On her Bike: a free soul on an adventure bike!

Motorcycle Diaries

She is a passionate solo adventure rider. After a trip of 19.000 km around Australia she is now on her way on a round-the-world trip. Her name is Kinga Tanajewska and she is one with her bike.

Kinga left Poland after finishing Engineering University. She did not want to get stuck in a job right away, but take the time to discover the world and experience ‘life’ before settling into an everyday life. She had already lived in the USA and England, and decided it was time to move again. But where? Canada or Australia. She took a chance with the hottest place and moved to Sydney. What was supposed to be a gap year turned into something different: Sydney became her home.

“At the beginning I didn’t mean to stay here forever,” Kinga says, “I just wanted to explore. Since I don’t like crowds and love nature and remote places, Australia seemed to be the perfect choice.”

Back in the 90’s, Kinga was a member of the Polish motorcycle community. At the age of sixteen she was already going for weekend camping trips and rallies with her Honda CB450 Nighthawk. Year after year her passion for motorbikes grew until it finally reached its peak: she discovered adventure riding in Australia. A perfect match!

“I never really went on dirt bikes before I came to Australia,” she says, “Everybody got inspired by the series The Long way round. That made adventure riding very popular but I actually didn’t watch the series until last year. My riding inspiration came from the people I met in Australia. They had motorbikes that could go on and off road; they could go anywhere. I thought ‘Wow…this is what I want to do!’ and I decided to go around Australia on a motorbike.”

Kinga was working in the mining industry and was able to be transferred across the country to work in Western Australia. When the opportunity to ride solo around the country presented itself she took it. She divided the trip into two parts, each one lasting one month. First she set out through the East and North of Australia and then she travelled the West and the South. She called it “Tour de Oz”, a 19.000 km ride around Australia on a BMW F800 GS.

“I completely fell in love with Australia. Nevertheless, if I had to pick a favourite place it would be Western Australia. It is the biggest state and it almost takes up half of the country. On the northwest you have ‘the Kimberley’ full of amazing landscapes and massive nature. More to the southwest the trees disappear and everything turns red, hot, remote, vast and harsh… things which I can’t get enough off!” she says, “For adventure riding the western side is perfect!”

With this trip she did not only take the chance to fulfil her exploring dreams but also to help The Shepherd Centre. Extending its meaning beyond her own needs she raised money for this charity organisation that helps deaf and hearing impaired children to learn how to listen and talk. If you would like to know more about this organisation, visit them here.

After such a rewarding experience Kinga’s curiosity and adventure spirit craved for more. She recently embarked on her round-the-world-trip and she is keeping a diary on her blog ‘On her Bike’ You can still get on board for updates if you would like to follow her steps or wheels.

“First I wanted to go to Poland for three months to visit my family and friends. At work they said I could not, so I quit my job. I had saved enough money to be on my own for awhile; my life was suddenly changing and gave me the chance to jump into another trip with no strings attached. It was the right moment to set out on a round-the-world-trip.”

She is now on her way without really knowing how long she’ll be travelling. Kinga’s plan is to keep on going until her money runs out.

“I love to camp. Very cheap, really”, she says, “I can do it anywhere. That is how I plan to travel the world. I talked with people who had already planned a RTW trip to know how much it would cost me and I am pretty confident that I’ll make it. If you live a basic life…the money will last.”

Kinga went solo again with no fear. You may be surprised by her courage and determination but she is very humble and pragmatic when talking about herself. She won’t give you any pink advice to boost up your confidence nor diminish your fears. “Just do it! Why not?” Kinga says.

“I remember that when I was planning the trip around Australia fear came creeping up my back. My strategy at that time was to go to bed every time I was thinking about what I should worry about. It worked. And when you want to see the world and experience it to the fullest you go solo; when you travel in groups you stick together and you almost don’t approach anyone else. When you’re on your own there is no limit and people tend to be a tad more curious about what you do. But most of all I love it… I love my own company.”

If you also love your own company and you’re thinking of doing something similar to what she is doing, she gives you one last piece of advice: Improve your off-road skills, make sure you can put both feet on the ground when you’re on your bike and that you can pick it up when it tips over.

“If you’re doing off road and you have no experience, be sure to build up some experience. It’s amazing how much confidence you gain after training. Before I had the training I would have to go to a tourist information point to ask about the road conditions and now I don’t even ask anymore, I just go… I know I’ll be fine!”