Well we told ourselves our work diary said we needed a 24hr break today so we have spent some time exploring the lovely town of Hay and while we thought it would be a case of getting the bike gear on and off Phyllis lent us a car which made things much friendlier, especially given how warm and humid it’s been after over 10mm of rain overnight and given the upcoming forecast we expect to get very wet between now and when we get home. I’ll let the pictures tell you where we have been.

A visit to the Australian Shearers Hall of Fame which we really enjoyed. This is the main building housing many exhibits and the obligatory gift shop and café where we enjoyed a delicious lunch.

An early wool trailer, a hefty weight before any wool was added!

The Murray Downs Shearing Shed. The original was a 24-stand shed and needed 42 people to run it. It was unfortunately burnt down in the 1800’s and this 10-stand shed was built to replace it and subsequently moved to this site when the property was sold.

And one sheep being shorn. Intrigues me how dazed they look once on their back considering how frisky they are on their feet.

Bishops Lodge Historic House had hoped to see the rose gardens, but it was shut.

Hay Station, a grand building, now a Museum but again, not open.

And from the platform side. There were two carriages with historical details about the German, Austrian, Japanese and Italian internees held in Hay during the 2^nd World War.

And the Station Masters House, now a private property.

The mighty Murrumbidgee River, water level well up.

You can see the level on the bridge uprights, so not as deep as it has been at some time.

And Hay Park  (awesome)set amongst some beautiful fig trees.

And some more of the trunks. They look spectacular but I’m glad I don’t have to worry about the massive roots being anywhere near the foundations of my house!

Comfortable days travel with gradual darkening skies and thunderstorms predicted, thankfully didn’t happen until after we got in and settled. So it’s official, I finally got to travel across ‘The Paddock’ also known as ‘The Hay Plains’ and I quite enjoyed it albeit with a desire for a few more  roadside stops both for us to stop and have a stretch but more so for all the truck drivers to be able to break up their journey and manage their fatigue. I’ve loved seeing all the vast sweeping paddocks of grain and farmland and that was only topped by the magnificent vistas of stormy skies with rolling clouds and trailers of rain falling in places beyond us. Just confirmed again that I love big sky views.

Have caught up briefly with our friend Phyllis Jones and will have dinner with her tonight. Haven’t managed to spend time together for a couple of years so lots to catch up on.

A brief coffee stop at ‘FatBob Blonde HQ’ a tiny little location in the middle of nowhere (cannot remember the name). Norm struck up a conversation with a couple of old locals which was fun.

And down the street, the pub has just changed hands and about to be reopened so the locals are pretty happy about that.

A street view in Hay near our motel to soak up the view of the Jacarandas, being further south than where we have travelled earlier, they are still well in bloom.

And further along the street to capture the nice buildings. You always know you’re in a pretty remote area when the communication towers are in full view of the CBD.

Last night’s accommodation

Ardeanal Motel, West Wyalong

A budget price but adequately looked after us with newly tiled bathroom and comfortable bed. Tidy space but had all we needed other than a reliable Wi-Fi connection, kept fluctuating so decided it was all too hard. Shady place to sit and chill on the veranda and got a tip for a home delivery dinner from a local Tavern with a discount, so dinner sorted. Pool on site had we wanted to use it.

The view from the street.

And where we were.

We had a beautiful day for travelling today. Cool for a start and gradually warming up with blue skies and sunshine and the countryside looked magnificent.

We started by stopping in Mudgee to take some photos and I think it’s my favorite town for the trip. Lovely big footpaths and stately buildings and the whole area has an appearance of being cared for if not manicured. For those who may not know, it is the town used in the TV series Doctor Doctor as the town Whyhope.

Street scene Mudgee.

And another.

And another.

From there we continued on and stopped in Sofala for a coffee and it is the oldest surviving gold town in Australia, or so the sign says so others may have a different opinion. The town looks like a walk in history with quite a number of substantial buildings still standing and the ‘Magpie Antiques and Collectables’ made an awesome coffee. We caught up with a father and son riding pair, the son from Melbourne and the father from Mirboo North!

Sofala, so quirky.

And again.

We had lunch in Cowra, again a lovely stately old town but we ate at the Rose Gardens Café on the outskirts of town so no pics there, and we stopped for a stretch in Grenfell but the street was half torn up and looked a mess, hope its for a revival project, certainly looks like it needs it.

Blayney was also a quirky town and worth a look another time and now in West Wyalong. I remember travelling the winding main street before the bypass went in with big dips for floodways at intervals in the street which seemed bizarre. Haven’t seen any of those today.

Norm tackled a car wash to clean the bikes tonight to try and get rid of as much lime as possible from the roadworks and flood damage on the roads we have been on prior to today and is looking forward to getting serious about it when we get home. Not a happy camper to have lime anywhere near paintwork or aluminum.

A good looking bike in West Wyalong.

And some speccie buildings.

Last night’s accommodation

Horatio Suites and Motel, Mudgee

A lovely spot. Spacious room and beautifully fitted out with good wardrobe space, efficient kitchen space, couch, coffee table, desk as well as a table and two chairs. Bathroom gives the appearance of being small but generous size shower and bench and basin and complimentary toiletries welcome for the shower. Were grateful for the guest laundry so we could wash and dry all the riding gear and other accumulated bits.  Staff very helpful and friendly. Had a home delivered Indian meal recommended by staff. Very nice. On site Restaurant just starting up again after COVID so grabbed a yummy Continental Pack for breakfast. Would be nice to come back.

The view from the street.

The suites where we were, the apartments were to the right of this.

The weather forecast in all directions said it would be an ideal day to sit by the fire and enjoy a good movie. We took Plan B and rode around a saturated regional NSW. When the rain wasn’t falling out of the sky it was splashing up from the road, or both. We had one detour to avoid flooding (.5m across the New England Highway, a bit high for the bikes and certainly this rider) we also negotiated many floodways thankfully none too scary, and glad we didn’t meet any trucks on them or we might have been washed away with their road spray. They looked daunting as they approached!

Needless to say, the phone was safely tucked away for the majority of the day so only out twice for pics. Lunchtime and a stretch stop late in the afternoon. Lovely to be in now and while damp through the day we still felt comfortably warm apart from the last bit in from Gulgong when all my joints felt cold, but I’m not as tough as Norm.

A shot from the hotel veranda across the street in Premer where we had a late lunch. When we stopped it was raining and the water extended to the front wheels.

And a street view in Historic Gulgong where we stopped to get a hot chocolate at the pub since a local told us this was the only spot as all the cafes were closed on Sunday.

No luck at the pub so an iced coffee from the local IGA.

And the final shot of the quirky curved street. Interesting that there is parking on both sides of the street now. It used to be only one side which means now you have to wait for oncoming traffic.

Last night’s accommodation

All Seasons Motel, Armidale

A bit of a scary arrival as the place looked close to deserted with gardens unruly and only one car in evidence but room okay. Large and roomy with couch and table. Internal and external access and veranda to dry the wet weather gear on which was handy. Room smells a bit of naphthalene perhaps to disguise damp carpet, don’t know but in any case, manager helpful and on-site restaurant provided a room service dinner and breakfast before we departed.

Were welcome to park bikes under the overhang Out of the rain when we checked in but wet this morning.

Well after checking all the weather sites we could find we knew we would be in for a wet day and chose a route that might minimize the exposure which it did. We didn’t get any rain until about 50kms from our destination and then it was only in patches and patchy wet roads but of course we arrived dripping wet at our destination. I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

We fueled up and had breakfast at Casino, a lovely tidy town but unfortunately like all regional towns has many empty shops. The temperature was hot and steamy, so I donned my mesh jacket.  A shot typical of the tidy plantings and old buildings.

We pulled off the road for a coffee at the café at Tabulam, a tired little collection of buildings but having a serious go and staying afloat, the coffee was delicious, and the big shady veranda was welcome. The long sleeve top came off this time.

There was a bit of a working bee at the local pub with all hands-on deck sanding down the veranda rails, by the banter and laughter there might have been a little drinking before they started.

Lunch was at Tenterfield, again a lovely town with some awesome buildings. This is an impressive one on the way in.

And a second shot to capture the lovely leafy street we had come down.

And lovely street plantings in the CBD looking towards a sensational example of an Art Deco Hotel.

And that my friends is it, too wet to explore in Armidale tonight which is a shame as it looks a really stately town with all sorts of lovely buildings. Thankful that the onsite restaurant will do room service. Might order breakfast as well so we can get a good start in the morning.

Last night’s accommodation

Richmond Motor Inn, Ballina

Nicely set out. Clean and tidy and good parking. Pool (no I didn’t use it but was tempted to get in clothes and all when we arrived). Nice to have a couch to sit on and a table to do the blog. Not a huge space but have made effective use of all of it. Literally across the road from the RSL so handy for dinner. Walking distance to many other shops. Staff helpful and clear with instructions.

Firstly, the adjoining Motel to ours in Ballina. Our motel is on the far right. Don’t know if its neighbor is old or new and built to look old but it’s a stunner. The one I took coming home from dinner didn’t come out. DOH.

Been a warm day travelling today and have appreciated my mesh jacket and drinking lots to offset the Coolgardie safe aspects of it.

I keep forgetting to tell you about some awesome tourism billboards as we approached Tamworth. There was a massive picture of Uluru / Ayers Rock and the message said, “Buy Australian holidays like you bought toilet paper”. Ha ha. Loved it.

So today, rather than sticking to the motorway all day we chopped and changed from and back to it as we explored older roads and sights. We enjoyed a morning coffee at Nambucca Heads and thought the poor old town was looking pretty tired really and enjoyed nice green glades of tropical growth. We had lunch at Grafton which is looking good with lovely street gardening and some beautiful old buildings. Having travelled into town on the big new bridge over the Clarence River, and were blown away being beside the old bridge with trains on the bottom level and trucks and cars on the top level so we went hunting after lunch to get some photos The next break was for an iced coffee in Maclean a Scottish settled town and as their own Scottish quirkiness the bottom part of all the electricity and streetlight poles are painted in various tartan patterns. The town itself on the river looked well maintained. Our last break was on the edge of the motorway to get the weight off the tails and also made it possible for Norm to get a photo of a local Thorpdale truck (Kelly Durkin) which looked great. We had passed it earlier.

A shot of the Kempsey Post Office last night on the way to the RSL for dinner.

And a shot of the road bridge over the Macleay River from the RSL as the sun was going down.

And the view at Nambucca Heads from the Rotary Lookout.

One of many cool leafy glades we travelled through.

The Grafton Clocktower and some surrounding buildings.

The low bridge on the left is the rail bridge on the approach and the high one to the right is the road bridge.

And there is the bridge.

And we found ourselves a ferry crossing on our way.

Typical of Maclean. Loved the little town.

Last night’s accommodation

City Centre Motel, Kempsey

Old but clean and tidy. Lots of room to stow our gear and lay it out on bench and desk space. Nicely appointed room, comfortable enough. Got a bit of washing done and hung out on the bikes … then discover the motel has a laundry. Oh well got it done anyway. Staff helpful and the space worked for us. Dining options a comfortable walk to the CBD and with COVID restrictions also Chinese takeaway on site. Oops, forgot to take any pics of the motel.

All sorts of temperatures and conditions today, a bit of patchy rain here and there and wet weather gear on then off because it was too warm. All beautiful riding.

We had breakfast in Tamworth then headed off along the New England Highway and to quote Norm ‘back in the day it was a real shocker ..… and the coast road (Pacific Highway) was even worse’. He was blown away by all the passing lanes in evidence now and the surface of the road overall was wonderful, as we have found everywhere, other than a bit of water damage here and there, hardly surprising given the recent rains. Evidence of multiple landslides down the Oxley and a number of corners washed out and rebuilt as one way to open to traffic.

Sadly, as in Victoria there has hardly been anywhere which hasn’t been impacted by fire in the last couple of years, farmland and forest alike, even into some of the tropical rainforest today, though not far.

Enjoyed the shower with hot water on my neck and back when I got in as a lot of low speed riding with tight corners from Walcha to Wauchope but awesome riding.

Breakfast in Peel Street and a specie old building.

Also loved this shop, proudly selling boots and shoes since 1850! Loved the street lights here also.

We decided to check out the Moonbi Hills Lookout. It was built as a Depression project in 1937 – 1938 and gives an awesome view down into the valley. This was the actual lookout, typical Aussie ingenuity, too big to move! Let’s make something of it! That's the mammoth rock with the steel grab rails on top in the background.

Down into the valley. Watched and heard the trucks working their way up the two hills and holding them back as they descended. All on double lane divided highway now but didn’t disguise the sound of the engines working. Sounded good!

We had a coffee in Walcha which was a lovely tidy little town and has a Council who keeps stand out gardens! There is a motorbike rally there this weekend hence the welcome sign in the center of the roundabout, some of the locals thought we had come early.

One of many garden areas on the roadside and stand outs in the park. Must make the locals very proud.

And the old theater. The metal work shop beside I suspect is responsible for a lot of quirky sculptures around the town as well.

Stopped coming down the mountain for a rest break to perfectly still air filled with the sound of bellbirds, sounded wonderful. The pic doesn't do the view justice, there is still at least another third of tree height above the top of the frame, oh and iron black sky! The storm was chasing us at this point.

Stopped at roadworks traffic lights so took the opportunity for a photo out to the valley with the sun just dropping through and rain coming towards us. We had lots of beautiful views but nowhere to stop to take a shot.

Last night’s accommodation

Cadman Motor Inn, West Tamworth

Nicely appointed room, not large but comfortable. Pool on site, looked good but not for me last night. Spacious bathroom and comfortable bed. Staff both friendly and helpful. Dining options a comfortable walk to the CBD.

Motel from the street.

And there we are in the corner. Was nice and quiet.

A nice comfortable temperature, bordering on a little warm so great day to travel. We continue to see countryside which has benefited from good rains and looks great. Even saw hay being baled and bales in paddocks from previous weeks. Cattle look sparse on the ground as far as eating all the grass so beef prices should be climbing by Christmas … my prediction.

Regional NSW is largely struggling to get employees to work in the café and restaurant areas, like  we have seen in Victoria since COVID so things very quiet in a lot of towns.

Barely left and we were taking photos in Windsor and here was an awesome house, one of many.

And a cute little cottage.

A street in Windsor. Yummy.

And Peninsular House (hiding in the shade) and the Tebbutt’s Observatory, on one of our former bank notes, I cannot remember which and Google isn’t helping me to find it.

A coffee break at Colo Heights on the Putty Road. Beautiful ride with magnificent cliff faces, rocky outcrops and vast mountain views.

Lunch in Muswellbrook, a pretty town.

Fueling up as we leave and a shot of some of the beautiful Jacaranda’s. Have seen heaps of them. Just beautiful.

A stretch break at Murrrurundi with hands strategically covering my face in case the very vocal birds above me decide to try some target practice! Thankfully got away unscathed.

Last 2 night’s accommodation

Clarendon – The Hawkesbury Racecourse Motel

Lovely spacious room with small table and chairs, desk, and couch as well as generous kitchen area. Generous bathroom equipped with grab rails and would suit someone physically struggling or in a wheelchair. Lift access to the 1^st floor and undercover parking with an opportunity to lock the bikes in a garage but we were happy with the undercover. Staff very friendly and helpful. On site restaurant open for continental breakfast plus cooked breakfast on weekends. Walking distance to a tavern.

The entrance from the road to the Racecourse and Motel (which is where the Clarendon Classic Truck show is held apparently).

Motel entry.

Two wings.

Undercover parking for the bikes. Yay!

Well we had a somewhat leisurely day catching up with an old friend in Bell. She and her house, the original Bell Station Masters house survived the terrible fires despite the house being weatherboard and the whole garden burning. A sprinkler system on the roof attached to a spring and pump saved the day. Really awful to see the surrounding devastation.

From there we headed off and had a yummy lunch at Black Heath and continued to explore and the pictures will show some of what we saw.

Nice comfortable temperature today and we enjoyed the blue skies and sunshine.

Bell Station with devastation and regeneration from the fire visible.

And a little closer look at the regrowth.

Black Heath Hotel, lovely tidy little village, check out that nice blue sky!

Part of a historic spa (I didn't think this was the one I was looking for but when I Googled it later I found it was, Yay!)

And another part of it.

The 3 sisters which is what I think of when I think of the Blue Mountains and Katoomba. Being one of 3 sisters, I remember this from a calendar photo I saw when I was a child.

Echo Point.

A tidy Art Deco building across from the Echo Point car park (like the original look better than the ‘upgrade’ in the adjoining building.)

And Jamison Point.

Well today we had brutally cold temperatures and ferocious winds, thankfully only one very minor burst of rain and then lovely sunshine this afternoon which was a tradeoff for the wind and …. the ride and scenery were awesome!

We headed inland from Goulburn to Crookwell and passed through great rolling hills and valleys of sheep and cattle country, predominantly sheep or so it seemed to us. The fodder growth was magnificent and unless there is a huge influx of stock there is no way it will be eaten. Just loved all the old stone buildings both in towns but even more so scattered amongst random country hills as well as the lovely old shearing sheds somewhat rusted many of them but just so what we think of as Australia.  The roads were great. From Crookwell we encountered lots more hills and rocky ground and tight corners but well signed and even the narrowing of roads still had predominantly good surfaces apart from water damage and adequately signed. From there we progressed to Bathurst and onto the Blue Mountains. Will have to bring our tour group up here on our NSW trip.

Once we got into the blue mountains we were just in awe of the magnificent rocky cliffs and outcrops. Lots more is visible in the fire damaged areas, but it is brutal to see and to come across areas spared by fire it felt like we were retreating into a sanctuary.

We will be staying two nights at Clarendon (between Windsor and Richmond) a really pretty area with beautiful old buildings so plan a little exploring tomorrow.

Happy to report most of my aching bits are less active today so all the corners and moving in the seat to adjust to them helped as well as stretching and some toughening up as well.

Some lovely old buildings in Crookwell.

And the main street.

A beautiful bridge as we came out of Crookwell.

And another.

And a vaguely familiar traveler.

A couple of rail bridges, new and old as we head for Richmond and Windsor from the road.

And then a bit closer.

And an awesome Blue Mountains view. Wow.

Last night’s accommodation

Goulburn – The Abbey Motel.

A newly built motel on the grounds of the former St Patrick’s Technical College, the original school stands beside it and is now a restaurant though was closed last night being Sunday.

Beautifully presented, spacious and comfortable. Love the rain shower and small desk and even had a sink microwave and generous crockery options. Well stocked minibar which you don’t see often these days. Was a lovely comfortable stay and felt a bit luxurious. Nice. Felt great after a big day.

The motel from the front.

From the rear.

And the former school now restaurant with the Motel as well.

After having rain and strong winds forecast for today it was a relief not to get any rain until after lunch and only a bit after that so got in dry. The wind however was ferocious and I’m grateful it wasn’t on the side of the range as we climbed up through 25km corners or I may well have been blown over, as it was it was a bit hairy in places. Felt like a big ride today and my tail bone is complaining so happy to be off the bike for a bit.

Stretch break at Moruya.

And a bit of a walk across the bridge for me.

A speccie building in the station precinct at Goulburn

And the majority of the actual station building.

Last night’s accommodation

Bega

Bega Village Motor Inn.

Comfortable accommodation, decor a bit dated but reasonably spacious and clean quiet back from the street and handy to a number of dining options. Surroundings immaculately presented.

The entry to the Motor Inn.

A drier day today and only encountered rain to Cann River along with some very sloppy roadworks, yuk. Thankfully, the weather and roads dried up from there on and we had a lovely ride into Bega. Such pretty countryside really need to come back later and spend more time in the area.

Cute little Church in Cann River.

Lunch in Eden.

An impressive sculpture in the street in Eden.

Hotel where we had dinner in Bega.

Bega Memorial.

Another hotel in town.

Last night’s accommodation

Lakes Entrance RSL – Glenara Motel.

We often stay here when in Lakes, small but functional rooms, clean and cosy. Restaurant on site and easy walking distance to other options.

After a full week for Norm driving to Gladstone and back for Steve and an online meeting for me this  morning we headed off to Lakes Entrance in pouring rain and it didn’t let up much the whole way so we got in very damp. A bonus was to meet up with a friend for dinner. Lovely and then it poured rain all night, sounded great but wondered what the roads would look like in the morning,

Very wet all day so the phone was locked away, this was taken from the veranda of the motel. The cars sounded awesome when they fired up in the morning.

Thumbnail is a shot of a duck on Emerald Lake and the water is both incredibly clear and translucent, we could even see him paddling...I wonder if that means he can get a better view of his potential dinner!

A shot of Emerald Lake this morning before we left with the sun coming out after the fog lifted.

We headed into Field, a tiny little Village and this was one of only 2 substantial building's we saw. One looked like it used to be a railway station (tiny) but covered in dense shade. This one was the home of the Park Superintendent built in the 1920's at a time when both the Railway's and Mining were huge in the area and the town being in the Yoho National Park the National Parks Service realised they needed to build a building which spoke of the authority of the Superintendent as well as recognising such building's were starting to have heritage value. I liked it and it still looked great.

We called in to have a look at a 'Natural Bridge' which used to be a waterfall until the water wore it's way through and before too many hundred years I guess it will no longer be a natural bridge as it also collapses. A huge volume of water was pouring under it.

From here we headed off to see the Takakkaw Falls and they were just spectacular. The water plummeted down from the Lake above and then burst out in a plume of spray before falling into the river below. Awesome. 

We took a couple of photos of a train travelling through the Spiral Tunnels on the way back from here but with the sun where it was the exposure was awful so not here. Incredible example of engineering.

And then on to Lake Louise with half of Canada and the rest of the world. Saturday, fine weather, summer holidays etc etc etc, Cars were illegally parked on the side of the road for a 2km distance before the Lake. Today was definitely a good day to be on the bikes. We managed to squeeze into a small spot at the end of a parking lot. This is a shot of either one of or the outlet from the lake. What a beautiful spot and full of people in small boats.

And the Chateau Fairmont which I automatically think of when I think of Lake Louise. We are used to the view from above (obviously from the Lake Louise Scenic Gondola which we didn't go on) this was close enough for us. We lunched on the patio of the Chateau Saloon under the umbrellas at the centre of the hotel. Very nice

From here it was on to Moraine lake and yet again, WOW! This is a shot of me with some of the peaks from the Valley of 10 Peaks behind me.

And this is Norm in front of a rugged outcrop named the Tower of Babylon.

And compliments of a tip from another biker who parked beside us at both Lake Louise and Moraine Lake we travelled to Banff via 1A rather than the Trans Canada Highway which was a beautiful ride with spectacular views of mountains of all shapes, sizes, colours and stature and this is one of them.

Bits and Bobs:

Interesting sign for a switch-back on the way to the Takakkaw Falls. Vehicles over 7m must drive the first section, then reverse the next then drive the last. VERY tight.

And a shot from above.

A sign we found on the path to Consolation Lake as we climbed for a view of Moraine Lake. Decided not to be bear food and stayed on the track we were on.

And another sign re bears at the entry to the Lake Louise Scenic Gondola site and Whipstick Lodge.

And finally a chipmunk shot. Yay!

Last Night's Accommodation:

Emerald Lake Lodge, 1 Emerald Lake Road, Field. BC

Not sure what happened here but the most expensive night we have had and not necessarily good value for money. Not sure if I ticked the wrong choice or there were limited options cannot remember, but that aside we had a lovely upstairs room with easy chairs and open fire in a cabin overlooking Emerald Lake. Cosy and comfortable, good bathroom, small balcony with deck chairs. Included parking 1km away (at employee residences) with shuttle which was a bit of a pain with the bikes waiting until cold enough to cover and to get kitted up to head off. Included wifi TV and games room in main Lodge. 3 restaurants on site and canoes and row boats for hire. If we removed the views and setting and kept the fireplace you may well think it was reasonable value at half the price.....perhaps. Not convinced. This is  a shot across the bridge entry and of one of the restaurants 'Cilantro on the Lake.'

To quote Norm, "Note to self, Lodges sound romantic but remember they're usually old and rustic with small rooms, stairs, limited services and facilities and a large charge, but generally come with good views".

The thumbnail pic is a shot of the Princess of Tasmania before we boarded to come back home.

Check out the Group ride to Tasmania which was an absolute blast from start to finish!

Here is the crew as we waited at Devenport to get back on the Spirit of Tasmania to come home.  A lot of happy faces.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable trip with 8 others from our club and loved exploring Tasmania again on bikes and sharing some of our favourite spots with people who hadn’t seen them before.

The scenery as always was spectacular and the weather much more stable than when we had last ridden over here with warm humid weather initially and colder weather as we progressed but very little rain to speak of and it wasn’t a hindrance to the experience.The bikes at the Beaconsfiek

The bikes at the Beaconsfield Mine.

The Gorge at Launceston

We tried to entice Priscilla the pig out of her house to no avail at the Pub in the Paddock at Pyagena

 The oldest surviving  bridge in Australia at Richmond.

Ii

Picturesque Strahan

Getting the gear off at Ross so we can explore a little and have some lunch.

Tips to remember for the roads we covered:

The roads we travelled on were all sealed and overall well aligned with good camber. The surface was well maintained and given the wet areas we travelled through there was good stone coverage so nothing too slippery, the only exception being roadwork areas which you would expect. The roads were well signed and mostly traffic stuck to their own side of the road but given many of the country roads are narrow and used by log trucks and those servicing farming areas you need to be aware that there is likely large traffic approaching around any corner.

Services available:

 Check previous listings for these localities.

Worked out the cost of our big ride today. Without the bike repairs it averaged just over $150 a day. If we take out the 10 days we stayed with family and friends and average it out again it still comes in at only $200 a day so pretty stoked about that......perhaps you should get yourselves a bike or a couple of bikes or one Spyder..... check them out on the web, a 3 wheel bike. Couldn't' tip it over if you tried! Come on have a go!

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig (no idea where that memory comes from!) We slept in yesterday then started making lists both hard copy and in the head of things to do when we get home. It was good to catch up briefly with my cousin and her husband. We dabbled in a bit of holiday planning for next year which was good. She and I are 'clayton sisters' as in the sister you have when you don't have a sister and we plan to grow disgracefully old together and try to practice when we can. While they worked yesterday we languished over breakfast, wandered around Maling Road and had a yummy lunch and returned to the warmth to kick back before we headed off for dinner. A nice way to draw a close to our holiday.



Maling Road streetscape near my cousins home. A streetscape she had a hand in preserving in a previous town planning position.

We headed off on our final leg home this morning from Canterbury and the Victorian reality of an icy fog set in. We stopped on the Pakenham bypass to add the waterproof jacket for an extra layer against the cold. After fuelling up and a hot coffee at Longwarry we headed out through Jindivick to Neerim South to catch up with Norm Snr. It was good to see so much green evident through the previously blackened area through Jindivick though areas where the greatest heat was generated remain starkly black. In other areas the grass and ferns are recovering and the trees are taking on fluffy green wrap as the leaves sprout from burnt trunks. While the fog was cold, it had lifted somewhat by the Jindivick area and gave the appearance of a protective veil (cold but attractive).
We caught up with Charlie and Peggy also. Lovely to have people so pleased to see us!



Return of green to the Jindivick area.

Finally home to our own patch and hugs from Rosey before she left work. Nice to be in our own patch again.....but also somewhat unreal. Does this really mean we won't be riding hundreds of kilometres tomorrow...and the next day, and the next? A bit sad about that.

When we holidayed in Spain, Portugal and Morocco last year we got ourselves sorted with texting family and sending pics but with the continued development of technology the 'travelogue' has now arrived and through it and your feedback we have been conscious of 'bringing a lot of you along for the ride' which we really enjoyed, in fact it felt quite a privilege to do so. Thanks for your feedback. When we head off again we'll copy you in and as always, just a reply to come off the list will put an end to it.

Talk to you all next time.



Home to my own little bed!

We woke to sunshine and magpies warbling after nearly12 hours in bed. Man we sleep well when we're riding!

Been a picturesque day. Breakfast at Castlemaine (way too many beautiful buildings to start taking photos). Coffee at Maldon (got a couple there).



A little cottage between Castlemaine and Maldon.

Lunch at Daylesford after travelling through Newstead and Hepburn Springs then wandered down through Trentham and hit the freeway a bit before the Bacchus Marsh area then on into the city where we had more coffee at the TDT offices in West Melbourne.

After the assault to the senses yesterday of all the green it was a shock to see how dry it was through the Midlands, particularly around the hills surrounding Bendigo and beyond. Much land had been totally dry and had recently gained a thin dusting of green and in other areas it was a darker green, but only colour, little substance to it. Dams empty or very low levels. So, gold is not the only element which has left the area but water has as well.

It's been a beautiful ride with winding roads through beautiful trees, farmland, historic old settlements and unexpected vistas. Clearly an area which needs to be explored further in the future. Many of the roads in heavily treed areas we're very bumpy, I wonder if that's because of the extended dry and the ground shrinking away with the roots left to form the bumps. Not an engineer but sounds a reasonable hypothesis until someone who knows better shoots it down in flames.



Streetscape in Maldon.

Had to crank up the hand grip warmers on the way to Trentham and left them on until we were down around the level of Bacchus Marsh Brrrrrr! The countryside around Trentham was reminiscent of the Thorpdale area not far from home. The soil looked the same chocolaty red, the trees were tall with massive trunks and the rolling paddocks were often surrounded by cypress plantations. Obviously a lot higher rainfall than surrounding areas with the level of growth through the area. We had visited Trentham around 4 years ago with my cousin and husband before we headed off on our Scandinavian holiday and we passed through Trentham the day after the hotel there burnt down. At the time I made the comment that the hotel must have been due a re-build. It was still boarded up today so it must have been a 'genuine' burn rather than a 're-build' one. (See I haven't just recently gotten cynical, I already was 4 years ago).

From Trentham we gradually wound our way down from Trentham through dense wooded areas and it somehow seemed out of character to smell the fragrance of damp fermented wood in some of the gullies after seeing so much water deprived land since Bendigo. Once down to the freeway and on to the city the vast plains looked equally as bare and dry as a lot we had seen in the interior. Bare earth with no sign of green other than the weeds along the fringe of the highway. Pretty chilling stuff at this point in the year with the weather as cold as it is even if generous rains fall through the rest of the winter there will be little growth until the spring when the soil starts to warm up again. (That's a throw back to my days growing up on the farm....must have been paying attention after all!)



View of the Town Hall from our lunch spot in Daylesford

We survived our return to full on city traffic even with stop start traffic over the Westgate bridge and then later out to Canterbury to what we call our Canterbury B&B (my cousins home) for another holiday first. We got stuck in the lift (until it re-set itself). Being 'can do' people we looked for the ceiling hatch which is in all stuck lifts in the movies but alas, none there and had to resort to the emergency phone. Ah well, you get that on the big jobs.

So we have a couple of nights here for a brief bit of R&R (so no update tomorrow) before we head home to catch up with parents, children and grandchildren. That's the easy stuff, after that it's back to work......that's the hard stuff though not all bad news since it's what will fund the next excellent adventure!

Talk to you day after tomorrow for the holiday wrap up.

Rain overnight and wet roads this morning but the days riding was largely comfortable with hand grip warmers only on low for the majority of the day.I didn't even have the polar fleece top on which just proves it didn't need to be surgically removed!

We had sunshine for near enough to the entire day with only a few patches of cloud to ride through though the view in the rear view mirror was often dark grey and threatening. (Best place for a view like that!) We started the day surrounded by hundreds of acres of grapes and some citrus trees and then moved into intensive sheep, wheat and cropping land. Great open plains with rich red soil and vibrant green new shoots in some areas and vigorous growth in others. The eucalyptus beside the road were prolific in number with slender limbs and dense foliage.

The view gradually changed to more rolling hills than flat paddocks and the intensity of the cropping became less so. In fact the closer we got to Bendigo it was obvious that a lot of areas where there were crops last year now had grass growing up through the stubble, possibly a reflection on how late the rains have come in the season. Also nice to see the increase in stature of the gums and a few more hills, I'm just more used to that I guess. Overall the whole day has been an experience of green, green and more green and it was easy to track how much rain had fallen and over what period of time from the first flush of almost fluro green of new growth to the darker and more dense growth where there has been more sustained availability of water for longer periods. We definitely experienced returning to the south eastern green edge of our great brown / red land.



The hotel at Sea Lake. All locked up. A bit sad really.

We've both enjoyed the sights of lots of little communities also today. Some apparently doing pretty well and much pride evident in their towns and others clearly struggling. The huge number of old (both dilapidated and beautifully preserved) buildings on our approach to Bendigo was almost too much to take in after our enjoyment of the vast emptiness of the interior. Part of this for me also was a sense of almost depression or at least reluctance as we head back to our version of the 'real world'. Do I really want to take it all on again?

We have had a number of discussions over our trip of family, friends and colleagues who have had health scares and totally changed what they do with their lives as a result. Norm's response to that was to say he needs to have a think about what he would do differently if he had a health scare and just forget about having one and get on with doing what he would do if he did. (Practical as always). I wonder how different that would be to what he is already doing. Obviously there would be much motorbike riding involved......but I wonder how different otherwise!!! Not really game to think too hard about that one for me yet. Quite apart from the work side of things I've enjoyed being out from under the immediate responsibility of oversight of the care for my frail aged parents and their progressive deterioration. Thankfully Norm's Dad has been much more able though he is currently in hospital also. I'm getting better at not wearing the burden so personally but obviously need to work more on that. Tomorrow (as in from here on) is another day. Mate, mate, m a t e!! Have I ever got the poor me's something chronic! The holiday aint over yet and I hereby commit myself to making the most of whatever is left!



The Bendigo city hall in the distance with the approaching grey clouds. This was the end product of my lets get the joints moving again walk while Norm cleaned the helmets and bikes. I'm so spoilt !

Oh yeah, we were talking to a couple of police officers today and no it wasn't on the side of the road or at least not in an official capacity. They unfortunately confirmed that when their cycle cops talk on their radio's they sound like they have their heads in a bucket and its pretty useless. Ah well.

Talk to you tomorrow.



Lakeview Hotel our home for the night $40. (Can't see the lake!)

Well after a sometimes noisy night, at times from the odd blue or two in the bar below (no breaking glass) to wheel spins, shouting and noisy motors outside we headed off for an early start and didn't feel too bad about warming the bikes up for a while before we headed off. Ha ha.

We breakfasted briefly with two old timers from Adelaide who had been holidaying in Broken Hill for the week. The older of the two, also the fitter of the two, would have had to have been in his late 80's having served in the navy from1940 to 1946 and who had entertained me by the fireplace last night. He had spent the day on a local mail run most of it on dirt roads. travelling over 500 kilometres with 40 stops for pickups and drops. He was one of 5 paying passengers at $125 a piece. They took their own lunch and had a cuppa made for them by the postie. Seriously having a go. What an inspiration!



A service bell with a difference from the Coomella fuel stop. (The key for the toilets was attached to a mouse trap).

The day started sunny and cold and went to bloody cold and back to moderately cold. Hand grip warmers most of the day back and forth from high to low then once we hit Mildura we got a sprinkle of rain and it warmed up and the warmers stayed on low. The light shower lasted until we got through Irymple and it stopped and returned to sunshine again. We enjoyed our ride and were near enough to the only traffic on the road until we got to Wentworth. The roads were largely straight with big sweeping corners and very nice to ride. Our butts appreciated the movement from one side to another. We also saw the greatest concentration of road kill (all kangaroos) mainly up until Coomella since the Longreach Winton area. Shame to see so many beautiful animals meet their demise. From large to small and colours ranging from a light sandy grey to red and every shade in between.

We also saw a fair few sheep in stretches from Broken Hill and Wentworth and some cattle near Broken Hill. No camels today but a couple of big kangaroos first thing this morning and some emus about 20 kilometres out of Wentworth and large numbers of wild goats throughout the day. These last were largely more road savvy than the kangaroos as we didn't see any of their number amongst the road kill. We also saw a couple of small packs of Major Mitchell Cockatoos lifting off as a group with magnificent white back and top of wings changing in an instant to a soft coral pink under the wings. Beautiful.



The sign outside the loos at the same road house as the shot above.

I was aware as we gradually made our way south that our great adventure is drawing to a close and found myself really soaking up the variable landscape. The red sandy soil with silver grey salt bush. The rolling plains of grasslands with dark green mounds of trees around watercourses and homesteads and then the red sand drifts with little grass and small covering of trees. It all looked and felt great and it somehow seemed fitting that we we're left largely to ourselves to enjoy it. It was also a distraction to the dark grey clouds we were continually approaching then steering away from throughout the trip.

The purpose of our destination today was to catch up with 4 of my cousins and their partners which was a treat. They are the children of the marriage of one of my Mum's cousins to one of my Dad's cousins and literally gave my Dad the dilemma (so he said) 'that a man couldn't even complain about his wife's bloody relations!'. I'm confident that didn't ever stop him if he thought he needed to. We shared lunch together and had a great time catching up. So nice to feel so comfortable amongst them when we have gotten to spend such a short amount of time together over the years. What lovely people they are and what a privilege to share the time with them.

Talk to you tomorrow.



A collective cousin and outlaws shot (Normie being the photographer).