Rob 'n BOB on the BNT
prepared
in Canberra,
ACT - 17 March 2004
G'day
Mates! Here we are again, after a long hiatus. Our previous
update was from Yamba, more than a month ago! Sorry, but there
weren't any real opportunities to log onto a computer anywhere.
After Yamba and a final swim in
the
ocean on Feb 7, it was back to "Broadmeadows", where I stayed at Louise
and Tom Armitage's for one more night before heading out on the trail
again. Alan and son Mitchell and a friend drove me all the way
back from Yamba and stayed overnight as well. We had a few
wonderful swims in the Boyd River, and on Sunday Louise took us all for
a 4WD drive tour around the property. Then Alan and the boys
drove back to Yamba, and for me it was farewell to Louise and
Broadmeadows (Tom was away).
Over the past week of rest, I've
decided to detour around the tough river sections. Initially I
felt a little disappointed about it, but with the rivers fairly high,
the daily thundershowers in the area, and the fact that I am travelling
alone, I think it was a good decision. So, instead of following
the Boyd and Guy Fawkes rivers upstream (50 - 60 river crossings in
all!), I detoured to Ebor via Dalmorton and the Chaelundi State
Forest. This was a long climb, but all rideable, and I logged a
new total daily uphill record - 1625 meters. From the top there
were beautiful views over the valleys below, making the effort all
worthwhile.
From Ebor another detour, around
the
Macleay River and Kunderang Brook section. I've done this section
before, and therefore didn't mind this detour too very much. It's
an incredibly beautiful section, but lots of river crossings
again. Instead I rode to Armidale, via Wollomombi Falls, where I
ran into a couple from Bellingen. She came originally (40 years
ago) from ...... Calgary! They had just stopped here for a picnic
and when they left they gave me a whole bag full of fruit - pineapple,
mango, bananas, avocado -all from their own garden and beautifully ripe
and delicious! I camped in the picnic area, by a picnic table
with a gorgeous view over Wollomombi and Chandler's Falls.
In Armidale the annual Bach Festival
just kicked off with an opening concert in the cathedral that night,
and I was able to obtain a ticket and indulge in a little
culture. The next day it was on to Walcha, via Petersen's
Armidale Winery, part of Petersen's in the Hunter Valley, who opened
this new winery just two days ago! I had a nice visit with Stuart
who led me through a full tasting of their wines. Loved their
unoaked chardonnay. The ride to Walcha was hot, but scenic, along
quiet backroads and tracks, but the flies were out in the millions,
driving me crazy! I still don't like to wear a flynet when I'm
riding, but I've found Aeroguard to be reasonably effective. Just after
I arrived in Walcha a howling wind and rainstorm hit, after which I
went to the pub for a meal and a drink. It was a zoo because
there were horse races in town, but this definitely added to the
ambiance.
The following
day, in Nowendoc, I
joined the BNT again, but just briefly, because the
BNT route is
officially closed through the Karamea valley and the trail detours via
Nundle. I wanted to go through Barrington Tops, and therefore did
my own detour, which took me almost to Gloucester, with fantastic views
from the ridge in Bretti National Park, and then along Woko National
Park, where a bit further on I joined the BNT route again. After
such a long session of detours it really felt good to be on the trail
again. I missed my little friends, the BNT markers! It was
quite hot the day before I got to the "Tops", and I spent all afternoon
soaking in a lovely little creek, the Little Manning River.
Barrington Tops itself was a bit of a disappointment, because there
were no views to speak of, but both the approach and the descent a
couple of days later were fantastic. Steep climbs though, and an
equally steep descent via a fireroad that led to the Stewart Brook
valley, which, according to the trail notes, is one of the prettiest
valleys around, and I do agree!
Down in the valley it was quite
warm
again, and while in Aberdeen and Sandy Hollow the temperatures were in
the low forties. 44̊ when I got to Sandy Hollow, but the caravan
park here has a swimming pool, where I spent a pleasant
afternoon. This is the Upper Hunter wine region, and the trail
goes right by Yarraman Estate and Cruickshank Callatoota, where I had
to stop, of course.
The next couple of days included a
fair number of locked gates, so I did some phoning around to various
stations and properties, to ask if the gates could be left unlocked for
me. Bill Tindale, of Myrtle Grove
, was going to be out the
morning I was passing through his gate, but it was an easy one to get
around, or rather over (me and the bike) and under (BOB). Bill
did, however, invite me to stay at their guest hut, which is a
marvelous piece of bush engineering, and is aptly named the "Myrtle
Grove Hilton". It has solar power and hot water, and comes with a
shower and radio! The cupboards are overflowing with all kinds of
food and various other supplies, probably left by other travelers and
guests, and I happily helped myself to some Earl Grey tea, which was a
nice change from my regular brew. The "100 Pipers" whisky I had
bought in Aberdeen as a special treat, turned out to be virtually
undrinkable, but with the addition of a generous dose of Gatorade
powder it made a pretty darn good whisky sour!
From here the trail ascends steeply
again, supposedly with fantastic views back onto Barrington Tops, but
since it was drizzly, there were no views at all. A nice hut
along the trail however, Sandy Camp, which has been restored to its
former glory, but it was too early in the day to stay here. Then
right by the "Livery Stable" cave, with aboriginal rock painting, and I
also caught my first glimpse of a lyrebird, as well as my first
gang-gang cockatoos. The track was covered with deadfall from a
severe storm a couple of weeks ago, and in some places I had to break
off branches to make a little corridor, because I couldn't get around
the branches on either side. The sandstone cliffs in this area
are just awesome!
The following day started out
drizzly
again, which turned into serious rain later on. It made for less
than ideal riding conditions - muddy, slick and slippery.
However, at one point, when it really came down hard, there were some
overhanging cliffs over the track, and I was able to shelter from the
rain for a bit. The descent was hairy. Steep rock and clay
make a nasty, slippery combination when wet! It would have been
an absolutely miserable day but for the fantastic sandstone cliffs and
the thought that no matter how wet I got, I would be under a real roof
and have a comfortable bed that night!
I stayed with Martin and Mary De Rooy
at "Numietta Farm" for three days, and it was a wonderful time of rest
again. Martin is a cousin of my Dad's and Gwen and I visited with
them five years ago as well. There is a full workshop and it was
time for some bike maintenance - a new chain was waiting for me here,
and also I discovered the first crack in the BOB frame. This was
something that needed to be repaired right away, and it couldn't have
happened at a better time! Martin drove me, and BOB, into
Rhylstone the following day where I had it welded. Also some of
the mesh at the bottom of the BOB cage was starting to separate, and
this was fixed as well.
The next day we drove to Mudgee for a
little wine tour, but first the Mudgee Guardian interviewed me about my
trek, and the reporter said the article would appear in the next week's
edition. I'm not sure if it did, I should call Martin to find
out, because they get the paper delivered to them. There are about 35
wineries in the Mudgee area, and we visited four of them - Frog Rock
(how appropriate, eh! For the uninitiated, I love frogs), Blue
Wren, Pieter van Gent, and Poet's Corner (formerly Craigmore, and they
also produce the Henry Lawson and Montrose labels). I was very
impressed with the quality of the wines produced in this area - I
didn't taste a single wine that I didn't like. They really looked
after me, Martin and Mary, serving me cooked breakfasts, lunch and
wonderful evening meals. And I ate lots of the fresh figs off the
tree in their garden - what a treat!
After this respite it was on to Baal
Bone Gap.
Well Mates, that's all for now.
Rob 'n' BOB
