3 guys, 8 days, 4700km Bris to Bairnsdale VIC

Well this trip came about at the last minute after i cancelled my planned trip to Tasmania.
Fires, heatwaves, and all sorts of other "stuff" conspired against me.
A call out to the boys..."which one of you bastards wants to come for 8 days riding?"

2 good blokes rose to the challenge at short notice. Pete (DR650) and Shakey (990ADV).

As usual, i followed my regime of putting the bike back together just hours before heading off. You see, that way there is less time for something to go wrong whilst it's just sitting there :huh

The trip was to be a "suck it and see" type of arrangement, with provisions for camping and cooking but see what happens.

Day 1: Brisbane to Armidale

Left home at 0530hrs to meet Pete at the servo and then head on south to meet Shakey at Beaudesert.
Everyone made their post on time, and after excited greetings it was off and through the bitumen twisties that we all love towards Woodenbong NSW, our first fuel stop.



All good, so off through familiar territory down Urbenville NSW and then on to the gravel of Paddys Flat Rd for a blast south.
Pete had never seen the "Tank stops" at Paddys Flat before, and was sort of like WTF :huh It is hard to believe that a place in this position held any sort of tactical warfare advantage....but....who are we to question?



We decided to give Rocky River RD a miss this time and slab it to Tenterfield NSW to make up some time. A quick bite to eat in the shade opposite the Bakery and time to put some shit on Pete for not bringing anything to sleep on!
He wasn't going to listen to this crap any longer, so off he went to procure the finest 6mm foam mat available from the discount warehouse.. Sleep well Pete



Full as farts after the bakery, we headed farther South for Deepwater NSW where we fuelled up before we got to Dundee, Bald Knob and then one of my favourite roads, the Old Grafton Rd.

Pete has been running a Trailtech Vapour on his DR650 since new and of late we might just say that it hasn't proven to be too reliable! (Piece of shit). So, after fuelling-up it was tools out for a quick "reset" of aforementioned instrument.



Enjoyed the gravel on the Old Grafton Rd, through the tunnel and then broke for Nymboida NSW for a quick drink and a break overlooking the river.



In true adventure style things get a little awry right about here!
We took off for Ebor NSW where we would refuel.
It had been really hot all day. Dusty, hot and getting hotter!
As we rode up into Ebor we came into light showers and then thick cloud :huh
The temperature dropped 10 degrees, and we all laughed and thought Christmas had come again. OK. Now just fill-up our tanks and we're off........



Pulled up at the servo and took the bowser off the hook, nozzle in tank and squeezed trigger.......then squeezed triggers again....."hello"....Hmmm. Pumps unlocked, toilets unlocked but nobody there! The place is shut!
"Oh goodness!"(or words to that effect).

Shakey (990) has been running on fuel warning light for a little while so we all will need fuel here.
OK. Off to the Ebor Hotel / Motel just down the road. I take a call from my kids as the boys scope the rooms and meal situation.
"Fuck that!", "80 bucks for a room. Fuck them", "What a bunch of ignorant deadshits" etc etc was the rhetoric that flowed after their enquiries. Apparently the staff couldn't be less interested, the bar patrons were ignorant, and the place lacked what you may call "warmth".

The lads had been giving me some shit about the "funnel" that i'd been carrying in my Camelbak. "What the fuck are you carrying a stupid filter funnel for?"
It was decided to make a break for Newcastle (slowly...) but Shakey's bike would need some fuel from the DR650.
"Hey Ranger, can we have that funnel? This fuel has water in it."
Funnel! What funnel??? Oh! THIS Funnel. The piece of shit that i should have left at home funnel........



We slowly pressed on for Armidale in the late afternoon. The odds of actually making it there were not good, but we had a bit of a plan....
Once the first bike runs out of fuel we will put all remaining fuel into the DR650 and it can get to Armidale, fill-up and come and share with the other bikes. Simple!
Well. Let me tell you.......... my 990 was now showing the beloved fuel light and the best i've ever got on reserve is about 50km.
It's about 75km to Armidale, so at every distance marker i would just laugh and shake my head.
Bugger me!!!!! we limped into Armidale after 71km on the fuel light. That's some sort of miracle

Some old drunk ouside the first pub we stopped at told us to go up the road to the St Kilds Hotel for the best food. So we did, and gladly so.

Cold drinks, great food and secure bike storage if we got a room each for $35.00. Done.
One of the most tender pub steaks i've had in a long time. Great place to stop in.



Today was a 13hr riding day so we all were a little bit rooted after the heat.



Good night......

More to come.

Day 2 of the 8 day odyssey.

After a good sleep it was time to get back in the saddle for day 2.
Get the bikes out of storage, get some breakfast and off..........
All geared-up and rolling, just probably find Maccas. Shouldn't be too hard

Well bugger me! We pulled out, turned left and right over the back fence of the pub.......... Maccas :huh If we'd known that then maybe we could just have walked the 50m

Right....We're off now heading south for Walcha NSW and then further south via Brackendale on secondary and dirt roads. Nice country to look at as the heat starts to cook our brains in the heatwave.



We were happy with the choice of roads as we arrived in Nowendoc, but the best was yet to come!
This country is absolutely magnificent, and built for motorbikes











That road south from Nowendoc has etched a place in all of our hearts.
We cruised through Cooplacurippa, Glamis, Number One etc and dropped in at Gloucester.

Due to the closures of some of the Barrington Tops area we decided to skirt along the top of the region from East to West and fuel up in Scone.





I'd done 5 days down in Barrington Tops area on Enduro bikes a few years back and just loved the area.
It's still as spectacular as i remember it!





After the lookout it was back to the bikes for a push through the silly heat towards Scone.
Where the hell are the other two????

Oh!! Sorry chaps..........didn't realise you wanted some time to yourselves :huh My bad!
(sorry chaps....just had to post that one)



When we were coming in to Scone it was 43 degrees on my bike at 100kmh. We pulled up under some trees and the temp started rising.....bugger that......we need drinks, fuel and to get to somewhere cooler ASAP.

Burst into a pub in Scone looking for cool drinks and Air conditioning. Thank god!!
Formulated a plan to get to Wisemans Ferry that night which involved slabbing it down to Muswelbrook and then Singleton.
From there is was head for Broke, Paynes Crossing, Wollombi, Bucketty, St Albans and finally the famed Wisemans Ferry.





We went to the pub and had a cold drink or two, all the while hiding in the shade of the kick-ass tree in the front beer garden.
The chaps were not impressed with the cranky, non-hospitable bar maids. The more travelling that we do, the more we find that..... Maybe they skipped their "hospitality training"

We camped just out of town at the "Ski park" which was to the right at the cop shop, and down about 1km.
I thought we'd be eaten alive by mozzies but was proven well wrong. Nice spot.

We took of into town to try to get something to eat at the pub. Nup! Kitchen's shut.
Quickly down the road 100m to the "club" who were wiping up the last of the mess in the kitchen.Bugger! Looks like chunky soup tonight boys.

Take-aways were bought at the club ($24 for a six pack if i remember correctly) and back to camp for us.

You just had to post "that" photo didn't you Ranger.......

Day 3 of the 8 day odyssey.

Up early and packed up the tents ready for another big day.

Slab to Windsor, then Richmond for breakfast and onto Lithgow.
Not really happy in Richmond....let's get this show on the road!!



Just after this picture was taken some deadshit tried to kill me on the way out of town! He pulled the fast change from right to left lanes without indicating :eek1, nor looking obviously :fyyff
If i'd have been slacking-off i would have got well and truly cleaned-up.. Dickhead!!!!

From here it's secondary roads and dirt as much as possible until Crookwell.



I'd never seen a wind farm in Australia for real, so just had to stop and take a photo.



....and then Goulburn for fuel.
I have written "wierd" in my notes in relation to Goulburn! Don't know what that's about.

We pushed on and when we arrived in Braidwood decided that it's probably a good place to spend the night.
The Royal Mail Hotel was friendly and had good food and accommodation (albeit in our "family" room) Time for earplugs.



It just so happened that there was a wedding just out of town for a Sydney Swans player, and accordingly our quiet little pub would soon be full of footy players getting ready, and their little blonde "pieces" would be tearing through the hallways in their towels :eek1 Sweeeet.

The food at the pub was really good. Fresh, and really well cooked. Good on you guys.
The bikes were chained up out the back adjacent to a couple of German Shepherds, and all within earshot from the room.

Tonight was a night to remember for my travelling buddies! Whilst i maintain that "what goes on tour stays on tour" it would suffice to say that i may well have banked on slipping out of town the next morning on my own, meeting the chaps later in the day at a distant destination.

Keep it coming. It has been a few years since my last tour, you have helped rekindle the sprit.

Day 4 of the 8 day odyssey.

As it appeared that my friends were unconscious, and unable to be awoken with anything short of TNT it looked as though today would be a relaxing solo ride at least for part of the day.

I left a little note under the room key saying "Meet you in Jindabyne" and dragged my gear down the stairs towards the bikes when i came upon a vision of beauty.... One of the tall, blonde ladies that were attending the wedding was just making her way into the hallway after being locked out of the pub all night.. Poor dear! If only one had known........

I took the road to Captain's Flat, Jerangle, Bredbo and Cooma. All in all it was a great morning ride dodging rabbits, hares, dead wombats and riding through really thick fog.

I only got a little bit lost.......once.... and had to check the map



From there it was plain sailing through to Cooma where i refueled and headed to Maccas for some breakfast.
Bugger me dead.....after a few minutes who should walk in the door????? My old buddies, Pete and Shakey!

It was now drizzling lightly and 16 degrees (a pleasant change from 46) as we headed for Jindabyne together.
It was getting cooler and when we refueled it was definately time for another layer of clothing.





We took off south for Moonbah, and then onto the Barry Way.
I know know why people talk about this road. It's bloody brilliant
It was drizzling all the way along the Barry way but that was great compared to what the sun would have dealt us.

A tad slippery in places, and the Ranger almost cleaned up "Ranger" on one of the twisty downhill hairpins. He had the Hilux on song as he made his way up the hill :huh





Riding along with the river beside the road is just marvelous. Really lovely country and i would love to see it after the snow starts to melt on the hills. I will come back here....



I love this next pic....



I decided to take some pebbles on our journey and give them to my girls. Just a quick snap so they know where they're from..





I now have also added a mental "note to self" .... That red mud shit as you ride into VIC on the Barry way is slippery as a butcher's hook!!!!!!

We stopped at Buchan for a drink and a bite to eat and then made for Orbost.

Nice publican at the Orbost Club Hotel and the bikes were locked up in the back yard as we settled into a room each and good Chinese food cooked right there in the pub.

Oh! "That one" of Pete searching for Devil's hole???

You dirty, filthy, rotten, hideous individuals...... you make me sick

Day 5 of the 8 day odyssey.

I slept like a log and was nice and ready for what today held for us...

It just happened that my KTM had eaten a set of rear brake pads on this trip. So, in order to not completely wreck the rear disk (more than the dickhead designers of the loosest floating disk in the world haven't already) it was a leisurely blat down the highway to Bairnsdale KTM for some pads.

$44.00 and 3 minutes of labour later we are good to go, after a quick stop to buy some waterproof pants that is!!
It's raining, and the temperatures are now decreasing....WTF :huh Thank god for the "safety shop".

We took off with our newly acquired gear on and headed straight to Mt Hotham . We hadn't planned to come here but had taken a wrong turn and bam!!





Pete's DR650 had an issue with his sweet, home made bashplate. It was sorta falling off and rubbing the header pipe



Naturally, everything was red hot and that made it unpleasant for Pete to work on, but Shakey and I were OK



Did i mention that Pete's speedo was shit??? Well, just in case i didn't......... Pete's Trailtech Vapour is shit

Apart from the speedo issues, the bashplate issue and the number plate dissapearing issue, the DR ran like an absolute train all trip.
I own a DR650 and now realise that i hadn't given it enough credit up to now! These things are bloody great, albeit a little more harsh on your ass than the 990.

Back on track now after going back down from Mt Hotham.
We did some more fantastic dirt and even some good backroads.

It was heating-up again as we stopped for lunch (26degrees) so it was off with the extra layers.
A quick stop at Tallangatta to read the history of the old township and then onto the road that follows Lake Hume toward Jingellic. Great riding along here. Dirt to start and then back on the tar but all good. Nice views.



I was "in the mood" and led the last bit through to Jingellic. Fast, fun and lovely countryside.



The pub is great and offers free camping along the river. Top spot.



We were looking forward to some super special meals though after the food had been talked-up by all of the staff.
Unfortunately on this occasion the food was pretty well below par, and really expensive to boot!! Oh well. You can't have everything

See you in the morning!

Day 6 of the 8 day odyssey.

After a good night's sleep in our tents, and feeling refreshed from a pretty early night, it was onwards for Oberon today.

There were some pressing issues back home for one of the guys, and to be honest we all were a bit weary at this stage.
So, we would do the last of our "special" bits but make up some time on the slab back towards Brissie over the next couple of days. No.Not the bloody Pacific Hwy the more Western route.

Great roads out of Jingellic (heading East) and the first proper view of fire damage to the region just out of town.
We took off through Wee Jasper and loved it. Even though it was forestry, it was still nice out here.



Then we tore through some really pretty landscapes..





By now Pete's tyre on the DR650 was rooted. We decided to get to somewhere with the likelihood of a replacement.





The service at this bike shop was fantastic. Chris Weekes Yamaha in Goulburn is A+ in our books.
The young fella removed the wheel, fitted and balanced the new tyre, refitted the wheel and then lubed the chain!!
Great service for about what you'd pay a normal stealership who just throws the tyre on the rim and rolls it out the door at you.

I was also looking for a tyre for my 990 at this stage. Although not down as much as Pete's i was wondering if my MT21 would get me home considering we were going to do a bit on the slab..

Everyone had new tyres for the trip except Shakey who put on his preused scorpion front.

We got to Oberon and decided that it was time for a cool drink, find a room and talk crap.
We got a room each and got to put the bikes in the beer garden around the back that was secured with massive steel gates. All good.

The old fella that lives at the pub was "Jack" and was as dry as an old cow cocky's boot. Blunt as, and then once he decided that you were ok would talk your ears off.
True to form he was up at 0700 to open the gates for us the next morning. Thanks old mate

A local ADVrider inmate came over and had a bit of a chat as well. He has a DRZ400 he's tarted-up for adventure riding.
Here he is checking out Pete's DR. Did i mention that Pete's speedo is shit????



Our new friend was impressed with Pete's rubber!



Quiet night with a good meal at the pub. It was Schnitzel night after all! (No fellas...not what you're thinking )

See ya tomorrow.

Day 7 of the 8 day odyssey.

Faaarkk. Are we there yet???? My ass is killing me, and it's nothing to do with Pete, Shakey, or Devil's hole!!!

We left Oberon in 9 degrees and a foggy start to the day's riding.
Heading east towards Hamptom, Hartley and then Lithgow, where hopefully i would get a new rear tyre for my 990.

Got there a little early and waited for the shop to open.



No luck Not to worry. I'm sure that we'll get one in Richmond later on.

We took off through Berambing and Bilpin for Richnond. Nice big bike shop in Richmond......no tyres for a 990 though
Right then....let's get the most out of this bloody tyre then. We're off to Windsor and then the Putty Rd.

The Putty Rd was nice, especially the Northern end . No pics through here i'm afraid....we were riding!!!! I'm sure you understand!

Singleton, Glendon, Gresford and then Dungog where we had lunch at the bakery in 34degree heat.

Buckets Way to Gloucester and found the pub and a room.

Bikes were safe in the back yard (complete with funky shed mural)



Good barmaid and lots of laughs.

On the way into town Pete and i tried to catch an Echidna who ran into a culvert drain. We thought our kids would love to see some pics of the pretty little thing.... after a while in the steamy weather we gave it up as a bad joke and got back on our way.

Day 8 of the 8 day odyssey. (Thank god i don't have to write that again)

Gloucester NSW to Bris QLD.

Today was the day that we really needed to make some miles in order to be home tonight, but....we all wanted to ride the super dirt section that comes into Nowendoc from the south. Agreed. Whatever it took, we were doing that bit again.

Truly great countryside.













The riding through here was just unreal

I stopped and took so many photos that i'm sure my mates would have been home already.

Did i mention that Pete's Trailtech Vapour is shit?

When i got to Nowendoc i just sailed straight past my buddies waiting at the servo. Sorry fellas.

BUT....... lucky i did because when i got to the intersection at Thunderbolts way........................................... 2 french backpacker chicks who were hanging out of their van which they had just cooked!
I thought the thing was on fire when i first saw it, so i shot over to assist



Pete and Shakey came along a bout 2 minutes later. "Who are you guys???" i asked....."Never seen them before in my life"

Right.... The car was cooked, the girls had bugger all money, the DR650 speedo is shit, and Walcha was 70+km away.



All we needed was a 4x4 to tow the girls into Walcha and they could deal with it then. Huh! We waited for an hour and a half and not one suitable vehicle came past :huh

Shakey was busting to get home (fair enough too) and he would leave and go to Walcha to see what a tow would cost from Mountain Motors, and then he would press on home from there.



$300 was the cost of a tow when Shakey called back. The girls almost died.....but hey.....Australia is a big country, and they'd better get used to that if they were going to travel around.

I flagged down a ute that came out of the Nowendoc intersection. Well what do you know! 2 backpacker farm worker dudes. 1 German and 1 Italian, both of whom hated French chicks!! Oh Great start !

We towed the car back the 1km to Nowendoc and then the girls would get a lift to Walcha with the boys. The girls heard the guys say they hated French chicks, so were a little scared.
Not much choice out here honeys, so in you get, and we will follow to keep an eye on you.

Faaark. We did the first 20 minutes at 80kmh behind these guys before they got the idea to speed up. :huh

In Walcha i bought the chicks a cool drink and we then went to the garage.
We got them signed-up for NRMA which would help them today and all over Oz for less that the original tow cost.

Then Pete and i left. Good luck girls.

OK mate, we have some serious miles to do, so let's keep each other awake and safe. We rode and checked on each other regularly and stopped every 2 hours for a lightning refuel and drink.

Coming into Glenn Innes we got pulled over by the Highway Patrol. Did i mention that Pete's speedo is shit?
We were standing up, speeding a little bit, and were very dirty!
Pete had no rear number plate at this time, neither of us had legible registration labels due to mud and my number plate wasn't exactly clear

Off we go with a warning to "sit down, slow down and get out of NSW". Yes Sir, Madam, Maam, Constable....oh...see ya!

We came through Warwick just as the sun was setting, so that is the final pic of the trip.



Pete and i split after we got to Ipswich, and we both arrived home a bit after 8pm that night.

Bloody great ride.
Bloody great country.
Bloody great company.
Bloody great bikes (except for Pete's speedo..............which is........................................You guessed it! SHIT)
Bloody lucky to get home on my MT21 rear tyre. 4700km and it's rooted!

Hopefully the other boys can come through now and post their pics and views.

Over and out for Ranger.

Bloody ripper trip and ride report too!

Thanks mate.
I wish you were there to take the photos though! Would have been worthy of a Pro in a few places.

Great read. Thanks for posting.
I'm gonna try that road south of Nowendoc next time I'm in the area.

Do it Crusty!!
Well worth the effort.

Rob

Fantastic RR. The St Kilda pub must have had a makeover since I stayed there. Great meal but the room had used tissues beside the bed :huh and paint flakes and newspapers everywhere. At $30 I thought it was overpriced!! All part of the fun though.

Thanks.

I don't want to mislead as far as the accommodation goes!!

The St Kilda's rooms were pretty ordinary to say the least. The attraction was the secure bike storage.
I had the "best" room, and even it wasn't too flash. It looks like each room is furnished from roadside clean-ups
You certainly wouldn't want to take your Mrs or significant other to ANY of the rooms that we accepted. I think they are strictly for smelly bikers

Everything you say is correct, no doubt about it. In general most of the rooms we stayed in were in fact crap!
I'm in the building industry, so it drives me nuts to see places either so run-down, or so poorly slapped together :huh

$30 - $35 seemed to be a great rate for rooms at pubs, with some doing the old $50 and up trick

We normally camp on trips so this was quite different as far as sleeping arrangements went.

Thanks for reading.

Rob

Awesome RR but I'm still confused as to your opinion of Pete's speedo.....

I think I'm ready for another long trip after reading this, brilliant ride report, thanks for sharing :eek1
Cheers
Baza

+ 1 St Kilda has the best pub food in town. i go there nearly every night of the week! (two meals for 12$ on wednesdays!!)
I was just leaving as you three pulled up along side the pub that day, i smiled when i seen the lil dr pull in with the two big ktms :)