DAY 29
A bit of a sleep in again today but I was on the road by 0900. It looked like being a bit wet in places today but I would play it by ear as to the route selection for the day. I was favouring the northern end of the Hills and started out with a lap up Norton Summit road, then back down, then back up...just because I could.
DAY 28
Flying back into Adelaide late at night I wandered over to the storage shed and liberated the bike. I was very kindly staying at Andy's place for a few nights as he was stuck in Brisbane with Covid. I didn't have any major plans for this visit. I just wanted to mosey around the Adelaide Hills in general and as rain was forecast for today, I would check the radar and ride to wherever it looked dry. First order of business though was to grab some breakfast. Despite the forecast, it looked like it was going to be a decent day.
DAY 25
Today was going to be something different for Chiller (Steve). He wanted to tackle the dirt of the Western Explorer up to Arthur River and back. I had ridden the W.E. a few weeks back but was happy to go again.
We set off from Queenstown at about 0930 as it was getting a bit cool early in the mornings. We enjoyed the twisty road across to Zeehan. I stopped for a quick photo of the church as we entered town.
DAY 22
This morning Steve and I kept up our support of the local bakeries, today to our detriment. Feeble pies and coffee coloured warm milk. Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all. 🤨
It was stands up at 9am and we trod carefully on the road out to Elephant Pass. It was wet from overnight showers and I was taking it very carefully on the knobbies again. (Riding my Tuono in the wet at home a few weeks later it feels totally planted. This justifies my very careful speed in the wet on the knobbies, despite feeling slow, being dropped like a hot potato by the lads😕)
The road did dry out as we climbed the pass, being dry on the eastern side. Steve and I stopped for a couple of photos.
Day 20
With this many cats to herd a rigid regime was put into place for every morning. Breakfast at 8am, stands up at 9am. Unfortunately the Deloraine Town Cafe’ bakery was closed this morning (WTF?) so we ate at a small cafe down the hill from the Holy Grail bakery cafe’. It was basic but good.
We were pleased to see that the bikes were still there in the morning. Another group were also staying and one of them had a Benelli Tornado. Now that is a bike you don’t see every day. I love the look of the extraction fans for the under seat radiator.
DAY 24
We were leaving Hobart today and heading west. First order of business though was to source some breakfast. The guys had spotted Jackman And McRoss in Battery Point yesterday so that was todays breakfast bakery. 😁
DAY 19
It was bit of a rowdy night in the pub below me. Plenty of hoo haa until the early hours. A bike left the pub before sun up and I could hear it for miles and miles in the still night air. I thought "he's brave" , what with all the wildlife active at night around here.
I got up at sun-up myself, as the lads would be getting off the boat pretty early and I had said I would meet them in Railton as they made their way to Deloraine. I didn't want to miss them so the plan was to get there early and wait.
The valley to the west of Mole Creek was full of fog - which didn't really show up in my photos....
I flew back into Launceston late on the 24th of March, too late to get on the bike and go anywhere, so I stayed in the Kings Meadows Hotel again. Nothing flash but good value at $50 a night.
I have ridden approximately 10 800 kilometres(6720mi) so far on this tour of south eastern Australia and thought I might break the trip blogs up with some thoughts on the tyres I have used or am currently using. For reference, the bike is a 2018 Africa Twin Adventure Sports (243kg wet) that is loaded with my camping gear (approximately 25kg) and I weigh about 95kg in my riding gear.
DAY 16
I was awake from about 3am today. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to bed so early. 😕 It rained quite a bit during the night but I was nice and dry in my Spartan 2. I'm really impressed with that tent!
The sandy ground didn't show any sign of the rain but I did have to mess around finding some direct sunlight to put the tent and fly in to get it dried out so I could pack it away - because - O.C.D.
Once packed up I headed for the bridge over Cockle Creek for a couple of photos. A cool change must have accompanied the rain last night as there was a nip in the air this morning. Pretty much the first time it has felt cold at the lower levels since I've been in Tassie. It looked like it was going to be another great day though.
DAY 14
Flying into Launny today there was a high chance of rain. Looking out the window of the jet, toward the west as we were on final for runway 14R, it looked pretty bleak. This could be interesting....
DAY 13
I did set an alarm today as I had a slightly ambitious schedule which was going to culminate in me flying home tonight for work. So I had the bike packed and was on the road just after 7am - the earliest start since waay back here on Day 3! I knew that Derby would be awake and planned on grabbing a bite to eat there. I wasn't disappointed, with the Two Doors Down cafe' doing a brisk trade. I perched myself out the front and chatted with some mtbers while downing a not-too-shabby coffee and toasty.
DAY 12
A bit of a dusty start this morning thanks to that bottle of red I hauled from Q'town. Think of the money it saved me though....anyway, after a few trips up and down the old Mole Creek Hotel staircase I had the bike loaded and was ready to go. It was warm and I was sweating already! How awesome was this weather? Perfect for motorcycle touring!
First stop was just down the road at the Deloraine Town Cafe' Bakery - again.
DAY 11
I had a great nights sleep and was awake early. Not that I had to get going any time soon, but I got up and had my cheap 'n' cheerful breakfast. These little yoghurts are great as they keep well, take up next to no space then roll down into nothing once done. Black coffee mightn't be my preference but is definitely better than nothing.
DAY 10
During the night the wind picked up and was fairly howling. Remember those sheltering trees to the west that I mentioned yesterday? Yeah, well the wind was an easterly so they did absolutely nothing to stop the tent being shaken like I was camping on the ice shelf in Antarctica! Throw in a few showers of rain and the shaking of the trees behind me as each gust tore through their branches and you can probably imagine how many times I woke up that night !😳 Eventually I shoved some ear plugs in and managed to sleep until about 7am but the damage was done.
DAY 9
Well, I have had leave booked from mid last year for late February/early March so what better way to use it than to go back and ride my bike?! Especially as we were having biblical amounts of rain here in Brisbane. Try ~ 500mm per day, for the last four days in a row. My flight to Launceston was delayed two and a half hours because of rain induced carnage to the network, plus a tarmac shutdown because of lightning. When we did eventually start to taxi it was via a circuitous route because 01R/19L and it's associated taxiways were flooded! Yep, if the new runway hadn't been there Brisbane Airport (BNE) would have been closed!
That is the Prime Minister's air force VIP jet being towed from the international terminal, through the floodwater to dry(er) ground before it could start it's engines and taxi safely under it's own steam. Yep, it was WET and I was happy to be bidding it good riddance!
DAY 8
After a reasonable nights sleep with only one train that sounded like it went through my room 😄 we were up pretty early as my mate, Andy had to fly home for work today. This meant getting to Launny, dropping his bike at the local Honda dealer for it's 6000km service and him juggling gear in our storage shed, then getting himself to the airport. I was happy just to tag along and do whatever he needed to do as I wasn't flying home until tomorrow.
DAY 6
Despite not needing to be up early, I was up pretty early. The Golden Age Hotel puts on a complimentary breakfast so I tucked into that. There was no sign of the BMW guys. I think they might have been wearing out from all the frivolity of the last few days. 😆
No problem though as my bike was parked at the back of the group and I could get it out to load up. I was on the road by about 8am, still with no firm plan on what to do. I didn't have to worry for a while as the only course of action was to ride down to Bruthen on the Great Alpine road - and yes, it is pretty great, especially where it follows the Tambo River. No photos as I wasn't stopping.
Through Bruthen toward Bairnsdale and big time civilisation. Boo. I wanted to avoid the highway as much as possible so typed Maffra into the GPS. This took me right at the first roundabout on the outskirts of Bairnsdale and back out into the countryside.
When the GPS started to take me back North I thought it was getting a bit too adventurous and commanded it back to Stratford - and the Princes Highway.
Fuel and food in Stratford, then a planning session in Apex Park under the shade of a tree. It was nice not to be in a hurry and I sorted some accomodation thanks to input from users on the Netrider forum. Cheers guys for the suggestions. 😉
Looking at my old Hema road atlas I noticed the highlighted road across the ranges between the highway and the coast. The Grand Ridge Road! Of course!! Reading the blurb (it is one of the recommended 50 best rides) and I was sold. Topping it off is that it would take me through Mirboo North. We always used to go through there on the way to The Island.
I thought about getting off the highway to Maffra again and crossing the Princes at Rosedale and then on to Gormandale. I should have stuck with that thought. Instead, I did the highway to Sale, then crawled for kilometres in the 40km/h zone through the extensive roadworks. D'oh!
I eventually got off the highway at Rosedale and passed through Gormansdale. Boy, it was getting hot now with 35C showing on the bike.
The road south out of Gormansdale wasn't a bad one at all but before I knew it I was turning West onto The Grand Ridge Road. I had no idea how long it was but I had a full tank of 91 and all day to explore. Bring it on!
Looking back north east to where I had come from this morning.
And just after that, looking south west some direction, toward Bass Straight.
(I was sure it was southwest at the time but the shadow under the bike confuses me now…🤔)
It was a cracking day but getting bloody hot! As I got into the tight, twisty sections of the road my speed was down to about 20km/h on the loose gravel corners in case of oncoming logging traffic. Not a problem per se, but with 38C temperatures I wasn't getting much cooling airflow. I was drenched!
Ever since I bought the BMW F800 a few years ago I have entertained the idea of riding it around Australia. The only problem is that I don't have enough time off work to make it happen without it being a somewhat rushed trip (Australia is a BIG place you know!). Now owning the even more capable Africa Twin, the thought has stayed with me and perhaps grown stronger throughout this Covid debacle.
DAY 3
An early start was on the cards today. I had made an "appointment" to meet my Dad for coffee at the local bakery in Forbes at 10am. I reckon that nobody has ever made an appointment with Dad for a coffee (old timey bush mechanic all his life) and since Mum passed away in mid 2020, Dad has been a bit lost. I thought my surprise visit might cheer him up and get him out of the house.
Now, the problem is when I set the meeting time I only had a vague idea of how long it would take to get from Rylestone to Forbes. With (very) limited internet I texted my brother for a Google Maps appraisal. Maps reckoned it would take 3hours and 45minutes to do the 276km.
Fcuk!
So, to be there at 10am I would need to be on the road at just after 6am! Not good as that was just on first light. There wouldn't be many Skippys on the road at that hour...! 😟
I set the alarm for stupidly early, struggled all of my gear out of my room, being careful not to lock myself out of the pub until my stuff was all outside, then fumbled in the dark with the combination lock that was on the shed the bike was in.
Loaded up and on the road I took it very steady at 80km/h. It was a bit foggy this morning so that didn't help with the Skippy spotting. As I made my way through Kandos it started to feel cold. Maybe the loading exertion was starting to wear off but the temperature guage did indicate 10C. That is cold for a Queenslander where the temperature hadn't been below 26C overnight in the previous week!
A few big eastern Greys loped across the road just to the west of Kandos and even the 80km/h felt fast as I braked to give them more room. Breaking out of the tree cover I had the most beautiful vista across the valley.
Now THAT was singularly worth getting up for!
Just a few kilometres further on I turned south on the Castlereagh Highway and looking back East was just - WOW! As much as I hate early starts these days, the reward is worth it.
I followed a delivery van for quite some time toward Sofala. I was happy to have him running interference for any potential roos that may be loitering by the road. Yes, I know (and have seen) plenty of roos jump between oncoming traffic but it made me feel better nonetheless. The twisty bit of road dropping off the range just west of Wattle Flat is hot mix asphalt and would be my second home if I lived in Bathurst or the surrounds. What an awesome bit of road!
I blasted straight past Sofala. Having seen it a few times it doesn't do anything for me these days (but if you haven't seen it, it is a must do). No, I didn't have any time to waste this morning. I really wanted to get to Orange ASAP so as to guage how I was tracking re my 10am appointment. Bathurst is always a slow traverse but I did find a new short cut that meant I didn't have to get on the Great Western Highway at Kelso and dawdle all the way through every traffic light in town. Hereford Street, new bypass has been built since I last came from that way and I reckon it saved me 10 minutes.
There were extensive road works between Bathurst and Orange which again slowed progress. On the outskirts of Orange I elected to take the new-ish town bypass, again to save time.
Well, what is the point of a town bypass if businesses move out of town to be lined along it and then the speed limit is dropped because there is so much traffic exiting and entering the road to access said businesses? Logical I guess but annoying too.
Luckily, I was running well to schedule and I decided to stop at the brand new to me Maccas for a muffin and a coffee, plus to catch my breath.
I also grabbed some fuel just up the road and was right for the last 120km or so. You can usually wind the wick up a bit west of Orange (well, you could 25 years ago) to make up time. At least when I got stuck at road works it was pretty easy to round up the conga line of traffic.
I made a super quick (as in just ride up onto the footpath) photo stop in Eugowra to get some snaps of some of the murals. Eugowra's claim to fame, apart from being our family's settling place once off the boat in the late 1800s, is the hold up of the gold stage coach just outside of town in 1862. Ben Hall and his gang did many a dastardly deeds back in the day and I sort of find it slightly unsettling/amusing that all these small towns cash in on this past infamy. I guess you do what you gotta do, then and now. 😶
With only 34km or so to go I made it at 10:02! I hopped off the bike and wandered inside. No Dad, despite his car being outside. Wandering back out to the car, there he was, sitting in it. There was no way he was going inside by himself to wait! Did I mention he doesn't get out much? 😐
I spent the next three or four days hanging out and helping with some jobs that he can't do any more. I can see it is frustrating for him as he was one of those guys that never asked for help because he COULD do everything himself. Mechanic by trade but capable of tacking any job. They don't make 'em like Dad any more.
DAY 4
After a few days at home I was coming into my reserve days. I had planned to just drop the bike in Sydney at Steve's house and fly home but as I hadn't been called in to work by the Saturday night I was rolling into another bunch of days off! Good for me, bad for the airline - things are still pretty quiet as far as air travel goes. This gave me another 7 days clear so I decided to go for it and booked the boat to Tassie for the Tuesday morning. A day sailing was the cheapest all week AND it happened to suit my time frame. YEAH!!
A quick tub for the steed to knock the bugs off and I loaded up, bid Dad farewell and hit the road toward south....er...Grenfell. But not before I was stopped by probably the only train to go through Forbes each day. And my, wasn't it a looong one! 😏
I was in Grenfell in no time at all, despite stops for photos, so snapped a photo of their silo art as well.
Next stop, Young. The road from Grenfell to Young is an interesting ride and every time I do it, it takes me back to the mid '90s when Steve and I heading to or from Phillip Island for the races...or us heading to the Snowies for a weekend. Good times and this is what it looked like.....
