Friday 23 April
Oyster Bay - Goulburn - Wagga Wagga - Narrandera - Hay
720 km
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| Day 1 |
I was off to Hay for a family catch up. Got away from Sydney about 8.30 and had a good, uneventful run through Goulburn and on to Yass and Gundagai.
I usually take the Burley Griffin Way through Temora, but the road is still closed near Wallendbeen since the recent flooding.
A last stop at Narrandera before braving the Hay plains. Arrived about 4pm. That is the boring part of the trip out of the way.
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| Leaving Sydney |
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| Hay Plains |
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| Motel In Hay |
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| Newly painted water towers in Hay |
Monday 26 April
Hay - Balranald - Euston – Wentworth
323 km
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| Day 2 |
Left Hay about 8.30am on a cool, crisp morning. Not a cloud in the sky. I dressed with all the electric gear but found I didn’t need to turn it on. A lovely run across the flat, treeless country to Balranald where I stopped for coffee. The relatively new Information centre at Balranald is great. Parking, clean toilets and good coffee at the café make a great one place stop.
After Balranald, I did one run through to Wentworth. The country changes from treeless plains to scrubby bush to large grain farms with glimpses of the Murray and assorted lakes to the South. As this was only 323km trip, I didn’t stop again. Although I did ride down into Euston and had a quick tour around Wentworth before checking into the Motel.
Having not had lunch, I went for a walk about 5pm looking for a burger. Nothing available in town that I could find. I had to wait til 6pm for one of the pubs to start serving dinner. I was starving by then so needless to say I enjoyed my dinner.
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| Hay to Balranald |
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| Scrub after Balranald |
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| Lake Benanee near Euston |
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| Euston |
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| Near Wentworth |
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| Darling river at Wentworth |
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| Old Wentworth Gaol |
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| Murray Darling junction |
Tuesday 27 April
Wentworth- Coombah - Broken Hill
290 km
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| Day 3 |
Another beautiful morning. A continental breakfast was included with my room at the Wentworth Grand Resort, so I tucked in and hit the road about 9.30. It was a short trip and I didn’t want to be there too early.
Lovely travelling. About 17c and very little traffic. Perfect conditions.
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| Leaving Wentworth |
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| Mind the trucks |
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| Siver City Highway |
I stopped at Coombah which is about half way and has a cafe and petrol. Unfortunately a bus load of older passengers arrived just before me and there was a long queue for coffee. I had a seat and waited patiently until they were all through. By the time ordered I had changed my mind many times and I finished up with a Coke No Sugar and a Chiko Roll. The taste of my childhood. Always love a Chiko Roll.
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| Coombah roadhouse |
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| Coombah |
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| Towards Broken Hill |
After listening to 2 couples in caravans discussing whether or not they will open the Tim Tams for 10 minutes, I decided it was time to go.
Had a great run from there to Broken Hill and I was entering town about midday. The first roundabout I came to, I pulled the clutch to stop and the clutch did not budge. I was braking to stop so the bike just stalled at the edge of the roundabout. I could not engage the clutch. After a minute of trying and with cars backing up behind me I found neutral and pushed the bike to the side of the road. At this point I was very doubtful I could get it repaired in Broken Hill and had thoughts of having to get the bike shipped to SYDNEY and me flying.
As it turned out I was stopped right in front of a service station, so I went in and asked if they knew anyone who could fix a KTM. The manager, Errol, came out had look and said “my mate Rob can fix anything”. He called Rob who said he would come and get me and while we waited Errol told me tales of his motorcycle adventures. He has a KTM 450 and recently sold his Ducati Monster. He said he and Rob used to race dirt bikes.
Rob turned up towing a professional motorbike trailer. He tried the clutch and said “probably a nut come loose”. We then loaded the bike on the trailer and set of for his workshop.
This turned out to be a very large yard with a number of sheds and many, many, bikes and quads, or parts thereof, scattered about the place. He even had the junk yard dog. A large, serious looking stumpy tailed blue healer who completely ignored me while I was there and I didn’t push my luck.
We unloaded the bike and a younger fellow (I think Rob’s son) eventually came over and removed the clutch cover. He very carefully removed all the clutch plates until he got to the back of the mechanism. “The nus come loose” he said and with that tightened it up and slowly cleaned and replaced all the plates and the cover. Good as new.
It sounds quick when you read that, but actually it took about 2 hours. People would wander in and ask this young genius about a loom for a 2007 CRF, or heat shield for a DRZ. He had an answer for them all, and was in no hurry whatsoever. I was in no position to complain.
Eventually all was done and I was ready to depart when I mentioned that I hadn’t paid him. “Right oh” he said as he did some sums in his head. “$50 bucks will do it”. I couldn’t believe it. I gave him a hundred and said “buy the guys a drink” and left with a big smile on my face.
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| Outskirts of Broken Hill |
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| Broken down in Broken Hill |
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| At Rob's, clutch exposed. |
Got into my motel about 4pm and crashed to mull over the events of the day. Finally showered and headed to the Demo club (Barrier Social Democratic Club). Which I had been to before. One of the specials was house crumbed wagyu steak for $21. I thought, at that price it will be small. Wrong. It was thin but hung off both ends of the plate. Nice dinner and an early night.
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| Broken Hill by night |
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| "Small" crumbed Wagyu |
Wednesday 28th April
Broken Hill – Wilcannia – Cobar
457 Km
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| Day 4 |
Found breakfast at a café in the main street. Not the one I wanted. It was too busy. Never mind. A full belly just the same.
Beautiful riding weather again. Clear blue sky, no wind and about 18c. Perfect. I know there is not much in the way of scenery on the run from Broken Hill to Wilcannia to Cobar, but I do enjoy this country. The sense of wide open space is overwhelming and I really enjoy being in it.
No Kangaroos today. A couple of emus in the paddocks and the usual crop of goats along the road. I think the goats are becoming more relaxed. Once upon a time they would run away from every vehicle. Now, many of them just stand there chewing grass and watching you go by. But, unlike kangaroos and sheep, they never run in front of you. Goats are the motorcyclist’s friend.
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| Broken Hill to Wilcannia |
I stopped for petrol at Wilcannia and then for coffee and carrot cake at Emmdale roadhouse, which is a bit of a favourite.
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| Darling River at Wilcannia |
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| Wilcannia |
Final run to Cobar for a quite night. The Town and Country Motel has a restaurant attached and is as good a place to eat in Cobar as any. Breakfast as well.
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| Roadworks - Wilcannia to Cobar |
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| Emmdale Roadhouse |
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| Motel in Cobar |
Thursday 29th April
Cobar – Nyngan – Narromine – Dubbo – Yeoval – Cumnock – Molong – Orange
450 km
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| Day 5 |
Another beautiful day and I was off to Nyngan. No stopping there but it was probably the longest run between towns. I stopped at Narromine for coffee, muffin and petrol. The café in the old Imperial hotel is a beauty and recommended. Two shots of coffee is standard in their flat white. The way it should be everywhere.
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| Leaving Cobar |
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| Coffee and Muffin, Narromine |
On to Dubbo and then a road new to me, but one I really enjoyed. South of Dubbo, past the entrance to Western Plains Zoo and then along Obley Road which later became Banjo Patterson Road. A great ride through Yeoval, Cumnock and Molong. Three lovely, little towns. Lots of quirky art installations along the way and a beautiful winding road through gently undulating country with very little traffic. A nice change from the last couple of days of long straight roads of nothing.
I had a pit stop in Molong before the final run into Orange.
I had not stayed in Orange overnight before, and I was there early enough to have a good wander around the CBD and check it out. I quickly identified Mr Lim Korean for dinner and Good Eddy café for breakfast. They were both very good.
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| Mr Lim's Drunken Duck |
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| Mr Lim's prawn wontons |
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| Mr Lims |
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| Orange by night |
Friday 30th April
Orange – Bathurst – Lithgow – Katoomba – Penrith – Oyster Bay
273 Km
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| Day 6 |
I couldn’t believe the traffic from Orange to Bathurst to Lithgow and then all the way over the blue Mountains. Make me appreciate the space of Broken Hill all the more.
An uneventful run in good weather getting me back home around 1pm. 2,500 km in all.
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| Whole Trip |
