Well this is it, the Northern Tablelands of NSW becon with cool summer nights and warm days, rolling counrtyside and spectacular scenery all interspersed with quaint towns and major rural centres - Australia is a big country and this is just one little bit of it ......... But I am too far to fast into the story without a proper beginning, and any good story must start at the beginning so let's begin.
And what a beginning it was, several months of planning and bike setup culminated in a weekend trip to the Sunshine Coast just before Christmas (see the trip report elswhere) that would act as a proving ground for all the gear and a chance to make sure that Sally (The Minister for Fun and Finance - currently Stelvio) was confident and up to the ride. All panned out well and I had no problems with our plans.
Sunshine Coast Trip Report Here
Simply put it would be 2 days travel from Brisbane to Gloucester which is approximately 2.5 hours north west of Sydney and about 850km from Brisbane through back roads via the New England Plateau. For those in other countries, The Great Dividing Range is a line of mountainous country that runs parallel with the east coast of Australia from Melbourne in the south to north of Cairns in far north Queensland - the New England section of this range comprises the section that is north of Sydney starting jat about the famous Hunter Valley wine growing region and extending to the northern NSW towns of Grafton and Casino.
Then 3 days of exploration of the area around Gloucester known as The Barrington Tops, and 2 days back again to Brisbane with a one night stopover along the way. The route was planned to avoid the major highways as much as possible and with some off road machinery coming to the shed some time soon and plans afoot for some third world travel by Stelvio it was a good opportunity to get a taste of what might be in store....
Saddled up, mounted up, fueled up and off......
And what a beginning it was, several months of planning and bike setup culminated in a weekend trip to the Sunshine Coast just before Christmas (see the trip report elswhere) that would act as a proving ground for all the gear and a chance to make sure that Sally (The Minister for Fun and Finance - currently Stelvio) was confident and up to the ride. All panned out well and I had no problems with our plans.
Sunshine Coast Trip Report Here
Simply put it would be 2 days travel from Brisbane to Gloucester which is approximately 2.5 hours north west of Sydney and about 850km from Brisbane through back roads via the New England Plateau. For those in other countries, The Great Dividing Range is a line of mountainous country that runs parallel with the east coast of Australia from Melbourne in the south to north of Cairns in far north Queensland - the New England section of this range comprises the section that is north of Sydney starting jat about the famous Hunter Valley wine growing region and extending to the northern NSW towns of Grafton and Casino.
Then 3 days of exploration of the area around Gloucester known as The Barrington Tops, and 2 days back again to Brisbane with a one night stopover along the way. The route was planned to avoid the major highways as much as possible and with some off road machinery coming to the shed some time soon and plans afoot for some third world travel by Stelvio it was a good opportunity to get a taste of what might be in store....
Saddled up, mounted up, fueled up and off......