Well, I didn't update the blog along the trip, but luckily, I kept a detailed journal of our journey and I hope this can be a resource to anyone who wants to cycle tour or visit Australia. I've included daily maps of our route.
We arrived in Melbourne on March 1, 2016. We stayed with my friend from grade school, Lisa, and her fiancé, James. They were wonderful hosts, not only showing us the city but also helping us find a bicycle for our trip! Thank you!!! Visiting Lisa brought back so many memories from Tioga Terrace (my childhood home) and elementary school - what a treat to see her in her element in Melbourne!
We arrived in Melbourne on March 1, 2016. We stayed with my friend from grade school, Lisa, and her fiancé, James. They were wonderful hosts, not only showing us the city but also helping us find a bicycle for our trip! Thank you!!! Visiting Lisa brought back so many memories from Tioga Terrace (my childhood home) and elementary school - what a treat to see her in her element in Melbourne!
Lisa and I!
The Market in Melbourne was the best we saw in Australia!
This is the first time we didn't bring our own bikes. Since we knew we were going to sell the bikes in three short months, we decided to go cheap. We may have gone too cheap, more on that later. We purchased our bikes at a place called Bicycle Recycle in Melbourne. They were very nice and gave us a deal- two bikes for AUS$600, plus some free hardware, including racks and tubes which were must-haves.
In the following section of this post I will recount our day to day mileage and experience on our way to Sydney. I will also add a map for every day we cycled. At the end I will include a larger map to give you an idea of our entire route.
Day 1 -March 5, 75 km
We left early in the morning to beat the heat. We woke up at around 6:30 a.m., but it was still dark so we slept for another half an hour. After packing up our brand new bikes and saying our goodbyes we rolled out. The cycling in Melbourne is really good. Main roads have bike lanes and we were able to take a path for about 15 or 20km out of town. It was a great way to avoid morning traffic.
It took us a long while to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city but once we did we conveniently found a brewery called Coldwater Brewery. It was a nice break in the afternoon, and we were ready for air conditioning. The beer wasn't so good, but I think it is because we are used to hoppy IPA's, not light beers like they have in Australia.
Soon after the brewery we cycled out of town and into what you would think of as Australia. The grass was brown, the trees were different, and the birds chirped a song we've never heard before. I was excited to get out of the city and experience Australia. I started looking for kangaroos and koalas. Instead, we were surprised to find an abundance of wineries. We were riding through the Yarra Valley, which is a world renowned wine region in Australia.
The roads were busy with tourists but we were rolling along until Marcin had his first flat. We were conveniently right by a winery, so we pulled over and fixed the flat. Well, we thought we did until after Marcin added air to the tube and started biking. We heard a loud BANG. The tube popped. It was at this moment we knew, these bikes may or may not make it to Brisbane, especially the tires. We were already grateful to Bicycle Recycle for giving us free tubes for our bikes.
First flat of the trip (and there were many more after this....)
Our first warm showers was conveniently at a winery - Philip Lobley Winery . They also own a bakery called Wild Crust Bakery. When we arrived, family members were stomping grapes manually, which is how they always harvest their grapes.
camping on a winery
We were wined and dined, and it was a fantastic experience to camp next to the vineyards. The Lobley family was welcoming and very kind! It was a great way to start our trip.
Day 2 - March 6, 115km
The Lobley's told us about a trail that could take us all the way to our destination that day, Mansfield. We were looking forward to riding one Victoria's many rail trails. So, we took the Great Victorian Rail Trail. The trail is about 134km all together. The highlight of the trail was a long tunnel, called the Cheviot Tunnel, which is near Yea. There are a few very small towns that we passed through.
The trail was great, we thought, when we first started off. It felt good to be off the roads and on our own trail, going our own pace. We didn't see anyone all day, so it was peaceful and relaxing. But the trail was gravel, which I think took a lot out of us. In addition, the day was so hot. We made it about 80 km before we needed to find some shade and hide for a couple of hours.
We slept it off, but it didn't seem to help. By the time we arrived outside of Mansfield it was about 7:00p.m. and about to get dark. We ran into a nice runner when we were discussing food and a place to sleep. We were about to sleep by the toilet on the trail, when the runner asked us what our plans were. He kindly invited us to his house, and let us sleep there. Our second day in Australia and we are already experiencing such kindness. Since the supermarket was closed, he even fed us. This trust and kindness is not something we are accustomed to.
Day 3 - March 7, 70 km
It was almost 100º F. We rode mostly on small roads which was a nice change. The roads were not as busy as outside of Melbourne, and it was nice to have pavement. We have been seeing a lot of dead wombats on the road. It is surprising to see how big they get. They are as big as wild boars. I imagine they would do some major damage to your car.
We arrived in Benalla at about noon and were done for the day. The heat wore us out. We tried to find someone on Warmshowers.com, but, unfortunately, no one was available. But to our surprise we found a free campground right in the middle of town. We camped for the first time on our trip so far, and it was miserable. It was so hot that I barely slept. feeling sticky all night is not a pleasant experience, especially in a very small two-person tent with little to no ventilation.
Day 4 - March 8, 83km
Today's bike ride was pleasant, on back country roads, past wineries and farms. The last section of the ride we hooked up with a paved section of the Murray to Mountains rail trail. The trail steadily climbed 500 meters.
The small town of Beechworth was worth a visit. This historical town is known for the gold rush days of the 1800s, and for notorious outlaw Ned Kelly. Kelly can be compared to the American outlaw Billy the Kid. We stopped at the Beechworth brewery called Bridge Road Brewers. It was the first IPA that we've had in Australia that was actually good quality and the alcohol content is comparable to any IPA in the US. The ambiance of the brewery was exactly what we were looking for too - just that no one sits at the bar. There are no bar stools, it is just used for ordering. Which we found strange. But otherwise, it was a comfortable place to rest, catch up on email, and cool off in the air conditioned environment.
We stayed with Karen, another wonderful Warmshowers.com host. A cool shower is exactly what we needed after the heat we have been experiencing. We swapped stories and slept like a baby. Being clean and cool is not something I take for granted anymore.
Day 5 - March 9, 94km
We left Karen's house late, about 7:25 a.m. As soon as we got out of Beechworth, we thankfully, started to head down the hill to Yackandandah. We stopped there to load up on groceries and ate some (local!) bananas.
One thing I feel like I should mention here - Australia has wonderful produce. The produce, most of which is local (the bananas are grown primarily in Queensland), is great quality and surprisingly cheap. A lot of Aussies will tell you how expensive the food is, and granted, it is a bit more expensive than the US, but the fruit stands, farmers market, and other organic quality food is cheaper than the food that you buy in the supermarkets. This is something the US does not do. Farmers Markets are usually more expensive than purchasing from the supermarkets.
Anyway, from Yackandandah, we rode past Lake Hume. Lake Hume was a disappointment since we were expecting to jump in the lake, but it wasn't too inviting, with trees growing out of the middle of the lake. At that point we picked up the rail trail to Tallangatta. This rail trail was sealed and a nice change from the roads. Not as many dead kangaroos or wombats on the rail trails.
At Tallangatta we decided to take an afternoon siesta. Ice cream is a must on hot days, and today was no different. We ran into another couple doing a tour, with their small foldable bikes, this couple has been touring for years. At the ripe age of 80 and 79, they have toured over 25,000 km on bikes in Australia. They have years and years worth of stories. I wish we could have talked to them longer, but they were exhausted from the hot day and wanted to get to their Bed and Breakfast. I only hope Marcin and I can do this at 80 years old.
At about 5:30 p.m. we continued to cycle and decided to go further towards a historical trestle bridge where we knew there was free camping. We under estimated the hills and how much time it would take to cycle the rolling hills ahead of us. By the time we arrived at our camp it was 8:15 p.m. and already dark. We had to cycle in the dark with no lights on the road for a while, and it was probably the scariest situation we've put ourselves in so far. It was dumb. We vowed to call in quits much earlier next time.
On a good note though: we saw our first kangaroos and even a deer, both alive and not road meat!
Day 6 - March 10, 79km
We started the day out with a long uphill. I kept thinking that I need to get used to these uphill's because it was not going to be easy to get up to Mt. Kosciuszko National Park. The problem with uphill's however, is not the hill itself, but the damn flies that insist on buzzing around your face while you are working hard to cycle up a steep hill. I am sure onlookers found it odd that Marcin and I were slapping our own face while slowly making our way up the mountain on our bicycles. But these darn flies land on your face, tickle your nose and try to go under your sunglasses. There is no escaping until you start going faster down the hill.
We rode 60 km to Corryong, where we had a rest and ice cream (of course). We recuperated in the library. On the way to Khancoban we rode up two mountain passes which gave us an idea of what it will be like tomorrow on the way to Thredbo, through the National Park. The highlight of the day is passing into New South Wales. We stopped at the border, and took a cool dip in the Murray River. Much needed relief from the heat. When will it be fall in Australia?
We camped at a nice (free) place by the Khancoban Pond. We were lucky enough to set up our tent under an awning so our tent could stay dry during a big storm that passed through the area over night.
Day 7 - March 11, 61 km
We started out early because we were woken up by fishermen who were eager to get to fishing at first light. It was to our advantage that we work up early though. Not only because of the heat but also because we were lucky enough to spot seven kangaroos hopping through the field on our way out of town.
I knew Alpine Way, the road leading to Thredbo in the National Park would be hell. The road starts at 337 meters (1,106 feet) and goes up, up, and up to 1,580 meters (5,180 feet). The road had a steep start, with the first 10 km being the most steep of the day. It turned out to be a really good day of riding for me. I was expecting for my body to give up way earlier than it did. But we kept going up and up until about 4:00 p.m. We did break for lunch at a campground called Tom Groggins, but kept on pushing through the hills. The worst part of cycling Alpine way was actually the down hills. We would feel like we made progress until we had to go back down the hill, only to go back up. The undulating hills were the most frustrating part of the ride.
At the beginning of our long climb
Late in the afternoon we decided we had enough of the ups and downs and it was time to stop.The whole day consisted of motorbikes zooming past our bicycles, so we were ready to stop. We stopped at a nice campground right off the road, called Leatherbarrel campground. We were lucky enough to be the only one's camped there. Our only neighbors were colorful parrots and lorikeets that would fly around our tent.
Day 8 - March 10, 17km
Today was a short day, but it doesn't make it any easier. We still had to get to Thredbo and there was still a pass we had to bike up to. The hill right out of the campground was consistently steep. We made it to Dead Horse Gap and I was excited to see that most of our uphill was behind us.
We rolled into Thredbo early on March 10th, and noticed there was a downhill mountain bike race in town. The town was full of energy, which I am sure is not normal for this small ski town in the summer. We stayed that night with Michael, a very nice warm showers host. He gave access to his apartment so we could freshen up and start dinner before he got home from work. He also let us stay an extra night so we could hike up Mt. Kosciuszko, the tallest mountain in Australia. Below are some photos from our hike.
The hike was straight forward and super easy for being one of the Seven Summits.
It was a super easy walk
Us at the top!
Here is the map from the first 8 days:
