The internal borders on the eastern seaboard of Australia finally started to open as the community transmission of Covid 19 is eliminated.
It was time to load up the mighty Moto Guzzi Breva and hit the road.
Time to visit dear friends interstate that I hadn’t seen a long while
First stop was the lovely old town of Carcoar,and the lovely camping spot on the banks of the dam
From Lithgow through to Singleton the Bell Line of Road and the Putty Road is a spectacular ride across the top of the Blue Mountains.
The Blue Mountains were badly burnt in the terrible Australian bushfires last summer, but it was great to see some regeneration.
Off the Blue Mountains it was the backroads to the beautiful Pacific coastline north of Sydney.
Rattling over the old timber bridges that are distinctive part of the NSW backroads.
On the way from the mountains to the coast.
On the northern NSW coast mountains and the sea come together and on a hot summer day there is the ocean or a run up the Waterfall Way for a freshwater dip.
To Dangar falls in Dorrigo.
A route enjoyed by many beautiful bikes.
And at the bottom of the Waterfall Way is Urunga.
Where the Kalang River flows into the Pacific Ocean.
And the big old hotel offers a cold beer, a comfy room and a good meal.
I had approached the Upper Murray from the long way around
Starting from Yarram in South Gippsland
A small town famous for its street murals.
Its winter and the high roads over Mt Hotham and Falls Creek are closed so it was the low road
A pearler of a ride from Bruthen north to the little Village of Eskdale 223 km of curves and into the Upper Murray Region.
Has to be the greatest unrecognised rides in the world.
It was damp cold and at a pass through the Alpine National Park it was 1c and my mind turned to thoughts of black ice on the road.
A cabin waited for me at the Eskdale Caravan Park
Welcome refuge after a long wet ride
A good night sleep and onto my next destination
The Great River Road starts at the bridge that connects Victoria and NSW at Hume Weir and follows the winding course of the Murray upstream to Khancoban at the base of the Kosciusko National Park.
The Road is around 180km of scenic windy road along the Murray River.
The views of the Murray are special especially if you take a bit of time and pull off into some of the river side reserves and camp grounds.
The weather was cold but clear and not too bad for riding if you have the right gear.
But the joy of winter camping is campfires
As the Great River Road is developed as a tourist road the is are well layed out scenic stops with interpretation on the river and pieces of sculpture
The camp facilities along the road are great quality. Especially at Walwa where you can camp with great facilities and a campfire right on the banks of the river.
The road finishes at Lake Khancoban in NSW
The scars of the recent bushfires are there, both on the landscape and in the stories of the locals
But the land and the people are resilient and signs of renewal abound
And of course there is something very special about a winter sunset inland
The air was crispy cold as I headed out of the city and into the rural hinterland of Melbourne
As I passed over the Murchison Gap the rich green farming land was rolling out in front of me – a sight to see
The little back roads winding through the hills and farmland beckoning
But it was a holiday weekend and the roads were slowly filling, even the back roads were starting to bulge with caravans being towed by big SUVs. Post the Covid 19 lockdown I think all Melbournites were keen to get out of the city.
After the lovely tourist town of Marysville I was heading for the Black Spur only to hit a long line of traffic
A sign to Warburton a quick to the left and I was on a little road through the forest
To get to Apollo Bay there is the route along the eastern part of the Great Ocean Road or
The Road over the Otway Ranges from Forest
After travelling via Anglesea and Lorne last week this time it was over the Otways.
Tucked between the Otway Ranges and the sea Apollo Bay remains one of my favourite places to visit and to stay.
From Apollo Bay heading west along the Great Ocean Road in the midst of the Otway National Park is the turn off to Cape Otway and its impressive light house proud upon the steep cliffs of the Cape.
West of the Cape the road evens out more sweeping curves than tight corners, the land an open plateau across the top or the windblown cliffs with offshore the rocky monuments carved by the prevailing wind and sea.
From Port Campbell the view back along the sandstone cliffs toward Cape Otway in the late afternoon light is a sight one never tires of.
The Great Ocean Road continues onto Warrnambool from Port Campbell, but my route took me north through the coastal hills and farming land to historic Camperdown
And its famous clock tower.
Then road back to Melbourne.
It is so wonderful to be able to do this ride again free of traffic like it used to be 40 years ago, when sections of the road through the forest was still gravel and tourist coaches had not been invented.
The lockdown provisions in Victoria still preclude staying away overnight. All the hotels and camping grounds are still closed. It was nearly a 10 hour trip by the time I got home in the cold and the dark but what a ride and how good to be free!
