Sydney - Toowoomba September & October 2008

 
Monday 22nd September SYDNEY TO PEATS RIDGE ROAD.  43km
Our daughter, Roslyn, drove us to Mt Colah at the start of the bicycle path on the old Pacific Highway.  It was hot and windy and we set off at 10.30am.  It was a little hilly to start then some steep ones before descending the winding road down to the Hawkesbury River.  The bushland was beautiful with tall Gymea lillies displaying spectacular red blooms.  We worked up a real sweat and had to rest many times on the climb out of the Hawkesbury.
 

Leaving Sydney
Near Mount Ku-ring-gai
Hawkesbury on old Pacific Hwy

As we were heading towards Peats Ridge, in a very strong wind, a car passed us, turned around and came back to warn us that violent storms were approaching and we should seek shelter.  We still had an hour or more to Peats Ridge so we called into a house to ask if we could shelter in their shed.  They took us in and treated us as guests with afternoon tea, shower, dinner, guests bedroom and breakfast in the morning.  Peter and Del were just wonderful to us.  It turns out that Del's sister lives in Red Cliffs just a few kilometres from our place.
They visited there recently and even produced some Mildura wine to enjoy.  Rain came during the night but not the violent storms that were predicted.  They were elsewhere.
 


Peter & Del Campbell
Camp at Kulnura

 Tuesday 23rd September CAMPBELL'S TO KULNURA  43km (instead of 20km)
It was overcast and cloudy as we left the Campbell's at 8.00am.  Half an hour later we had a couple of light showers which we sat out at Peats Ridge coffee shop.  After Peats Ridge we unknowingly took the wrong road so after a couple of hours riding, with hundreds of trucks going past us, we came to the Somersby Interchange - the Freeway!  After studying the map on the iPAQ and our position on the GPS we were a long way East and heading for Gosford.
We found another road that took us through Central Mangrove to the correct road rather than return all the way to Peats Ridge and start again. It was over 3 hours later with virtually no distance covered.  To make matters worse it began to rain steadily.  We stopped for lunch shortly on the side of the road.  We tied the tarp to some trees so we could lunch under it and not get drowned.  It was still raining when we arrived at Kulnura so we inquired at the store if there was any accommodation around.  There was none so we asked if we could camp in the area behind the tennis courts and local hall.  They agreed and even offered the use of the bathroom at the back of the shop.  By 3.00pm the rain started to lift.  We could even buy a bottle of wine at the store and enjoy it with our meal

Wednesday 24th September  KULNURA TO BROKE  74.5km
Some possums disturbed our sleep during the night so we set off early through fruit and poultry farms and tall timber.  As we neared Bucketty there were very steep climbs.  We passed an observatory at the top.  The descent was great.  One bend was called Lemming Corner and we reckon some people would have gone over the edge there.  The scenery was magnificent but we were either struggling up in lowest gear or roaring downhill.  We had to stop to appreciate the scenery!
Our lunch was at the old pub in Wollombi.  There was a large clear grassy area behind the pub where camping is welcome. The road then followed the Wollombi Creek all the way to Broke.  It was mostly downhill except for the 3 creek crossings.
Approaching Broke the vineyards started on both sides of the road for at least the last 10km.  Broke has a store, a pub, and a huge free campground which would be 200m wide and follows the road for a kilometre.  There are many tables with shelter and fireplaces in the bushland setting and a toilet too.  We enjoyed a campfire that night.  There was plenty of wood available as there had been a woodchop competition the previous weekend.
 

Wollombi Pub
Wollombi Creek
Broke campground

Thursday 25th September  BROKE TO MUSWELLBROOK  73km
The morning was very cold so we wore our waterproof jackets for warmth.  A short distance from Broke we turned off the main road.  It was wonderful not to have the traffic but it was a little hillier than riding along the valley.  We passed some huge horse studs and were dive-bombed by Pied Butcherbirds.
The old Post Office in Jerrys Plains has been converted into a B&B.  They also provide breakfast, scones and coffee, and lunches.  We had delicious coffee with scones, jam and cream.  A few kilometres past Jerrys Plains we came to a very, very steep hill just past the Arrowfield Winery.  In fact it was so steep that, for the first time ever, we stopped halfway up and walked our bikes.  That wasn't easy either.  We could only walk as far as the next white post before resting.  Another short cut across country produced more steep climbs so we were very glad to see Muswellbrook in the distance.
The caravan park had no cabins available and not even room for a little tent.  Luckily we could get into a motel.  There is so much mining in the area that there is little accommodation available
 

Hill at Arrowfield Winery


Climb out of Murrurundi
Wingen Whine Company

Friday 26th September  MUSWELLBROOK TO MURRURUNDI  68km
Leaving Muswellbrook we crossed the Hunter River we rode through a dairying area.  The paddocks were alive with rabbits.  We would've seen thousands.  The paddocks moved!  Fennel was growing along the roadside so the pleasant liquorice smell stayed with us.
We stopped in Scone for morning coffee but the scones had already sold out.  We did a lot of climbing out of Scone but it was gradual.  We were taken by the name of the pub at Wingen where we lunched.  It was called the Wingen Whine Company.  After that we had a very long climb over Burning Mountain then mainly along a valley to Murrurundi.
This stretch, from Muswellbrook past Murrurundi, is part of the New England Highway.  The verge is wide and despite all the trucks we felt quite safe.  The caravan park in Murrurundi is very attractive and well cared for and the cabin was very cheap $33.
This was the longest day for the whole trip.  We spent 5 hours 25 minutes on the bike seat.
 
Saturday 27th September  MURRURUNDI TO WERRIS CREEK  53.5km
We were warned that there was a mighty hill to climb straight out of Murrurundi.  In fact it was the Great Dividing Range, Nowlands Gap, 673m.  We were quite cool as we left but we didn't stay cool for long.  For the next hour we were pedalling in lowest gear at walking pace (4kph).  We covered 4km and had 6 rests so we were actually on the bike seats for 43 minutes going up the hill.  Some of the trucks found it hard work too.  The view at the top was great.  The top is also the start of the Murray-Darling Catchment of the Namoi River.
We slowly descended through lush, green, farmland into gently undulating country and turned off the New England Highway to Quirindi, an historic town.
At Werris Creek we found a guesthouse and were lucky to get a cancellation.  Werris Creek is an old historic railway town as it is on the junction of two lines.  The Old Signal Hotel Guesthouse was the centre of celebrations for the 90th birthday of the Catholic church so it was a lively place.


The Old Signal Hotel Guesthouse