Friday 13th November, 2015
Oyster Bay – Berry – Nowra – Tarago – Bungendore – Cooma
422 km
The time was right for my annual Snowy trip and my friend
Richard, who had previously travelled with me to Mudgee overnight, has been
keen to come for a trip for 3 nights. Readers (I realise that probably should
be singular, but I choose to err on the side of optimism) will remember that
the Mudgee trip worked out very well and Richard proved to be a very competent
pillion. So I proposed the 4 day, 3
night Snowy trip and he was keen. It meant both of us having a Friday and a
Monday off work which was planned well in advance. I have done this same trip
twice before so I knew exactly what we were in for. No surprises and
spectacular country.
The weather was looking so bad beforehand that I had
actually contemplated cancelling right up to the Thursday night, but Richard
was oblivious to the rigours of motorcycling in very bad weather, and I did
supply him with all-weather pants and jacket so we decided to throw caution to
the wind and charge into the unknown.
We left Oyster Bay around 9am on Friday and headed down the
Wollongong expressway. Overcast, but no rain and about 20c. Richard, being a
man keen on regular stops for coffee and snacks, and quick to point out when he
thinks the quality supplied is not up to his standard, recommended the Berry
Sourdough Bakery for morning tea. I must admit the Bakery was excellent.
Richard had a bucket of cappuccino and lamb and herb sausage roll, of which I
was lucky enough to taste a tiny morsel.
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| A bucket of coffee at Berry |
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| Inside the Sourdough Bakery |
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| Outside the Sourdough Bakery |
It doesn’t seem long ago that the construction of the Berry by-pass was announced, but the amount of construction already underway was quite astounding, including a few stops on the road either side of Berry to allow truck access.
It was a quick run down to Nowra where we stopped at a
couple of sets of traffic lights next to a group of mature gentleman riding
Harley Davidsons in the same direction as us. One of them wearing a lamb’s wool
jacket stood out and we both commented on the likely condition of that jacket
once the rain started. Not to mention the jeans they were all wearing. We were
to encounter this group again on our travels.
Braidwood road becomes Nerriga Road just at the small
settlement of Nerriga. I decided to stop here and make sure we had the water
proof gloves on and jacket vents closed because the sky was getting darker and
darker. This proved a wise move. We travelled Oallen Ford road, where a
highlight is always the Oallen Ford bridge across the upper reaches of the
Shoalhaven River. The bridge has always been a very small, low single lane
timber structure, subject to flooding. In the 12 months since I have been this
way, the lovely old bridge has been replaced with a raised concrete two lane
job. Previously you had to stop and wait if there was another car on the
bridge. Now you just go a little faster. Very convenient but without the rustic
charm.
By the time we got onto Cullulla Road heading towards
Tarago, the rain had started. And got heavier. And heavier. The biggest problem
riding in heavy rain is visibility. You really can’t see much at all. This
meant slowing down to a safe speed, but we were able to carry on. We went
through Tarago and on towards Bungendore, which was to be the lunch stop. By
this time the rain was easing to a gentle drizzle which was no problem at all.
The only real problem with our gear was the gloves I had given Richard. I
thought they were waterproof, but they finished up soaked. I did see him in the
mirror holding his hands out to the side in the rain, which probably didn’t
help.
By the time we got to Bungendore the rain had stopped. I had
mentioned that there was a pie shop in Bungendore, an idea which Richard had
taken a liking to. Unfortunately the pie shop was closed and we went to
R&Rs Diner for a burger. I did get a bit of a talking to about the pie shop
not being available, but fortunately the burger hit the spot.
After lunch and petrol stop we hit the road for Cooma, via
Queanbeyan. Lots of long straight stretches on the Monaro Highway. A good road
with plenty of overtaking opportunities which meant a fairly quick run. Just a
couple of light showers on this stretch and we managed to arrive in Cooma with dry
gear. Except for the gloves. We went
straight to the Nebula Motel and checked in. A reasonable room. Two beds (which
was strongly stipulated at time of booking). A cup of tea, a shower, check the
phones and the news and it was time to hit the town.
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| Our Room at the Nebula, Cooma |
We went for a walk to stake out breakfast and dinner venues
and finished up at the Cooma Hotel for a couple of schooners. After the drinks
and chit chat we walked a block to the Australian Hotel where I wanted to show
Richard how bad a pub could be and still survive. He had a peek in the door and
took an instant dislike to an elderly gentleman standing out the front with a
wobbly boot and then refused to enter the premises.
So it was across the road to the Alpine Hotel of which
Richard immediately approved and we settled in for a couple more beers. It was
a bit crowded and noisy for my liking, but he was very happy. Soon the local
Football club came around selling raffle tickets. Seafood trays. Not much good
to us. We decided to make a donation and had our $10 note ready. When the
ticket sellers arrived they explained that we would also get tickets for a
chance to win $10,000 cash. We bought the tickets and Richard immediately started
trying to decide how he would spend his winnings. Not to be, unfortunately.
We had settled on Rose’s Lebanese family restaurant. It was
my good fortune that Lebanese was one of the many cuisines that Richard was
expert in. He was able to explain the menu and order. A bottle of red because,
strangely enough, we were still a bit thirsty and we enjoyed our Lebanese
platters, although Richard was happy to point out their shortcomings.
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| Casting an expert eye over the Lebanese Menu |
Dessert time and I was happy to see Affogato on the menu.
Unfortunately I was denied this pleasure. After an enquiry of the waiter to
ascertain that a Lebanese dessert item was made in house, we ordered “Kineffe”
and a small pot of Turkish coffee. Being ignorant of the product I had no idea
if it was any good or not, but Richard assured me that it was not. And the
coffee was pretty horrid as well. Would have loved an Affogato.
By the time we got back to the Motel, it turned out we were
both very tired and we were asleep in bed well before 10pm. This surprised
Richard as, apparently, he generally stays up late. I’m sure he had planned another
2 or 3 phone calls to home as the night wore on, but on this occasion home had
a lucky escape.
Saturday 14 November, 2015
Cooma – Adaminaby – Cabramurra – Khancoban – Thredbo –
Jindabyne
283 km
We were both awake about 7am, and after perusing the news,
emails, messages etc we staggered out in search of breakfast. I had a café in
mind that I had been to before and we went there and sat down and checked the
menu. We looked at each other with disappointment and decided to move on. I
realised the café had changed hands since I was last there and Richard said
some very unkind things about the lady serving behind the counter.
We walked past a couple of other cafes but finished up at
Lott Food Store which just opened at 7.30 as we got there. It was a pleasant
place with happy, efficient staff and the coffee and food was very good. A good
start to the day. Richard made the first of a series of calls home which continued
well into the night.
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| Breakfast at the Lott Food Store. A quick call home. |
We checked out of the room and headed out of town about 9am.
We had opted to insert the quilted liners in both our jackets and pants, which
turned out to be a smart move. It looked like we were in for some more rain as
well.
Cooma to Adaminaby starts with some wide open valleys, not
many trees, not many farms, long straights and nice corners. The temperature
started at about 13c and slowly dropped. By the time we reached Adaminaby, the
showers had started. We decided not to stop. When it is raining, it is better
to keep the gear on. If you start taking helmets and gloves off in the rain it
gets wet on the inside as well as out. No fun.
After Adaminaby we started to climb the hills and the
temperature dropped. The rain slowed to a drizzle. We could see the clouds
getting lower and lower as we climbed until we finally hit a thick fog with
visibility down to about 50 meters or less. The temperature was down to 8c by
that stage. We had a slow run through windy mountain roads in the fog, drizzle
and cold. But strangely enough we were having a good time, all the while
pointing out to each other how brave and adventurous we were being and how
lesser men wouldn’t dare.
The fog only lasted about 15 minutes and we came out of it
shortly before the turnoff onto the Link Road. This is the entrance into the
Kosciuszko National park. Past the Mt Selwyn turnoff, onto the wonderfully
named Goat Ridge Road and then a quick stop at Cabramurra. This is a town built
solely for employees of the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric scheme and is the highest
town in Australia.
We stopped at the lookout with the most beautiful 360 degree
view of the mountains. Richard opened his periscope app on the phone and was
excited to get a viewer almost immediately who’s first question was “how high
is it” we both started looking for the elevation and I googled it on the phone,
but before we could find out, our audience had moved on to more interesting
feeds. We felt like short necked geese when we realised that I had parked the
bike next to a large sign saying “Cabramurra Lookout. Township elevation 1,488
meters”. See the photo attached.
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| Cabramurra Lookout. We couldn't find the elevation |
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| Periscoping Cabramurra |
Steak sandwich, a burger, toilet stop, a couple of quick
interviews and a call home (or two) and we were ready to head through the rest
of the park. We had a great run from Khancoban to Thredbo. The weather was good
and we passed quite a few other bikes on the road. The road starts fairly
gently and becomes more extreme as the altitude climbs around Mt Kosciuszko. It
was climbing this section that a Harley Davidson came around a bend towards us,
taking the bend very wide and making me glad that we weren’t entering the
corner as he was leaving. Then we passed another and another and I was a bit nervous
now because these guys were riding like there was no one else on the road and
taking blind corners very wide. I slowed down. A lot. Then we passed the guy
with the sheep skin jacket and realised they were the same group who were
beside us in Nowra the day before.
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| Lunch at the Khancoban Hotel |
We motored on to Jindabyne quite quickly, the rain clouds
looking ominous. It’s ony 30k and we were there about 4pm. We went straight to the
Rydges Horizons Snowy Mountains. I had booked a twin room and was told that a
night and day bed would be made up. On checking in the receptionist said that
there was a night and day but we would have to make it up. A bit of twoing and
froing lead to a room upgrade, which Richard took the credit for and we
proceeded to the room feeling pretty pleased with ourselves. After some time in
the room we realised that there was a slight, but pervasive “sour” odour in the
room. Richard was ready to sally forth and take on the establishment. I
couldn’t be bothered to pack up again and move. We coped. Although the night
and day was sounding pretty good.
It was raining by this stage and continued to rain most of
the evening. Fortunately Rydges had a bar, restaurant and even a heated, indoor
pool, in which Richard managed to not swim both on Saturday evening and Sunday
morning.
After the usual rest, read and ablutions, it was off to the
bar for a pre-dinner tot. Very pleasant not having to leave the establishment
on a cold wet night. We found a quiet lounge and settled in for a couple of
beers. There was a large painting on one wall of early settlers done in the
style of Leonardo Da Vinci’s last supper. Richard took an instant dislike to it
and proceed to tell me all the things that were horrid about it. I had to get a
photo.
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| That mural |
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| Pre-dinner drinks, Jindabyne |
We sat down for dinner. They had Mountain Stew with creamy
mash which sounded perfect for the weather. I chose that and Richard ordered at
the bar along with a Scotch Fillet for himself. Some minutes later a staff
member came to inform me that Mountain stew was off. On enquiring about another
Scotch Fillet I was told that Richard got the last one. I settled for lamb
shank and made sure I got an Affogato afterwards.
We arrived back in our room in time to watch “No Country for
old Men” on SBS and off to sleep.
Sunday 15 November, 2015
Jindabyne – Dalgety – Bombala – Pambula – Merimbula – Tathra
– Bermagui – Tilba Tilba - Narooma
294 km
Sunday morning dawned a beautiful sunny day, if a little
cool. So nice in fact that we went for walk around the lakes edge before
breakfast. Richard managed to not go for another swim. Breakfast was included
in our stay at Rydges, so after the 20 minute walking tour of downtown
Jindabyne we were back at the Motel enjoying the buffet breakfast. A bit. Not
really suitable fare for a couple of highly experienced, if overly critical,
gourmets.
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| Morning calisthenics, Jindabyne |
By the time we had breakfasted, suited up and checked out,
the clouds were building again. We had opted to leave the liners in the jackets
and pants which worked out well. We
headed east out of Jindabyne on The Snowy Rover Way towards Dalgety. Lovely
open valleys, large rocks and trees thinning the further east we got. Dalgety
is a sleepy little hamlet, especially on a Sunday Morning. We continued on
Snowy River Way as the trees disappeared and the valleys got wider. A lovely
winding road with big sweeping bends and great visibility ahead. Until the rain
started. Not too heavy fortunately and it didn’t last long. At one point we
came to 3 guys on large bikes who had stopped, waiting for a mate I think, and
had managed to entirely block the road. We had to slow almost to a stop while
they moved out of the way. Richard had a few choice words to say about their
riding ability and road manners. Fortunately they couldn’t hear him. We soon
turned south onto the Monaro Highway and headed for Bombala.
We were in Bombala for morning tea and had a coffee at the
bakery. Richard continued his critical examination of the sausage Rolls of South
Eastern NSW and declared this one “ok”. A petrol stop and then we were off
along Bombala Cathcart Rd. Cathcart came and went. At this point we could hear
a high pitched noise in our helmet speakers. My first impression was that of a
dog barking. Upon enquiry, Richard assured me that he was not barking, but he
could hear it as well. There followed many highly technical theories of what
could be causing it. Finally a ute that was travelling in front of us turned
off the road and we didn’t hear it again. Final theory is that there was in
fact a dog in the back of the ute barking at us.
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| Morning tea, Bombala |
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| Bombala |
Mt Darragh Rd, as its name implies, takes you over Mt
Darragh on some lovely windy mountain roads with thick forests and even thicker
ferns at the bottom. As we were entering the forest we passed a gentleman
walking in the opposite direction who looked like he had been living rough for
quite some time. That prompted a lively discussion on the correct terminology
to describe such a lifestyle. As neither of us really knew what we were talking
about, I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty.
This road comes off the mountain, through the village of
Wyndham and down the eastern slopes through dairy farms until you arrive at
South Pambula. This is beautiful, lush, green, farming country. We went through
Pambula and took the coast road through Merimbula and up to Tathra for our
lunch stop. We sat on the deck of the Tathra Hotel overlooking the Pacific
Ocean, eating fish and chips on a lovely sunny day. Living the dream. Again. We managed to solve many of the world’s
problems during these chats over breakfast, morning tea, lunch, pre-dinner
drinks and dinner. Just can’t seem to remember exactly what the solutions were.
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| Lunch at the Tathra Hotel |
We followed the Tathra Bermagui Rd north through the Mimosa
Rocks National Park, Murrah State Forest and Cuttagee to Bermagui. More dairy
country with some lovely old bridges over river mouths on the coast with
occasional views of the coast line. Straight through Bermagui and a quick stop
at Central Tilba for a stroll down the street and a cup of coffee.
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| Central tilba |
Then the final leg into Narooma. I had booked us into the
Whale Motel, appropriate some might say, and we were pleasantly surprised with
the accommodation. Our twin room had large main bedroom with double bed and a
second room with 2 single beds and a bathroom in between. Separate rooms.
Luxury. I was happy to let Richard have the big room as it also had the big TV
and he likes to watch crap after dinner. Everyone was happy.
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| My room at the whale |
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| Richard's room at the whale |
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| View from my room |
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| View from Richard's room |
Rest and ablutions performed, we headed down the hill to O’Brien’s
Hotel which had a large and appealing selection of beers on tap including
Guinness and Little Creatures Pale Ale. Two of my favourites. Richard started
with the obligatory Jamiesons and couple of calls to home. While taking some
photos of the view I inadvertently took a photo that included the back of
Richard’s head, which, due to a trick of the light, made it look like his hair
was thinning a bit. I was told in no uncertain terms that I was not to take
photos from behind him again without express permission. I dare not display the
photo here for fear of swift and vengeful retribution. While sitting on the deck overlooking the Narooma harbour, we
saw a pod of seals coming into the river and shortly afterwards, a pod of
dolphins in the river. Fortunately there was a man sitting next to us who was
able to identify the two for us, otherwise would have still been wondering what
all that splashing was about. It did lead to a long conversation and several
text messages about which were the correct collective nouns for seals, dolphins
and, strangely enough, emus.
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| View from the deck at O'Briens hotel. See the seals and dolphins? |
After a few beers it was time for dinner so we wandered into
the Ocean Palace Chinese Restaurant next door. Sizzling Peppered steak, steamed
duck combination and vegetable Fried Rice, a bottle of red and all was well
with the world. Not sure if it was any good or not, but there was none left.
For a couple high flying gourmets, we know how to mix it with the riff raff
when we have to.
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| Selecting the perfect wine for our Chinese meal |
Back to our separate rooms for a good night’s sleep in
preparation for the final day.
Monday 16 November, 2015
Narooma – Moruya – Batemans Bay – Milton – Nowra – Berry –
Oyster Bay
321 Km
Monday morning was another beautiful sunny morning and we ventured
out about 7.30am in search of breakfast. A full 100 meters up the road we found
Caseys Café open for business. A hearty breakfast and coffee (for me, one of
Richard’s many life rules is “no coffee in the morning”) and back to the motel
for pack and check out. We were getting pretty good at this procedure by now.
Once I get Richard off one of his numerous morning phone calls, it takes us no
time at all.
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| Breakfast, Narooma |
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| Pilgrims, Milton |
We were on the road about 9am and making very good time. I
should point out that Richard’s pillion skills had gone from good to
exceptional by this stage. Apart from some small hiccups getting on and off the
bike (don’t ask) once he was on he was a champion. Absolutely fearless and
urging more speed at every opportunity. Most of the time I was able to resist,
but we did have a few quick spurts, mainly overtaking, accompanied by squeals
of delights from the back seat. Some of his other entertaining, but not always
helpful habits, whilst riding were dancing (not good on corners) and singing,
usually made up lyrics. But very few complaints, making for happy travelling.
We had planned to stop for lunch at Pilgrims in Milton, but
we were making such good time that we were there by 10.30am so we had coffee
instead. Apparently the muffin was very good. A quick run up to Nowra, much
less road work these days, and into Berry for lunch. Unfortunately the
Sourdough Bakery was not open on a Monday, so after a quick lap of the CBD we
finished in the Berry Hotel which was very busy for a Monday. The publican
seemed as surprised as we were.
After lunch it was a quick run up through Kiama, Albion
Park, Wollongong and home to Oyster Bay. Not much fun on the freeway with all
that traffic, but we had some music and much singing and air drumming to
distract us.
Once home Richard immediately began enquiries about the next
trip. I think that means he had a good time.
1,350 km all up. The bike and pillion performed superbly.
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| Where are we going next? |
