Hello Poppete and welcome from Virginia. I love the sound of that ride you describe. We North American riders are meeting up in Marble Falls, AR in just over a week, many of them are riding cross country to it, not many trailering their bikes. The long ride to a week of loing rides sounds like a good idea to me. Again, welcome!
Welcome @poppete from another Aussie in Vic, just down the road a few hrs in Traralgon. Need to catch up for a ride mate on our big girls, Safety in numbers as they say.