Friday 13 December, 2013
Sydney, Nowra, Nerriga, Bungendore, Queanbeyan, Cowra
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| Day 1 |
I decided to try and fit in a small bike ride before the
madness of Christmas, so I arranged to have a Friday and Monday off to give me
a 4 day weekend.
Friday the 13th arrived and I got away from home about 8.30
am and headed straight down the Princes Highway to Nowra. Never really enjoy
this freeway traffic. I can't believe how many drivers don't know how to drive
on a freeway with courtesy and respect for other drivers/riders, But that's
another story.
Coffee at Berry and petrol stop at Nowra and then the fun
stuff starts. Braidwood road goes around the back of Nowra airport / HMAS
Albatross and off into the wild blue yonder. Quite a good road with hardly any
traffic at all, and plenty of long straights for overtaking the few cars you
come across. Changing scenery from open valleys, thick scrub to pine forests. I
presume that's where Turpentine Road gets it's name from.
A few twisties and you go through the tiny town of Nerriga.
I have thought about having a look at the Nerriga Pub, but both times I have
been through here has been about 11am in the morning and it just doesn't seem
right stopping at a country pub at that hour. I can't imagine asking for a skim
flat white at the Nerriga Pub in the morning. I could get run out of town.
Braidwood Road becomes Nerriga Road which turns into Oallen
Ford Road and then turns on to Sandy Point road which turns to Cullulla Road
which takes you into Tarago. All of these roads take you through real
wilderness country with few signs of human habitation. What's commonly known as
the middle of nowhere. Love it. On Oallen ford road there is an old single lane
timber bridge which goes across the Shoalhaven river, which at this point is
wide, shallow and flowing steadily. On either side of the bridge there are wide
areas of dry, rocky riverbed with the stream only taking a small proportion of
it. Today there must have been half a dozen or so large caravans hooked up to
large four wheel drives parked on either side of the road next to the river. On
one side, and quite close to the road, 2 mature gentlemen (grey nomads?) had a
sluicing operation set up and were hard at it. There may be gold in them thar
hills.
With one small exception. When I came this way in March,
there was about three kilometres of Oallen Ford Road that was not sealed, but
there was a large contingent of men and equipment working on it. I thought by
today it would be sealed right through. When I came to that spot I found a nice
new tarred road for the first 2 Kms and then 1 Km of dirt road and not a man or
machine in sight. They had obviously decided that 2 out of 3 kilometres was
quite enough, pack up and went home. Fortunately it was nice and dry. Just dust
to contend with.
Through Tarago, thought again about stopping at the loaded
dog Hotel, but it was the whole country pub, morning, skim flat white situation
again. It's a shame Australia doesn't have a series of historic cafes to visit
instead of it always being a pub.
Tarago is also curtained on one side by a mountain range
crowned with a row of enormous wind turbines that seem to go on for Kilometre
after kilometre. Finally the run into Bungendore and a stop at the Gunna Doo
Bakery for a pie and cup of coffee.
From there it’s a fairly easy run through Queanbeyan and
down the Monaro Highway to Cooma. A couple of beers, some dinner and an early
night, ready to conquer Kosciusko national park tomorrow.
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| Sunset in Cooma |
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| Cooma Street |
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| Same sunset |
Saturday 14 December, 2013
Cooma, Adaminaby, Old Adaminaby, Cabramurra, Khancoban, Thredbo, Jindabyne.
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| Day 2 |
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| Edge of Lake Eucumbene - Old Adaminaby |
A Short trip to Adaminaby, a stop for petrol, a look at the
big trout and the Snowy Mountains Scheme Museum and that was it. Pretty place,
but not much of it. I was keen to see the site of Old Adaminaby which was 6 Kms
away. In the 1950s, Adaminaby was moved when Lake Eucumbene was filled as part
of the Snowy Scheme. The town was moved and most of the old town was submerged.
Today, There is a small community thriving there, mostly holiday homes and
caravan park built around fishing on the lake. Quite a few houses on the
hillside above the lake. A few old foundations are still visible down by the
lakes edge, but there is not much more to be seen of Old Adaminaby.
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| Cabramurra |
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| Cabramurra lookout |
Not far from Adaminaby I turned off Snowy Mountains Highway
on to Link Road and started heading into mountain country. This is all in the
Kosciusko National Park and most of the roads here were built as part of the
snowy Mountain Scheme. The first town is Cabramurra, the highest permanently
settled town in Australia. It was built as a camp for Snowy Scheme workers and
is now populated entirely of Hydro power employees and their families. The town
is made up of rows of identical houses with steep roofs, designed and built
specifically for the location and heavy snow falls. It is very close to Tumut 2
power station and pondage.
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| Link road - Snowy Mountains |
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| Lnk road - snowy Mountains |
It was not far from here that I saw a herd of wild brumbies
grazing by the side of the road. I stopped and walked towards them to get some
photos. As I got to within about 100 meters of them they looked at me and
wandered off in another direction, not terribly concerned.
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| Wild Brumbies beside the road |
After Cabramurra you are in real mountain country with lots
of twists and turns and steep slopes. Every now and then you crest a hill and
get the most magnificent views of valleys and mountain ranges disappearing into
the distance. It really is amazing country.
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| Near Cabramurra |
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| Near Cabramurra |
The Link road become Goat Ridge road and then Tooma road. At
both Tumut pond reservoir an Tooma reservoir the road goes across the top of
the dam wall. Beside both of these dams is extremely dramatic topography with
water reservoirs well below maximum capacity and very steep walls of man mad
earth and rubble, all surrounded by steep mountain cliffs.
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| Tooma pondage |
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| Tooma Pondage |
Eventually the mountain roads relax a little and open out into longer straight valleys as you approach Khancoban. This is another town that was originally constructed to accommodate workers of the Snowy Mountains scheme but has survived As a standalone community. I stopped at the pub for lunch and when I went inside and saw a large brindled dog asleep in front of the bar I immediately felt at home. Mind you, lunch was ordinary.
The next leg was through the Kosciusko National Park, around
Mt Kosciusko and passed through Thredbo and on to Jindabyne. I had done this before in
the opposite direction and previously had found it a challenging road.
This time I did not find it so challenging. I think mainly
because I was a lot more familiar with the bike this time, I was more relaxed
and I took my time. Whatever the cause, the result was an enjoyable trip. I
found and stopped at the same rest area that I stopped at the last time through
with a close look at the beautiful mountain stream passing through the rest
area.
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| Stream at rest area - Kosciusko National Park |
When I got to Thredbo I turned off the main road and went
down through the village which is fairly quiet at this time of year. It amazes
me how different the architecture is in this town compared to anywhere else I
have ever seen. This is an alpine town, clinging to the side of a mountain and looking
up at another mountain with long bald strips to allow skiing runs and
still, silent chairlifts waiting for the next winter and the crowds of tourists
wanting to avail themselves of the services.
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| Between Thredbo and Jindabyne |
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| Thredbo River - between Thredbo and Jindabyne |
But now, It is quiet and peaceful. A few people around
making the most of the summer bushwalking and the beautiful scenery.
On to Jindabyne and the search for overnight accommodation.
My first attempt was the Lake Jindabyne Hotel Motel. I stopped at the reception
area and read the notice that they were closed and I should report to the bottle
shop to check in. I did. I stood in the Bottle shop waiting to be served. I
pushed the button. I shouted hello. A man put his head around the door and said
" she'll be with you in a minute
mate" I waited another 10 minutes. Another customer came in to the bottle
shop, and looked at me said "you've got to wake 'em up" and yelled
out a couple of times. A new man stuck his head around the corner and said
"she'll be with you in a minute" I gave it another minute and decided
I didn't want to stay in a motel run by these people. Back on the bike, back up
the road, I found Rydges. I walked into the reception and I was welcomed with
open arms. They couldn't do enough for me. I paid a bit more than usual, but it
was worth every cent.
It was seafood Saturday at Rydges so it was a dozen fresh
oysters, half a kilo of fresh prawns and a couple of Corona's for dinner.
Fantastic.
My exorbitant priced accommodation included breakfast, so I
think it turned out to be a very good deal.
Sunday 15th December
Jindabyne, Dalgety, Bombala, Cathcart, Candelo, Bega, Tathra, Bermagui, Tilba Tilba, Narooma, Bodalla Moruya.
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| Day 3 |
From Dalgety it was on to Bombala. This road was a
revelation. Moving from hill to valley, there were practically no trees, large
boulders and occasional farm houses. You could see ahead for kilometres. No
traffic, No policeman. It was almost impossible not to go very fast.
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| Snowy river Way between Dalgety and Bombala |
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| Snowy river Way between Dalgety and Bombala |
Eventually the Snowy River Way turns on to the Monaro
Highway and a short time later brings you into Bombala. A lovely old town, I
stopped for coffee and met a group of bike riders there that had been doing
some off road riding.
From Bombala I headed out the Bombala Cathcart Road until
Reached the tiny village of Cathcart where my road became the Mt Darrah Road
until Wyndam. Mt Darrah road would take you through to Pambula, but I turned
off at Wyndham onto the Myrtle Mountain Road. The country had changed by now
into mountainous terrain with thick forests of tall trees with thick foliage of
large ferns at the base. The road was windy with lots of hairpin turns and slow
going but beautiful.
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| Myrtle Mountain |
Finally to Bermagui where I stopped for lunch. I won't tell
you where because it wasn't very good. From Bermagui it's not far back to the
Princes highway and almost immediately I took the turn to Tilba Tilba. A lovely
historic village where I knew I could do some shopping. The following day, When
I would get home, was our 27th wedding anniversary and I knew my wife would be
surprised if I remembered. So a bit of shopping in Tilba Tilba and I was set.
On to Narooma, Bodalla and finally Moruya where I had decided to stop for the
night. Motels seemed to be few and far between in Moruya, But I found one,
Checked in, performed my ablutions and found a nice Thai restaurant for Dinner.
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| Tilba Tilba |
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| Motel at Moruya - in for the night |
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| Air Raid Tavern Moruya - closed unfortunately |
Monday 16th December
Moruya, Batemans Bay, Milton, Nowra, Wollongong, Oyster Bay
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| Day 4 |
It was an uneventful trip, back on the main highway and bit
more traffic that I had had the last 3 days. As usual, South Nowra was a
nightmare with road works. Traffics crawled for about 10Kms. One thing big
motorbikes are not good at is going very slow.
Once through Nowra it was a quick run home and I arrived
bearing anniversary gifts. Always a good way to return.
1,365 enjoyable kilometres.
1,365 enjoyable kilometres.
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| The full trip |
