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BMW Safari a very different hunt


A BMW TS Safari is a totally different animal – motorcycle riders stalking great roads in the hunt for the ultimate corner.

BMW has been organising safaris for its bike owners for 15 years now. Several years ago the off-road riders demanded a separate safari and so the TS (road) and GS (off-road) safaris were born, some riders participating in both.

Last week, the 2012 TS Safari took 135 BMW owners, including about 20 pillions, from Bathurst to the Sunshine Coast, back and forth across the Great Dividing Range over 2300km of some of the best riding roads in the country.

Participants pay $550 to ride and $500 to pillion. For their money they get a well-organised ride where all they really need to do is show up and follow the route at their own pace.

Numbers were down slightly this year, probably owing to the bad publicity from the tragic GS Safari last year in which a rider died on the first day and several were injured.

However, the organisation is improving all the time and this year's TS event included two doctors from Gawler in South Australia - John Smith and Simon Hall - who volunteered their time and rode with the pack on special "medic'' bikes. Thankfully they weren't needed.

For their entry fee, participants received a well-sorted route with daily paper maps as well as comprehensive GPS files, welcome and farewell meals and another dinner along the way, dealer pre-safari bike check, souvenir t-shirt, event sticker, luggage tags, plus tech support by Craig Bennett from Valley Prestige BMW, Melbourne, and tyre support by Rob Turton of Tyres for Bikes, Brisbane.

Organisers Nick and Trudi Selleck of event management company, Maschine (CORRECT!), not only organise the route and logistics, but also handle bike transport for those who want to fly in and/or out, and all the accommodation bookings.

"We are trying to do the whole shooting match for them,'' says Trudi. "They can get on the net and pick what type of accommodation they want from the options. They don't have to book anything. "Some people can't or don't want to use computers, so they can ring us and we can do it over the phone for them.''

Many BMW owners are professionals or business people who are far too busy to organise a week-long ride, says participant Sally Berry, owner of Trakka recreational vehicle company in Sydney. That's why she has been a regular on TS and GS safaris for several years.

"I don't have the time to organise a route and accommodation,'' she says. "It's also hard to pin other busy people down to a time for a ride. But with the safari, you have set dates and that's when you go.'' Safari participants from Townsville to South Australia rolled into Bathurst for the opening night where Nick provided a rider briefing of the route and what's expected of the riders.

Among the riders were BMW Australia managing director Phil Horton, BMW Motorrad boss Tony Sesto and marketing manager Miles Davis who acts as rider briefing MC. BMW also invited motoring journalists to join the fun. This was my sixth safari and third TS event.

I join the ride at the end of the second day after the riders have arrived in Port Macquarie having escaped the 3-degree chill of Bathurst and grinned all the way along such famous biking routes as the Bells Line of Road, Wiseman's Ferry Rd, Thunderbolts Way and the Oxley Highway.

One rider has crashed out of the event in an unlucky slip on a wet bridge. He is ok, but his carbonfibre-laden K 1200 R looks sad sitting in the back of Turton's truck for the rest of the trip.

Dawn rises with a chill over beautiful Port Macquarie as we head up to the headland vista before fuelling up. 

None of the riders is upset at back-tracking up the Oxley Highway after coming down the wickedly wiggly tar the previous afternoon.

I give the slipper clutch and quick shifter on the K 1300 S HP provided by BMW a workout on the esses up to Gingers Creek Cafe where the owner has specially opened for the BMW riders. Threatening skies clear but temperatures stay low as we head into Walcha and another tank-and-tummy stop.

Bright sunshine now paints luminous landscapes of rolling hills of crops set against pale-blue skies as we move on through Uralla and Armidale. There are several scenic waterfall photo-stops throughout the day, but the best is the dramatic Wollomombi Falls.

Some 35km further on Ebor's Fusspots Cafe beckons with a toasted corned beef and pickles sandwich, but we leave some room for the homemade sweet pies at Juan del fuego Cafe a little way down the road in Dorrigo.

Cafe owner and BMW F650 GS rider Juan Godoy immigrated from Patagonia, Argentina, in 2004 and turned his main street cafe into a semi-bike-museum after watching bikes roll through town without stopping. His cafe (www.cafedelfuego.com.au) now features an ever-changing display of classic bikes - currently a 1923 Douglas, 1975 Yamaha TY175 and 1920s Evans - as well as biking posters, mementos, paraphernalia and magazines.

There are more spectacular waterfalls right by the side of the road as we wind down the range along the aptly named Waterfall Way into the charming and folksy Bellingen then on to Coffs Harbour. Riders briefing that night at the Novotel Resort causes riders some confusion as it includes an optional loop of the Lions Rd.

Day four starts off well with a trot through the rainforest behind Coffs, through farmland to Grafton, then follows the Clarence River along a narrow farm road before a boring run up the Summerland Way to Casino and Kyogle. It's here where riders can split and head for Kingscliff or do the Lions Rd loop.

Tired riders head for the coast, while other tackle the extra 160km. The Kygole Rd to Murwillumbah is a national disgrace and fells one 80-year-old Yamaha 150 rider who is bounced out of his seat by the lumps and bumps. He is lucky there are BMW Safari riders around and he is assisted until the ambulance arrives shortly after.

A word of caution spreads throughout the BMW riders and no one else comes to grief on the shameful stretch of tarmac track. The route diverts through Nimbin where four riders buy rainbow t-shirts to wear over their riding gear. Unfortunately few stop a little further along in charming Uki - pronounce yewk-eye - for their famous homemade pies.

Pie shop proprietor Louise Adele, who rides a '74 BMW R90/6 with partner Michael Daly, says their bakery behind the Old Buttery building has plenty of off-street parking for bikes. It's not open on Sunday as they go riding, but they will open for groups if you phone ahead (02-66795838).

The route then dips and weaves over Stokers Siding and through Mooball to the coast. Many of those who've chosen the long way round arrive ringing wet after a late storm washes across Casuarina Beach. One female rider is lucky to arrive at all after narrowly avoiding a coffee table that falls off the back of a ute on the Burringbar Range and shatters right in front of her.

The final morning arrives crystal clear with a promised maximum of 23 degrees - perfect riding conditions to head into the Sunshine State. Our route loops around the back of the Gold Coast, through Canungra, Beaudesert and through the sullen suburbs of Ipswich before winding up the picturesque Brisbane Valley to Fernvale were the bulk of the toruing party stop to sample one of the biggest ranges of homemade pies in Australia. Try the goat pie!

The lunch stop is followed by some gob-smacking views of the near-capacity Lake Wivenhoe and Somerset Dam. Another shortcut takes riders down through the ultra-smooth corkscrew at Peachester while the charted course rides the ridges into Maleny and the tourist towns along the Blackall Range before plunging down to Twin Waters resort.

A little local knowledge has me and a couple of deviating down the back of the range into Conondale to the Kenilworth "squiggles'' and up the one-way Obi Obi Rd for a climax of twisties.

The farewell dinner in Maroochydore's Ebb Restaurant is a rousing affair with wine and beer flowing freely as awards are given out for longest distance, most safaris etc. It's been a well-organised affair with only a few minor hiccups that are quickly forgotten in the heady evening's celebrations.

Many are already putting their hands up for the GS Safari from September 16 - 21 from Ballina to Bathurst. At the time of writing Trudi says 115 have signed up and the cut-off is 180. Her team is also organising off-road rider training courses for participants.

Visit: bmwsafari.com