On arriving at Tullamarine airport from Sydney, I re-assembled my bike and rode Route 1 along the Moonee Ponds cycleway of the Tullamarine to City and Suburbs ride into my reasonably priced overnight accommodation at Ibis Hotel in Little Bourke St near Spencer St Station.  This hotel also has an excellent lock-up for bicycles that is only accessible by staff members or cyclists under staff supervision.  I could have also caught Skybus (see Links on this website), but I wanted to see some of the city, and it was worth the 26 kms ride.  The overnight stay was necessary as the next day's train trip was an early start, and by adopting this plan, I was able to have a look at the Station, book my ticket and find out where I needed to go - all without the rush of peak hour traffic.

The early morning regional train service to Bairnsdale was good.  I loaded my bike, fully laden, into the luggage compartment at the front of the train with the assistance of the staff - nothing was a problem for them!  The train had a cafeteria service with food and drinks as well, although I found the breakfast that I had at one of the shops in Spencer St Station was quite good.  I arrived in Bairnsdale before lunch and was able to find a good bakery as well as a bike shop to purchase chain lube.  This was necessary as it was not allowed to be carried on the flight from Sydney.  I recommend that you carry a container with a screw top for chain lube, and decant it from whatever the local shop has so that it will not leak all over your gear.

The rail trail is hard packed gravel, and an interesting ride through farmland to Bruthen.  Bruthen is a small town with all facilities, including a pub with accommodation (wise to book beforehand) and a sleepy, well kept caravan park.  I camped at the quiet, pleasant Bruthen Caravan Park - Buchan Rd, just over the bridge from the pub.  Everything is within easy walking distance from there.  It had a camp kitchen with an open fireplace, bbq, a communal fridge a microwave oven and tables and chairs under cover.

Rejoin the rail trail where you left it to get to the caravan park.  Recent work done on it's surface significantly improved it's rideability when compared to my experience with it 6 months earlier.  Most of the track is through bushland, with some areas of open farming.  There are some magnificent trestle bridges along the way that have not been used.  This results in some steep descents down to streams and equally steep climbs back up to the track on the other side.  This is particularly so at the Stony Creek bridge.  Food and drink is available at the local store/petrol station at Nowa Nowa with nothing else until Orbost, which is a major regional centre.

There is an abundance of hotels in Orbost, but I camped at Orbost Caravan Park - Lochiel St - on the left as you come into town.  It was close to all facilities and was well maintained and bike friendly.  It has a camp kitchen with an open fireplace, bbq and tables and chairs under cover.

I rode this section on the first day of the April school holidays.  All of the holiday makers were heading east in their 4WD's towing a variety of sizes of boats - which was a slight concern.  The road had a variable shoulder width, but I don't recall feeling in danger at any stage.  There was a cosy friendly pub/coffee shop at Bellbird Creek.  Cann River is a small town with a variety of accommodation facilities, stores, etc.  I camped at the sleepy Cann River Caravan Park - Princes Highway - just before the town.  It was only a matter of walking across the bridge for a short distance to all shops.

I found this to be a great day's riding, although it was a gradual climb.  Traffic over the total day was light.  It traversed open farmlands, bushy river valleys and pine forest plantations to the Monaro and its sheep farming.  There are no water or food stops until Bombala.  It is wise to take additional water along this section, as the continual climbing does increase one's thirst - even on a mild day.

Bombala is a regional town with all facilities, including a number of pubs and a council operated caravan park on the western side of town.  I stayed at Bombala Caravan Park - on the Monaro Hwy adjacent to bridge.  Its amenities were very good, and it was only a short walk to town and the historic railway station.  It had a camp kitchen with a communal fridge, microwave oven and tables and chairs under cover.  The park was unattended, so it was necessary to use the reception office intercom system to the caretaker to obtain the code to access the amenities.

Some day, a government with some foresight will turn the abandoned Bombala-Queanbeyan railway into an excellent rail trail.  It has great potential as a tourist attraction covering about 150 kms and passing through historic Nimmitabel and Cooma.

This was an interesting ride to the small township of Nimmitabel.  There is no food/drink until Nimmitabel, and it has a limited supply at its general store.  There are a number of pubs and a camping area on the northern side of town - a short walk to the limited facilities.  Sadly, the number of closed businesses and "for sale" signs in the main street suggests that the town may be dying.  It is worthwhile spending time and having a wander around the backstreets and historic buildings of the town.

I stayed at Nimmitabel Camping & Caravan Park, which was unattended and had no other campers.  To obtain keys to the amenities, it is necessary to phone the caretaker on the number shown on the amenities block.  Do not count on being able to have an evening meal of any sort in the town.  They are not served every night.

It is wise to stock up with food at Cooma as the facilities at Bredbo are basic, and there is nothing at the Colinton other than the good clean rest area with clean enviro toilets (bring your own toilet paper just in case), a tank that claims that its water is not fit for drinking, and a few tables and seats under shelters.  Cooma is a major rural centre.  If you would prefer to stay in a bed overnight, there is a pub with accommodation at Bredbo.  Bredbo is the last place to get potable water until Michelago.

I shared the rest area on the western side of the highway with a few people in motor homes.  I was able to secrete my tent behind some shrubby trees and have it partly hidden behind some of the tables and chairs under one of the shelters.  I also brought food that was hydrated and needed no cooking so that I did not have to use water for cooking and cleaning up afterwards.

I found this to be a great day's riding until I met the traffic of the ACT heading into Canberra and to Queanbeyan.  When I left the Monaro Highway in ACT to cross into NSW, the road shoulder largely disappeared, and the drivers seemed to become more intent on travelling as close to me as possible.  This was only a problem for a few kilometres.

The roadhouse at Michelago had a reasonable range of food for snacks, and it served caffeine. 

Queanbeyan is a large regional city.  It had a number of cycleways that are worthwhile wandering along for a few hours to see some of the sights of the city and along the river.  I stayed at Queanbeyan Riverside Tourist Park - 41A Morrisett St - 200m E of PO.  It was close to facilities, clean and quiet.

It was blowing a strong cross/headwind for much of the day that I did this trip.  Despite that, I enjoyed the ride.  The bakery at Bungendore is a "must stop".  Tarago is a small village with a pub, garage/store and railway station.  I have stayed at the Loaded Dog Hotel there before, and it was a pleasant family operated pub with good food.  On that instance, we were able to lock our bikes up in the pub's laundry.

After leaving Tarago, the road to Bungonia is gravel for about 35+ kms.  I found it to be generally loose gravel, but not large stones, so it was not too difficult, and certainly worth the detour.

Do not expect to find anything at Bungonia other than houses, a community hall, fire station, tennis courts and a small park that has no toilets.  There is camping (showers and toilets) to the south of the village at Windellama.  Taking that into consideration, you may choose to ride from Tarago to Windellama via Sandy Point, which is shown as being mostly bitumen on recent NRMA maps, camp there and then ride through Bungonia to Moss Vale the next day.  There is also camping 11 kms to the east at the Bungonia State Recreation Area.  I was fortunate to have been shown some real country hospitality and generously accommodated in Bungonia for the night by a local couple.  It may be possible to camp adjacent to the community hall, fire station or the tennis courts. See if the locals can arrange for you to use the facilities there without upsetting anyone.  I found everyone that I met in this village to be friendly and helpful country people.

The early morning ride to the roadhouses at Marulan was through undulating farming country.  At Marulan, I joined the Hume Highway through to the turn to Sutton Forest.  The highway has a wide shoulder, but the continuous stream of noisy heavy transport does wear a bit thin after a while.

Moss Vale is a large town and has all facilities.  I camped at the well appointed Moss Vale Village Caravan Park - Willow Dr - 2k S of PO.  It had a camp kitchen with a bbq, a communal fridge and tables and chairs under cover.  There is a small shopping centre not far from it, or you can take a leisurely stroll into the town to buy food.

I have travelled much of this route several times, and always enjoyed it.  I have avoided taking the Illawarra Highway out of Moss Vale, instead, turning east at the first intersection to the right after the rail underpass.  This road travels towards Bundanoon and Kangaroo Valley.

Robertson is blessed with a bakery on the western side of town and its well known pie shop on the eastern end, just near the turn to Jamberoo Pass.  The ride to Jamberoo Pass is through varied bushland and open farmland along a relatively quiet road.  The view over the coast from the lookout at the top of the Pass is magnificent.  Be prepared for the great brake smoking descent with its S curves down to the tourist town of Jamberoo.

The 4 kms from the Princes Highway into Shellharbour is not too bike friendly, with variable road shoulders and high volumes of traffic all in a hurry.  Shellharbour is a pretty tourist town that serves the dormitory suburb for Port Kembla/Wollongong.  It has numerous eating places but, surprisingly the supermarkets are only small.  I camped at Shellharbour Beachside Tourist Park - 61 John St - 1k S of PO - along the foreshore.

The main road from Shellharbour to Port Kembla is normally quite busy with fast flowing traffic.  It generally is not very bike friendly, but this is compensated for by the presence of an off road cycleway - mainly on the eastern side of the road.  There is a short 2 km section at Warrawong where it is non existent and a bit "hairy" until reaching the T-intersection with Five Islands Rd at Port Kembla North, adjacent to the railway station at 14 kms.  At this intersection, cross to the northern side of the road to join up with the off road cycleway that will take you almost all of the way around the city of Wollongong to Thirroul.  On my trip, I carried on from there to Coalcliff, but I do not recommend it as it is hilly along a narrow winding road, and the Coalcliff station has very steep stairs to access the platform.  The rewards are nowhere near being worth the effort in riding through to Coalcliff.

The trains from Thirroul are interurban to Sydney Central Station.  From there, you will be able to connect with a Central Coast/Newcastle train to Woy Woy.  Check the CityRail timetables via the Links on this site.  The NSW trains are nowhere near as bike friendly as those in Victoria.  Read Tips on NSW rail travel on this website.

At Woy Woy, the off road cycleway is on the eastern side of the road, about 500m north of the railway station.  This will take you almost through to Gosford.  Wyoming is a few kms north of Gosford and has a number of motels, pub, caravan park and a nearby shopping centre.  I stayed at the Wyoming Caravan Park, just north of a major roundabout and opposite the shopping centre.

This day requires some navigation, as it follows some routes which are poorly signposted, if at all - a GPS would be very helpful here.  It joins a short unmade track just north of the caravan park - almost opposite Renwick St - to cross under the railway and link with an off road cycleway through to the road to Narara.  At Ourimbah, it is necessary to turn across the overhead bridge (9 kms) towards the University campus and on to Berkeley Vale.  Cross over Wyong Rd at the major roundabout and take the first turn to the right (16 kms) and follow it for a few hundred metres to join up with the off road cycleway that will take you to The Entrance.  There are some short sections that hop on and off quiet roads, but generally follow the lake foreshore.

There are numerous attractions at The Entrance.  When leaving there, take the western off road cycleway across the bridge and that will extend 2 kms north of the bridge.  The road through to Noraville, although busy, generally has good road shoulders.  At Noraville, join the off road cycleway on the western side of the road (39 kms) that will take you through bushland to Budgewoi.  The T-intersection at the roundabout to Ourringo Rd (42 kms) turns towards Elizabeth Bay.  Follow Elizabeth Bay Rd to Pacific Highway and turn right (49 kms).  Remain on the Pacific Highway to Belmont.  As you climb the hill into Belmont, take the turn to the left that wraps around the Gunyah Hotel.  Then, after a short distance take a right turn into Gen St, crossing the Pacific Highway at the traffic lights.  This short descent will take you to the start of the  Fernleigh Track.  (The route can be easily seen on map attached to the 30K around Newcastle Routes.)  This off road former rail line will take you through to Adamstown Railway Station (87 kms).  At the railway gates, turn right into Glebe Rd, and then after a few hundred metres left into Teralba Rd.  After about 1 km turn right into Melville Rd and follow the bicycle signs painted on the road marking "Fernleigh Track / Coastline Cycleway".  This will bring you into the major part of the city of Newcastle.  From there, you can extend your trip by linking up with some of the other routes included on this site, or you can head home.  For those extending their trip, take the ferry across the Harbour to Stockton where you will find a nice caravan park beside the beach and adjacent to the breakwater.

Newcastle is serviced by rail services from CityRail and CountryLink, as well as domestic airline services from Williamtown and interstate bus lines.  Use the Links page information to connect for current timetable information.  If you intend to fly from Williamtown, it is a pleasant ride of about 15 kms.  Catch the Stockton Ferry across the harbour and travel north through Fern Bay.  Turn left onto the quieter Fullerton Cove Rd after about 7 kms, where you will eventually rejoin the Nelson Bay Rd to Williamtown.  Bike boxes are usually available at the airline terminal - phone beforehand to ensure that they do have them.