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.

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.

Breakfast and then a brief call in to the Harley Davidson shop and then the Indian shop before we headed to thInternational Antarctic Centre which was great and then a mad scramble from there to clean up bikes before shipping and get them to the transport yard. Now it’s review time and knocking our bags into shape to fit all the gear into head home tomorrow. It’s been an awesome trip!

A hot dog stand outside the Indian bike shop. Free to customers but we contributed even though I was a customer last year (I bought my Indian leather gloves there). Was a bonus breakfast and a bit of fun. They have it every Friday apparently.

The International Antarctic Centre and these are vehicles called Haggland’s which they use to travel around there and they’re very sturdy albeit a bit rough as we found out in a test drive which was fun.

The test track for the Haggland simulated lumpy ice, chasms, sea ice and swamp land. We had lap belts on but were glad there were grab straps because we needed them. This is half of a hill which simulated both a hill and a chasm. Very freaky. Oh and if you recognise the white archway in the distance the centre is in the Airport precinct.

And a swamp, they are also amphibious vehicles.

A husky, they are so friendly but no longer used in the Antarctica.

Flying to Antarctica simulation / information, well done. Loved all the simulations and videos.

Cleaning up the bikes before shipping.