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Leaving the freeway which runs from Canberra towards Sydney for what it is, we took the back road instead. It's a bit further and takes a bit longer but is much more interesting although you need to stay 100% alert as is evident by the many dead kangaroos along both sides of the road. Leaving Goulburn rather late due to a flat tyre, we headed north to Oberon. Our early morning rides always started out without breakfast and most of the time without even coffee. The first 100 km are done quickly and then would we say – "It’s time for a coffee" (or breakfast) Oberon was 148 km away so that should have been ok. However, about 12 km before Oberon we came to a T- intersection which had not been visible on the map. The sign read "Oberon 8 km" (turn left)
and "Jenolan Caves 24 km" (turn right). So - let’s stop at the caves for coffee! The road to the caves are so extreme that no trucks, buses or caravans are allowed to travel along it. The bends are so steep and tight that even on a motorcycle you have to plan your turns carefully. Just before the caves, we noticed a sign telling us that the road would be closed (after the caves) between 12.45 pm and 3.15 pm. The road is spectacular and winds not just down steep embankments, but also right through one of the caves. (see video) When we got there it was 12.40 pm. Mike stopped for to take pictures and I pushed on to see where the barrier was. A few minutes later, at exactly 12.45 we passed the road works section and finally could make a stop in the tiny town of Hampton for our first break of the day after 4 hours of riding but only covering 250 km. It was here that Mike noticed that my rear tyre was badly worn and that the canvas was showing! Well, nothing we could do there.
It was a further 55 km to get to Katoomba. We had now entered the Blue Mountains area and were riding at a high 1000 meters and, of course, back in the cold air. Luckily the motorcycle shop In Katoomba had a suitable tyre which was fitted in no time. We both had tyre trouble that day as, in the early morning we discovered that Michael had a flat tyre. We fixed that with a tubeless plug and made our way north. The winding road led us to Windsor for the night. The sky had turned black and many lightning strikes were visible in the distance. We both got a bit of a scare while entering Windsor. The lighting strikes were right in front of us and pretty heavy. We saw a large plane in the sky, flying across our line of sight. Suddenly there was another bolt of lightning now traveling horizontally towards the plane. At that precise moment, the plane was hidden from our view because we passing some trees. We were sure the plane got hit. A few seconds later the plane came down and turned right towards us. For a moment we thought it was going to crash as it faced us head-on from above on a downwards angle. A little later we realised that it had lined itself up with an airstrip which was right behind us.
Windsor is a town you’d like instantly. It is interesting to read about the history of Australian towns. It usually starts with a place where gold was found or, as in this case, where 22 settlers were given land in 1794 (only 17 years after the first landings) when it was called "The Green Hills" and later renamed "Windsor" as it looked similar in setting to Windsor in England.
The reason to stop at Windsor was that from there a winding road follows the Hawkesbury River. The river is very wide in places and folds back upon itself, making it necessary to use two ferry services to continue towards the coast. Via Cessnock we reached Nelson Bay. The next morning we headed inland and traveled to Gloucester via a road called "Bucketts Way". You can't help but wonder where these names came from. The rugged hills along the way, in this case, are called ”Bucketts Mountains”. Apparently, it sounds like an aboriginal word meaning "rocky hills".
Late afternoon we rolled into Nambucca Heads and found a great place to stay right next to the beach and a fresh water lagoon and a river beach. But, as usual, we were too tired at the end of the day to make use of it...
Leaving the coast behind us we headed west up the Waterfall Way towards the small town of Dorrigo for our morning coffee and breakfast. The famous “Smallest Motorcycle Museum in Australia” which was a coffee shop filled with vintage bikes and other interesting paraphernalia, has gone, so we opted for another interesting location. Before leaving, I had to show Michael the never opened railway museum which ranks among the largest in the world. The museum has hundreds of Steam. Diesel and Electric locomotives, Rail Motors and Carriages which are lined up along the side of the road. However, it is closed until ready for opening. The aerial pictures on their website (www.dsrm.org.au ) show how big this place is.
Then rolling hills awaited us. The journey back home led us first north-west and then north-east to Grafton. Our speed was slow as my new tyre had been leaking along the rim and Michael's plug in the rear tyre had now been replaced 3 times over. In the end, we opted to use repair foam in both tyres and that seemed to work. We kept the speed to 80-90 km per hour thereby achieving an amazing fuel consumption of only 27-28 km per litre.
Via a back road we reached the Gold Coast and arrived home safely at 7 pm. "Safely" is the key word here as, although I have passed the 600.000 km mark some time ago,without a major mishap, motorcycling has a higher element of risk than driving a car. We didn’t do much speeding although at a certain spot I reached 205 km per hour momentarily in a “safe” spot. But really, where is it safe in Australia if kangaroos are a threat even in the outer suburbs of any city?
Our great journey of 7000 km had come to an end. Michael and I had a tremendous amount of fun and laughter on a daily basis and this continued for a few more days after our return home.
Where to next? Who knows…?
As always, it is the journey and not the destination that makes motorcycling a pleasure.
Thank you for your interest and take care.
Richard Wolters
and "Jenolan Caves 24 km" (turn right). So - let’s stop at the caves for coffee! The road to the caves are so extreme that no trucks, buses or caravans are allowed to travel along it. The bends are so steep and tight that even on a motorcycle you have to plan your turns carefully. Just before the caves, we noticed a sign telling us that the road would be closed (after the caves) between 12.45 pm and 3.15 pm. The road is spectacular and winds not just down steep embankments, but also right through one of the caves. (see video) When we got there it was 12.40 pm. Mike stopped for to take pictures and I pushed on to see where the barrier was. A few minutes later, at exactly 12.45 we passed the road works section and finally could make a stop in the tiny town of Hampton for our first break of the day after 4 hours of riding but only covering 250 km. It was here that Mike noticed that my rear tyre was badly worn and that the canvas was showing! Well, nothing we could do there.
It was a further 55 km to get to Katoomba. We had now entered the Blue Mountains area and were riding at a high 1000 meters and, of course, back in the cold air. Luckily the motorcycle shop In Katoomba had a suitable tyre which was fitted in no time. We both had tyre trouble that day as, in the early morning we discovered that Michael had a flat tyre. We fixed that with a tubeless plug and made our way north. The winding road led us to Windsor for the night. The sky had turned black and many lightning strikes were visible in the distance. We both got a bit of a scare while entering Windsor. The lighting strikes were right in front of us and pretty heavy. We saw a large plane in the sky, flying across our line of sight. Suddenly there was another bolt of lightning now traveling horizontally towards the plane. At that precise moment, the plane was hidden from our view because we passing some trees. We were sure the plane got hit. A few seconds later the plane came down and turned right towards us. For a moment we thought it was going to crash as it faced us head-on from above on a downwards angle. A little later we realised that it had lined itself up with an airstrip which was right behind us.
Windsor is a town you’d like instantly. It is interesting to read about the history of Australian towns. It usually starts with a place where gold was found or, as in this case, where 22 settlers were given land in 1794 (only 17 years after the first landings) when it was called "The Green Hills" and later renamed "Windsor" as it looked similar in setting to Windsor in England.
The reason to stop at Windsor was that from there a winding road follows the Hawkesbury River. The river is very wide in places and folds back upon itself, making it necessary to use two ferry services to continue towards the coast. Via Cessnock we reached Nelson Bay. The next morning we headed inland and traveled to Gloucester via a road called "Bucketts Way". You can't help but wonder where these names came from. The rugged hills along the way, in this case, are called ”Bucketts Mountains”. Apparently, it sounds like an aboriginal word meaning "rocky hills".
Late afternoon we rolled into Nambucca Heads and found a great place to stay right next to the beach and a fresh water lagoon and a river beach. But, as usual, we were too tired at the end of the day to make use of it...
Leaving the coast behind us we headed west up the Waterfall Way towards the small town of Dorrigo for our morning coffee and breakfast. The famous “Smallest Motorcycle Museum in Australia” which was a coffee shop filled with vintage bikes and other interesting paraphernalia, has gone, so we opted for another interesting location. Before leaving, I had to show Michael the never opened railway museum which ranks among the largest in the world. The museum has hundreds of Steam. Diesel and Electric locomotives, Rail Motors and Carriages which are lined up along the side of the road. However, it is closed until ready for opening. The aerial pictures on their website (www.dsrm.org.au ) show how big this place is.
Then rolling hills awaited us. The journey back home led us first north-west and then north-east to Grafton. Our speed was slow as my new tyre had been leaking along the rim and Michael's plug in the rear tyre had now been replaced 3 times over. In the end, we opted to use repair foam in both tyres and that seemed to work. We kept the speed to 80-90 km per hour thereby achieving an amazing fuel consumption of only 27-28 km per litre.
Via a back road we reached the Gold Coast and arrived home safely at 7 pm. "Safely" is the key word here as, although I have passed the 600.000 km mark some time ago,without a major mishap, motorcycling has a higher element of risk than driving a car. We didn’t do much speeding although at a certain spot I reached 205 km per hour momentarily in a “safe” spot. But really, where is it safe in Australia if kangaroos are a threat even in the outer suburbs of any city?
Our great journey of 7000 km had come to an end. Michael and I had a tremendous amount of fun and laughter on a daily basis and this continued for a few more days after our return home.
Where to next? Who knows…?
As always, it is the journey and not the destination that makes motorcycling a pleasure.
Thank you for your interest and take care.
Richard Wolters
- comments
Rob Wonderful to see such friendship maintained and enjoyed! As always, Richard, a very entertaining read and very inspiring! For me it was interesting since it covered some of the routes I travelled yet gave me a whole new insight into different routes and yet new things to discover! Thanks, Rob
Gert Roos Great story, nice ride! Will be hard to top that, nevertheless looking forward to our voyage!
Anneke Fijn dat jullie het naar jullie zin hebben gehad..en toch weer heel wat beleefd en gezien..gr. uit Haarlem
Paula Good story Richard, glad to have you back home safe and sound!
eric The good life :-)
Mitchell Welcome home !