E-mail received 09/07/2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G’day Roy, Renae and especially Jeremy, Shane and Gary.

What can I say, I turned 40 earlier this year and couldn’t wait to come and join you guys on the 6 day tour to the Tip of Cape York. I didn’t really know what to expect as I didn’t do a heap of homework, but all I knew was that you guys and your team were the company to go with and it sure paid off.

From the start when we arrived and everyone greeted us and welcomed us to the tour at the shed, helped us get ready and also when my mate Bens luggage got lost and Renae and then also Shane were trying hard to make arrangements to get it delivered somewhere along the tour. Jeremy and Shane helped us all find our rhythm early, pointing out and explaining what was to come, and ensuring we were all riding within our limits and not pressuring anyone to push harder to maintain a certain pace. The aim was always to get us all to the Tip safely and get us home and for that I am vert thankful. Once we encountered another group at the Lions Den Hotel and Jeremy explained they were quite militant in their approach, up early, on the road by a certain time etc, it made it clear we had made the right choice as this other group did the CREB track but by the looks of the damage to their bikes it may not have been the right choice. Jeremy explained how treacherous the CREB track can be and again we were more than happy to take the more sensible approach to ensure the group were all ok and travelling safely. We encountered another tour group who were hard at it spending hours trying to de-drown multiple bikes after going gung-ho though river crossings, and with the right call from Jeremy and Shane we had carried our bikes across and within 20 minutes or so we were on our way and headed down the next amazing track.

Jeremy, Shane and Gary also put emphasis on the point that half the enjoyment was hanging out around the campfire, sharing stories and relaxing without worrying about a super early start.

As a group I think we all made an effort to help out around camp to make everyone’s time easier and share the duties of dishes, packing up in the morning and anything else we could help with. It was a sight for sore eyes though rocking up to camp and Gazza’s got everything set up and all we had to do was “crack a tin”, sit back and relax, go for a swim and get our gear drying and sorted for the next day. Gazza did an amazing job around camp, made sure we all had everything we needed and Jeremy and Shane got straight into any necessary maintenance ready for the next day. As a group we could see the effort your team was putting in so we all wanted to help out as well where we could.

This ultimately gave us more time on the bikes and allowed Jeremy and Shane to spend more time planning our day to make it more interesting and taking us to some awesome spots. We did enjoy some of the road kms on the PDR as it gave us time to reset and regroup a bit and take in the scenery and spend time with our thoughts. (Riding bikes can be very much a spiritual thing for some of us as I’m sure Roy would know) Ben and I hadn’t spent much time on the road as we are used to single tracks on 300 two strokes, but every mornings briefing from Jeremy gave us confidence to take on any new challenges while riding within our capabilities.

It was also a pleasure and a privilege to get to know Jeremy, Shane and Garry and see them take the lead to go fishing and hunting for Cherapin and they always encouraged us to come and have a go. By the end of our trip these guys became awesome mates rather than our tour guides, guys we could all “shoot the shit” with and they made us feel really comfortable and relaxed through the whole trip.

I bought and read Roys book on my way home and I can appreciate even more why Cape York Motorcycle Adventures is the go to tour company to go with. Well done Renae on encouraging Roy to get that book out there. I know a lot of guys can only do your tour once as a bucket list item. And for various reasons some guys can’t even do it once. When Ben and I got back to our wives and families, we were asked if we would go again tomorrow and without hesitation, we both said “Yes”.

I don’t have any constructive feedback as it really did exceed all my expectations but one thing that could have helped “break the ice” a bit earlier would have been able to go around the group around the camp fire, introduce ourselves and give a bit of spiel about why we were on the trip etc. We had an awesome group which made it easier to get to know each other. I now have about 6 other mates who couldn’t come with us who are now kicking themselves they didn’t make a bigger effort to join us. So hopefully this gives me a few more windows of opportunity to help others book in with you guys and fingers crossed, come again myself. I’ve met other guys who have travelled far and wide to attend other organised motorbike tour groups and they have all said they would rather come with you guys every time they need a tour rather than head to Thailand, or the Simpson desert because you guys seem to nail it every time.

Best Regards,

JB

PS: Please give Jezza, Shano and Gazza another big bear hug from me.

 

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Renae - About Cape York, Travel Tips