Northern New South Wales - Winter 2018

Saturday 16th June, 2018

Oyster Bay -  Katoomba - Lithgow - Rylstone - Merriwa- Willow tree - Quirindi

Loaded and ready to go

470 Kilometres

Time for my first winter ride for 2018. I’m feeling pretty confident about cold weather touring after the last couple of years. But that may be in for a battering.

North in winter is the usual mantra and I planned exactly that this year. My usual path is through the mountains, the Bylong Valley and the up the New England Highway. A slight change this year. The usual start, including dumplings at Rylstone and into the Bylong Valley. 

Dumplings at Ryestone - again

 Prior to that, going through Katoomba and black Heath, the temperature dropped to 3c. I consoled myself with the thought that it shouldn’t last long.

Half way through the Bylong Valley, at the village of Bylong, I turned left on to Wollar rd. This is an unsealed road most of the way and added a bit of spice to the trip.

The road changed with soil type, as they do, so it went from hard packed clay to gravel to sand and various combinations of the above. Some areas had severe corrugations which I really don’t like.  There were a couple of moments where I thought to myself “what have I got myself into here”. But those moments didn’t last long and all in all it was a great road with some really good country that you would not normally see. Apart from a close call with an emu that decided to dash across the road, all went well.

This road bought me out at Merriwa where I turned left onto Scone road and then a quick left on to Coulson’s Creek Road. More dirt, but in pretty good condition. This took me through to Willow Tree on the New England Highway. Just out of Willow Tree I turned left on to the Kamilaroi Highway and a short trip to Quirindi, my stop for the night. I had been through before but this was my first overnight stay. Not much happens on a Saturday night in Quirindi. Fortunately, I’m good with that.

Qirindi

Evening sky  - Quirindi

Shop front - Quirindi

Sunday 17th June, 2018

Quirindi - Werris Creek - Tamworth - Walcha - Armidale - Ebor - Grafton- Casino

550 Kilometers

After a very country breakfast at a cafe in Quirindi, I left town just before 9am. It was 7c and I was content with the thought that it could only get warmer. It did. a bit. For a while. Through Tamworth it got up to 9c and I thought, here we go, warmth. But I had decided to go through Walcha for a small taste of the Oxley Highway and Thunderbolts Way.

The temperature slowly began to drop. As I approached Walcha on the Oxley Highway it hit 3c which threw up an ice warning on the dash. All the this time the wind had been increasing till it was incredibly strong. I’d say with wind chill it was about -5c. Approaching Walcha I started to notice something out of the corner of my eye falling to the ground, but I wasn’t quick enough to see it properly. Then I had drops of water running down my visor, although it was not raining. Finally I realised it was snowflakes that were turning to liquid as soon as they hit the visor. Cold.

I went through Walcha and decided to keep going in search of warmer weather. Usually on a Sunday morning at Walcha you would see many motorbike riders doing either the Oxley Highway or Thunderbolts Way. This day I was the only one stupid enough to be riding in the weather.

From Walcha to Uralla to Armidale to Ebor to Tyringham, the temperature hovered between 3c and 5c and the wind never let up. I was feeling cold. I had a few layers on, but most annoyingly, I had another pair of thermals in the bags that I could have been wearing. It was a matter gritting the teeth and getting on with it.

After Tyringham, as I continued up Armidale road to Nymboida, I finally got some shelter form the wind and the temperature started to rise.  By the time I got to Grafton it was about 15c. Heaven.

100km on to Casino and I was very happy to get in to a motel room and warm up.

Casino in the morning

Monday 18th June, 2018

Casino - Nimbin - Murwillumbah - Natural Bridge - Numinbah - Nerang - Beaudesert- Mt Lindsay - Killarney - Warwick

350 kilometres

Lots of country I have never seen before today. First stop Nimbin. I’ve heard so much about it over the years but I’ve never been there before. Absolutely magnificent country. Dramatic mountains, beautiful green valleys, tall forests and lots of flowing creeks and rivers. Wonderful road for motorbikes and not much traffic today. Nimbin looked very welcoming. I’m a big fan of hippies. I could be one. But Nimbin seems to be full of Hippie extremes. I’m sure they are all lovely. But seeing so many in one place was a bit unsettling. I’d probably get used to it.

Nimbin rocks

Nimbin

The road continues on to Murwillumbah. The scenery is just spectacular all the way and Murwillumbah looks like a great town. Then on to Nerang and then turn west to head for Beaudesert. I have found some wonderful town names on my travels, but Wonglepong is right up there. Not much of a town, but a great name.

I stopped in Beaudesert for fuel and lunch and then headed down Mt Lindsay Highway. I have done this section before and I love it. Twisty Mountain road that turns into a small back country road, with plenty of potholes, before going through Killarney and into the back of Warwick.

A beautiful clear blue sky all day and no colder than 12c. I put everything on leaving Casino, but by most first stop at Nimbin I had to remove a layer. If only I had done that the day before.

Warwick Hotel. Lovely but closed.

Tuesday 19th June, 2018

Warwick - Inglewood - Goondiwindi - Moree - Warialda - Inverell

470km

Another beautiful clear blue sky in Warwick. But cold. Around 4c when I went to breakfast. I left town about 8.30 when it was about 7c but slowly dropped to 5c. This is a long stretch. 100km to Inglewood. 100 km to Goondiwindi. After a half hour or so of travelling at 110kmh in 5c temperature the cold really starts to seep in. Even though I had all the layers on. Not as  old as my trip through Walcha on Sunday. But getting there. By the time I reached Goondiwindi it was up to about 9c. Nice.

A quick stop in a park for a toilet break and walk around and I was straight off to Moree. I thought the road from Goondiwindi to Moree, The Newell Highway, aka the middle of nowhere, would be fairly quiet. It was the busiest road since I left Sydney. Streams of semi-trailers and caravans. Most of them going north, but enough going south to keep me constantly overtaking.

Stopped for petrol in Moree. A balmy 15c by this stage. Feeling good so I headed off to Warialda on the Gwydir Highway. Very little traffic here and I had a nice ride. Went through a few herds of cattle that were on the road, not necessarily travelling, but eating the more plentiful feed in the road corridor. The long paddock.

A stop in Warialda for coffee and a sandwich and the last 50 k into Inverell. I had booked in to Inverell for 2 nights and thought I would have a day off to explore the town. I had been through Inverell once before and was amazed at the size of it and I have always intended to come back. It seemed like a good place for some r and r.

Wednesday 20th June, 2018

Inverell

A whole day of not going anywhere. The novelty wore off by the afternoon. I should have planned a day trip on the bike. Still I had a good look around town and did a lot of walking. That can’t be a bad thing.

McIntyre River at Inverell

Inverell graffiti

Inverell Morning

Thursday 21^st June, 2018

Inverell – Bingara – Narrabri – Coonabarabran – Mendooran – Dunedoo – Gulgong – Mudgee

507 Km

After a quiet day in Inverell, I was ready to get back on the bike. Another cold morning and I put everything on. Turned out a god decision.

I had to retrace my steps to the village of Delungra and then turned left on to the minor road to Bingara. I saw a signpost at the turn pointing to the Myall Creek Massacre Memorial which I was keen to see. It was only 20 km down the road where I turned off to a parking area and followed a path to the memorial site. Very moving place and worth the trouble to find it. Fascinating but terrible story behind it can be found here.

Myall Creek - entrance

Myall Creek - car park with bike.

Myall Creek memorial

Myall Creek

I went through Bingara and on to Narrabri where I had a quick coffee break. From there I continued down the Newell Highway to Coonabarabran. This takes you through the Pilliga State forest, which looks to be a very interesting place, but you don’t see too much from the highway.

Narrabri on a winters day

 A fuel stop in Coonabarabran and then off to Mendooran and Dunedoo where I found a great pie at the Kakkadoo Kafé. Recommended.

A short trip then through Gulgong and into Mudgee for the night. My favourite “last night on the road” stopover. You can always get a good meal and a glass of wine and you only have a half day left to get home. Mind you, it is bloody cold in June.

Mudgee court house on a foggy morning

Friday 22^nd June, 2018

Mudgee – Lithgow – Katoomba – Penrith – Oyster Bay

A freezing morning. Down to Café 89 for Mudgee Mushrooms for breakfast. My last pack up before setting off for home. Another clear blue sky, but chilly and a pretty good fog until I got passed Lake Windamere, and then it lifted quite quickly.

An uneventful trip home. No stops. By the time you get to Mount Victoria you hit the traffic, the trucks and the ever changing speed limits, maximum 80. It gets very annoying from there to home when you really miss those quiet country roads. Getting into and out of the Sydney area is the only downside of these trips.

Home just after 1pm with 2,679 lm on the clock for the 7 days. Feeling relaxed.

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