Biking perimeter of Australia (Update)

BikeManiac said:

Can somebody tell me when are the
Holidays in Victoria, NSW and Quensland in July, August and September?

This might help:

http://www.oztourism.com.au/ozhols.htm

Steve = : ^ )

Hi Lucas
I recommend you have a look at http://www.ozbybike.com. Anthony
has been riding around Australia for a bit more than a year now.
Travelled from the extreme south to the extreme east, north and west and
is now heading for the centre it seems. His diary might inspire you. If
not, his photos definitely will.

If you happen to make it to Mackay, drop in and see us, we are on the
Warm Showers email list http://www.warmshowers.org

Peter

BikeManiac said:

This is a continuation to my previous thread on biking the perimeter of
Australia:

http://groups.google.com/group/aus.bicycle/browse_thread/thread/cc00ca6122
5eb069/29ac3fbeb2c366e6#29ac3fbeb2c366e6

As mentioned, I was usure about what route to pick and I am thankful for
your suggestions. What do you think of this route, which I picked out
using my map:

Brisbane Brisbane Forest Park Dundas Somerset Dam Kilcoy (-> D'Aguilar
HWY) Moore Nanango (-> Burnett HWY) Goomeri Gayndah Eidsvold Monto Biloela
(-> Dawson HWY) Banana Springsure (-> Gregory HWY) Emerald Clermont
Belyando Crossing Charters Towers ... then going west towards Katherine

Quoted message said:

From Melbourne and going north to Brisbane

Sorrento Korumburra (-> Gippsland HWY) Yarram Giffard Sale Bengworden
Bairnsdale Bruthen Nowa Nowa (-> Princess HWY) Cann River (-> Monaro HWY)
Rockton Cooma Queanbeyan Tarago Goulburn (there will be a small strech of
gravel here going north to Taralga) Taralga Oberon Lithgow Kurrajong Colo
Heights Howes Valley Singleton Gresford Dungog Stroud Road Gloucester (->
Thunderbolts Way) Walcha Uralla Armidale Ebor Clouds Creek Grafton (->
Summerland Way) Casino Woodenbong (Lindsay HWY) Rathdowney Brisbane

Any comments and suggestions for alternatives are highly appreciated :-)
As a side note: I have absolutely no clue how it looks down under in terms
of roads, steepness of the roads etc.

PS: We all now that the Pacific highway is very populated in terms of
traffic. But when I look at Australia I see that people must chose the
Hume HWY if they want to go from Melborune to Sydney og vice versa (at
least if they want to go fast). Does that mean that the pacific route
between Melbourne and Sydney is less populated than the part north of
Sydney ... or is it crammed with RV's? Is the Pacific route only horror on
weekends and holidays? Can somebody tell me when are the Holidays in
Victoria, NSW and Quensland in July, August and September?

Thank you in advance,

Lucas Jensen

BikeManiac said:

Goulburn (there will be a small strech of gravel here going north to
Taralga)

There's no gravel between Goulburn and Taralga on the standard road,
unless there's a short section of roadworks. Although it'd add a day or
two, Wombeyan Caves is fairly close and has some nice pretty things to
look at. It's about 25km from Taralga IIRC, so a day trip by bike.

Quoted message said:

Taralga
Oberon

In this section I'm fairly sure there is still quite a bit of dirt/gravel,
though it's been a few years since I last drove it. There are definitely
some largish and nasty hills.

Quoted message said:

Lithgow
Kurrajong
Colo Heights

Although it's a bit more suburban, I'd suggest going through Katoomba.
There are back roads beside the highway on that path, and the main road
isn't too bad for bikes for much of its length. Bells Line of Rd
(Lithgow->Kurrajong direct) is narrow and high speed, without much room to
get out of the way of loony drivers. That said I've never actually ridden
it, but have driven it sufficient times that I don't think I'd like to.

The 3 sisters at Katoomba is also a standard touristy thing to take photos
of.

--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
Random miscellany, as opposed to that other kind of miscellany
- Patrick Shaughnessy

Goulburn through Taralga to Oberon has some sections of unsealed road and
some pretty steep hills. From Oberon I would not go to Lithgow and then the
way you propose, which has narrow roads and lots of traffic. I would go to
Bathurst and then up through Sofala, Ilford, Rhylstone, Mudgee, Gulgong etc
which is much quieter.

"BikeManiac" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

This is a continuation to my previous thread on biking the perimeter
of Australia:

http://groups.google.com/group/aus.bicycle/browse_thread/thread/cc00ca61225eb069/29ac3fbeb2c366e6#29ac3fbeb2c366e6

As mentioned, I was usure about what route to pick and I am thankful
for your suggestions. What do you think of this route, which I picked
out using my map:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

From Melbourne and going north to Brisbane

Sorrento
Korumburra (-> Gippsland HWY)
Yarram
Giffard
Sale
Bengworden
Bairnsdale
Bruthen
Nowa Nowa (-> Princess HWY)
Cann River (-> Monaro HWY)
Rockton
Cooma
Queanbeyan
Tarago
Goulburn (there will be a small strech of gravel here going north to
Taralga)
Taralga
Oberon
Lithgow
Kurrajong
Colo Heights
Howes Valley
Singleton
Gresford
Dungog
Stroud Road
Gloucester (-> Thunderbolts Way)
Walcha
Uralla
Armidale
Ebor
Clouds Creek
Grafton (-> Summerland Way)
Casino
Woodenbong (Lindsay HWY)
Rathdowney
Brisbane

Any comments and suggestions for alternatives are highly
appreciated :-)
As a side note: I have absolutely no clue how it looks down under in
terms of roads, steepness of the roads etc.

PS: We all now that the Pacific highway is very populated in terms of
traffic. But when I look at Australia I see that people must chose the
Hume HWY if they want to go from Melborune to Sydney og vice versa (at
least if they want to go fast). Does that mean that the pacific route
between Melbourne and Sydney is less populated than the part north of
Sydney ... or is it crammed with RV's? Is the Pacific route only
horror on weekends and holidays? Can somebody tell me when are the
Holidays in Victoria, NSW and Quensland in July, August and September?

Thank you in advance,

Lucas Jensen

BikeManiac said:

This is a continuation to my previous thread on biking the perimeter
of Australia:

groups.google.com29ac3fbeb2c366e6Open ↗

As mentioned, I was usure about what route to pick and I am thankful
for your suggestions. What do you think of this route, which I picked
out using my map:

Quoted message said:

From Melbourne and going north to Brisbane

Sorrento
Korumburra (-> Gippsland HWY)
Yarram
Giffard
Sale
Bengworden
Bairnsdale
Bruthen
Nowa Nowa (-> Princess HWY)
Cann River (-> Monaro HWY)
Rockton
Cooma
Queanbeyan

We would call an RV a motor home. More common in Australia are the caravan (towed behind a car), campervan (a more compact unit that has some canvas bits that pop out when you open it up), or the humble tent.

Regarding the Victorian route, the South Gippsland Highway is pretty busy on weekends between between Melbourne and just beyond Lang Lang, where the Bass Highway splits off (by going straight ahead). The bit through Korumburra is hilly, passing through the southern end of the Strzelecki ranges (pronounced Strezlecki). A detour along the Grand Ridge Rd (mostly gravel) will take you past the Tarra Valley and Bulga national parks.

Sale to Bengworden is the back route between Sale and the lake side recreational/retirement town of Paynesville. It is quieter than the Princes Highway, but doesn't have a shoulder (from memory). It is more pretty than the highway, taking you past Perry Bridge and through mostly dairy farmland. That bit is flat in comparison with the Strzelecki's!

The route you describe from Sale to Queanbeyan is the quickest car route, which I did in reverse 8 days ago. It is all sealed road. I've never noticed Rockton - I'd put Bombala as the intermediate point on that route. Even though it will have more traffic, I'd prefer this route over the quieter Bonang highway which has logging trucks and gravel road. If you really want a scenic route, and don't mind gravel roads, do the route from Buchan to Jindabyne. Good camping spots include McKillops Bridge (side detour) or Willis (beside the road).

Note that I've never ridden any of these routes - I've only driven them in the car so I wasn't observing with an eye to cycling details.

BikeManiac said:

This is a continuation to my previous thread on biking the perimeter
of Australia:

http://groups.google.com/group/aus.bicycle/browse_thread/thread/cc00c...

As mentioned, I was usure about what route to pick and I am thankful
for your suggestions. What do you think of this route, which I picked
out using my map:

Brisbane
Brisbane Forest Park
Dundas
Somerset Dam
Kilcoy (-> D'Aguilar HWY)
Moore
Nanango (-> Burnett HWY)
Goomeri
Gayndah
Eidsvold
Monto
Biloela (-> Dawson HWY)
Banana
Springsure (-> Gregory HWY)
Emerald
Clermont
Belyando Crossing
Charters Towers
... then going west towards Katherine

Quoted message said:

From Melbourne and going north to Brisbane

Sorrento
Korumburra (-> Gippsland HWY)
Yarram
Giffard
Sale
Bengworden
Bairnsdale
Bruthen
Nowa Nowa (-> Princess HWY)
Cann River (-> Monaro HWY)
Rockton
Cooma
Queanbeyan
Tarago
Goulburn (there will be a small strech of gravel here going north to
Taralga)
Taralga
Oberon
Lithgow
Kurrajong
Colo Heights
Howes Valley
Singleton
Gresford
Dungog
Stroud Road
Gloucester (-> Thunderbolts Way)
Walcha
Uralla
Armidale
Ebor
Clouds Creek
Grafton (-> Summerland Way)
Casino
Woodenbong (Lindsay HWY)
Rathdowney
Brisbane

Any comments and suggestions for alternatives are highly
appreciated :-)
As a side note: I have absolutely no clue how it looks down under in
terms of roads, steepness of the roads etc.

PS: We all now that the Pacific highway is very populated in terms of
traffic. But when I look at Australia I see that people must chose the
Hume HWY if they want to go from Melborune to Sydney og vice versa (at
least if they want to go fast). Does that mean that the pacific route
between Melbourne and Sydney is less populated than the part north of
Sydney ... or is it crammed with RV's? Is the Pacific route only
horror on weekends and holidays? Can somebody tell me when are the
Holidays in Victoria, NSW and Quensland in July, August and September?

Thank you in advance,

Lucas Jensen

Here are some links for cycle touring in Queensland:
http://petergo.customer.netspace.net.au/ (has an inland route from
Brisbane to Mackay)
http://www.bbta.org/
http://www.bq.org.au/
http://www.scbtc.org.au/

BikeManiac said:

Quoted message said:

From Melbourne and going north to Brisbane

Sounds familar, read here:
http://cheshire.iinet.net.au/simon/

And also:
http://www.bikeaccess.net/

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/

BikeManiac said:

This is a continuation to my previous thread on biking the perimeter
of Australia:

......

Quoted message said:

Holidays in Victoria, NSW and Quensland in July, August and September?

Thank you in advance,

Lucas Jensen

If you want to avoid the traffic in Brisbane you can catch a train at
the airport to Keperra station (you may need to change trains at
Central) then it is a short hop to Brisbane Forest Park and you are on
your way. Alternatively you could catch a train to Caboolture station
then you are at the start of the D'Agular hwy and off to Kilcoy.
You'll be able to take your trike on the train outside of peak hour.
More details at http://citytrain.com.au/plan_your_trip/timetable_fares/timetable_fares.asp

On the return to Brisbane ride from Beaudesert to Beenleigh and catch
the train from there to the airport to avoid the city traffic.

Peter Damm

BikeManiac said:

Cooma
Queanbeyan
Tarago
Goulburn (there will be a small strech of gravel here going north to
Taralga)
Taralga

You might think about Cooma, Canberra, Collector, Goulburn.
There is lots of scenic stuff to see and do in Canberra, and it is very
cycle friendly. The Federal highway from Canberra north is divided road
and there is plenty of room to ride on the edge for 99% of it. We
Canberra cyclists frequently ride out along the highway and it is quite
safe.

On Mar 19, 8:45 am, ghostgum <ghostgum.2nn...@no-

mx.forums.cyclingforums.com said:

If you really want a scenic route, and don't mind gravel
roads, do the route from Buchan to Jindabyne.

I drove this - it is truly sensational, valleys and high ridges. It
was early January and pretty hot in the valleys - a cooling dip in the
Snowy River would be just the thing. Saw a few riders and desperately
wanted to join them.

Donga