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
