'I helped MOTOMONKEY go forward' t-shirt

*Limited Edition*
'I helped MOTOMONKEY go forward' t-shirt

With the cost of a new crankshaft assembly and labour being my main problem, I thought it would be quite fitting, to make a limited edition t-shirt showing a hand drawn sketch of an exploded view of the crankshaft assembly, with the caption "I helped MOTOMONKEY go FWD" 

This is the design of the t-shirt, it comes in black for light coloured shirts or white for the darker coloured shirts.

Click here to find your favourite t-shirt style, colour and size.

Thanks you so much for supporting me! 

Danielle ♥

MSR + Platypus Joins the Adventure

With only a two weeks until I leave, I was astounded when I received an email, that Cascade Designs would like to sponsor me. I replied quickly, with a huge whooohoo - but it came with a steep condition. They had to get me the gear in less than two weeks. 

When I arrived home, last night I was pleasantly surprised to find two large boxes containing, a MSR Hubba Hubba tent, MSR Dragonfly Petrol Stove, a MSR fuel bottle, the 2011 MSR Quick One - cooking for one pot and cup,the Platypus 2L hands free hydration and my favourite a PlatyPreserve (wine preservation bag).

Thank you for your support Cascade Designs. I am really looking forward to sleeping in my new tent! 

Check out my story inside Australia Geographic Outdoor!!

Buff® Joins the Motomonkey Team

Jumping onto my bike early on Saturday morning bound for Budrium on the Sunshine coast. I had an appointment with the couple from Buff®. Finding there house located high in the hills with beautiful outlook over the rolling hills.

Slightly shaking from the cold ride up, I was handed a steaming cup of coffee to ease the chill. Inge and Edward, sat down with me and explained all their different types. I was then shown the patterns and asked to select my favourites.

Not only did they give me the different types of Buff®, which I will require for my trip. They gave me a list of companies for different types of tents, water treatments, and fabrics. They are an amazing couple, with a huge heart.    

Riding out of the gates of their house and heading to friends house. Len left England to move to Australia, but took the alternative route to get here. He road his BMW F650 Dakar through the Middle East, Central Asia, China, and South East Asia. Since joining our gang of motley motorcycles ranging from postie bikes, Triumphs, BMW, and Suzuki on a Sunday ride out, he has become a good friend.

Len has some great advice about South East Asia and hands me the corresponding maps and a few bits and pieces from his first aid kit to take with me on my journey. After warming up over a hot bowl of soup, I prepared for the cold ride home in the drizzling rain. Rugging up with my new ‘Cyclone’ Buff®, I thought I was prepared, until Len returns from inside and hands me a pair of odd three finger gloves.

These gloves work by, sliding over your existing gloves. This turns my mesh summer gloves into cosy wind/water resistant gloves. Feeling the change in temperature was instant. I felt completely warm and defiantly prepared!

Since that ride home, I spent a week using the ‘Cyclone’ Buff®. Completely screened from the bitter cold Brisbane mornings. I wore it until I could feel the temperature was well above ten degrees celcius. I got out the merino ‘Wool’ Buff®, which is probably more appropriate for this climate! 

Motion Pro Gear

Perusing a copy of Trailzone magazine, I came across an article discussing the best tire iron to take on a trail ride. After reading all there pros and cons, I took a liking to a particular light weight T6 Aluminium tire iron, with a closed end hex spanner size depending on your rear wheel nut at one end. As an added bonus, you can also get an insert which fits neatly into the hex spanner and turns it into a 1/4 inch ratchet.

This was all sounding too good to me, as my existing tire irons, we the cheapest off the shelf stock standard. Some of the galvanizing was starting to flake off exposing the raw metal below. Not to mention that they were really heavy.

I approached Motion Pro for sponsorship and was over the moon when they agreed to back my endeavours with offering me the gear I needed. I quickly sent off a list, not only containing tools but a set of cables required for my motorcycle.

The cables are a in a black vinyl housing, with black fittings. This weekend, it will run the cables parcel to the existing ones and connect them up. I plan to keep the existing ones as spares, lubing them and then sealing the ends up to keep the dust out. I also got a cable lube to make my life a lot easier, I do not think Ill be taking this along with me on my trip, but when you will be lubing 6 cables, the bag with a tiny hole in it wont do the trick!

The other nifty thing I got, was the multi tool. This tool can be adjusted to remove 6,10,12 & 14 bolds, Phillips and flat head screw drivers and 5 & 6 Allen keys. Its includes a 10 & 12mm 1/4 inch drive. The most important item is the beer bottle opener on top, I like to also think its to lighten the piece.

All I have to do now, is filter through my old tool kit and my new one and put aside any double ups and put them all away in my brand new tool roll from Adventuremoto. 

I'm looking forward to giving these tools a try in the real world!.

Sea To Summit

‘Sea to Summit’ has sponsored many amazing people in the past. When I looked up their company website before approaching them for sponsorship, I was blown away by the amount of people they supported doing a wide range of activities. When I got a reply back from them, I was blown away that they thought I was a good ambassador for their company. Now I am going to be posted on their website along side all these amazing adventurous people.

Sea to Summit is a worldwide manufacturer of high quality outdoor, backpacking and travel products and accessories. They manufacture and distribute products for skiing, camping, hiking, climbing, backpacking, motorcycling – I bet you they never thought that they were going to supply gear for a motorcyclist!

But like all travellers, I still require high quality products and accessories. Seas to Summit have supplied waterproof compression sacks to ensure my sleeping bag, and clothing are not going to take up too much room! A first aid bag, cutlery set made out of T6 aluminium (ensuring lightweight and super strength), dry bag and a bag of kitchen bits.

Now kitchen bits, doesn’t sound that exciting, but I just love the tiny bottles and small jars, the tiny grater and whisk and you can not forget the small flexible chopping board! Ok maybe Im the only one that gets excited by tiny things...

Nancy Bird Walton Sponsorship for Female Adventurers

The afternoon was dragging on, four o’clock hits and the count down begins for the start of the weekend. Then my phone rings, answering it, I find out that its Kylie from Australia Geographic. My heart sank, I knew it, my virtual (online) interview I had to do last week was bad, and now I beat you she is going to ask me to do it again. This might not be a bad thing anyway, because I was really nervous!

But that wasn’t what Kylie was calling me about at all, ‘Danielle, I have some great news for you, you have been selected for the Nancy Bird Walton Sponsorship for female adventurers!’

I couldn’t believe my ears ‘really! Wow that’s amazing, I honestly thought I had missed out, since it had been so long’

‘It had taken this long for everyone to be able to sit down together and go through all the applications. We had Nancy Bird’s daughter and granddaughter on the panel.’ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing…‘You will be given a medal, and we will send a journalist and photographer to get a shot of you and that flash bike of yours for a press release we will be doing.’

‘My flash bike’ I laughed ‘is currently it in pieces, but I hope to have it back together sometime this month’

After I hung up the phone, I could contain my smile, I was grinning from ear to ear. I just had to call Mel, Louise, and Danielle to tell them my awesome news. For the next thirty minutes, all I could think about was opening up a bottle of champagne the second work finished!  

Nancy Bird Walton, is a remarkable woman. She had a dream of becoming a pilot and defying social constraints, she achieved it. In her lifetime, Nancy Bird Walton met with kings and queens and dined with the world’s most impressive dignitaries. She counted celebrated pioneering airwomen Jean Batten of New Zealand and Germany’s Elly Beinhorn as friends and in 1997 was named a Living National Treasure by the National Trust.

Nancy Bird Walton has been a trustee of the Australian Geographic Society for ten years and in recognition to her years of service, Australian Geographic Society pays a tribute to her in by setting up a new sponsorship to commemorate her life.

The Nancy Bird Walton Sponsorship for Female Adventurers will provide funding for

Australian female adventurers. By receiving this funding, I hope to follow in Nancy footsteps and inspire women to follow their dreams.

The Package

Every now and then I forgett my lunch and have to race home on my motorcycle to get it. On this particular day, I raced home, ran up the steps to my front door and unlocked it. As I steped into the house, I noticed a red slip of paper on the floor. It was the size of a bookmark and it had my name on it. Which meant I had a pacael waiting for me at the post office!

Excited, I grabed an old calico bag off my bedroom door knob and took off to the post office with my red slip of paper. Handing it too the lady behind the counter, she checks my names agaist my drivers licence and dispears into the back room. Returning to the front counter she hands me large square box. Stundded at the size, I realise there is no way I was going to fit that into my tiny calico bag! I polity ask her, if she has a plastic bag that would fit such a box. She laughs at me and says no. I then, ask for some string. and she hands me four pieces of string each about 40cm long. 

Walking out to my motorcycle, with my large square box under my arm and my useless calico bag hanging around my wrist, I quickly thought about all the possiblities how to get it back to my house. I could walk the box home and return for my motorcycle, but after queing up, I was already going to be late back to work. For smaller packages, I normally stuff under my jacket, but this one was larger than the two your old kid - therefore I ruled that out. I could tie the box on behind me, but the string is too short. After thinking of a couple of other rediculas options, I settled on tieing it to my handle bars.

Taking two pieces of string to tie them together to form a longer piece and then thread it through the lid of the box. Once through, I tied them together. Repeating with the second one, I had created a handle on my box. Slippling the handles over my handbars of my motorcycle. The box, sat out to one side, not just by a little bit, but a lot! I couldnt believe it. But there was no other options. Leaving the Post office car park, fingers crossed I wouldnt meet a police man on the short four blocks home, I then realised everyone in West End was looking at me. Luck was on my side, as the one set of traffic lights were green. I managed to get home, with my box and without a ticket. I was happy, but I now had no time left in my lunch break to open it! Devistated, I went back to work, thinking about what could be in my box.

Returning home that night, I was so worked up - I was just dieing to open that great big box! Carefully cutting the tape that sealed the box, opening the top laps, I peer inside. My vison was still impaired as it was fulled with little bags of air. Once I had removed these, I discovered it was a package from one of my sponsors! Horray they were finally here, two years supply of muilti coloured handle bar grips, stickers galllore and one really nice tee-shirt all courtacy of Spider Grips. Now I was going to have to find a way to zip tie all of them to my motorcycle!

Spider Grips are a American based company, and have choosen to support me and my adventures for the next two years. I have choosen to use the muilt coloured M1 for off-road use. The are acoustically acoustically engineered to rebound and absorb more vibration than any other grip on the market.  The dual layered M1 grips feature a full flange and a super strong end cap ideal for Off-Road, Dual-Sport and Motard riding. Best part about them is that they come in 9 colors, Titanium, Graphite, Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Black, Green and Pink. And Ive got one of each!  Which one should I start out on? 

Steve Smith from Adventuremoto Sponsors Me!

Every year you have a birthday, like every other year mine came along on the same day. Birthdays are something I like to go past with out a fuss, not because I have issues with coming to terms with being a year older but because, I personally do not like the forced attention it brings you. I was quite happy to follow suit once again. However, under some pressure from my close friends, I organised drinks at a tapa bar located in South Bank.


I have never been one for receiving gifts. I am incredibly fussy and I dislike it when people’s response to an invite to a birthday party, is to automatically proceed to purchase a gift with no meaning or thought to it. When given such a present, I never know how to receive it or how to give the appropriate response back. Therefore, I have completely given up on the idea of giving and receiving.


As we all sat down together, Mel handed me a white envelope, which contained several folded pieces of paper. Pulling it out and unfolding them, they opened out to a cartoon called ‘After a Year of Cushions…’ and return tickets to Sydney.

Mels cartoon - After a year of cushions

Earlier in the year, I had to get tough and explained to all my friends who are widely scattered around New Zealand and Australia that I couldn’t visit anyone as I was putting all my money towards my trip.
Therefore, Mel thought she would allow me that pleasure, before I leave Australia to see my friends in Sydney.


With one week until Mel and I get on that plane, I emailed Steve from Adventuremoto.com. I had meet Steve at the Horizons Unlimited meeting in Noosa. Steve and Lance (from Trailzone Magazine) had driven all the way up the coast to have a trade display of all their products.


After the Horizons Unlimited meeting, I approached Steve, asking him for his support in my adventure. At first, I was a bit shy about asking him, since he was a person I knew. I was blown away when the reply came back with ‘of course, but maybe you should change your name to cheekymonkey’.


An old friend, who I hadn’t seen since my first trip to Laos, picked us up from the airport. We narrowly escaped our death on the way to Steve’s warehouse. Getting lost was also part of the fun! I saw more of Sydney then I had ever seen before. Blair hadn’t changed a bit over the years!


Arriving at our destination in one piece, we stood outside the large green shed. With a quick glimpse, I could see it was full of bikes, tires, shelves packed full of the different products. Steve greeted me with a huge warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. After making the introductions to Mel and Blair, he dragged me inside.


Pulling a pannier frame out of a box and placing it onto the bench, he shows me how the ‘Wolfman’ panniers system clips simply onto the pannier. Just to show me the bags capabilities, he adjusting the straps to get the perfect fit. Trying to twist the panniers off the rack, I gave up when I could not find any movement. It was then I made my mind up.

Wolfman Pannier System

 My previous panniers had only one horizontal adjustment. Every morning I would attach it to my pannier frame perfectly only to find it slips a few hours latter and then the panniers would then move. Every time I it a bump they would fly upwards like a pair of wings on the back of my motorcycle. Over time, the panniers started to rip and I then had a weekly pain-staking task of sowing them up.


Steve moved around the warehouse filling up a huge cardboard box full of tank bags, panniers, duffle bag, tool roll, toolbox, medical dog tags, fuel bladder, drink bottle holders, a tee shirt, and a hat. I couldn’t help wondering how I was going to get all of this stuff back to Brisbane in my carry on luggage!

A Duffle bag to match the DR!

I carrying the ‘Wolfman’ duffle bag stuffed full, into the domestic airport. I was trying to stand up straight and make it seam weightless and small. All so, I didn’t have to pay for extra luggage. Mel wasn’t helping, she keep glancing at me sideways and telling me to stand straighten up, while laughing.

Whats in the goodies bag??

Slipping past the airhostess checking tickets a luggage, I was on the plane with my overloaded bag. Plonking my self down into my allocated seat, I hand Mel the duffle bag to put into the overhead compartment. As the weight transferred completely into her hands, she almost drops it!

My adventuremoto gear!

Sitting back into the seat, I couldn’t help smiling. I was lucky and was able to have an awesome birthday. I was able to spend time with many of my friends spread over two cities. I got to spend some time with Steve from ‘Adventuremoto’, and get fully equipped with the gear I need for my trip. I hope that I can return the favour by help him out with his next project.

me and my bike showing off my new teeshirt.

Mel, you’re amazing, thank you so much for making the Sydney weekend possible.

AXO Sponsorship

Riding my Suzuki motorcycle up to the front door of the brand new Yamaha headquarters here in Brisbane, I sigh with relief, as I wasn’t the only bright yellow motorcycle in the car park. I was here to meet Nicola from AXO and Shaun, from Shaun Lang Photography. Walking into the reception, I was mistaken for someone that was here for the nation wide meeting and promptly sent to the kitchen where everyone was mingling. Luckily, for me Shaun was sitting at a long white boardroom table within in a glass ‘fish tank’ of a meeting room. 

  The car park was full when I arrived!

Shaking Shaun hand, I instantly feel at ease. Sitting down I sense his excitement as he starts asking question straight away. Shaun pulls his phone out and places it between us to record my every word. Nervous feeling enter my tummy at the thought of been recorded, I try to relax. Nicola walks into the room and I was finally able to meet the person at the other end of my emails. Nicola leaves with everyone else who is there for the meeting and I follow Shaun’s taxi into town to their hotel.

After finding a motorcycle park, I help Shaun unload his bags. He had been discussing why he was here with the taxi driver. As the driver jumps back into his seat, to turns to me ‘I hope you find what you’re looking for’. It’s an interesting statement. On my last trip, I was defiantly looking to grow within myself. However, this time I hope to inspire people, especially woman to follow their dreams.

I ended up spending the whole day with Shaun. I relaxed and answered his many questions about my trip and where I got my passion. In the early afternoon, I rode my bike down to the underside of the story bridge where I thought would make a nice location for a photograph. Shaun sets my bike into position and then asks me to sit on the bike looking away from the city. Feeling slightly silly, I follow his instructions. 

Shaun Laung Photography

Shaun then asks me to do something I wouldn’t normally do. I sat down on the ground outside an old wharf building, with my motorcycle in the distance. He set up the video camera in front of me, and placed a microphone on me. Shaun then asked me tailored questions he asked me earlier, but this time I was able to put everything together. Trying to pull my nerves aside and speak clearly and coherently, I was still sweating. With my whole my story recorded onto the camera, I was finally off the hook. We packed up the gear and headed to the bar for a drink. I only wish I had the drink before hand!

Nicola was able to join us as we ended the day with drinks and dinner. It has been a brilliant day. It was an opportunity that I would have shied away from in the pass, due to my shyness. However, I am really glad I meet these two great guys.

Thanks to AXO, who have kindly donated to me a pair of motorcycle pants, jacket, and a pair of boots.

Australian Geographic Society Decide to Sponsor Me!

It is unusual for me, but I had received some disappointing results medically the day before. Not realising that the news would hit me so hard, I found my self stuck in bed when it was time to start work. Not long after I made the call to work, Mel cheered me up with dragging me to a café to get my morning shot of coffee.

Later on that morning, another friend pops around to make sure I am ok, sitting around the glass outdoor table, we all sip our green teas. My phone comes to life with ‘Beck’ screaming from its tiny microphone. Noting that it is an unknown number I answer it with ‘Danielle speaking’ ‘Hi, It’s Kylie from Australian Geographic’ my heart beating madly, if only I could get their support! ‘We would like to support your adventure’. This is when I started dancing around the back garden ‘oh wow’ I just managed to spit out ‘That’s amazing, thank you!’

I couldn’t believe it, It was a dream come true. I found it hard to concentrate and ask Kylie all the right questions about the grant. All I wanted to do was tell Louise and Mel. Eventually I removed the phone from my ear and was able to dance my way back to the table not been able to sit down. Words bursting from my mouth I tell the others my news. Still prancing, I rang Louise.

Mel and Louise worked with me over the last few weeks putting together my proposal. They read every word a hundred times over, questioning every word making sure my statements were accurate. Thanks a lot Louise and Mel, I could not have done it with out you too. Especially since I know, you both are busy too.

What could have been a hard day, quickly turned out to be one of the best days, I was lucky to be able to share it with my good friends. That night we opened a couple of bottles of champagne.

 

Website Link

Lastly I want to thank Australian Geographic Society for supporting me.