Victorian High Country Day 3

Friday morning arrived and it was overcast still and raining in the distance, I was quite hungry and was in need of breakfast and so we wandered along the street until we found a nice little cafe where I had a fantastic scrambled eggs & bacon breakfast, health food of champions.

After breaky we loaded up and got ready to head off. We lost Dave here as he had to head off for home early as he was due to leave for a 10 day cruise on Sunday the lucky bugger. Our destination for today was only 2 hours away which was the Golden Age Hotel in Omeo. Being such a short distance however we did have a loop ride planned for Mt Hotham, Tawonga Gap and Falls Creek back to Omeo which would take most of the day, checking the BOM there were also thunderstorms predicted for this afternoon too.

We missed the opportunity to ride the Bonang this morning as there was heavy rain along there until about 9am so the weather radar showed. Leaving Orbost behind we travelled along the road to Buchan, the Orbost end of this road is very narrow to the point of being almost a one lane road and the tree's are right on the road verge. I thought that this early in the morning that we would see some Skippy's so I was quite content to sit a couple hundred metres behind everyone else. Turns out they saw a few wallaby's jumping across the road but I didn't see any which is just the way I like it. As the road got closer to Buchan it opened out into a more free flowing road, much more to my liking over rolling hills with green fields and farming land. It must rain here a lot as everything is green.

Boys in Buchan

From Buchan we retraced our steps from yesterday's route to Bruthen and up the Great Alpine way to Swifts creek where we turned off the main highway and took one of the back roads into Omeo. This is a great little detour with twisting tarmac with many rises and falls along the way and there were quite a few bikes headed in the opposite direction.  We stopped in at Omeo at the Bakery for lunch again, another fantastic pie at the bakery. We then proceed across the road to our accommodation and dropped off our bags and put them in the rooms for tonight so we could ride along unencumbered.

We headed up to Mt Hotham and there must have been a passing shower as the road was wet for a short bit. My back was getting wet from spray from the rear tyre. With no rear fender the water sprays up from the rear tyre and onto my back and all over the rear seat area. I hadn't noticed when the bag is on as it stops the water.

Hotham Village

Failed Selfy

Arriving at Hotham heights we checked out the snow drifts which were bigger than last year. It was about 12°c here and we could see many dark clouds down below us and coming in our direction.

Mt Feathertop

We rode on until the clouds were sitting on the hills. Doug and I rode into it but you couldn't see anymore than about 5 metres in front it was that thick. We turned around and came back up. There was a huge storm inbound now less than 30 minutes away showing on the radar.

With a storm approaching it didn't stop myself and bushpig from having a snowball fight on top of the mountain.

Snowball fight

With the storm approaching we made like bandits to get out of there before it started raining as we left our wet weather gear in our bags back at the hotel, not our brightest move.

Just down from Hotham is the little village of Dinner Plain, we pulled in there as one of the guys saw a brewery sign. We managed to find our way to Blizzard brewing the highest brewery in Australia which was only about 5 minutes before the lightning and rain started coming down.

So what does a thirsty biker do in a rain storm in a brewery? You guessed it we tried a sampler plate of some of beers to wait out the storm. We could see on the radar that it should pass over in about 30min or so we did some beer tasting. I quite liked the Powder Pale Ale.

Tasting Paddle

They had some nice pale ales on tap and it would be a great place to stop for a couple of hours with snacks and small cooked meals but we had accommodation waiting elsewhere so had to go.

With the time now approaching late afternoon any thoughts of doing the Tawonga gap or Falls Creek road is now gone as more storms were approaching so we made our way back to Omeo and the bar. Below is the storm that passed us by when we were holed up in the brewery.

We picked up the pace considerably on the way back. Just out of Omeo was a sign that pointed to Mt Kosciuszko lookout so I diverted for a quick look. The views were straight out over Omeo to the NSW snowy mountains. Mt Kosciusko can be seen to the left in the distance.

We decided to check out the Top Pub in Omeo for 1 quick beer before returning to our hotel for the night. Not a big ride today  but still longer than yesterday's as the rain and having no wet weather gear put a handbrake on that part of the ride. Still we made a nice discovery with Blizzard brewing. Let's hope tomorrow's weather is more favourable as we are heading back up the Mitta road.



Day 3 Map Reference

Victorian High Country Day 2

Eating breakfast out in the beer gardens early it started to sprinkle with a little rain, with more clouds passing over. It looked like it was going to settle in but was only light. I'd decided not to put any wets on as it wasn't yet raining heavy enough and I'd hope for the best cause I'm an optimist.

We topped up our tanks at the general store which has premium fuel and at premium prices I might add, see last post. Lucky we did or I would have run out.
The Omeo Highway leads out of Mitta Mitta to Omeo some 107kms via some very scenic and spectacular country with the winding roads starting literally around the first bend out of town. The road snakes its way along following a river for a while before winding up into the forested mountains and the corners come thick and fast, one after the other. I was really looking forward to doing this road as last year the Falls Creek section was snow blocked and we had to ride around and come in from the northern end so I've only ever done the bit from Omeo to the falls creek turn off.

Doug patiently waiting for us

R1 on Omeo Highway

We stopped for a break at a small clearing 40km out from Mitta after about 40min or so. Everyone was beaming at how good the road was, the surface along here was fantastic, very little bumps or potholes a bit of leaf litter and some damp patches was about all. Bushpig asked if we were nearly there yet to which I replied we were only 1/3 the way along, to which he let out a depressed groan of 'Oh God'. Yes mate it doesn't get much better than this. There are so many bends it's incredible, you pick it up out of a left hander straight into a right hander then hard back into another left. This has got to be one of the best Motorcycle roads in Australia. Fantastic Stuff!!!!!

We had stopped on a bend where the forestry people had been chopping down a large section of forest, that allowed us a view out to the surrounding mountains which I could see snow on some of the higher peaks. We continued along and the road surface changes to a more gravelly looking surface as you get closer to the Falls Creek turn off and the Blue Duck Inn.  Again the road follows alongside another beautiful mountain river along here with the road snaking along spectacular vistas.

One great feature I like on the lower end of this road is that there are an abundance of spots where the road winds into a fork of the mountain where it does a sudden 180 bend on itself and comes back the other way so while you are travelling into a bend your mates out in front are traveling back past you in the opposite direction separated by a small valley in between, there are numerous bits like this and it makes for fantastic riding. I also noted the exhaust crackle of the R1 along this road was pure music to my ears, pure orgasmic.

Big River

There is definitely no room for error at any point along this road, if you make a mistake you will either be in the river on one side or in a rock face on the other side. Gotta take it easy.

The Blue Duck Inn

I stopped at the Blue Duck Inn briefly to have a quick look around but it was early and there didn't appear to be anyone about so I took a few photos and continued along. I wouldn't mind coming back here at a later date to stay for a couple of days and explore this area and do some loop rides up to Falls Creek and around over Hotham. There are so many good bike roads in this area that it would be hard to go wrong for choice of a decent ride.

It wasn't long after here that we started the decent out of the mountains and down into the valley and farm lands as we drew closer to Omeo, I checked my fuel usage since Corryong the day before and it was over 17 litres which by the time we got into town was on 18.1 litres. Yikes I would have been walking for sure. When you get into real twisty country the R1 fuel economy drops right off as there is a lot of first gear work. You struggle to get into second, and when you do and run into a b end you find that there is not engine braking. Sometimes it can be annoying but it can also be enjoyable as you don't have to concentrate on gear changing, just braking - accelerating and cornering lines.

Oh a straight bit!

Tomorrow nights accommodation - The Golden Age Hotel

We arrived in Omeo and filled up the bikes and went straight to the bakery for lunch which handily enough was right next door. I must say the pies at the Omeo bakery were fantastic, highly recommended. We would be back here tomorrow so I think we will be back for another.

We had a little bit of an extended break here as Stu headed off to see a doctor as he had a sore throat and was finding it hard to talk. As we were waiting and having lunch a rain storm passed by to dampen the road a little but there wasn't a lot in it and by the time Stu had come back it was almost gone.

We soon departed after Stu had his lunch and continued down the great alpine way to swifts creek and the excellent roads beyond. The road follows along the Tambo River further south and this is again some fantastic riding. I very much enjoyed this section. I had to force myself to stop to take a photo and found a great little spot on a bridge over the river.

After turning off at Bruthen we made our way towards Orbost and heading towards the Bonang Highway. Not long after we got through Nowa Nowa there was a heavy down pour but we didn't stop and kept powering on, I felt two small trickles of water entering my leathers and that uncomfortable feeling. Maybe we should have stopped and put our wets on. After only about 5 minutes though the rain eased and we were out of it again so hopefully the wind will dry me out over the next 40km to Orbost.

Just as we got fuel at Orbost the heavens opened up and dumped a large amount of rain with a few cracks of lightning thrown in just for fun. Everyone had abandoned any plans of riding up the Bonang as it was very black in that direction and checking the weather radar showed the Bonang was covered in rain.We waited until it became light and made our way back to our accommodation for the night. The Orbost Club Hotel. We had off street parking where we put our bike in the garage around the back and hit the bar for a few drinks. Most of us were pretty tired by now after a bit of a late night last night, an early start and the road out of Mitta just taking it out of you so everyone seemed happy just to sit and have beers. I can't argue with that!

Looking north from the Hotel there was lightning everywhere and the blackest part of the sky was right over the Bonang Hwy, where we were originally headed. It would not be fun at all up there today I'm afraid.

We made our way to the only other pub in town opposite the petrol station and had a beer. The beers there were terrible, they mustn't clean their lines out or something so we quickly departed after only one drink. The beers at the pub we were staying at were much better. I'd also noticed that of the 4 locals that were actually drinking at the pub were drinking out of cans, that says a lot right there.

We made our way back to our hotel and had a nice meal and a few more beers. Dave even managed to win himself a large meat tray which he eventually gave away to one of the locals.

Another fantastic day out on two wheels even though it was cut short due to the rain. At least it stayed away for most of the day.

Day 2 Map Reference

Victorian High Country Day 1

This years Snowys ride was a little different than every other year, a new route plan taking us into the thick of the action on the first day which had us riding winding mountain roads for 5 days straight instead of the usual 3 days. I can't say I'm unhappy about that. We only passed through the New South Wales Snowy mountains on our way to the Victorian High Country, that's where the real riding in this country is at. Most of the best roads are so close to each other it's only a short hop, skip and a knee down to the next top Aussie motorcycle road.

This year there was only 5 of us hitting the road with the meeting point in Goulburn 2 hours away from Sydney for breakfast and fuel. Stu and Bushpig dropped past my place and we continued on where we met Dave and Doug for breaky at Trappers Bakery to discus the route, it was changing even now. We were definitely keeping an eye out on the weather as the forecast is for 5 days of rain, D'OH!. Just what you need on some of our twistiest mountain roads.

Stu decided to take us some back way down to Queanbeyan which turned out to be great as it kept us off the boring highway. Our first day was going to be a big one over 700km's which called for a 7am start and I'd packed a secret weapon to avoid the R1 ass pounding on the straight sections. I'd managed to get myself a sheepskin earlier in the week to throw over the seat and it worked fantastic. I just put it away again when we got to the twisty bits.

Doug at Trappers Bakery

Stopping in at Cooma for a bit of lunch we were now 4 hours out from Sydney and at the base of the NSW Snowy Mountains. It's not far from here to some great alpine riding and the route was to take us out through Adaminaby to Kiandra and turn off down through Cabramurra and down to Corryong in the Victorian high country. It's been a long time since I'd ridden along this section of the Snowy Mountains Highway I was looking forward to it and brought my old Go pro out for some use. I'll try and put something up when I get some time.

The Snowy Mountains Highway

Kiandra

We stopped just after the Kiandra turn off and regrouped to chat about the great set of twisties we had just traversed and why the Tuono was going so slow, must have the traction control wound up too tight.

We continued on down the mountain towards the Cabramurra turn off. It was along a winding section that I felt an insect hit me in the neck near the top of my jacket. A little bit further up the road I could feel something biting me inside my t-shirt. We are riding on a highly technical road which demands a high level of concentration so I immediately pulled over and opened my jacket and t-shirt and yep, you guessed it a big insect flew out. I didn't want to make the same mistake I'd made on the 2015 Snowys ride and lose concentration and run off the road at a critical moment. WIN!!!!

Cabramurra Intersection

I love the twists and turns winding down to Tooma Dam, you can see across the top of the Australian alps the hills tops along here are covered in dead trees for as far as the eye can see, hill after hill. The road is narrow and winding down for a long time until it spits you out on the Tooma Dam. Tooma Dam is one of Sixteen Dams that was built back from 1949 to 1974 for the Hydro Electric scheme of which there are 7 power stations and 145km of tunnels connecting the dams with 90kms of aqua ducts. It is such a massive structure. The roads in and out of the area are all of the old service roads that they built to access the dams through some rugged country.

Lads on Tooma Dam

Tooma Dam

The weather was still holding out but it was changing from clear blue skies from this morning to over cast and threatening looking by the afternoon but it was perfect temps for riding in.

We stopped for fuel in Corryong and kept going as it was only just over an hour to our first nights stay at the Mitta Pub. We had stayed here last year on the snowy ride and it is a fantastic little place. The food was great again this year and hospitality was warm and welcoming. They have a great little spot, you might say it's a little slice of heaven right in the middle of God's country. Right on the doorstep to Australia's most winding roads.

Mitta Pub

Snowy Creek

Pool Comp

A few quiet beers between mates

We stayed in the bunk cabin at the back of the pub, not too bad although there was a little snoring happening. At least the rain held out for our first day of riding.

I checked out the petrol price and thought no thanks. In the morning I was thinking I would be able to make it from Mitta Mitta to Omeo, as it's only 107km away and I have 9 litres of fuel left since filling up. As it turns out we put in a couple of very expensive litres just to be sure and that was a good call as I would have run out 1.1 litres before Omeo, probably about 10kms out of town. Another win for me.

Day 1 Map Reference

The Wayback Machine

I was going through some photos scanning in some images for my wife so that she could humiliate her brother for his 40th Birthday tomorrow and I thought I might have a look through my own archives to see what dirt I can dig up on my older brother. Well I found some and guess what?

The old boy had hair once upon a time. Here they are enjoy!

Flyboy with my cattle dog 'Kelly'

Me at Phillip Island WSBK 2000-2001

Flyboy & his lovely wife on the Great Ocean Road

Flyboy at Mount Hotham

Shenanigans