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Published: January 30th 2008
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Goulds Goanna
These grow to 1.4m length and Diane decided to chase after it to capture its best side! There is a lovely road which passes through the Alpine and Snowy River National Parks as it crosses from Buchan in Victoria to Jindabyne in New South Wales. The road is remote; more than half of its 180 km length is dirt track and it climbs steadily to peak at 1343 metres at the 150 km mark. Just a few 4WD vehicles pass along this way, plus the occasional lunatic cyclist. Within the protected park areas dense bush runs down to the roadside and extends for miles around; outside the park territory, rolling farmland stretches away for ever. There are no services to speak of, just a handful of wilderness camping areas beside the Snowy River or its several tributories.
We started our preparations for the journey to Jindabyne in Bairnsdale, shopping there for the stock of light, portable foods that could be cooked on our gas stove and which would sustain two hungry cyclists in hilly terrain: rice, lentils, sachets of stir-fry sauces, nutella, peanut butter, flatbreads, porridge oats, dried milk, plus snack foods - nuts, dried fruit and dates. To this we would later add several litres of drinking water. We also started enquiries about the bush fire
Tressle Bridge on Rail Trail
Last train passed over in 1986 - not long ago really. risk level, which encouragingly did not appear to be of concern.
From Bairnsdale we had our now customary early start bound for the tiny village of Buchan. Our route took in 60 kms of rail trail from Buchan to Nowa Nowa. For a rail trail it wasn't without interest of incident: infrequent use of the track meant that the surface was loose in parts, and before long I ventured into a patch of soft sand and veered swiftly across the track to nose dive with my bike into a 2 foot ditch. On hearing my yells as I took off, Richard rushed over, dragged my bike from the ditch, reattached the detached pannier, checked the wheels for trueness, pinged the spokes for damage, lovelingly blew the dirt from the brake levers, inspected the chain rings and enquired if I was alright. Fortunately there was no damage to the trusty steed, nor the the less trusty rider that couldn't be cured by a large sticky bun. Sure enough, administration of a fine authentic cornish pasty and a vanilla slice in Bruthen were just what the doctor ordered. Onward then to Buchan without incident, apart from being overtaken on a slow
climb out of Nowa Nowa by an enormous lizard (Goulds Goanna).
The following morning we started the lonely trek towards Jindabyne. Undulating gently upwards, and on sealed road, we passed through farmland and forest and saw emus amongst the grass. We called at Seldom Seen Roadhouse; not so much a roadhouse as a ramshackle collection of old cars, motorcycles and home made sculptures incorpoarting kangaroo bones and heaven-knows what else. No store, just a self-service fridge with drinks and chocolate bars. I glimpsed the straggly-bearded owner and his equally straggly dog. News clippings around the place told of their lucky escape from the previous years bush fire - sheltering for one and a half hours in a nearby dam, faces turned away from the intense radiant heat. Soon afterwards we started along the dirt road which was to take us the next 80 kms towards Jindabyne. We were heading for a campground at Wulgulmerang. We had been told that one existed there, though none appeared on any maps or road signs. Sure enough, one did appear and, after a quick visit next door to wrench Blue from the Australia vs India Test Match, the showers were unlocked and we
were installed and enjoying our one-pot Malaysian curry dinner.
Heavy, grey skies greeted us the following morning. After a porridge and banana breakfast (recipes available on request), we wrapped up against the showers and set off towards Willis campground. The drizzle turned to rain, and the fine gravel road took on the consistency of quicksand. With each turn of the pedal came the sickening grating of grit on the chain and rings; with each squeeze of the brakes, we could hear the rubber pads being ground to paste. We stopped at rivers to wash off the destructive layer of grit and eventually slithered and ground our way upwards to Willis, barely noticing the vast forest stretching away into the distance, or the Snowy River far below. It had been our intention to stop at Willis, but with the rain persisting down, we decided to continue, as this would shorten the following day's ride in the event that poor weather continued. Besides, we had nothing better to do! Ten kilometres further along we found Running Waters campground, with a pit toilet, access to the river for water and a handy wooden table. The rain subsided for the evening and we
tucked into the Thai variant of lentil curry.
As the following day dawned brightly, we decided to cycle just a few kilometres to Jacobs River campground to enjoy more time in the wilderness and solitude. The campground was a spacious clearing in the bush, running down to the river and deserted save us, a few white winged choughs and some kangaroos. Our bungee cord washing line was respendent with yesterday's wet cycling gear, but not for long - the rain returned and we dodged the showers long enough to cook and eat the Singaporean version of lentil curry! So much for bush fires - this place wouldn't ignite if you dropped a fire bomb on it.
Continuing rain through the night didn't bode well for the remaining 56 km to Jindabyne, which started with a 24 km climb, though the dirt road was in less perilous condition than the previous section. We wound slowly upwards and even had time to gaze down at the road far below. Once atop the hill we left the National Park and dense bush gave way to open rolling farmland once again. After 30 km smooth, dark, beautiful tarmac reappeared and we rolled
Road to Jindabyne
Snowy River far below and swooped down to the Alpine Ski resport of Jindabyne, leaving the drizzle behind us with the dirt road. Incredibly, despite the weather, we so enjoyed the beauty and isolation of the route and the wilderness camping that we have amended our route to Sydney to abandon the coast for the Australian Alps. See you there.
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Tot: 0.058s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 30; dbt: 0.0311s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb