very hot, but the road surface did improve once I got past the Tropic of Capricorn. The scenery was hazed with smoke fires to the north-east.

On day six, travelling to Mataranka, the weather was sizzling but the smoke took the ferocity out of the sun. On reaching the highway roadhouse at Daly Waters, the high-octane pump wasn't working and I was told 80km away at Larrimah I would be able to get fuel. To my dismay on arrival at Larrimah I discovered the service station had burnt down years earlier.  Luckily, I carried spare fuel for to take me up to 200km. Mataranka Homestead and Springs was a refreshing stop in the heat.

Day seven, destination Darwin saw me take my first stop in Katherine after dodging wallabies all morning with a hope of a refreshing swim in the famous gorge; however with the town at rest I decided to push on.

I reached Darwin with 4003km on the trip gauge from Melbourne.

The trip home was even better! The scenery was incredible, mainly due to the formation of the land in waves. When riding south to north you see the back of the wave and north to south the fronts, so all the rock escarpments were just spectacular. The ever-changing landscape on a trip like this is amazing and is etched into my memory forever.

My trusty Xciting 500 stead didn't miss a beat on this trip and, if it wasn't for the tyre repair in Renmark and its replacement on my return, things ran with mechanic perfection. A total 8000km in 14 days, 9000km total trip distance, not bad on a scooter! Next, maybe a lap around Oz?

-- Andrew Dronia