News from the Daveys

After more than 10,000 kilometres on a postie bike, Nowra adventurer, Dr Michael Davey and his wife Mrs Barbara Davey, returned home. Raising money for defence and veterans’ suicide prevention, Dr Davey rode to Melbourne from Nowra on Highway 1 and journeyed to the most southern part of the continent, Wilsons Promontory. From there he travelled to Adelaide and on to Port Augusta for the start of the most challenging aspect of the ride, the Outback Highway in South Australia and the Oodnadatta Track, all 620 kilometres.

“I wanted to ride the Birdsville Track, but it was closed,’ Dr Davey said. “so the Oodnadatta Track was my only option.”

Dr Davey lost count of the amount of time his postie bike was all over the Oodnadatta Track. “The bull dust was equally as bad the time I rode the Savannah Way west of Hell’s Gate Roadhouse in the Northern Territory on my 2022 ride around Australia on the same bike,’ Dr Davey said. “On the Oodnadatta Track I struggled to regain control once I was in the dust. My heart was in my mouth on so many occasions as I nearly bit the dust,”

The corrugations were so bad Dr Davey could not see the track. “With poor suspension I bounced around so much it remained impossible to see a good line and all I could do was slow down. This went on most of the day.”

It should come as no surprise that it was slow going, especially with a flat rear tyre. “I hit a cattle grid and the rear slowly deflated,’ Dr Davey said. “I punctured the spare tube as I tried to fit it. Fortunately, I had a second spare and two hours later I was on my way with the support driver following.”

Dr Davey witnessed one of the country’s great wonders. “Lake Eyre was just off to the right and with water in it, the lake was quite the spectacle,” Dr Davey said. “Another sight happened as I crested a ride late on the first day on the Oodnadatta Track. I could see well into the distance and noticed a vehicle approaching. The trail of bulldust, thick and heavy, blown north by a breeze, looked like a smoke trail wafting into the desert for well over a kilometre. What a sight.”

Later that evening while collecting, Dr Davey struck up a conversation with a young man riding the Oodnadatta Track on a Gas Gas 700 dirt enduro bike. “I found the corrugations were not a problem when I rode at 120 kilometres per hour,” the man said. ‘I was going over the top of them at that speed.”

“I found at my speed of 80 kilometres per hour,” Dr Davey laughed in reply, “I was going through every last one and it felt like my brain was going to bounce out of my head.”

Once back on the Stuart Highway Dr Davey rode to Tennant Creek and onto Mt Isa followed by the Burke Development Road all the way to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria where he and Drs Davey were hosted for two night’s accommodation at the Sunset Caravan Park. “The manager Chrissy was brilliant in her efforts to help us,’ Dr Davey said. “She had a sausage sizzle and raised $1,500 for our cause.”

The Davey’s had free accommodation all the way around Australia. “We felt blessed to have nights in motels and cabins and with sponsors such as The Honourable Fiona Phillips and Liza Butler and Nowra Fresh, Bellert and Bennet, Set Consultants, Basha Carpets, Berry PO, Nowra Farmers Market, Carpet Court and H Parsons Funeral Directors, who all gave funds for petrol, we were able to raise $35,000 in just four weeks. I will collect in the local villages in and around Nowra and we will easily get to $40,000.”

Dr Davey rode east from Karumba on the Gulf Development Road all the way to Cooktown and then headed south on the Kennedy Development Road which eventually became the Gregory Development Road, all known as the Great Inland Way through Outback Qld and NSW. Once through Lightning Ridge, Dr Davey travelled to Dubbo, Cowra, Goulburn and Moss Vale, arriving home on August 5.

The highlight of the odyssey was Karumba. “Seeing the sun set over the Gulf of Carpentaria was breathtaking,’ Dr Davey said. “To ride the Oodnadatta Track on a postie was quite an achievement. It is one of the more remote parts of Australia. Incredibly, a person pulled up on the track and had his dog off its leash. Once the canine spotted me on my red postie bike it was in attack mode and came charging, to point were it looked like it was going to leap into my lap and try to tear my helmet off.” Once Dr Davey stopped chuckling, he added. “Of all the places to be attacked by a pet dog, the Oodnadatta Track would not even be on the list.”

Dr Davey and his support-driving wife wear Where’s Wally costumes when they travel. “The metaphor of the costume is profound,” Dr Davey said. “People in the defnce and veterans’ communities hide in plain sight when suffering a mental illness, especially me. We put ourselves out there in our costumes in the hope sufferers of mental health issues will also put themselves out there by seeking professional help. It is not a sign of weakness to suffer PTSD.”

To make a tax-deductible donation in support of Michael’s ride visit www.apostieride4ptsd.com.au. If issues have been raised in this article, lifeline is available on 13 11 14.