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West Coast Safari Tour
THE WEST COAST SAFARI TOUR - MAY 13 AND 14 2006.
 OUR TOUR LEADER. The Crusty boys are always looking for a new ride and a challenge and after hearing some good things about Gary Wintle's West Coast Safari Tours, decided to make a booking and go and check it out. We ended up with 11 confirmed riders but unfortunately due to different circumstances, WRCraig and KXSteve had to pull out. TigeR and Pretz had been out with Gary on previous rides and assured us we wouldn't be disappointed. They were right.  GETTING READY FOR THE BIG RIDE FROM GARY'S HOUSE. 2 days and over 450 k'ms of tar, fire trails, dirt roads, goat trails, sand, washouts and more, Gary lead us through some brilliant county with his unbelievable knowledge of this area. I have no idea how he can remember where to go. Without the aid of a map or GPS, he changes direction 1000 times and never overshoots or misses a turn. He uses the corner man system which of course all Crusty's are use to and this resulted in all of us arriving at the regroup stops and every occasion. There was never a time in the entire ride where a rider was unsure of which direction to go in.  PETE AND ROLEY AT A REST SPOT. Day 1. We left Bunbury and rode 30 k's of tar before we hit the dirt. Due to private property and the odd die back area, the ride does take in a quiet a few k's of tar but hey, you can't ride from Bunbury to Pemberton on an enduro goat trail all the way!!! Roley and Pete shared the sweep position while the other guys found their place in the group. Gary kept the lead to a good pace which allowed the faster guys to get out there and have a hoot. Sully, Howard and John (all maniacs on dirt bikes) were doing their normal kamikaze stuff. There is nothing more annoying than thinking you are riding like an expert and no one could ever go any faster when one of these guys overtakes you and gives you a wave on the way through!!!  A PIC OF THE LADS AT ONE OF THE MANY REST STOPS.  JUST ANOUTHER REST SPOT. TigeR, Pretz, Pounce and Colin were all happy to take their turns in the group and on the corners and just have a bloody good ride. Prezt rodes hard and steady all day and TigeR has picked his skill level up even more since I was out with him last. The new Crusty, Pounce, all 6' 5" of him climbed aboard his old XR 600 and made it look like a mini bike. He pushed hard and with the aid of worn out trail tyres managed to weave from side to side but some how keep the old girl on track. Sand was more of a problem for him and a few boggy corners did get the better of him. The boys gave him the nod for ROTD for his huge effort, bringing the big 600 home in one piece.  THE THREE BABOONS. Lunch was had at Nannap at a caf as the pub was not serving lunches this week. Gary had promised us the traditional steak sandwich and chips in the beer garden but we ended up with some yuppie food at the caf designed for the trendy southwest tourist. After a good break we were off again for the second leg of the first day.  LUNCH AT NANNUP. The afternoons riding even got better with a variety of different surfaces and trails. Coming into a regroup spot about 30 k's from Pemberton, Sully decided he would give Col a bit of a mud bath with the help of a muddy puddle. Col looked down for a few moments to avoid mud in the goggles and when he looked up it was a little to late to miss an old tree root sticking out from the side of the track. The root grabbed his front tyre and pulled him down hard. A bruised knee and sore shoulder saw Col pick up the not so prestiges award of SOTD.  A REST SPOT. We then had a short ride into Pemberton where a cold drink was awaiting us at the bottle shop. The boys sat up on the top floor balcony and had a laugh about the days riding while throwing down a couple of cold ones. Gary bought out the room keys and explained that 6 of us had the old rooms above the bar and there was two shared rooms in the new section of the pub. He threw the keys on the floor for the new rooms and John, Pete and Roley made a dive for them. Good call boys, the new rooms were a big improvement on the old ones which sat above the main bar, duke box, breaking glasses and general noise of a large group of locals enjoying their Saturday night.  A FEW COLD BEERS. Day 2 We met at the pubs restaurant at 7.30 for a full on cooked breakfast, coffees and juices. A few more laughs about the previous days riding and we were off to get booted up for the return leg. We met down where the bikes were locked up for the night and were fired up and off by 9.  BREAKY AT PEMBERTON. The morning took us through some great trails in the Karri forest. The dampness of the forest meant there was little dust and it was also quite cool in places. The second leg was pretty similar to the first in variety just a little "different" as Gary had explained at breakfast. Col decided he would ride sweep due the injuries and Pete rode just ahead of him. Roley decided to get up front a bit more this time and mix it up with the lead riders on his new DRZ. He had a grin right across his face every time he pushed that magic button.  POUNCE RELAXING IN A HAMMOCK AT THE CAF IN NANNUP. One of the trails had a very large fallen tree across it and now way to get around it. This meant man handling the bikes over it. I went to give Gary a hand to lift the first bike over and he said, "don't lift it you will hurt your back". Just hold it upright for me, he climbed up the log, grabbed the front wheel and turned it in his direction. The bike simply climbed up the log itself with out hardly any effort. You can always learn a new trick from someone!!!  HOW TO GET OVER A LARGE LOG.  ITS EASY WHEN YOU KNOW HOW. The rest of the day was as "different" as the first. All sorts of surfaces and trails. This ride is not for everyone. If you're not too experienced in the dirt, then forget it until and get out and pick your skills up before attempting it. On the other hand, if your looking for two days of full on enduro your also on the wrong ride. Gary will take you on a unforgettable tour of the south west that will challenge in in some sections and you can sit back, relax and watch the scenery in others.  A BREAK ON A BRIDGE.  LITTLE JOHNNY PLAYING ON THE SWINGS AT JARRAHWOOD.  THE OTHERS WANTED A PLAY TOO.  ON THE TAR AT 100 KPH.  A GROUP PIC OF THE BOYS BACK AT GARY'S AFTER THE BIG WEEKEND AWAY. A big thanks to all the guys who came along and made it one great ride. |
