Off to Melbourne

Fed up with the dullness of the Hume Highway I decided to take a more scenic route home for Christmas. The journey started with a quick ride to the Wombeyan Caves camping area. Our convoy of bikes swept through Captain’s Flat, pausing briefly to pick up some beer for the evening (the hotel is on sale for half a million, I propose we form a syndicate and purchase the property).

The boys at the pub

Next we followed 20 kilometers of dirt where I found my high performance vehicle no longer performed highly. Pinko’s GS 500 and Ash’s fifteen year old 250 constantly left me behind as I learnt the intricacies of off road riding. At the camp site Pinko ran through the basics of hootchie erection.

Learning the skills of a bushtucker man

The next day we meandered on to Bateman’s Bay. I broke my previous land speed record (which is amazing as I never speed). The long sweeping bends of the Clyde brought about endless enjoyment for myself and Pinko (this was a good thing because we had to repeat the route a few times). As expected my GSXR and Pinko’s GS arrived somewhat earlier than Ash’s Honda CB 250. What was unexpected was when Ash arrived in the front seat of a beat old car.

A chauffered drive to the car hire company

The engineer then explained the complications involved in running an engine without oil (engine go BOOM). Our morning consisted determining the most efficient method of transporting a deceased motorbike to Canberra.

What a sad sight!

By 1pm we finally got to the beach, which was just in time for me to say my farewells and continue on my way.

I traveled on the Princes Highway to Bega, before turning off onto the Snowy Mountains Highway. This road is fabulously maintained and was even more fun then the Clyde. I once got the opportunity to practice my cornering ability at speed, and so I indulged. A few hours later I arrived at a Thredbo camping ground. I put my knew found skills in shelter creation to the test and had a hootchie set up in 30mins. Then I trialed my fire making abilities so I could get some dinner heated up. Some scotch and dessert later I fell into bed, praying my hootchie would survive the night.

My fire, dessert and apertiff, and before and after shots of my camp area

My Jacket the next morning

The next morning I found a lovely trail from Thredbo to the summit of Kosciosko and conquered that sucker in 2hrs 5 minutes (11kms and 700m climb).

A good question; I followed all these walks and the summitt trail

A glacial lake, the start of the snowy river and a view from top

Just resting at the top of Australia

I returned via a different route to complete a 27 km trek found my bike, with all my bags, helmet, and bike gear right where I left them. The next stage of this epic adventure had me winding my way through Alpine Way. No lane markings, narrow road, high rock walls made for an exciting ride, especially as I burnt around one blind corner at 60km/hr to see two cars coming towards me occupying both side of the road.

Me after I nearly died

Somehow I survived that mess and was able to enjoy the sites the Snowy Mountains have to offer.

A lookout on Alpine Way. Kosciusko is hidden behind the mountains

The Snowy Mountain Scheme

The rest of the ride home was uneventful. I stopped for lunch at Khancoban at a quant servo/restaurant that services many motorcycle tour groups.

A poster at the servo in Khancoban

Had a beer at Koetong to watch the cricket, and as I passed Tallangatta I pondered: 1. why they moved the town 8 kms west and 2. how one goes about moving a whole town - Simpsons episode anyone? (the town sign proudly states it was the town that moved). It turns out they needed to expand the Hume Dam.

I arrived home soon after, now clearly understanding my complete and utter antipathy for highway driving.

Can't wait to do this again!