GERALDTON ULYSSES

LONG WAY OVER……..SHORTER WAY BACK        AGM PENRITH  2009   

 

Saturday March 7 dawned warm and windy and after a photo shoot for the Guardian, Gary and Arthur led our contingent of six out of Geraldton just after 7am. By the time we reached Mingenew the rising sun had ceased to be a problem. Yves joined us here and after fuel stops at Carnamah and Dalwallinu and from memory lunch at Wongan Hills we arrived at Southern Cross after another stop at Merredin at about 5pm.

After booking into the caravan park we proceeded to the Palace Hotel for a cold drink and meal. The beer was great but the bread around the steak sandwiches had aged to concrete-like status. Russell joined us here so there were now eight of us. Russell Arthur Gary and Yves  rode Harley-Davidsons while Dale Mark Barry and Graeme kept the flag flying for other makes; Suzuki Boulevard, KTM Adventure, Yamaha FJR

1300 and  Suzuki DL 650 respectively.

 

After a comfortable night at the Southern Cross Caravan Park and breakfast on the run at the Caltex roadhouse we rode off into the rising sun at 7am on Sunday morning. Graeme did his own thing again he went non-stop to Coolgardie. Actually he didn't see the rest of the group who had stopped for a break 100km east of Southern Cross.

A quick fuel up here after re-grouping and then it was an early lunch stop at Balladonia before we knew it. Bob and Jill joined us here and we arrived at our next camp, Cocklebiddy around 5 pm. Here we enjoyed      excellent steak sandwiches   a couple of coldies and a motel bed .Today we clocked up around 800 km.

 

Monday dawned cloudy and cool and we even briefly donned wet-weather gear soon after departure. A stop at the bight for photos after fuel at Eucla was followed by lunch at Nullarbor, and then another fuel stop at Nundroo or Penong and landfall at Ceduna in the late after-noon. The evening meal was at a handy fish and chip place with an alcohol ration for some to compensate for the hard bunks in the park cabins. It had been another 800 km day so all slept well.

 

On Tuesday we set out in the half-light along the Eyre Highway. There were stops at Poochera for fuel, Port Augusta for lunch and then it was on to Clare via Wilmington Laura  and Gladstone. Today was a shorter ride of 650  km so after a relaxing after-noon at the well-appointed Clare caravan park, we rode back into town for a choice of dinner. Some of us opted for a delicious  pizza, others Subways .Barry had left us this morning to meet Kate in Adelaide and they would rejoin the group at Hahndorf.

 

From Clare on Wednesday morning we proceeded to Gawler for a short break and then it was on to Hahndorf where we met up with Barry and Kate and enjoyed lunch at a traditional German Hotel. There was a lot of German immigration in the early settlement of many parts of South Australia. After lunch it was on to Mount Gambier via Tailem Bend, Keith , and Narracoorte. A couple of us tried the Princes Highway coastal route for some 30km but were persuaded to rejoin the main party. We ran into some wet weather 40 km out of Mt.Gambier which developed into a full-blooded thunder-storm just after we reached the caravan park. A shuttle-bus  taxi took us back into town for an excellent dinner at one of the clubs. The further east we travelled the more tender and tasty was the steak!. We covered 570 km on today’s ride.

 

Thursday morning was fine and clear after heavy overnight rain. We stopped at the blue lake for photos, the crater of an extinct volcano and now the district’s water supply. Then it was on the road again, destination Lorne in Victoria on the Great Ocean Road. Early in the day we sighted a koala which had safely crossed the road in front of us. We travelled via Heywood, Port Fairy, Port Campbell, and Apollo Bay the home of an excellent ice-cream shop. We arrived dry at the Lorne caravan park just

before another thunder-storm, lucky again! After the rain we walked into the town and enjoyed a delightful meal at one of the many restaurants in Lorne. Today was the shortest leg of the journey at 400 km.

 

Leaving Lorne at dawn the following morning, a heavy mist obscured our view of the remainder of the Great Ocean Road. We fuelled up at Torquay, safely navigated Geelong and Baccchus Marsh and after a minor hitch with the GPS’s proceeded on to Mansfield via Woodend, Kilmore, Broadford and Yea. We enjoyed coffee and a snack here and then negotiated the scenic King Valley route, arriving at Wangaratta our Friday night stop at about 5pm. Accommodation  and  a great counter meal was provided at a motorcycle friendly hotel whose landlord is a fellow Ulyssian. The bikes were stored overnight in an undercover secure compound. This would have to have been the most comfortable and value for money night’s stop of the entire trip. A continental breakfast was also included in the very modest tariff. Our journey today Friday 13 March was 470 km.

 

On Saturday we set off for Bega, early as  usual, travelling via Beechworth, Talangatta (a welcome coffee) Corryong, and then into the snowy mountains. We encountered mist and then quite heavy rain before stopping for lunch at Cabramurra the highest “town” in Australia. Then it was more or less downhill to Cooma and then Bega near the coast of NSW. We camped the night at Bega enjoying dinner and a few drinks at the local RSL club which also provided a courtesy bus there and back to the caravan park. Today was probably the most scenic ride of the trip with spectacular mountain views and a distance travelled of about 500km.

 

Sunday dawned cool and fine; the big day, the day we had  t o negotiate serious traffic, the day to put our faith in the mighty GPS. It was a lovely ride to Narooma on the coast then up the highway to Batemans Bay. There were  food and fuel stops at Ulladulla and Nowra and then we joined the throngs around Wollongong and went our various ways to Penrith. Some of the local bikers managed to cut a couple of us off and the original route via Picton was abandoned by most of us, but we all arrived safely at Penrith albeit at different times and by different roads. We had travelled a total of 5500 km since leaving Geraldton, about 450 of them today. Those of us staying at Nepean Shores found it to be a very pleasant venue, close to river walks, the large shopping centres, and the actual A.G.M. site.

 

At Penrith Arthur Gary Mark and Yves were re-united with Bev Paula Anne and Lynn; and with the arrival of Bruce, Cyril, and John, Colleen and Terry, Cheryl and Peter, and later in the week Austin; the ranks of the Geraldton contingent swelled to 24; easily the largest group of Ulyssians from Western Australia.

The week at the AGM passed quickly; a highlight being a cruise, with a first-class lunch included up the Nepean River on board the “Nepean Belle”, a paddle-wheel boat built along 19^th century lines in the 1980’s, but powered  by diesels instead of the traditional steam engine.

The owner/skipper provided an informative and at times humorous commentary on the river and it’s history since the beginnings of European settlement to the present day.

There were rides into the Blue Mountains and train trips into Sydney to all the tourist destinations, a 20 minute trip on the express service or over an hour if you accidentally boarded an all-stops (about 20 of them) service.

The inner man was comfortably catered for at Penrith with excellent meals at a variety of venues including the Penrith Panthers rugby league club, other service clubs, the Lone Star Steak House, and the AGM dinners on the Friday and Saturday nights, both of which catered for a couple of thousand guests. Our French outfits were a success.

The Saturday morning parade went  very smoothly, thousands of bikes assembling at the finish at the Penrith Paceway for the usual speeches .

The weather was fine and sunny, if a little humid, for the entire week.

 

On Sunday March 22 Paula Bev Anne and Lynn caught an early train and taxi to Sydney Airport for the flight back to Perth and Austin was also up with the sparrows for his drive back to Sydney and flights to Perth and Geraldton. Yves decided to stay a bit longer and make his own way back at a more leisurely pace, while Arthur, Barry, Dale, Gary, Graeme , and Mark left at 9am for the first leg of the shorter way back to Geraldton. We took the main road to Katoomba and Lithgow and then on to Bathurst for lunch and a sedate lap of the Mt Panorama race track. Then it was on to Cowra and a caravan park at Grenfell for the night after an excellent meal at the local Chinese restaurant.

 

We left Grenfell at dawn on Monday and followed the Mid Western Highway to Hay for lunch and a fuel stop, and a visit to the wool museum .It was then on to Mildura for the night via the Sturt Highway, finding a well-appointed comfortable caravan park handy to the city. Dinner was at the RSL club and up to the usual high standard of such establishments.

 

On Tuesday morning we breakfasted at a bakery near the caravan park and were able to catch up on some shopping while Arthur had his rear tyre replaced at the local Harley shop. A word of advice; don’t buy a lot of fruit at Mildura- it’s cheap and fresh  but you either have to eat it all before Renmark or surrender it at the fruit-fly checkpoint there. We did a bit of both!

We had lunch at Berri then it was on to Waikerie and across to Morgan and a short ferry crossing of the River Murray. Next stop was Burra where wet-weather gear was donned, a timely decision as it was quite wet on the last leg of the day to Peterborough. On this stretch of road Gary’s eski compartment parted company with the trailer necessitating minor repairs before we took the short cut at Terowie across to Peterborough. From the caravan park there we had a leisurely walk into town for a few beers and dinner at one of the locals. We saw some beautiful old buildings in this historic railway town.

 

After breakfast at 7am on Wednesday in Peterborough we were on our way again stopping for fuel at Port Augusta, lunch at Kimba arriving at Ceduna for the night after a day’s ride of 600km. An early arrival enabled us to catch up with domestic duties like washing, ready for the longer days ahead. Dinner was the local fish and chips revisited.

 

Thursday morning dawned clear and mild and we left from the Ceduna BP truckstop in a cloud of mosquitoes, as the stars were beginning to fade, destination Cocklebiddy. There were fuel stops at Penong and then Nullarbor, where local hospitality took a new turn. We were required to surrender our driving licences before being allowed to use the pumps. Apparently “drive-offs” have forced the operators to take this draconian step. We had lunch here, photographed the local dingoes, then rode the next 180km to Eucla for coffee and fuel. From here it was a quick stop at Madura then on to Cocklebiddy before the setting sun became too much of a problem. The cheerful proprietress at the motel made us welcome as usual and we enjoyed the local steak sandwiches and cold beer/ wine/ cruisers/ or soft drinks depending on our fancy.

 

After a continental breakfast on Friday we set off west at dawn again; it was cold and foggy and everyone kept a wary eye out for wild-life. By the time we reached Balladonia the temperature had risen and jumpers and jacket-liners were shed, and at Norseman,  our lunch stop a couple of hours later, it was decidedly warm. It was even hotter at Coolgardie, about 40 degrees. We had another    short break between there and Southern Cross and then booked into the caravan park at  5pm.

We decided to risk the Palace Hotel for dinner again and were pleasantly surprised, avoiding steak sandwiches, and some of us opting for beef curry and rice which  was washed down with a few glasses of an excellent red or a cold beer or two, and all served with a smile by the charming back-packer bar staff from Scotland.

 

In no time at all it was Saturday morning, the last day of the journey and we were ready to roll at our usual 7am. A few kangaroos crossing the road south of Bullfinch kept us alert but after that the local fauna stayed in the paddocks. We fuelled up at Koorda via Muckinbudin had a mid-morning coffee, then followed the back roads to Cadoux and Kalannie and across to Dalwallinu then up to Wubin for lunch. Then it was across to Carnamah from Bunjil and home via Three Springs, Mingenew, and Walkaway or Dongara depending on choice.

The return trip from Penrith was 4400 km making a total round journey of about 9900km.

 

A foot-note about the bikes. We all know size isn’t everything and this is especially true of modern motorcycles. A dual purpose sports tourer like a Suzuki DL650 is perfectly adequate for a trip one and you have the added benefits of good fuel economy and a long range. The seat is surprisingly comfortable but an Air-hawk cushion made it even more so.

 

Graeme

10 April 2009