From the evening of 20th of May to the evening of 13th of June 2016, the Ducati 1199 Panigale completed a round trip of the mainland of Australia. The trip was inspired by the previous long road trip that was completed in the winter of 2015 from Sydney, Uluru, Tasmania and back (part of the Divergent Italian blog series), a journey that also seemed above my confidence at the time. In a way, that particular trip can be considered a practice run for the trip around mainland Australia, because this would not have even been contemplated without a death wish. This was an ambitious journey in many respects.

A recount of each day of the 25-day journey of Australia on the Ducati 1199 Panigale will be published over the next coming weeks and months, complete with photos and details of the trip. For now, here are some fun facts!

Expenses as follows, totalling $4061.97:
– Accommodation: $291.00
– Food and Grocery: $633.78
– Maintenance: $1347.25
– Petrol: $1708.24
– Sundry: $81.70

Below are the photos from each day, which were posted live on Facebook and Instagram.

Day 1: Odometer 44694km. Surprise, surprise. 6pm on a Friday, and going away for a roadtrip. Goal: Perth by Thursday evening. First stop, the Victorian capital. See you in the morning, Melbourne!

 

Day 2: Live update – Odometer 45843km. Melbourne, stop trying to impress me with today’s perfect weather, beautiful souls and a vivid sunset scenery.

 

Day 3: Live update – Odometer 46165km. I wasn’t meant to take the Great Ocean Road route but, hey, it’s just down the road. Oh the things we do when we’re on bikes 😉 … See you tonight, Adelaide!

 

Day 4: Live update – Odometer 47205km. Chasing that sunset, still buzzing from Eluveitie‘s gig at Adelaide last night, Helvetios album on repeat. Still a mighty long way to go for my trip.. But, all is very well. Life is good.

 

Day 5: Live update – Odometer 48017km. No, it wasn’t ideal to ride across the Nullarbor in complete darkness… But it also wasn’t ideal to travel across Australia on the Panigale. Great to be alive.

 

Day 6: Live update – Odometer 48210km. On the edge of the vast Nullarbor Plain, where rugged coastlines meet the ocean. Currently having a late ‘Border Brekkie’ at the WA border; still 12pm at the moment!

 

Day 7: Live update – Odometer 49142km. Esperance, you surprise me with your natural beauty. Twilight Beach Road is like a miniature combined version of the Great Ocean Road and Freycinet National Park fused together. Beautiful. Perth, I’ll see you tomorrow evening. One day late, but I’ll make it worthwhile!

 

Day 8: Live update – Odometer 50108km. Left Sydney on Friday evening last week, and have now arrived in Perth on Friday evening. It is currently 10:30pm Australian Western Standard Time, and have clocked up 5414km over the week on the Panigale. I am utterly knackered. Time to recuperate tonight.

 

Day 9: Live update – Odometer 50305km. Sometimes, I don’t know why I do certain things. It’s almost crazy, because the bike is now steering its way north from Perth. Broome, looks like you’ll be my date in a few days time!

 

Day 10: Live update – Odometer 51148km. I’ve been overdosing on ocean sunsets lately. Withdrawal symptoms will be difficult to alleviate once I return home.

 

Day 11: Live update – Odometer 51574km. It’s a dastardly long road ahead of me. No such thing as a day off in the life of a traveller.

 

Day 12: Live update – Odometer 52420km. The weather out here is fantastic for camping at just 24°C, currently 8:15pm Western Standard Time near Karratha WA. The stars also are out for us tonight. G’night!

 

Day 13: Update for yesterday – Odometer 52930km. It didn’t occur to me that there’d be a Wi-Fi hotspot out in a place where there’s absolutely no mobile reception until I checked the local info board this morning. Despite this, I did enjoy the feeling of isolation, camping out in whoop whoop. Here’s a photo from yesterday, on the way to the industrial city of Port Hedland. What a lovely change of scenery away from the white sandy beaches, into the barrenness of a red-dusted landscape. 8:40am here at the moment, with an ambient temperature of 27°C. I’ll be in for a very warm one by the time I get to Broome later today!

 

Day 14: Live update – Odometer 53505km. Broome, it is incredible how beautiful you are. Even though it is now Winter, we are basking under the balminess of a 35ºC high.

 

Day 15: Live update: Odometer 54383km. Across the desolate plains, roaming the night. I will see you very soon, Darwin!

 

Day 16: Live update – Odometer 54875km. Travelling across the Kimberley. It’s refreshing to see a very rugged landscape dominated by ranges of sandstone hills, after a few long days out on flat roads. On the other hand, the 36ºC temperature under radiant sunlight is pretty hard to deal with in a region that doesn’t have any leafy shade; feeling lethargic and drowsy in the summery heat and humidity.

 

Day 17: Live update – Odometer 55750km. Darwin, your sandflies are beyond comprehension. They are worse than mozzies. But your beauty is all worth it. Officially, this means that my 1199 Panigale has visited every capital city in Australia! MyRandomLife247 is currently showing me around the city.. more to see tonight!

 

Day 18: Live update – Odometer 56356km. Quite gutted that I wasn’t able to see much of Kakadu National Park. Hopefully I will be able to visit and experience it to the fullest some time in the future. On a side note, crocodiles are king out here. Every creek and river crossing is accompanied by a stern warning that discourages loitering around their habitats.

 

Day 19: Live update – Odometer 57378km. For the first time in weeks, I now travel away from the sunset and towards the eastern states. A little sad, because it means that I am coming home soon. However, I still have a lot more to discover… Cairns, I will see you next!

 

Day 20: Live update – Odometer 57996km. A change of landscape as I approach the Mt Isa and Cloncurry region of Queensland. So many outback photo opportunities out here, with the variety of hills, dried creeks, antique machineries and the constant stream of old 2WD cars participating in the annual Outback Car Trek… but I must move on. It’s still a bloody long road ahead.

 

Day 21: Live update – Odometer 58776km. Approaching the blue-tinged mountains of the Great Dividing Range, it is an indication that the familiarity of the east coast of Australia is nearby. This also means that some great quality, winding roads are in close proximity.

 

Day 22: Live update – Odometer 59217km. It’s as though my back, arms, legs and everything else is permanently moulded on the Panigale for the purpose of highway endurance because it feels very odd to be taking tight corners like how a sport bike should ride. Looks like I’ll have to be learning my basics again! On another note, Cairns has one of the best roads I’ve seen for the purpose of both scenic cruises and corner tackling. It’s a shame that I’m spending less than a day here because there is so much to experience!

 

Day 23: Live update – Odometer 60167km. Sprinting my way down back to the NSW border. Feeling a little blue at the moment, because I am basically missing out on the best parts of the coastline and hinterland of Queensland. It’s a long straight highway from here for me… but Queensland, I will be back. Mark my words.

 

Day 24: Live update – Odometer 60777km. A good morning from the Sunshine State. Currently 12°C, which is still better than the 7°C temperature before sunrise, but the weather is quickly warming up. Enjoy your Sunday!

 

Day 25: Live update – Odometer 62239km. I’m not very happy about this photo.. but why should that matter.. I was willing to give my life for this trip, but I’m glad I didn’t have to, because I have returned from the wilderness, all limbs and fairings intact, with a hell of a story to tell! Sydney, you are looking quite VIVID tonight… 😉 … Great to be back home!