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LOOPING OZ |
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The Last Leg By Meredith
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Day 84 We finally tore ourselves away from Adelaide on a beautiful day. Two of the Frats (The SA Guzzi Appreciation Fraternity) came with us to show us some beautiful back roads and scenic routes to make sure that the last leg of journey was fantastic. We went through the Adelaide hills along some of the most beautiful bike roads in Australia. So beautiful that we took very few photos! The ride itself is just so magnificent that it becomes very hard to stop and take a shot, I think you have to do the routes at least twice – once for the ride and the second time for the photos. We rode along roads with postcard views of pasture land, forest reserves and ocean scenes. It was one of the first twisty routes since we’d left the East Coast and we were all enjoying it greatly. (We were enjoying zipping along the pretzel roads at maximum speed whilst our escort enjoyed the novelty of such a slow pace!)
We went down the Fleurieu Penninsula which is another magnificent aspect to South Australia. Fantastic seaside towns and harbours are nestled between the ocean and the rolling green pasture lands with views and access to pristine islands. We eventually made it to Victor Harbour that night after a bit of a mishap where the V11 Sport ran out of oil (and was saved by the V7s' emergency supply).
Victor Harbour is a lovely old town which is well set up for visitors and locals with lots of heritage points and beautiful beaches. Just off from Victor Harbour is Granite Island which you can get to by crossing a causeway either on foot or by using the horse drawn tram. We walked across and watched as the draught horse pulled a double decker carriage, loaded with people, with ease. The big attraction on the tiny granite island is the colony of penguins that can be seen coming home to their dens in the early evening. It was a great little island and we enjoyed the penguin spotting tour which was conducted by a knowledgeable and relaxed local.
Day 85 The next morning we had a bang up cooked breakfast in town before heading off again into the Coorong (where the movie Storm Boy was made). We had taken a direct route heading towards Meningie, through more lovely areas, but about 10kms from the town we were stopped by a roadblock because a fire had blocked all visibility across the road for over a kilometer. Apparently a 36 foot excavator had tried to go under a 22 foot power line and had shorted it out, causing the fire. It was a very windy day so that was whipping the fire up and increasing the smoke haze greatly.
Eventually we were all advised to find a different route and a big convoy of vehicles headed back down the road to take a dirt road alternative around the area. A local chap who we’d been talking to, suggested that if we wanted a more scenic alternative, without eating the dust from a million vehicles, then we should go through the Coorong via Narrung. That sounded like a good idea so we headed out that way.
The Coorong is a magnificent area where the Murray meets the sea. We rode beside the lakes, crossing by barge at Narrung. It is a wild and windswept area that is quite dramatic. Eventually we arrived in Meningie and set up camp on the edge of Lake Albert. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, the head cold I had been trying to ignore in the hopes it would go away, had taken hold and I was starting to feel quite crook.
Day 86 By morning I was really feeling awful and wasn’t up to packing up the camp and moving on, so we stayed in Meningie. It was a wet day but I stayed cosy in the tent sleeping for most of the day. Poor Alan spent the day exploring the tiny town and trying to keep busy. In the afternoon we went over the road to the Meningie Museum and had a quick look around, but I ended up having to go back for a lie down after only a short time.
Day 87 I had hoped I’d be feeling a bit better the next morning but actually felt a lot worse, so it was another day of sleep for me and another day of chatting to the locals for Alan.
Day 88 The next day I was better than the day before but still not well enough to head off, though I did spend a lot of the day reading rather than sleeping the whole time. I think Alan was getting a bit frantic by this time, though he had found a place that made good coffee.
Day 89 I was finally well enough to hop on the bike and head further on. It was another cold day as there was a series of cold fronts that were coming through one after the other – bringing rain, wind and low temperatures. I put on all my warm gear, including long johns and we made our way to Mt Gambier where we stayed in a room for the night.
By the end of the day Alan was definitely sick so we were a bit concerned whether we would have to hole up again.
Day 90 The next day was warmer and sunny which was a delight. We headed along the coast to eventually reach the start of the famous Great Ocean Road in Victoria. The Great Ocean Road is well named, it is a hard road to ride because the road itself is interesting with twists and turns, but you are continually distracted by magnificent views as you come around one bend after another. We had been advised that it would be best to travel the road during the week because it is so popular and gets very busy on the weekends. So luckily that’s how it worked out for us. As well as enjoying the ride and the road, we were kept busy waving to heaps of happy, friendly motorcyclists returning from the GP and happy with their weekend.
That night we stopped at beautiful Apollo Bay where we got a cabin. We knew a storm had been forecast for the following day, and because Alan was not too well, we decided we’d hole up for the following day.
Day 91 The next day Alan was feeling pretty rough and the weather was pretty wild so we spent most of the day holed up in the cabin reading and resting. However, in the morning we had a lovely little outing. Some friends from SA were passing through Apollo Bay on their way home from the GP so we met up with them for a delicious breakfast at one of the lovely cafes on the foreshore. They had had a great time at the GP and had a few days to make a leisurely trip home. Our decision to stay put in Apollo bay was confirmed when they described their ride that morning in to town. Apparently the wild wind that was blowing so fiercely that morning had, at one point, stopped their bike as they came around a bend. Both rider and pillion were stuck with one foot on the ground, one in the air and the bike unable to move forward. Luckily the gust of wind died away briefly and they were able to get moving again.
By the end of the day Alan was not getting much better so we decided we needed to move as far to the east as we could over the next few days to try and get away from the cold fronts and into to the warmer weather (if there was any anywhere!)
Day 92 By the next day the storm had blown over and the wind had completely died away. It was a bit cool, but nothing multiple layers couldn’t solve. The second part of the Great Ocean Road was unbelievably beautiful with the road clinging to the edge of the cliffs that wound along the coast. Probably the most picturesque section was between Apollo Bay and Lorne, but the whole road is glorious.
We ended up stopping at Queenscliff early in the afternoon as we were both pooped. Alan was still unwell though he seemed to have avoided getting as sick as I had. On the way to Queenscliff we called into Newtown and picked up a new front tyre for Alan’s bike and also picked up some heated hand grips for me, that would need to be fitted at some point.
We went for a stroll around Queenscliff and enjoyed the old buildings, the lookouts and the café we found with home cooked everything! We also happened upon a cute old steam engine when we were wandering along the rail lines. We heard the whush-whush of a steam engine, and looked around and there was a little green engine coming out from between the big modern trains.
Day 93 The next day the wind was blowing and the sea was looking iffy as we boarded the Ferry to Sorrento. We parked our bikes in the centre of the boat and were advised to stay close to the bikes for the trip as there was a fair swell expected. There were two other motorcyclists making the crossing and we chatted to them while we made the crossing. One of the guys had just come back from about four months riding a motorbike all over Europe, and he’d just popped down to Queenscliff to catch up with friends for the night before getting ready to go back to work in the next day or two.
When we got into Sorrento we rode with these two bikers through Flinders and Hastings, where we headed off on our own around the coast. To keep away from the main roads, and to try and get some wind protection, we headed inland a bit and meandered through some beautiful back roads and eventually made our way back to the main road at Heyfield. We eventually stopped at Maffra where we’d stopped a few years before. We remembered that the caravan park had been roomy and cheap, but had forgotten that it had also been noisy and grotty. When we got there we found that it was still roomy, still noisy but was now more expensive and more grotty.
Day 94 The next day we made our way to the A1 and headed up the highway to Eden. The A1 was surprisingly lovely to ride with great views. After winding our way through great forests and up and down great mountains, we finally came to warmer weather. Hurrah!
Eden was a very picturesque town, but because we were both under the weather we didn’t do much exploring just went to a good caravan park and set up the tent. When we were choosing our camp bay we had a couple of noisy plovers harassing us. We figured they must have had a nest in the bushes edging the camp area, but as Alan was shifting the bikes he found that they had a nest in the middle of the lawn one bay up from us. It was the strangest place to put a nest, plonk in the middle of a fair bit of human activity. We moved further away from the nest and eventually the birds quietened down as long as we didn’t look at them or walk towards them.
Day 95 By the morning they had forgotten that we were there so they had a big shock when we crawled out of the tent and the squawking and harassing started all over again. Luckily we’ve now got our camp packing down to a fine art so it didn’t take long to get our gear stowed and head off along the A1 to Nowra to enjoy more magnificent forest.
Day 96 I have always wanted to see the cliff road that is along the coast somewhere between Wollongong and Sydney. We’d seen a pamphlet on it at Eden but had not taken one as it looked pretty straight forward – follow the coast from Nowra to Sydney. So that’s what we decided to do. The first section was terrific as we followed the coast around but after a while we got channeled back onto the A1. After that we found that every time we headed towards the coast we’d end up on some road that would sweep us away from the coast and back onto the A1. I felt like Alice in Wonderland where she has to move away from somewhere to get to it. After quite a bit of frustration and multiple detours we gave up and accepted that without a really good map the only way we were going to get to Sydney was down the A1. Just to add insult to injury, just outside of Sydney my clutch cable broke and we had to do repairs in the boiling sun. (Yes, it was finally warm!)
Day 97 After a lovely evening with our Sydney friends, we spent the day mooching around Sydney city, and spent the evening the same way as the night before – good food, good company and good wine.
Day 98 We left Sydney after peak hour and picked a route to try and avoid the toll gates. But without knowing the roads really well, we got stuck in a lane that took us through a toll gate and we were charged $4.50 each just to get across the city. That’s the same price that is charged for a big four wheel drive, packed with passengers towing a caravan. It makes me so wild that it cost us $9 to get across and cars only $4.50. I tell you what, if we didn’t have such good friends in Sydney I wouldn’t go there!
Anyway, I got over that once we got further out of town. I wanted to go down the A1 from Sydney to Brisbane as I’d never done it. Like any self respecting motorcyclist, we always take the back roads and avoid the highways whenever possible. So even though I’d done bits of the A1 I hadn’t done it all. The A1 is like a motorway for vast stretches. The road is very fast and bypassed most towns and fuel stops. When I finally hit reserve we took a detour into Gosford to locate a fuel station, only to find that once we eventually got back on the A1 there was a big road house a few k’s further down the track.
There’s quite a lot of road works going on along the A1, I think in a few years time it will be a big motorway from one end to the other. One section of roadworks was the biggest I’d ever seen. There was a whole village set up to support the works and there were men and machinery everywhere. As sad as it might be, I actually found it very interesting.
We eventually pulled into Kempsey for our last night on the road. We were both quite tired so we made tea from our dwindling supplies – cashews to start followed by biscuits with a tin of baked beans and a tin of fish each and concluded with a drink of water. Yum!
Day 99 The A1 from Kempsey to Brisbane wasn’t very exciting and there continued to be a lot of road works and extensive stops along the way. As we started getting into our regular biking territory we started getting really excited to be getting home. I was looking forward to patting the dogs, seeing our friends, having lovely BBQs on the verandah, and going for rides through the beautiful roads surrounding Brisbane.
We were stopped at the last set of lights before our home, when we heard a call from the side of the road, and Craig, one of our favourite people, was pedaling by, had recognized us and called out to welcome us home. How exciting! When we got home we found that the dogs still remembered us (and so did our friends) and that Alan had got a screw in the rear tyre sometime that day. The tyre was completely worn anyway so it was no big deal. But how lucky that it didn’t puncture the tube or cause any problems.
So that night we finally slept in our own bed after three and a half months (and one day) on the road. We’d traveled nearly 21,000 kilometres and had no mishaps. Alan’s skill and dedication in keeping the bikes going at top performance was fantastic.
It was a long trip, a hard trip, an adventure and a challenge. I’m so glad we did it. |
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