Onwards to Armidale

The weather was quite cool in Dorrigo this morning, pleasant for packing up and getting sorted. John, the bloke camping near to us came over for a chat before leaving. He’s been doing a bit of walking in the parks round the area but after today will be winding his way home southwards to Canberra. Another nice fella, who invited us to call in should we go back to Canberra.

The Armidale road is a straight line from Dorrigo, and gradually progresses from lush pastures to brown dirt. 
It is still the Waterfall Way though - which  sounds more like a suburban housing estate road than a main highway. Armidale was apparently named after Armidale on the Isle of Skye, from  where the ferry runs to Mallaig on the mainland. 

I rode that route too several years ago, on another small bike, my trusty pizza delivery bike, which at 125cc is a comparative beast.  And the Glasgow deckie who tied my bike down laughed when I told him I’d ridden from London on it and was on my way backdown the UK; I wonder what he’d say about riding round Oz on a 110cc then? Anyway, the road does sneak past some pretty awesome waterfalls, not that you’d really know they were there.

Like these at Ebor. We stopped there for a coffee, met a bloke called Dave and his daughter Samantha, saw a photo of the falls in the cafe and stopped on our way past. 

Its on the Guy Fawkes River, so called because a bloke called Parke camped on its banks on Guy Fawkes Day 1844.

Or these at Wollomombi, where the Wollomombi and Chandler rivers meet and both tip over massive sheer rockfaces, crashing down 200 metres.Only there was none of that today because there was no water. Not a drop. Bone dry. Somebody had nicked the water. All of it.

It's one thing for a river to dry up and leave puddles or a slow trickle, but both of these are massive rivers and the falls are some of the tallest in Australia, so for them both to be completely dry was really something. But this is what they look like when they are flowing - an official  picture, not mine.

 But just imagine being the first explorer to see them. They must have been pretty amazing. John Oxley who surveyed rivers nearby, commented about similar falls.

The fact that they can dry up is also an indication of just how arid and harsh this place can get. The grass is already scrabby and brown, the dirt baked hard like concrete and ‘green’ doesn’t exist. Yet horses, and sheep still graze away like its the tastiest feast ever. Maybe it is, who knows.

This area is generally known as New England, and that’s down to the distinct four season climate, which is unlike most of the rest of Oz, and autumn leaf colours which are apparently a real spectacle. So does that then mean the trees are mostly deciduous? They’d have to be in order to change colour and drop I think; I’ll have to investigate.

Even with our frequent stops and the hilly road, we reached Armidale by mid afternoon and found somewhere to stay.

It's also Australia’s highest city - high as in altitude rather than the Bellingen sort of high. It has a noted problem with air pollution too, caused almost entirely by emissions from wood burning domestic fires. So much for the good clean air of Australia. And it has a bit of a hail problem from time to time; real monster storms that bash down buildings and make them collapse under the weight of iceballs.

It’s quite a substantial place with some pretty buildings and proper stuff going on, including a choice of physios,one of whom is going to try and sort my leg out for me tomorrow afternoon. Its now so bad that I can't walk so have to move by a combination of hop, shuffle and drag, which is very boring as well as tiring. I did try swimming to see if that would help but it didn’t as I cant move it sideways at all. Fortunately though, riding is fine, even if kick starting is difficult. I sort of fall on the lever and hope it turns the motor. If not, Gordon has to kick it for me.

What's in those bags?

I keep getting asked what kit I carry on the bike, in my panniers and in the strange red tubes on the front. A bit of a personal question if you ask me but I keep getting asked anyway so I thought I'd tip them out and show you. Nothing thrilling but actually my wordly possessions, excepting a few bits in an attic in London and a bag in a cupboard in Australia.

The panniers are bona fide ex postie issue panniers, so they fit very well and are easy to take on and off but are a bit too heavy for my liking.

We're I to do this again, I wouldn't bother with them but would do the two army surplus webbing bags slung across the bike thing, just like we did in Africa and Mongolia. But that said, these panniers are weatherproof and durable so you win some, lose some. 

I divide the contents equally to balance weight. Working from the picture, left it right, starting at the top:

Split between both panniers:

 * down jacket, Scrunches up small, very warm

* red waterproof bag containing wet weather gear - spare  
   buff, spare gloves, rain jacket, rain over trousers, Sealskinz  
   socks, baselayer top

* grey waterproof clothes bag - longsleeved shirt, zip off 
   trousers, tee shirts x 3, undies x 3, socks x 3

* waterproof bag containing sleeping bag and silk liner.

* Bed - see following picture as people always want to know 
   how it fits together and how small it packs. Fits into small bag same size as Helinox chair

* Helinox fold away chair

* wet wipes ( for when no shower is available & other sticky 
   moments....) loo roll,

* trainers for non riding days. Soap & moisturiser kept in 
   each one when I’m not wearing them

* bushman anti mozzie and other bitey thing spray  but                  
  Aeroguard is better and cheaper

On back rack, in small Ortlieb kitchen bag

* Deep plate ( doubles as a bowl or plate, very light)
* chopping knife, spork, lighter, pliers for holding billy can 
   handle

* Gas and stove ( folds away into little case) Prefer a petrol 
   stove but they are ridiculously expensive here, so using this 
   instead. It works and is still small.

* Vegemite. Nasty but makes stale bread taste better when
   hungry. Marmite is better.

* Chopping board. Goes with knife. Makes food prep easier
   Spatula. 
* Billy. 
* Flip flops ( thongs) for shower, beach, general walking
   about, swatting insects
* small bag of electrical plugs, chargers, spare batteries, golf 
   ball ( for sorting out my leg) earplugs in case

* Blue case - laptop, charger, hard drive, stick for uploading 
   photos

Left red drainage tube

* first aid kit - 3 x wound dressings, one triangular bandage, 
   one small crepe bandage, tea tree oil antiseptic, tube of anti 
   histamine cream, burn cream, eye drops. 

* microfibre towel 
* bathroom kit - toothbrush, toothpaste, Swiss Army knife 

   card, earplugs

Right red drainage tube

* hat, tyre levers, handpump, patches and glue, spare tubes x 

   2, laptop 

* Tools: ring spanners,  3 x screw drivers, spark plug tools, 
   sockets and handle. I could cut down on spanners.

My bed

I bought mine from Ultralite, who were bought out by Thermarest.

One mat, two side poles, twelve ‘feet’ twelve half struts. 

The best bit of kit I have. Very comfortable, doesnt puncture or rip, alows a comfortable sleep even on rocky ground. I store my jacket, riding pants and backplate under it when I’m sleeping which insulates me from cold air and gives more room in the tent.

Tent   Goes on front rack above headlamp

Bog standard dome tent. Cost $60.AUD. Netting inner tent, waterproof fly, porch for storing panniers. Dome tents are free standing and so can be put up anywhere - on hard ground, concrete, parking areas while waiting for ferries, shade while doing repairs etc. Buy cheap and get a new one of it fails. Multi season, all weather tents are expensive and unnecessary.

Riding Kit.

I always wear my gear, whatever the weather and however long the journey. I’d rather be warm than lose my skin in a tumble. But my stuff is warm weather friendly:

Jacket is armoured but has zip down panels on chest, forearms and back, allowing air to flow through. Despite being black, its very cool to wear, but warm and weatherproof when all panels are zipped up.

Back plate. Knox, Five panels,straps on under jacket, very comfortable to wear.

Kidney belt. Extra support for my dodgy back when riding off road.

Summer weight vented armoured  gloves. Veterans of Africa, Europe and Asia and now Australia, and still going strong

Riding pants. Love these. Re’ Vitt. Over trousers really, with zip up inner leg, armoured knees and hips. Full length mesh rear and side panels, light coloured for hot weather. I sprayed mine with stain repellent before using them (!) which keeps major dirt off, but machine wash them ( with armour in) or wear them while showering when they get too bad. If the mesh rubs your legs, lycra cycle shorts underneath solve the problem.

Meindle Army boots. Easier to walk in and cooler than motorcycle boots, waterresistant so I wear seal skinz when its wet.

Helmet is a white Airoh dirt helmet with visor. Light colour for hot weather. Bought in Australia as it has the all important 'approved' sticker which helmets from overseas don't despite being the same make and model. But its a sure thing to get fined on at a Random breath test or other stop.

Shades are De Walt safety glasses. Cheap,easy to replace, durable and they just work.

That's it folks........see, nothing thrilling or surprising!

Dorrigo

I woke to synchronised chomping this morning, early; the cows in the adjacent paddock had chosen to munch their breakfast just over the wire fence from my tent. They’re such gentle animals and they just gazed at me before getting on with their meal, while I worked out what was going on.

And by the time we had our breakie,within the hour , we'd acquired another dog. I don't know where it came from or where it went to, but it stayed with us for about an hour.

Dorrigo is a funny little place. A quiet country town with hardly anybody about and very few places to see. One of the blokes on the campsite told us that he went into town last night and couldn’t even find anywhere to eat. And on a Saturday night! Maybe they avoid outsiders or something and just go home.

Even more reason to find things to do then, and that’s exactly what we did. The Dangar Falls are just down the road, a waterfall about 20 m high that sheds water over a cliff edge and into a swimming hole. 

This area is known for its falls, hence the highway being called Waterfall Way. There are more in the Dorrigo National Park, and we planned to go there next but came across a really weird train museum, all mothballed and apparently derelict on the edge of town.

It’s the World’s largest collection of rolling stock, privately owned, and it opened briefly in 1986 before shutting again. A leaflet explained that they do hope to reopen it eventually, but they have no money, blah de blah. 

But it presents a very strange sight; rows and rows of train carriages, all on rails, and all joined up, just standing there. They are obviously from different ages, and some are badly in need of some urgent TLC.

Over the way, were are the engines. Loads of them again, all lined up on the same track. there is no indication of how they got there either as there are no train tracks leading to the place. I guess they got low loadered in, put on tracks and left.

Dorrigo is also home to the World’s smallest motorcycle museum. Its actually more like a 1960s American diner with a bike and a few bits of motorcycle clutter but its still vibrant and well used as a coffee and grub mecca for passing riders.

 A bit like an Ace Cafe only a fraction of the size. And I mean fraction. Its run by a Juan from Argentina, and the grub is exceptionally good.

After about an hour there, we went up to the National Park, walked on the Skywalk  - a wooden bridge/platform thing that extends off the hillside and over the tree canopy.

Perhaps not  the thing for height scaredy cats, it does allow you to see for kms, right out over the landscape, which is pretty impressive.

The Park has several walks too, so we wandered along one, nicely named the Wonga Walk. Not sure what that means but its a 6km loop through rainforest, past waterfalls, and under canopies of vines and chatty birds, plus the odd big goanna. I initially saw a long black tail slidinging into the vegetation at the side of the path and thought it was a snake but when it emerged from under a fallen tree trunk, I realised it had four legs and didn’t resemble a snake in the slightest. 

I do like the way that these things are laid out; you wander along the track and periodically see information boards telling you what is what. But its not over the top, either in content or frequency. It would be good to go in there early morning or at dusk ( both can be done) to see more of the wildlife, but we have to leave tomorrow so it wont be feasible.

Apparently there are five different types of rainforest in the World heritage site. I don't think I'd ever though about it before; a rainforest is a rainforest, a place full of trees where it rains a lot.  Yes but no; they are all different. However, they are still  full of trees and it does rain a lot in there. 

The walk took several hours and was well worth the effort. I felt quite self righteous too, particularly as I didn’t succumb to an ice cream upon completion. 

Still in Bellingen

It's too good to leave because it's such a weirdo laid back hippy place.

The craft festival has started and it's got even weirder as a result - a man taking his chickens for a walk, wandering minstrels ( who are probably bank managers during the week) a big beardy bloke walking up another blokes back        (apparently a massage) plus an eclectic collection of people getting on with whatever they fancy. Great, just my sort of place albeit I'm a tramp not a hippy.

As we packed up, an old bloke came up and started chatting. Turns out he  is 75, originally from Leeds in the UK and has, it seems, been wandering the world forever. He arrived in Australia in 1969, having arrived from NZ and having already lived in Canada and the US. He got the tramp thing straight away, and was an interesting old bugger, currently riding an XT 250.

We also chatted to a couple camping under a tree not far from us. Frances was originally from the UK, Dave from Rhodesia (NOT Zimbabwe) and they live in Brisbane.

They're off to London later in the month to visit their daughter and new granddaughter - who live in Sutton, about 4 kms from our house. It's only a matter if time before we meet somebody connected to somebody we actually know.

Eventually we stopped jawing and left for Dorrigo, just 25 kms away. But not before we bought some monster garlic from a little house selling fresh veg. Woe betide any wandering vampires for the next few weeks.

Dorrigo is high up on Mt Dorrigo,on a plain, 762m above the drink, accessed by a road that winds up through the rainforest and bursts out above the treeline to overlook what seems like the whole world. 

Actually, it's just the coast and adjacent settlements but it's pretty impressive anyway, stretching out south to Port Macquarie.

It's a bit of a one horse town up here but with some pretty buildings and an all important bottleo.

Shortly after we found a place to camp, we met Steve and Marg, riding a Triumph Rocket. 

Then we kept seeing them as we rode about and back at where we're camping.

More nice people, very chatty and good fun. They live in  Port Macquarie and had spotted us there earlier in the week.

And the biggest thrill today was finding not one but two washing machines and a tumble drier at the campsite! Clean stuff at last!

Just looked outside the tent up check there are no dingoes or other naughty wildlife hanging about, and it's really foggy. Only the tops of the trees down the hill are visible, the lower parts being shrouded in strange grey light. Too dark for pics though.

We're still upright

Funny what people believe  about small bikes. Like you can't counter steer on them. Really? How come I do it all the time then to maintain my speed on corners then? And from somebody who apparently rides!

 It's nothing to do with the bike you dweeb, but everything to do with basic bloody physics. Find the neutral point between centrifugal and centripetal force ( which is what counter steering does) so the bike meets less resistance and won't slow unless you brake or decelerate. It even works on push bikes.

We faffed about today, mostly in Macksville , more on line jobs, the bank, and charging laptops and phones. I nearly acquired a dog too, a lovely old Staffie type of thing who came and plonked herself down on my stuff while I chatted to her owner. There was even room in the crate at the back for her too ( the dog that us) but she decided she was better off where she was. Probably right too. 

Once Macksville was done, we headed off towards Bellingen, intending to take dirt roads. However, (and despite the 'road closed' signs which we did see but ignored in the hope that we could sneak through) we had to admit defeat at the barrier. 

And bonus -I won the gurning competition!

I was a bit disappointed though as the track would have led to Edwards Knob which I would quite like to have seen.....there was also a Gordon's knob a bit further on but I've already seen that. But don't worry - no pictures.

The rough overgrown track beyond the barrier looked rather inviting if a bit edgy and had I had a  250  I would definitely have ridden past the barrier, but I knew the postie bike fully laden probably wouldn't have the power. But then, anything that implies 'don't' really has an element of  'do' ......doesn't it?

So we backtracked and took the highway, turning off just past Urunga onto the Old Briarfield Road. Briarfield would have been where we ended up had the other road not been shut.

It was a very rough forest track with steep drop offs, not the sort of place you really want to ride off the edge as the tops of tall gums were just visible lots of metres down, hiding snakes, ready to snack on your disabled but fresh flesh, should you survive. But the posties were great and did their stuff ok.

Mind you, I did catch myself laughing at one stage, and wondering what the hell I was doing: dodgy forest track, silly bike, fully loaded and rather unwieldily, in the middle of nowhere and nobody knew we were there. 

But then I've wild camped in Chechnya and Dagestan before and have had my picture taken with separatist freedom fighters, so a bit of a bimble through rural Australia is easy.

So here we are in Bellingen, camping on the Show Ground for $9.00 each, freshly ( hot) showered, and sipping cold Pale ale in one of the hostelries ( of which there are several). 

We're missing Nadine though - it's not the same without you matey.

However, there is some consolation in that there is the prospect of a clothes washing session tomorrow , proper full on machine washing too. Is it bad that rather disturbingly, I really can't wait and am sooooo looking forward to it?

Gumma

The bikes are ready to go again, having been tweaked and oiled and TLC'd. Gordon's clutch is fixed and he has finally shed some of the excess load he was carrying although there is still room for improvement.

My bike is also substantially lighter  having shed much of the excessive 'extras' that had been fitted to it. All my stuff fits in the panniers with room to spare, with cooking stuff carried in the almost  empty ortlieb bag across the rack.

It took us a while to leave the campsite because as usual, people wanted to come up and chat about where we were going. But that's ok, it's good that they're interested and make the effort. When we finally did escape, a whole posse of kids waved us off. Funny.

It's been about rainy and humid today, even chilly at times. But we didn't ride far anyway, so it was ok. Over the ferry from last night's campsite, along the dirt road again, then onto Gladstone where we  popped into the same place where we'd stopped before Christmas. 

The staff recognised us and wanted to know where we'd been since our first visit. The daphne the postie rocked up on her postie bike, and was stunned to discover that actually, although they are not speed machines, they do go faster than the 60kph that she'd presumed was her top speed. But not much.

After leaving Gladstone, I came very close to getting wiped up. Its the closest call I've had yet, and totally down to the offending driver's inability to drive. A red P plater ( just off learner plates) driving a Honda Jazz overtook  which was fine.........but then cut in so closely and right across me that I had to brake to avoid hitting her rear wing. Fortunately, I was ready for her, having seen her approach in my mirror, but what a dozy tart. I don't think she even realised how close she came. 

 Its easy to assume that cut ups like this happen because people are stuck behind  our slow moving bikes, or because they're just aggy, as that is definitely what would happen in London. But its not the case here at all. On small roads where its hard to pass, we pull into turnouts or onto the shoulder lane to let traffic by, and its never yet caused any hassle. In fact, we get tooted and thanked virtually every time.  

And if we can't we ride in a block so that the 'hazard' is visible and drivers can assess us as one moving block, not a series of things at varying speeds to nip in between. But on these country roads, its down to driver inexperience. The roads are virtually empty, and although most operate the car effectively, the general road sense is appalling and most drivers ( excepting those who drive for work or in busier conditions) don't read the road because they don't have to; they don't get challenged. They drive alone ( as in without other traffic) and so their need to avoid others or assess what problems other drivers might present for them, doesn't get honed. 

Rather than scan the road ahead, identify a hazard, plan their route around it and then do what they have to do smoothly and rationally, so many zoom up, panic and then react. And many of the reactions are well over the top. Its the 'suddenly' factor of accidents; ' suddenly this happened' or 'suddenly that happened'. I heard that one so many times as a cop investigating prangs, yet when you probe what they actually did immediately before hitting whatever they hit, its invariably the same answer; they failed to plan anything and overreacted. Of course, there are occasions when something totally unexpected and unavoidable happens, but they are so rare that they don't feature that often. And that certainly wasn't the case yesterday when the dippy P plater bird did her thing.

But I survived ( again) and made it to Scotts Head where we bought some food and then met a couple,  of which woman knew Nadine's mum. Its a small world sometimes.

And we all know how Australians like to pinch things from other countries and cultures, insist they invented or discovered it and it's 100% Aussie owned/made/ grown/bred or whatever. But this was just a bit too ridiculous....

We found a riverside free camp at Gumma Reserve on Warrell Creek. there were only a few people down there, which was much better than the place in Port McQuarie. 

It had flooded recently though, judging by the wet ground and the river weed on the tracks, and one of the other campers told me that there had been 2 m tides last week. I then got chatting to her and she started telling me about the birds and the fish in the river. She was fishing for bait but not having much luck.

It turned out that she and her husband we there on their own, having been there over Christmas with some of their adult children, the last of whom had left that morning. We spent most of the evening chatting to them and swapping stories, with them telling us local places worth looking at. Again, nice people enjoying the countryside, living as they want.

Opposite is a family with cockatoos in a cage. Always funny what other people pack to go camping but poor old cockatoos; how must they feel? Going back to wild but locked up and carried around. No chance to stretch their wings or start any holiday romance with the local birds. 

And the local birds keep teasing them, flying very close because they can and strutting around on the ground just to rub their freedom in. You can read the body language, even though they are birds; real na na na nah stuff.

Mind you, an Ibis nearly came a cropper, landing on too flimsy a branch high up in a gum tree. It fell out backwards, saved only by its wings. Too many cake crumbs over Christmas I guess. (pics on the other camera and will post them later)

I'm in my tent now, listening to the women of the cockatoo family  chatting about their various prescribed drug addictions. They've clearly down a few beers and are really spilling the beans. It seems that one is a nurse too and pinches stuff out of the drug cupboard, 'just a few at a time, an extra one for each patient so it doesn't show up anywhere'. And they're talking about Tramadol, which they all swear by. Bugger; that's what I had when I broke my shoulder and neck and it did nothing for me, no effect at all, not even pain relief which it was supposed to do. Now I'm feeling rather worryingly dysfunctional.