The Sub- Tropical Mountain Gondwana Land Rain Forests On the Great Dividing Range of Australia. -2 New England NP

The New England National Park sits at the top of the Great Divide above the Pacific Ocean west of Coffs Harbour.

The route south through the mountains was chosen to catch up with friends in the NSW borders and explore some beautiful rainforest.

Heading south from the Lockyer Valley in Queensland I take the backroads out through Peak Crossing toward Boonah. Then winding my way toward the border with NSW and down the wonderfully twisty Lions Road to Kyogle and the start of the Summerland Way.

A good place to stop overnight and for a swim.  Although it comes with the risk of getting bombed by Patch the flying cattle dog.

The next day I headed along the Summerland Way to Grafton where I turned off and took the winding mountain road up to Ebor at the top of the Great Dividing Range.

Ebor is a good stop to top up the bikes fuel tank. Fusspots Cafe is also a good place for coffee and lunch. To refuel thy self.

The turn off to New England National Park is about halfway between Ebor and the Regional Centre of Armidale along the waterfall way.

There are campgrounds in the Park and lodges in and around.

The heavens had opened and luckily there was a local cabin vacant.

Clearing skies invited setting up camp in Thungutti campground the next day.

The damp weather and recent rains added an additional challenge to walking the steep rainforest tracks.

But there is something special to walking in a rainforest in the misty rain.

The fungus looks all fresh and shiny.

Frogs and toads have spawned in the puddles,

And the rains invited this orange Red Triangle Slug out to show itself. This slug was first identified less than two years ago.

The moisture caught in the moss, lychen and tree follage just beautiful.

With all the rain the waterfalls and small cascades were flowing strongly.

The walk and paths were tricky so it was good to do it in company.

Quite challenging for a piece meal adventurer

The Sub- Tropical Mountain Gondwana Land Rain Forests On the Great Dividing Range of Australia. -1

I take a few backroads avoiding the main highways and the traffic. Especially the big trucks. Ah the aptly named Black Stump Way.

Coolah is a small town a bit over half way on the trip and the hotel a good place for a night stopover.

The painted silos at Barabba are worth a stop on the Fossickers Way that leads up into Queensland.

The King and Queen Parrot giving me a welcome to Queensland.

Tambourine Mountain sits just west of the Gold Coast. Its a pleasant tourist destination and Queensland’s first National Park. Established in 1905.

A beautiful place to walk in some gondwana rain forest.

As well.as the parrots the kookaburras were a plenty.

And as the night fell the lights of the Gold Coast twinkled in the distance.

Definitely a very different place and seemingly a world away. 

 

Summer is finally in Victoria, Australia

On a clear warm spring day with a touch of summer in the air there is no better place to head the down the Great Ocean Road for a ride with a friend.

One of my favourite stops on the Great Ocean Road is Wye River, a beautiful beachside village.

The Wye General Store Cafe is a great spot for lunch and a cold beer on a hot day.

I should have gone for a swim in the Southern Ocean while there but the riding was just too good.

Mid week, little traffic, no wind and warm on this beautiful road. Perfect biking conditions.

So back home it was on the bicycle and down to Williamstown Beach, my local, for a dip.

The weather is still going to be volatile in Australia’s south east but summer is definitely in the air.

And on a warm evening Melbourne shows off her colours when you look across the bay from Williamstown.

Lovely rides north of London

It’s hard to believe that my nearly 6 month northern hemisphere adventure is coming to and end. I arrived in budding april days of spring and leaving in the October autumn. Flying south back to Melbourne in a few days.

I have been back in England for a couple of weeks and indulging in some local rides. In the UK there are places designated as Areas of Natural Beauty and these are where I head.

The Cotswolds is one such place with rolling hills and farmland and villages built from the local stone dotted through the land scape.

A little further north of the Cotswolds are the Shropshire Hills . Close to the Welsh border and the Severn River Valley it’s the entree rides around the hills of the Midlands and their network of canals.

East of London there are villages such as Thaxted with its beautiful old buildings.

And if you are lucky you may see a Master Tthatcher at work rethatching a roof.

Maldon on the east coast is home to the fleet of Thames Sailing Barges. Beautiful little ships that carried cargo along the east coast of England for over a century and a half.

The sailor in me marvels at the skill of the sailors of these Barges who sailed them loaded with cargo up and down streams and inlets with 5 metre tides flowing quickly. The true sailors skill.

The mighty breva is off getting serviced ready for storage as I prepare to head back to Australia. Master mechanic and friend Badrick has given me his Moto Guzzi 1200 sport to ride as he works on the Breva. That’s what guzzista do.

Vignettes in Tuscany

After crossing the Cols from France into Italy (http://piecemealadventurer.com/2022/09/06/three-col-passes-to-italy/) I headed south to the Mediterranean coast and then east to Tuscany as I had a little time before I wanted to be at Lake Como.

From Savona to Lavante the road winds from coastal Mediterranean and over the headlands and through the sprawling city of Genova.

How lucky was I when this lovely young Swiss couple couple asked my to join them for dinner in Trigosa.

Next day it was a long ride along the coast to Tuscany and the village of Altopascio.

Murals around the town mark that the village is a stop on the pilgrim trail with many walkers in the village.

A day in Florence gave me a taste of the beautiful city and a plan to return.

Over the mountains from Altopascio is the other iconic city of Bologna. Famous for inventing Bolognese sauce, lasagne and mortadella so a city famous for its food and for its porticos.

And towers

Bologna is on of the oldest cities in Europe and home to Europe’s first university. In many ways Bologna is still a university city.

But it’s history shows through with Roman artefacts all around like this statue in the corner of the entrance to the University Law School.

And of course Bologna is the home of Ducati. The other great Marque in the north of Italy.

From Tuscany it was a pleasant day ride over the mountains to Lake Como

And the story from Lake Como you have already read.