A little trip north in New South Wales and Queensland.

Give or take a few kilometres. it’s a bit over 2,000km from my home town, Melbourne, to my friends house in South-east Queensland. Perfect for a 10 day road trip!

Coolah is a small town in central New South Wales. The weather there has been stormy.

I could see the isolated storms in the distance but kept dry.

It’s 950km from Melbourne to Coolah. A good days run. That night, the sunset reflected on the storm clouds were a magical sight.

And reflected on the Gum Trees.

There was a time when going out past the Black Stump was the outback. The outback is a lot further west now. You have to go Back o’ Burke to get there. (See my March 2023 posts.)

From Coolah I head north west to the beautiful beaches of Northern NSW and the Pacific Ocean.

Of course, that means crossing the mountains and there is no better road to ride over the mountains than the Waterfall Way.

To the coast and a welcoming classic hotel with time to get settled and have a swim.

Even the brewing storm couldn’t keep me out of the ocean. Overnight, the storn cleared and dawn heralded another perfect riding day.

The Border Ranges sit on the border of NSW and Queesland. The Lions Road is a relatively traffic free route through the mountains.

The picnic shelter at the lookout is the perfect place to make a coffee while the clouds lift.

Over the ranges and its into the sub tropics.

At my friends, there is a daily breakfast bar for the colourful Parrots and Loraketes.

And to visit one of my favourite places in Australia; the Bunya Mountains. Named after the Bunya Pine, these mountains are one of only two places in Australia, where you can see these magnificent trees in a forest. Majestic monsters they grow to 60 metres high and live for 600 years.

The forest is home to a diverse range of wildlife.

At the cafe at the visitor area, they serve a delicious salad with bunya nuts.

Its was all too soon to head back south over the mountains.

A stop at a friends farm to lend a hand then jump in the pool with the fellow workers. I

A storm passed through in the evening and by morning, it was a clear sky to head home.

Im really getting to enjoy the new bike. Just invites me to do more adventures.

First full moon of 2024

The first full moon of 2024 rising

Rising in the season of Aquarius

Im Aquarian,

Air sign

Ethereal

Chasing the will o’ the wisp

I love the moonlight on a hot summer night

Moonlight on the water, soft and serene

Looking across the bay as the full moon rises over the City of Melbourne Australia.

The rising moon fills the sky with soft light.

Riding across northern Greece

After leaving Konista, it was a misty ride through the mountains of Western Macedonia skirting Thessalonika to Kavala.

I had decided I wanted to make, what is a bit of an Australian Pilgrimage, to ANZAC Cove on the Cannakale Peninsula in Turkey. Hence, it was a blast across northern Greece.

What were the highlights?

The most fascinating stop was the Porto Logos. A little fishing village on the coast between Kavala and Alexandroupoli.

A quaint village with a small port and restaurants, a secluded beach and flamingos and other bird life.

It’s also the site of the Byzantine Monastry of St. Nicholas.

The monastry is set in the middle of the lake with each of the churches containing amazing frescos and etching.

The Byzantine Madonna and Child in the photos are etched and coloured directly onto brass plate and were breath takingly beautiful.

The city of Alexandroupoli is a beautiful coastal city at the top of the Aegean sea close to the border with Turkiye.

The sad part of crossing this part of Greece was the largely blackened forests and farmland, the legacy of recent wildfires in Northern Greece. Wherever I travel, there are ever present reminders of the current climate crisis

From Albania to Greece via the Vjose River

From the coastal resort town, the villages and landscape changed quickly as rode south east in the general direction of the Vjose toward Greece.

The route meandered through tittle villages, past monuments, and derelict oil fields. Connecting and reconnecting with the Vjose River.

It was easy to pick the Vjose as it carried much more water than other rivers. Drought has ravaged this area, and most of the other rivers had lost their flow to irrigation and electricity.

The town of Memaliaj is built on the edge of the river and a great place to stay and have a swim.

From Memalaij, it was a slight diversion to visit the Lengarica Canyon and the Thermal Baths of Benja.

Unfortunately, the river was very low but the thermal sping was beautiful.

On rejoining the Vjose, its mood had changed. Flooding rains in Greece had turned the Vjose gently flowing blue river into brownish torrent.

A return to high mountains herealded the approach to the Greek Border.

The first night in Greece and last beside the, now, Aoos River was in Konitsa with its Ottoman bridge at the end of the Aoos Gorge.

It was tempting to follow Aoos further south into the Greek mountains to its origin at the Aoos Spring, but my route was across the top of the Aegean Sea to Turkey.

Albania

The mountains of Montenegro continue over the border into Albania.

Spectacular hairpin roads, coming up from the coast.

Near the border is the Theth National Park. A beautiful alpine area for both riding and walking.

There are a number of restaurants, guest houses and hotels in the area. The local food is delicious and plentiful, and if you are lucky you will be invited to share a campfite with the locals.