The BMW GS Safari 30 Years was held earlier this year and we sent Matt Shields along. Matt first went to a BMW Safari 23-years ago! Read his adventure on the F 900 GS Enduro...
Most days I find myself wishing I was somewhere else, and usually riding. Thinking back over some of the most memorable rides I’ve had helps to get through the Monday to Friday monotony while earning the money to take me on that next adventure…
This year marked the 30th anniversary of the BMW Safari, and BMW Motorrad Australia threw on a great party…
Rides on recall include the fast-flowing bends of the Nerang-Murwillumbah Road, spectacular scenery of the Flinders Ranges Way, intensity and thrills of the Murray River Road and Oxley Highway and the sense of isolation and adventure of the Great Northern Highway and Birdsville Track gave at the time.
Check out our BMW GS Safari 30 years Gallery and the Video here…
Over the years most of these rides have come during escapes from work, new bike launches, bike tests and, not surprisingly, during one of the handful of BMW Safari’s I’ve done in the past 23 years. Starting life in 1994 as a trip from Sydney to Fraser Island, the BMW Safari through the years grew to an event that caters for all riders.
Such is the ongoing success and popularity of this BMW-centric event that there are now three different Safaris: for road riders and pillions the TS Touren Sport Safari; for adventure riders the GS Gelände Strasse (country terrain) Safari; and for the hard-core adventurers the GS Safari Enduro.
Matt loved the F 900 GS Enduro and found it the perfect balance between weight and power for off-road control and confidence. Read his full review by clicking on the link in this article.
Some History
Originally the TS and GS Safari’s were run in the same event with multi-day ride-routes crossing each other on very different paths, The GS Safari tailored to the needs of dual-sport motorcycles taking in a mix of dirt and country roads, along with some asphalt. By 2005 the popularity of the GS side of the Safari ensured it became a standalone event. In a similar vein, by 2013 the hard-core, purely off-road GS Safari Enduro was launched.
Going stronger than ever, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the BMW Safari with us joining the five-day event at the halfway point at Port Macquarie on the New South Wales mid-north coast. Greeted by a fresh F 900 GS Enduro (read my review on that here) with all the bells and whistles fitted, a backroads trek west to Tamworth, east to Yamba and north to the Gold Coast was ahead of us.
This year’s Safari kicked-off in the Blue Mountain’s township of Leura, 100km west of Sydney. Set over five days, the route of the ride was marked daily from a common starting point with maps and GPS files provided to participants to allow everyone to go at their own pace and experience the ride at their leisure, arriving when it suits them.
Limited to 250 participants, Safari’s sell out in minutes, not days or even hours. And for good reason too. After a long day in the saddle, riders are met at the finish location by a support crew that offers technical and tyre support, medical services and your luggage – they cart your bags during each day to lighten the load as well, which is great.
Limited to 250 participants, Safari’s sell out in minutes, not days or even hours…
At day’s end there is a rider’s briefing, with most night’s featuring a group dinner to unwind with like-minded individuals and on other night’s you are left to your own devices to make dinner at your own arrangements. Throw in a sweep vehicle, most breakfast and dinners and all you need to do is fuel up, pack your lunch and book time off work!
Matt’s Trip
After leaving the Hunter Valley, the next stop was Port Macquarie where we joined the ride which was 480km from the finish at Sanctuary Cove by road, but 1187km and three big days ahead the way we were going! With days varying between 330km and 470km, this was surely going to be a great few days of adventure riding.
The ride did not disappoint. Winding out of Port Macquarie, the route took us west, close to the Hastings River beyond Long Flat and then on a loop south to Comboyne before heading back on to the Oxley Highway. From here it was a big dose of glorious tarmac on the way to Walcha for a late lunch with 284km on the clock at this point.
Just as quickly as the landscape started to flatten out on the Central Tablelands towards our overnight stop at Tamworth, we turned left just before Walcha Road Station and followed the train line south along the rolling twists and turns of the Danglemah Road through to Limbri.
After a well-earned, mid-afternoon cold drink at the Kootingal Hotel, the show rolled on the final 30km into Tamworth where dinner was at The Workshop Kitchen with an amazing selection of top-notch steaks and equally impressive brews that I’ve found hard to beat since sampling.
Day four was the biggest day in the saddle with 471km from Tamworth to Yamba on the menu.
Day four was the biggest day in the saddle with 471km from Tamworth to Yamba on the menu. Instead of a beeline to get distance under the wheels, the ride took in the picturesque run through Bendemeer and Kentucky then zig-zagged its way on to Armidale. Fuelled up and a third of the way into the day, the remainder of the ride was a joyful blur.
Lowanna General Store has food, fuel and even a post office. It’s a great place to stop off for a break and supplies.
Heading northwest to Ebor, we crossed the Great Dividing Range through the Nymboi-Binderay National Park before finding the Orara Way at Coramba. Here the road took us north through Nana Glen and Braunstone on to Grafton. Back to the hustle and bustle of coastal life it was a 60km cruise along the Clarence River to Yamba.
The final day’s ride was a solid 335km north that, once we turned our backs on the ocean in the morning, we wouldn’t see it again until rolling into the Gold Coast around the back of Nerang. Riding 12km of the M1 about 45 kilometres into the day was the all the easy riding there was for another spectacular day’s riding the less-worn path.
After winding north through to Lismore, the route went west of Nimbin and twisted to the western side of Mount Warning to Murwillumbah for a lunch stop then up over the border on the Nerang Road via Numimbah to the hustle and bustle of the Gold Coast for the BMW 30th Anniversary celebrations at Sanctuary Cover Resort.
As with every other BMW Safari I have attended, a lot of smiling faces gathered on the final night for a dinner to celebrate the event, but this one was bigger than ever before. With a ballroom backdrop, birthday cake and exquisite meal, the event was capped off with one lucky Safari participant riding away with a brand new R1300GS! What a way to bookend another fantastic event, of which you can be sure there will be many more!
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