May 30: On my final rainy night in Cairns I elected to try the hostel scene out. Following 3 restful days crashing with some very hospitable Australians, I checked in to the massive 700 bed Gilligans Hostel, expecting a colorful experience. My 8 bed shared dorm was packed with Brits, Yanks and French travelers–some of which had been in Cairns for a month or more sampling the club scene, adventure tours and unseasonably wet weather.

Chloe from Norwich, UK was planning on traveling for the next year but landed a job at a bar, keeping her in Cairns for the time being.

“I was meant to travel with a friend who got me going on the idea of traveling for this long. She bailed and here I am traveling solo.” said the 19 year old of her experience.

After I settled in, I headed to the Pier Bar to meet Steve Humphries and Dennis Wheeler–a pair of dual sport riders I met at Trinity Kawasaki yesterday who I will ride in a westerly direction with. They are covering some turf–riding from Perth  to Cape York and back (SW ro NE–no less than 6,500km each way).

Check out their ride at: https://sites.google.com/site/cape2capeonthedirt/

We chatted over beers and decided to head out on the Savannah Way via Normanton near the gulf of Carpentaria tomorrow morning. This is some truly legendary country–home to many historic mining towns, cattle settlements and Australia’s most epic wildlife.

I won’t have wifi over the coming days, but will get some fresh posts/pics up at the first opportunity.