From The Valley To The Coast
‘I love a sunburnt country a land of sweeping plains’
I'm also a sucker for endless green pastures and undulating landscapes dotted with old homestead farms and cattle grazing fields. This trip had that in abundance.
I was travelling from my home in the Lockyer Valley SE QLD down to visit family in the Central Coast NSW.
It's a trip I have done many times but mostly in the car down the freeways. So, this trip was very different to that as I plotted a route that would see me zig zag my way down to the coast taking in many amazing country roads from awesome twistys to stunning country dirt roads.
I set out to ride down through Killarney and past Queen Mary falls. I had previously done this road and tackled the 14 river Condamine track in my 4wd but it was a road I had since wanted to take on my bike. Unfortunately just as I was turning on to the road that would take me through to Queen Mary falls I passed an oncoming rider who gave me the thumbs down. A few hundred metres along and I was met with a sign saying road closed. I sheepishly decided to keep pushing on however shortly after, a second rider passed me and also gave another thumbs down so it was then I decided I would need to turn back and make the annoyingly round trip back out through to Warrick to continue my journey south. The road out through Killarney would have to wait for another day. On the return trip I was greeted by an extremely indecisive guinea foul that darted out onto the road and proceeded to dance back and forth with the grace of a new born baby giraffe seemingly egged on by it's half a dozen mates still on the road side. Thankfully it zigged when i zagged and I missed it by mere centimetres. This would come to be the theme of the day dodging an abundance of wildlife. I'm happy to say I didn't come in contact with any though.
From Warrick I had a quick blast down the freeway to Stanthorpe before cutting back in to head down the mount Lindsay road. Along this road I stumbled upon the WWII tank traps. As I have spent the previous 20yrs in the ADF this sparked my interest as I had not heard or had no knowledge of these traps before.
The tank traps were erected during WWII in preparation of invading troops. The tank traps were defensive positions erected along, what was known as, the “Brisbane Line”. This was a line that drawn from Brisbane to Adelaide. Many of these tank traps were set up to force any invading forces to navigate along the existing roads in which they could rig with explosives. If the tanks did decide to leave the roads, then the traps, which were built from posts from old wooden footbridges, and protruded 1m out of the ground, would force the tanks to raise up off the ground and leave the vulnerable underbelly of the tank exposed to gunfire and attack. I found it fascinating to see these and learn the history of the traps as it was not something I had any previous knowledge about.
From here I headed down to the Gwydir hwy before turning off onto the old Glen Innes/Grafton road. This road was built back in the mid 1800's and stretches 180km linking the new England region through to Grafton. This road has a bit of everything from steep and narrow twisty tar segments onwards to free flowing gravel which encompasses the majority of the road. Sections hugged a rugged rock face while following the mann river which was flowing in abundance. The road passes through the old town of Dalmorton with a few dotted old buildings, a throw back to the gold rush era when the area was populated with approx 5000 people and boasted some 13 pubs. Unfortunately, none of those are still there, so a nice cold tasty beverage would have to wait until I got into camp later that day. Dalmorton is now mostly known for its hand carved tunnel along the route with many a photo being taken at this spot. A sudden an unexpected downpour made for some interesting riding on wet, slippery and muddy terrain but it was a welcomed event as it cooled me down just nicely.
After a late arrival into camp, due to me forgetting that NSW had daylight saving, I quickly set up camp, grabbed a drink, quickly checked out the river near by, made dinner and was ready to hit the hay.
The next day was another long ride but boy oh boy was it a fun ride.
I took the armidale Rd through to waterfall way that runs between Grafton and Armidale. This was one of the best twisty sections of road I have riden on. For Kilometer after Kilometer the road flowed, curved, undulated and traversed across some amazing landscapes. It was ripe for bringing out the inner Mick Doohan in any rider. That's what I love the most about adventure riding is that one day you can tackle beautiful dirt roads and get off the beaten track and then the next you can enjoy the tight winding twisty roads. No roads, trails and tracks are off limits with adventure riding.
From waterfall road I then continued my journey down to thunderbolts way where the magical landscape and scenery continued on. From mountain lookouts, the road snaked its way down through lush fields and passed Riverside campgrounds with plenty of holiday makers frolicking in the flowing streams soaking up every minute of the Xmas holidays.
I rode in through to Walcha for a quick lunch stop before continuing down through Gloucester and onwards to my parent’s house on the Central Coast NSW where I would spend a few days catching up with my family and friends.
I had reached the Coast and as much as I love living in the Lockyer Valley in SE QLD the one thing I miss and have missed for the most part of my 20yr career in the ADF, outside of my family and friends, is being close to a beach. Growing up on the Central Coast NSW, I was always close by a beach and really enjoyed spending time in the ocean so while I was down visiting, I just had to take the time to enjoy the beach from Soldiers Beach to the Lakes Beach. I made time to get in the ocean for a swim and also made time to catch the sunrise glistening over the Norah Head Lighthouse and spend some time photographing the area which I get a lot of enjoyment out of. I also made time to visit Terrigal, which is a favourite holiday destination for many and boasts the stunning rugged landscape around the “Skillion” which is a high peak cliffs edge jutting out from the shoreline. This was a region that I visited often during my time spent living on the Coast in my younger years.
The few days that I spent on the Central Coast, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat nostalgic, from visiting old stomping grounds to catching up with family and friends, but the time had now come to embark on my journey back home.
I had planned to spend 3 days riding back and again zig zagging my way home, similar to the trip down. I rode out through another one of my old stomping grounds and where I started my first job, before joining the ADF, which was Kulnura. It is a lush and visually beautiful area of farmland which, riding through, brought back a lot of memories. I continued on through rough country roads which meandered past the small townships of Wolombi and Broke which both in themselves were beautiful and quaint. The gorgeous vineyards and dotted farms slowly gave way to the large open cut mines around Singleton in what was a stark contrast, as I kept riding my way up the new England highway before shooting off the highway near Aberdean on Hunter rd to head towards Nundle. I had originally mapped out this road to Nundle when I was planning my route for this trip, I had no knowledge of this road but just saw an interesting looking squiggly line on the map that got me off the freeway so that’s where any adventure rider would rather be. Initially the road started out as a tared road but one that wound its way through many properties littered with horses and stables. Eventually the tar ran out and the gravel/dirt took over. One thing I am trying to find peace with is being alone in the middle of vast open spaces with no help or assistance nearby, should I run into any trouble with the bike or my abilities. I do have my Garmin inreach in case of emergencies, but I often find my anxieties start to take over which can tend to negate my true gratitude and enjoyment of being in such landscapes. As the gravel takes over the battle begins between anxiety and enjoyment. It’s a rollercoaster ride, inside my helmet, while twisting and winding through the dusty, hot and ever expanding horizons on the road. There are moments of true amazement at the landscape I was witnessing. I watch many adventure riders on you tube, riding all over the world but in this moment and on this road, I couldn’t help but imagine I could be riding in any one of the places I had seen on TV but this moment here in the valleys was just as stunning. The battle for enjoyment and wonderment was winning and I had true admiration for the landscape I was passing through. Well, that was up until approx. the 100km mark along this road when I slowly rode past a sign that said “4WD access only – 20 river crossings ahead” so naturally I kept riding with some level of trepidation as 100m prior I had to tiptoe my bike across a mossy and extremely slippery floodway. This is the point my anxieties all come flooding back as I sat on the edge of the small rocky river (or some would say trickle). This was the point that my ego took a backseat and my gut took over. Whilst I would have been ok with 1 or 2 or maybe even 5 or 6 river crossings the thought of 20 river crossings, in the middle of nowhere, still some 70km from Nundle didn’t tickle my fancy and in the interest of actually making it to the camp ground just out of Nundle I made the decision to turn back and seek an alternate route. Unfortunately, the alternate route to the camp ground I had earmarked to stay at meant I had to backtrack the 100km I had just ridden through. What was going to be a fairly early end to the day to set up camp and relax gave way to a long stretch of backtracking which added a few hours to my trip. This saw me get into camp, at the Chaffey Dam, around 5:30pm.
Upon arrival I was greeted by a guy, who, in my books, was an absolute legend. Just as I was unpacking my tent he wondered over with a cold beer, water and soft drink in hand for me. I don’t usually drink beer, but I can honestly say that It went done very well and was greatly appreciated.
After setting up camp and enjoying a cold beer I was able to sit back, relax and reflect on the days riding. I even found the time to unpack my newly acquired travel fishing rod and reel and flick a lure. This would be the first trip that I would take the fishing gear on but I found it a nice way to just stop and take the time to admire what was in front of me and who knows maybe even catch a fish. Well, the fish clearly weren’t hungry whilst I was there but I think I will continue to take the rod along with me on other trips.
Th week of travel and riding was starting to catch up to me and many aches and pains were starting to take over so instead of taking 3 days to ride home I decided to just stop overnight and make my way back home the next day. I was initially going to spend the 2nd days riding seeking out Gunyah Road just out of Tenerfield and find a camp nearby however this would have to be on a future trip as I would just head straight for home instead.
It was great taking the time to travel parts of our country that I hadn’t experienced before and even better to spend time with my family and friends. Its these moments that I truly appreciate and the love of adventure riding, photographing and documenting the journey will continue, hopefully for many more adventures to come.
