Friday 29 March 2019

Photos

 View of Karuah foreshore taken from the jetty in front of Big 4.
 Mangroves and old oyster beds in front of our cabin. View from jetty.
 Bikes lit up for the night parade.

Thursday 28 March 2019

Perth to NSW Thurs 28/3/19 to Karuah

This was a relatively short ride today. We left Cowra and headed for Singleton. This road is known as the Putty Road. It is famous with bikers as it winds through the hills which makes it fun riding. Along the way we passed the turn off for Putty which at leasted explained half of the reason for the strange name. Bob is very familiar with the road as he used to drive ammunition trucks from Singleton to Liverpool along here when he was in Natios. We stopped for a cuppa at the Grey Gums Cafe which is a biker mecca. Imagine my surprise  when we were able to order a pot of tea for two and it was served with pretty bone china cups. It was even strong enough even if it was made with tea bags.
From Singleton we went across to Maitland and at last found some signs for Karuah. I was thankful we had the GPS as there was no indications it existed until we were only 25 kms away. The caravan park is the usual high standard Big 4 and our "deluxe villa" even  has a dishwasher. Not that I plan to do any cooking beyond toast for breakfast. We have another couple joining us for 2 of the four nights as it is two bedroom and this will defray the cost a bit. We booked quite early but even then this was the only cabin available. The other two were pleased when we advertised that we had a room to share. We know them from previous meetings so that is easy.
Karuah is on a bay of the Hawksbury River and is famous for it's oysters - in season. We will be walking up to the jetty shortly to explore and to see if any are available. Bob has been washing the bike to clean the Nullabor dust off it and I have been doing the washing.  Domestic duties done we can relax and enjoy these 3 days. You can expect only photos during that time.

Wednesday 27 March 2019

Photos

 Starting point at Mount Panorama. Photo from up the top of the course couldn't do it justice.

View from the lookout at Blue Mountains Botanical Gardens.

 Wolemi Pines in the Gardens.

View from our motel balcony over the Hawksbury River. Paddle Steamer was just anchored there.

Perth to NSW Wed. 27/3/19 To Windsor

We set off in sunny cool conditions and I was glad I had pulled out my warm gloves.  The road was once again through rolling hills and they had obviously had some rain. It did not take long to reach Bathurst and Lorenzo went on while we did some checking out of the town. Lorenzo was going on to spend time with his father inlaw who lives in Newcastle. I haven't told you much about him but he is an interesting charachter. Of Italian decent but born in Australia he lives in Glenelg with his wife. She is flying over to spend time with family also and they will ride home together. Lorenzo was a "bikie"  in his youth but got out and is now a "biker " like us. He owns a very successful Tatoo Studio in Glenelg which employs 8 people. He advertises his business with personal body art. He is very family oriented and a genuinely nice person.
 We turned off and visited the Mount Panorama car race track. It was very quiet and Bob was pleased as he wanted the chance to ride around the course. It looked easy enough but as we went into the bends and up to tbe top of the couse (very sedately) it was amazing to think people roar around there at more than 100 km/hour. From there we went down to the Information Centre and then rode up the main street.  There are some beautiful old buildings there, heritage from the gold rush days.
From Ballarat we climbed steadily until we were high in the Blue Mountains. We took the road to Windsor which was quieter that the Highway through Katoomba into Sydney. It was a beautiful ride with amazing scenery. Along the way we found the Blue Mountains Botanical Gardens. These are at 1000 metres above sea level and it was very cool. (Temp.) The views were amazing and the gardens were beautifully set out. After that it was time to start down to Windsor which is on the NW fringe of Sydney. There were pie shops all along the road and we finally had to stop for lunch.
We were in Windsor by three pm and had no trouble finding a motel. Our room overlooks the Hawksbury River so the view is great. The bike is booked in to get a new rear tire in the morning before we do the final stretch up to Karuah for the GoldWing gathering. This was always the plan; in case you are wondering.
Tonight we have had a delicious Thai meal and are ready to relax.

Tuesday 26 March 2019

Photo


Lorenzo's very shiny bike parked at the CWA garden at Lockhart. This was opposite the service station and so we did get to have a look. Not very exciting photos I am sorry.

Bob at the Old School T House waiting for lunch to be served. There was a plaque beside the original school bell saying it was from the when school began     here in 1876.

Perth to Nsw Tues 26/3/19 To Cowra

We said goodbye to Brendon this morning as he had to go back to work. Lorenzo, Bob and I set out for the run to Cowra. We began by crossing the Murray a couple of times and were following the River for quite a while. This is the Murray irrigation basin and it was lush with vines and orchards. There were even sprinkler systems over the pasture because we moved into the dairy region with lots of Friesans. The actual irrigation chanels that are distributing the water are huge - equal to small rivers. There was plenty of un irrigated land as well and that showed the need for rain. We also crossed the Murrumbidge which I had not expected. It had two arms at that point in a large flood plain and had water in both.
We stopped for fuel at Lockhart which turned out to be a very pretty little town but the service station was at the beginning  of town and we had to turn a corner to discover the main street. It claims to be the "town of verandahs" and there were plenty of the old style shops. I would have liked to stop and walk the street but Lorenzo was leading and showed no inclination to do so. He told me later that he doesn't worry about taking photos because he goes to the town's website and copies them from there. If you are interested you could have a look at the website. They had some good street art.
We decided to stop for lunch at Junee but missed the main street as we followed the route signs for the Olympic Highway. The next town was Bethunga and was tiny but it had the "Old School House T Shop". It is usually only open on Tuesdays by appointment but we were lucky in that they had had a tour bus booked in and were still open. The sandwiches were generous and freshly made with fruit and potato crisps on the side. We sat in the garden and soaked up the sun. I have just remembered to mention that it was 12 degrees when we left
Echuca this morning and had only just reached 22 by the time we stopped for lunch. The temperature then started to drop again as we started to climb through some low hills. Until then the countryside had been so flat that there were mirages in the distance. It was nice to have some variation. There has obviously been some rain here as well as the paddocks are starting to green up just as they were when we left home.
The Information Centre was helpful with accommodation again and we are very comfortable. We walked into town to find the "Services Club" for dinner and overshot because we didn't realise it was in a side street. Lorenzo had been chivving us because he says he just doesn't walk and then we walked him down the hill and had to come back up. Naturally we told him how good it was for him but he pretended to be unconvinced.
That's all for tonight.

Monday 25 March 2019

Perth to NSW Mon. 25/3/19 To Echuca

Today was a fairly short run to Echuca so we walked to the bakery and had a relaxed, delicious breakfast. The road wound along beside the Murray although it wasn't always in view.  We were repeating the trip we made in 2010 when we went to the Echuca GoldWing AGM but we had traveled about 70kms before it clicked that it seemed familiar.
There are vineyards and orchards predominantly at the Mildura end then it changes a bit to include rice fieds and some grazing in addition to vines. In between there is the familiar brown grass, saltbush and Gimlets. The lush green was a welcome change in the scenery and we enjoyed the river and the lakes we came to in the second half of the day. About midway we met up with a local biker, Brendon, who is not going to the AGM  but rode with us to Echuca to meet with our second traveling companion Lorenzo.  Lorenzo is from Adelaide but he and Bren know this area really well so they a busily plotting our route for tomorrow with Bob.
There was a vicious cross wind again today  but no rain. Bob alleges that the reason the sheep in the paddocks were lying down was not that they had had enough to eat it was because the wind would have rolled them across the paddocks if they tried to stand. Thankfully our direction veered to the NW slightly and we had a more combortable last part of the ride. It is forecast to be a tail wind again tomorrow which will be welcome.
Lorenzo was telling us there was a great Italian restaurant here but when we walked along the street it is closed on Mon & Tues. Hopefully the Greek restaurant which is also recommended will be open.
I have been amused by the variation in the names of the towns as we have traveled through the different regions. SA has names which are quite different to any in WA. Penong, Nundroo, Wudinna, Kyancutta .... Now we are in Victoria we have been to Euston( Monopoly) , Robinavale which must have been a Soldier Settler town because the street names were Tobruk and other well known battles. There's Wentworth, Swan Hill, Leichville and Gunbower. But also some wacky ones such as Tyntynder, Wee Wee, Lake Boga andTooleybuc.
However that is enough of that. Signing out.

Sunday 24 March 2019

Photos

 The Big Galah Tourist spot in Kimba SA


The Silo Art in Kimba

The old wharf on the Murray River at Morgan SA. This town is also famous for it's bakery and we had pasties for lunch there even though it was Sunday.

Perth to NSW Sunday 24/3/19 To Mildura

It was cool again this morning and threatening rain all day. We seemed to skirt around it although some places had puddles in the street. They are desperate for rain so it is the conversation for everyone. We had heard that the kangaroos and emus were coming south looking for food and we soon saw some. As we approached a creek bed Bob suddenly slowed as 8 to 10 roos bounded across in front of us. There were emus in the paddocks and along the road verge but not in large numbers. The paddocks were absolutely bare. Even the salt bush was chewed down to stumps in some places. There was a small flock of sheep which had been turned out onto "the long paddock" sharing the verge grass with a mob of about 8 roos.
As the wind blew up this afternoon some properties were losing their top soil and there were a few that had sand dunes where the vegetation had lost the battle. It must be dreadful to be living on this land.
We have found comfortable accommodation again with no difficulty. We have had a stroll down The Mall and as we are in Victoria we are off to the Workers Club for dinner.

Perth to NSW Sat 23 /3/19 Port Augusta

We went into the bakery in Ceduna for breakfast. It was busy as it is THE place to have casual meals and it was Saturday. While we were waiting Anna and Martin came in. During the conversation Martin mentioned that they had slept in and we discovered that we hadn't advanced our watches enough and we had slept in as well.
The day was cool again so it was comfortable riding.
We were shocked to see how dry the countryside is. It is a really fragile environment. Some of the paddocks have so little grass cover that there is drifting sand
encroaching on the arable  land. 
When we reached Kimba we realised it was our last chance to get some lunch. It was after 1pm so being Saturday the options were limited. Still we went past the roadhouse which previous experience has taught us only serves greasy food or curry. On our way around we found the Silo Art which is new and very impressive. We then headed to the Big Galah and were fortunate to get toasted sandwiches; the only option.
I will attach the photos tomorrow.
Accommodation is a bit pricey in Port Augusta but fortunately The Pampas Motel where we have stayed before is reasonable and had a vacancy. There is also undercover parking which was important as rain had chased us all day and was threatening. As we sat outside relaxing Anna and Martin rode in so it was a very social evening. We went to the nearby hotel for dinner and came back for coffee and more war stories. 

Friday 22 March 2019

Photos

Bob preparing to attack the oysters.
I forgot that the Nullabor photo is on my phone. That will have to be a tomorrow job.

Perth to NSW Friday 22/3/19 To Ceduna

After breakfast at the motel we left at 8am. However this was actually 8.45 Central time and we lost another 45 minutes when we crossed into South Australia 12 kms down the road. This is the scenic part of the Nullabor as the cliffs of the Bight are close to the road. It had rained a bit earlier this morning but stopped by the time we got on the road. There was really high humidity and so the ocean was not it's usual brilliant blue. Interesting to see it in these conditions though. There was the same cloud cover as yesterday which meant it was cool. As we looked across the countryside the clouds seemed to be trailing misty curtains of rain but it didn't reach the ground. This area was looking very dry and it is psuedo Nullabor Plain in that there is lots of salt bush and dry grass but enough scattered small trees that it can't be called null abor. I will attach a photo I took at Nullabor Roadhouse which is typical of the 360 degree view. The Nullabor is a narrow srtip here as it balloons into a wider area to the north. Shortly after we left the roadhouse we saw the small trees proliferating again. They were dominant until we were close to Nundrew where the SA agricultural area begins again. We waited to have lunch at Penong as the roadhouses along this section are nothing to write home about. The Nundrew one has had a facelift and Penong has a new Caltex which was quite classy. From there it was just a short distance into Ceduna and we thought it would be cruisy.  We were sadly mistaken as a strong Southerly cross wind blew in and Bob was battling it the whole way. Fortunately there wasn't much traffic and he could hog the centre of the road. We were  very  pleased to reach Ceduna and find that the motel we stayed in last time is still lacking custom because it in a 60's model and away from the water. This means they are pleased to have custom, the rates are lower and it is very comfortable. We were even upgraded to a room with a verandah because it looked like rain and the manager knew we would appreciate cover for the bike. AND they have good wifi which means I am now up to date. We treated ourselves to a dozen oysters which they grow here and they were delicious. We then  had fresh fish for dinner and all is right in our world.

Perth to NSW Thurs 21/3/19 To Eucla

Because there was no breakfast served at Fraser Range we were on the road to Balladonia at 7.10am. We were pleased to discover that the standards at the roadhouse are vastly improved since our last visit and we had a very nice breakfast. We also chatted to another couple who are riding back to Victoria after visiting family in Esperance. We have very similar itineraries so will be seeing them along the way. At lunchtime at Madura we caught up with a pushbike rider who is one of 25 riders racing to Sydney. This is an annual event and it takes them about 17 days. This man was the tail end charlie and very relaxed. He is an experienced international bike racer and built his own steel and titanium bike which has now done about 100,000 kms across USA, Africa, Turkey and Australia. Building bikes is his profession so he viewed the race as part of his job. We caught up with others as we headed toward Eucla and they did not look quite so relaxed. It is a cooler day which is a real blessing for them as well as us.
It was wildlife day today. We saw two Wedgetail eagles feasting on  roadkill. There were crows everywhere doing the same. I then saw a family of 4 emus and two live kangaroos. There was a strong headwind going in to Eucla but we were there by 2-30pm. We planned to do some laundry and hoped for wifi but neither came to fruition. Our friends from breakfast, Anna and Martin arrived just after us and we had dinner together, They belong to Ulysses so there was lots of bike talk and reminiscing. It was another good day.

Perth to Sydney Day 2, Wed 20 March 19

Hooray! I have wifi again. I will just write up the Wed/Thurs travel story.
We left the golden wheat stubble paddocks of Southern Cross early after a toasted sandwich breakfast at the roadhouse.
The countryside was now undulating low scrub. As we crested each rise we could see over a huge vista of uninterruped greenery. The closer we rode to Coolgardie the more trees there were. Beautiful pink barked Salmon Gums and red barked Gimlets. It took me a while to differentiate the two because a lot have similar slim trunks. I eventually picked out the bright green foliage of the Salmon Gums in contrast with the blue grey slender leaves of the Gimlets.
We had a peculiar (for us)  conversation with a recently retired man at the Coolgardie service station. He said they had just bought a new caravan and set off for a holiday in Coff's Harbour NSW. However by the time they reached Caiguna which is the 2nd roadhouse out of Norseman he decided it was too difficult. He turned around and was going home to catch the plane. His wife was tight lipped and unsmiling. Seems to me he had no sense of adventure.
It was a warm day again so we enjoyed the air conditioning at the Norseman Roadhouse for half an hour before setting off for Fraser Range. As we rode I noticed that the gums along the way were only just starting to shed their old bark so still looked a bit dowdy. It is much drier out here so it could be a water saving factor. There is resealing work all along the Highway. We were held up for a while while some tar was sprayed and chatted with the young woman holding the Stop/Slow sign. She was young, petite, tiny with full make up on her very fair skin. She told us she had trained as a make-up artist but couldn't get work. A friend had linked her into the job. She was working 14 hour days and her only complaint was that her throat and hands had coloured up in the first few days before she was given some gloves and zipped her jacket right up. She is loving the income.
Fraser Range Station is great. Our bedroom was in the old stone Shearer's Quarters and was very comfortable. Water is scarce so we were given a dollar coin to put in  the hot water system for 5 minutes worth. It was enough. Dinner was delicious and we went to bed content with our world.

Thursday 21 March 2019

Photos- Day 1 /2

 Old stone Shearers' Quarters, Fraser Range Station
 Bob at Widgemooltha

Salmon Gums at Widgemooltha

Tuesday 19 March 2019

Perth to NSW - Day 1 Southern Cross

Preparing for departure was a bit frantic. We were both busy for the past couple of weeks tidying the garden and organising the requirements for the livestock while we are away. Then we had the three days of the Pioneer Cup Golf Tournement to work and play at. There was last minute anxiety regarding our house sitter who didn't tell us she had been in hospital for three days until she needed to explain why she didn't arrive on the arranged date. However she did arrive yesterday and seems experienced and competant. We left Obi in her care so have needed some reassurance on that score. We arrived at Ingrid's at 7pm and she and Phil had dinner organised for us. It was great to relax with them but it was early to bed as we couldn't stay awake.
This morning Bob needed to collect the bike from the mechanic wno has done a major service and I  needed a hair cut and to squeeze in a brief connection with Elise and the girls. By 11-30 we were loaded up and riding up Great Eastern Hway towards Midland. It was a warm day but there was wind blowing all day and that kept us cool enough while we were moving. Once we were out of the metro area we began to relax and enjoy the ride. We had lunch at Cunderdin and afternoon tea in Merredin. There they had delicious new seasons Fuji apples in the IGA so we stocked up. Then had a very wicked iced coffee with ice ceam in it at the coffee lounge.
Tnis carried us along nicely for the last 100 kms into Southern Cross. We phoned ahead to book a room in one of the lovely old pubs here and enjoyed a very good and somewhat too substancial dinner tonight. Southern Cross was our hoped for destination if today went well and it has set us up for a comfortable trip out to Fraser Range tomorrow. This is a station stay out from Norseman that we have often thought about visiting and this time it is going to work. All well so far so I'll write some more next time I have wifi.