Echuca and Beyond - November 2019

 

I had booked a week off some time ago not knowing where I would go or if I would be able to go at all. About 7 weeks ago I sprained my ankle walking the dog and it has been a long, slow recovery. A shoulder problem that started as a dull ache about a year ago has deteriorated to the point I had to do something about it. Apparently I have arthritic degeneration resulting in a spur on the AC joint. Something to do with age they tell me. A cortisone injection has greatly improved it, but I still tend to ride one handed quite a bit. All that aside, I hit the road anyway.

 

Earlier on I had planned a stop in Young and then north through Cobar and Bourke up to Cunnamulla and back down the New England. I realised late in the piece that would be far too hot and there are too many fires burning and more springing up every day. The plan has changed to turn south.

 

Saturday 16 November

Oyster Bay - Goulburn - Crookwell - Boorowa - Young

370 km

Day 1

 

I still wanted to go to Young as a night there had been on my list of things to do for some time. Left home about 8.3am under dark clouds. Actually got a few raindrops before I hit Wilton. After that is was pretty mush sunny all day.

 

Down the Hume to Goulburn. Worst part of the trip, broken by a pot of tea and an Anzac biscuit at the Meridian Cafe in Marulan. A quick rest for the shoulder. Not far from there to Goulburn and then off the freeway and head to Crookwell. Beautiful country roads from here on. A petrol stop at Crookwell and straight on to Boorowa. Boorowa Road is a bit rough in places but fun to ride. Through Rugby and then in to Boorowa. I found a very workable Hamburger in town before the last 50 km into Young.

Inside the Meridian

Outside the Meridian

Boorowa

I had booked the Federation Motel which turned out to be across the road from Young Services Club and was owned by the club. A very nice Motel.

Federation Motel - Young

 

I had a wander around town, and despite there being quite a lot of pubs in town, none of them appealed very much. I did walk into a couple and had a look at the beers on tap and then walked out again. I thought I might as well try the Services club as it was close to home. A nice club which started off quiet until all the kids and parents turned up for the kids dance concert. Very noisy. I got an early dinner before the concert finished as I thought it would get very busy. I can’t blame the club, but I did make a very poor menu choice which I paid for later.

Scenes From Young

Young

Young

 

Sunday 17th November

Young - Temora - Narrandera - Jerilderie - Finley - Deniliquin - Echuca

500 kms

Day 2

 

Had breakfast in the Motel room and hit the road about 9am. Great weather and cool temperature. Pleasant riding. I went straight through Temora and on to Narrandera where I stopped for Petrol and Coffee. A large group of Ulysses Club bike riders in town also having coffee. My main memory of Narrandera is the train station. As a kid going back and forth to boarding school, there was always an extended stop and change of trains at Narrandera. Going to Sydney it was dinner at Narrandera and coming from Sydney it was Breakfast at Narrandera. The breakfast was always best as it meant I was going home. They had an open fire in the station dining room in the winter months and served a very presentable bacon and eggs. After a term at boarding school it was heaven.

 

From Narrandera it was straight down the Newell Highway to Jerilderie, famous for Ned Kelly’s letter. I was going really well and decided not to stop here and went straight on to Finley where I found a Chiko roll waiting for me in the only cafe open on a Sunday afternoon.

 

Then on to Deniliquin for a petrol stop. I grew up 120 km north of Deniliquin and it was always considered the opposition. Mainly to all the sporting teams in town, but apart from that it was always looked down upon. As a result I spent very little time there. Now it looks like a thriving hub with an active cultural life and mammoth hit in the annual Ute muster that draws 20,000 people who must spend a lot of money in town . Well done Deniliquin. What amazes me even more is that only another 80 Kms south is Echuca which is a fabulous town, but as a kid I didn’t really know it existed.

 

And Echuca was my next and last stop for the day. I had booked 2 nights accommodation thinking I would have a tour around the district on the day in between. That didn’t exactly work out.

American Hotel

 

American Hotel

American Hotel

Monday 18th November 

Echuca - Barmah - Echuca

 

Geese on the road - Echuca

After a bit of research last night I finished up booking myself on to a 2 hour river cruise on the Murray through the Barmah National Park. Barmah is about 30 Km from Echuca, so it was a short ride to be there by 10am. Barmah is a tiny town with a long aboriginal history. the Murray goes through a narrow strip called the Barmah choke, the narrowest part of the Murray, for about 8 kms.on the south side is Lake Barmah and on the north side is lake Moira, all surrounded by the largest River red Gum forest in the world. Look at this.

 

The 2 hour cruise was beautiful and very informative resulting in lots of photos. I got back to Echuca about 1pm for a quiet afternoon and wander around the town.

 

Tuesday 19th November

Echuca - Shepparton - Euroa - Alexandra - Healesville - Yarra Junction - Noojee - Hill End - Moe

400 kms

Day 4

 

Another lovely breakfast at the Black Pudding Cafe in Echuca and time to go. I had spent some time programming the gps to get me to Moe and avoid freeways. I had no idea where it was going to take me.

 

lovely country roads to Shepparton and then the road to Euroa was even smaller but a beautiful ride through farming land. Crops, cattle and sheep alternated along the side of the road. Very pleasant riding indeed. Through Euroa and then down to Yarck (yes, that’s a place) Then Alexandria and on to Buxton. Crossing a bridge in Buxton I could see off to my left 2 guys in waders standing in the small stream fly casting for trout. Absolutely beautiful country. This and a few other streams I saw were running very quickly. Must be from melting snow in the nearby mountains.

Near Healsville

Near Healsville

 

On down to Yarra Junction, after which I was in mountain country, then through Gladydale, Three Bridges and Powelltown (contains a pub called the Powelly). I am including these towns so I will know how to find it again because it is a superb drive through magnificent country. Forests of tall trees with occasional views of huge valleys and the mountains in the background. Highly recommended. At Icy creek I turned south and headed down towards Moe. The country opened up to reveal incredible views of wide open valleys and farms looking south towards Wilsons Promontory. And everything green. Lush, rich greens of every hue in every direction. No drought here.

 

Got into Moe and found the motel for the night. A very pleasant room. I had to use the air conditioner to warm up. A cold night. After a quick walk around town I finished up in the Moe Hotel for a very forgettable Dinner. Prospects for breakfast did not look good.

Moe

Moe Hotel

Wednesday 20th November

Moe - fish Creek - Yarram - Sale - Lakes Entrance - Orbost

370 Kms

Day 5

 

I had as fairly short trip today only going to Orbost. So instead of finding breakfast at Moe, I thought I would take a detour to Fish Creek. This is further south and very close to the entrance to Wilsons Promontory. I knew it was a very small community with a bit of an art thing going for it. I was there about 9am. It was smaller than I had thought. Very pretty, but no obvious breakfast venues. Finished up with a bacon and egg roll at the back of the service station opposite the pub. I’ve had worse.

Fish Creek

Fish Creek

Fish Creek

 

From there it was a fantastic ride through Foster, Yarram, Longford and Sale. I only stopped at Sale to program the GPS to try and avoid some of the highway to Lakes entrance. It worked. I went through Perry Bridge, ignoring all the signs that said “local traffic only’, coming out at Bairnsdale. A quick run down to Lakes entrance and I stopped for some lunch at my usual breakfast cafe.

Lakes Entrance

Lakes Entrance

My favourite café Lakes entrance

 

After that it was a short run to Orbost and in for the night. The fish and chips at the Orbost Club was pretty good.

 

Thursday 21st November

Orbost - Bonang - Delegate - Bombala - Nimmitabel - Cooma.

280 Kms

Day 6

 

Heading north from Orbost on the Bonang Highway is always interesting. 80 Km of very windy bitumen, 10 Km of gravel mountain road and then on to the usual country roads from delegate on. I have done it a few times now. So far on this trip I had spent at least 50% of the riding time with cruise control on resting my right arm and shoulder. I couldn’t do that on the windy roads or the dirt. I did manage about 15% which was just enough to get me through. I was glad when I reached the end of the dirt. One kangaroo tried to get me, fortunately I had both hands on the bars and was able to brake very hard. Missed him by about a meter.

 

Had a coffee at Bombala and had to make some decisions. It was already 30 c at 8am before I left Orbost and by the time I got to Bombala it was 36c and blowing a gale. I had planned to go to Jindabyne and then on to Cooma, but I knew the fantastic wide open riding of the Snowy river Road to Jindabyne would be a real pain in this wind. I decided to go straight to Cooma through Nimmitabel getting me to Cooma about an hour earlier. That was the right decision. An air conditioned motel room awaited me. As I write this at 5.45pm, it is still 36c.

 

Friday 22nd November

Cooma – Numerella – Braidwood – Nerriga – Nowra – Oyster Bay

400Kms

Day 7

 

Very pleased to wake to a cool morning in Cooma and after a light breakfast, set off about 8 am. I had considered not taking Cooma Rd, my preferred option with about 60 km unsealed, but I just couldn’t face the thought of battling the cars on the Monaro Highway. I was also concerned about how much I would be able to do the one handed trick to rest my shoulder.

 

In the end I took the plunge and I was very glad I did. No traffic, great scenery, an enjoyable ride. Lots of wildlife along the road, but I was already going slow on the dirt. Plenty of Wallabies keeping an eye on me and great to see a live wombat wandering around on the edge of the road.

 

A quick petrol stop in Braidwood and then up Nerriga Rd with some more dirt, although it is less every time I take this road and there is always roadwork underway as they seal the full length of the road and build a new bridge over Mongarlowe River.

 

I was soon back in Nowra and then had to join the frantic traffic on the Princes Highway. No fun here. Grin and bear it back to Oyster Bay. Home about 1pm after a very successful 2,400 Kms.

Full trip

Great Ocean road to Robe

Victoria and the Great Ocean Road.

 

It had been a while. When I thought about where to go, the Great Ocean road wasn’t my first thought. But once I had it there was no going back. My first bike trip on the GOR it rained nearly all the way and my plan to get to Robe in SA was abandoned at Mt Gambier. The second trip I planned and went to Portland before turning North. This time I thought I would try for Robe again.

The week before I left I had a terrible bout of flu and spent all day Wednesday and Thursday in bed hoping I could recuperate in time. Saturday morning was decision time. I still had a cough but I definitely felt up to it.

 

Saturday 15th June 2019

 

Oyster Bay - Nowra - Moruya - Narooma - Bega - Eden

 

440 kms

 

Day 1

Set off about 9am, sunny day, not too cold, “the livin’ was easy” as the Gershwins once said. Straight through Wollongong. Straight past Berry and through Nowra. Through Ulladulla and the traffic starts to thin out. My first stop was Moruya for a cup of tea, a swig of cough syrup and a muffin. Actually the cough made itself scarce while I was riding, but reappeared once I stopped. I pushed on a bit further before getting fuel at Narooma. The young Indian Lady in the service station was chatting while the EFTPOS took its time and commented that it was a nice day and everyone was going fishing. She paused and looked at me quizzically and said “don’t you like fishing”? I replied that I was fine with fishing but I preferred riding motorbikes. She thought I was confused.

 

Tea and muffin in Moruya

Then straight on through Bega and in to Eden. Familiar territory. Mine Host at the Twofold Bay Motel even said he remembered me and I think he gave me an upgrade from the standard room ordered. Very Comfortable.

 

After the usual rest and shower I thought I would venture over the road to the Eden Fisherman’s Club. Feeling a bit cold in the Motel room, I thought the club would be nice and cosy. My first disappointment was finding that the good old club Bistro had been turned into a “family buffet”. I didn’t like the sound of that. Never mind, Ill go in and have a drink and check it out. Oh no. There was a large fancy dress party. Attendees scattered about the place. the usual super heroes, comic book characters, movie stars and a few Hogwarts students. I could’nt cope. I left the club and headed across the road to the Great Southern Hotel which was warm and cosy and had a nice bistro menu to choose from. Having chosen the local Ling fillets fried with chips and salad I went to the bar for a glass of red. When I said I was after a glass of red the young bar attendant went into sommelier mode and asked what type I usually liked to drink. “All types” I replied. She then tried to enthuse me with descriptions of a NZ Pinot Noir and for something different a Tempranillo. I opted for the Pinot Noir, foolishly passing up a couple of more promising wines on the list. It was very ordinary. But the fish was delicious.

Eden Fisherman's Club, too many super heroes

Morning in Eden

Eden

 

Sunday 16th June, 2019

 

Eden - Orbost - Lakes Entrance - Bairnsdale - Sale - Yarram

440 Kms

Day 2

A Lovely morning. No fog. Sunshine. But cold. 7c when I ventured out to Ollie Masons Cafe, which was just delicious.

I left town about 9am and headed south. I had all layers on and I was pretty well protected from the cold. I didn’t stop till I got to Lakes Entrance. Time for a pot of tea and another muffin. I don’t think my taste buds have fully recovered from the flu yet. Coffee is not doing it for me like it usually does and I have had no taste for beer.  Perhaps I shouldn’t have been too harsh on the Pinot Noir after all. A beautiful morning at Lakes Entrance and I left there feeling ready to go. A beautiful ride through to Bairnsdale, where I stopped for Petrol, then on to Sale and the last leg into Yarram.

 

Lakes Entrance

Originally Yarram Yarram, it lost one of the Yarrams around 1925. Don’t tell Wagga Wagga. A rich Dairy farming community, the town looks larger than it’s 2600 population would require. Some beautiful old buildings in the Main Street. I had booked into one of the fancy Motel Style units at the back of the Commercial Hotel. They must have been awesome, in 1985. And perfectly adequate in 2019.

 

Yarram accomodation

Yarram

Yarram

Yarram

Yarram

Breakfast in Yarram

Yarram - recommended

Monday 17th June, 2019

Yarram - Leongatha - Sorrento - Torquay - Lorne - Apollo Bay

 420 Kms

Day 3

A beautiful morning in Yarram. Cool, but a sunny blue sky. Found my way to Coffee Food Life for baked eggs which was very good. Hit the road about 8.30 and had a blast on the South Gippsland Highway. A great road through the dairy farms, especially with the early morning sun glistening on the dew soaked green grass, while the dairy cows slowly munched through breakfast. This was a highlight of the trip. The country is just amazing with some great views over farming valleys, ocean glimpses and hills to the north, and every shade of green you can imagine.

 

Unfortunately the fun ended when I struck urban build up through Frankston and down the Mornington Peninsula to Sorrento. Got there about 11.30 and had a short wait till the car ferry arrived. Easy loading process and then a seat upstairs for the 45 minute crossing. Not too rough today.

First in line for the car ferry

 

On the ferry

Once on the Queenscliff side I set off for Barwon Heads and then joined the Great Ocean road at Torquay. Still sunny. A. Bit of traffic on the GOR but nothing like my past experiences. Enjoyed the scenic views on every corner. Some drivers even pulled over at the slow vehicle turn out to let me pass. About 20 Kms from Apollo Bay I came to a roadworks stop which must have been stopped for a while because there were about 20 cars lined up. I wound my way up beside them until I was first in queue and when we got the green light, I don’t think I saw another car going my way all the way to Apollo Bay.

 

I had selected a different motel this time. The Best Western just around the corner from the Apollo Bay Hotel. Great location and a very comfortable stay.

 

I was planning to go to the hotel for dinner, but walking out of the motel I noticed an Italian Restaurant called Casalingo across the road. I crossed and had a look through the window. Looked great. Saw a menu and the first main course I saw was Roast Duck with cherry glaze, wilted spinach and mash potato.  I walked on to the pub, had a beer and checked the menu, but I never stopped thinking about that duck. So back I went to Casalingo and had a great meal with couple of glasses of fine red wine.

 

Casalingo - Apollo Bay

Dawn - Apollo Bay

Dawn Apollo Bay

Tuesday 18th June, 2019

 

Apollo Bay - Pt Campbell - Warrnambool - Portland - Millicent - Robe

 

515 kms

 

Day 4

Predictions for Apollo Bay weather had not been good. Yesterday had been gorgeous, today looked nasty. After a very nourishing corn fritters with smoked salmon, avacodo salsa and poached egg at the Bay Leaf Cafe, I got ready for the ride. My second attempt at getting to Robe on the bike.

 

I left Apollo Bay at 8.45. Very overcast. The first section of this part of the ride winds through the Cape Otway National Park, which is beautiful, but slow going in the wet. The rain started almost immediately. A few heavy downpours, but mostly drizzle. The temperature got down to 9c which was warmer than leaving Yarram the day before. Despite the rain, there was no fog, which I was very grateful for. Last time through here I could hardly see where I was going.

 

I made good time through the park and came out the other side into the wind. Very strong wind and still some rain. It carried on like that through Port Campbell and Warrnambool and I had decided that if it was still like this by Portland I would stop there and abandon all thoughts of robe.

 

I got to Portland, pulled in for petrol and the sun came out. The wind had died down and it was still only 1pm. Do or die, I pushed on to Mt Gambier. Another 100 kms. All went well and just before Mt Gambier I turned on to a minor road with sign saying Millicent. I had full committed to getting to Robe. No wind, but I still had a couple of rain patches to get through, but by the time I got to Robe it was a sunny afternoon. Checked into the Motel with a sense of accomplishment. Finished the day with a very nice meal at the Robe Hotel and discovered Lille Creatures newly brewed stout.

Robe Hotel

The view from Robe Hotel

 

Wednesday 19th June, 2019

 

Robe - Naracoorte - Horsham - Halls Gap

 

360 kms

Day 5

 

Very pleased to wake up to sunshine in Robe after the horrible weather the previous day. Predictions hadn’t been good so I thought I would make tracks before it changed. I didn’t venture out for breakfast, just packed, got in the gear and hit the road. It was about 6c but sunny.

 

I got to Naracoorte about 10am and stopped at a cafe for breakfast. Still only about 10c. I headed through Edenhope and on to Horsham. Clouds gathered, but never got any rain. Stop at Horsham for petrol and then the final push into the Grampians.

 

This is why I chose to stop at Halls Gap. The Grampians are so dramatic. The Wimmera region surrounding them is fairly flat farming country, and there in the middle the Grampians burst out of the ground with incredible huge rock faces providing an amazing contrast. I chose to come from the Horsham side on Mt Victory Rd because it takes you right over the top of the Grampians with some fantastic sights along the way. It is only about the last 20 kms that crosses the Grampians, but they are spectacular.

 

Eventually you come down the other side to the village of Halls Gap which is in a valley surrounded by the mountains. It was back down to 7c and I was very pleased to get into a motel room and warm up a bit. A 100 meter walk to the Kookaburra Hotel saw me very well fed and hydrated for the night.

 

Halls Gap

Halls Gap

Thursday 20th June 2019

 

Halls Gap - Stawell - St Arnoud - Bendigo - Heathcote - Seymour - Beechworth

 

480 kms

Day 6

 

The Country life motel I was in had breakfast available which saved me a walk in the 6c morning. A fairly clear sky. A beautiful place to wake up.

 

Got on the road before 9am, still 6c, and headed through Stawell and on to St Arnoud and towards Bendigo. The temperature never got above 10c all day. Clouds increased steadily and I got a little bit of rain. Nothing to be concerned about. I stopped in Bendigo for petrol and then headed for Heathcote. I was following the GPS directions, but next time I’m sure I can find a better way.

 

It took me to the Hume Freeway at Seymour and then I had 200 kms of very dull highway riding. At least it was quick.

 

Got to Beechworth about 2.30pm and the weather was back down to 6c, where I started the day. Very glad to get into a room with air conditioning.

 

A lovely dinner at the empire Hotel and an early night. One day to go.

 

Beechworth by night

Friday 21 June, 2019

 

Beechworth – Holbrook – Yass – Goulburn – Oyster Bay

 

565 Km

Day 7

Iced bike

 

In the morning the weather ap told me it was -1c. I decided to skip going out for breakfast, stay in bed a bit longer and then hit the road, hoping it had warmed up a bit.

 

When I got out to load the bike I found it covered in ice. The seat, the panniers, the tank. I have never had that happen before. It was still 0c, but I didn’t want to wait any longer to get on the road. Long way to go to get home.

 

After wiping down the seat with a face washer soaked in very hot water, I climbed aboard and set off very wary of ice on the road. To make things worse, about 10kms out of town I struck a thick fog that wasn’t going anywhere. Finally got to Wodonga and found the Hume Freeway, which I don’t normally like, but under these conditions I felt a bit safer.

 

I decided I would stop for breakfast at Holbrook which was about 140 kms. The temperature struggled up to 3c and stopped there. My gear had been very effective at 6c and above, but at 3c I was really feeling the cold. Despite 2 layers of gloves and heated handgrips, my fingers were really feeling the cold. Probably the worst I have experienced.

 

Finally got into Holbrook. Still 3c. Still thick fog. I had a steak sandwich and coffee before venturing back out. Still 3c. Still thick fog. There was nothing for it, but to get on the bike and start riding. Finally as I approached Gundagai the fog lifted and the temperature almost immediately rose to 5c. Much better.

 

I stopped at Yass for petrol and a hot chocolate. It was 6c by then and a clear blue sky. The rest of the trip was gritting my teeth and getting on with it. After Goulburn the temperature struggled up to 13c which felt quite toasty after the morning experience.

 

Got home about 3.30pm ready to put the bike away for a while.

 

3,170 kms all up and apart from a couple of cold bits, a wonderful trip.

 

From my GPS Spot tracker

The full trip