I did this trip in November, which meant early starts to avoid the heat and late afternoon thunderstorms.  It could be done at other times of the year with appropriate clothing/bedding for the temperatures, but I think that it would be unwise to travel during the heat of summer.  It is a ride where you will need plenty of insect repellent during the warmer months - the flies are very friendly over the ranges.  There are also a number of days which involved walking up some of the steeper roads, so it is also wise to carry a good supply of bandaids to use in case of blisters.

The roads are a mix of gravel and bitumen with a few nights of rough camping along the way.  The distances shown for each day represent those plotted using GPS tracks.  In the case of this trip, some of the distances did vary from these points due to the effect of winding roads and the track points being only measured about every 100m or so.  Where there may be a larger variance from these results, I have noted my bike computer's distance in the body of the text.  The distances shown on the profiles represent the GPS measurements.

Climate

The following climate statistics are for the weather station at Walcha.  For more information on this location, including wind roses, go to "Climate Statistics for Australian Locations" on the Links page.  You can also obtain similar details from other locations enroute from that site.

Itinerary
Towns listed below that have distances marked ( ) are those where food/drink is expected/known and those marked [ ] are points of interest

It is possible to catch an afternoon CityRail Hunter Line train to Muswellbrook to get an early start the next day, or catch the early morning train as I did.  There are also CountryLink rail services to Muswellbrook.  Check for track work and timetables on the Links page.  Accommodation in Muswellbrook can be a problem if mines or power stations are doing a maintenance shutdown, so pre-booking could be a wise consideration.  The Riverside Cabin & Van Park, Mill St - is 300m S of PO and close to the railway station.

The main street of Muswellbrook is not at all bike friendly.  When travelling from the railway station, go west and straight through the roundabout on the main street.  This will bring you to a carpark.  Ride through it and take the left turn across the railway line then take the next turn to the right and travel along the roads heading north closest to the railway.  After a kilometre or so, you will be able to cross the pick-a-plank one lane bridge and ride the quiet back road to Scone.  We stopped for lunch in the park at Scone and did all of the shopping that we needed for the rest of the day at the local supermarket.

The highway north of Scone is generally OK for cycling.  Although it is relatively busy with trucks and high speed traffic, the road shoulder is usually wide enough to provide a comfortable separation from other vehicles. 

Wingen is a village that seems to only have a pub to serve quite a few homes - we did not find any other shops.  There is a showground where it would be possible to camp.  It was a bit overgrown when we were there, so we camped in the back yard of the Durham Hotel on the southern side of the village.  They also had cabins available, as well as serving a variety of good counter meals of an evening.  We found the hospitality to be very good.

The highway to Murrurrundi is a continuing climb that can be broken for food/drink stops at either Blandford or Murrurrundi itself.  As we had left Wingen before 7am, there was little open at Murrurrundi, but we managed to get a nice coffee at the cafe adjacent to the Visitor Information Centre on the western side of town.  We found that the road shoulder on the climb over the Murrurndi Gap was good and wide and the descent towards Willow Tree was a hoot.  Notice how slowly the coal trains climb up the mountain to Ardglen from Willow Tree.

At Willow Tree, we left the New England Highway and joined the narrower and less busy Kamilaroi Highway through to Quirindi.  Quirindi is a regional centre with all of the usual facilities.  We camped at the Quirindi Caravan Park at 24 Rose St - <1km E of PO.  It had a bbq and table/chairs under shelter.

We left before 7am to avoid the heat and some of the traffic.  By the time we arrived in Werris Creek, the traffic volume increased and continued to do so through to Tamworth.  The road was narrow enough to mean that we were vigilant on what was coming up behind us, and whether there was likely to be oncoming traffic at the same time.

Werris Creek is a small town that is a major railway junction.  It seems to have only a main street of shops that is next to the railway line.  Currabubula is a village with a general store/fuel stop.

Tamworth is reputedly the Country Music Capital of Australia.  It is a large regional centre with all of the facilities of a popular and busy centre.  It is worthwhile spending some time looking around the area.  The Paradise Caravan Park in Peel St - 1k S of PO - is handy to most centres.  Tamworth is also serviced by a regional airline service, a few kms west of the town.

The Waler Light Horse Statue shown on the left is in the riverside park in Tamworth.  It is a memorial to those ANZACs who served in the Boer, Sudan and First World Wars.  There were some 500,000 light horses, heavy horses, mules and donkeys sent to India, South Africa and the Middle East in the three overseas conflicts, with only one coming home.

The Waler would have carried up to 130kg of arms and equipment in Egypt during the First World War - makes the 25kgs on our bikes look insignificant!

The Waler horse was so named because most of them came from New South Wales.  It derived its heritage from the stock horses used on cattle and sheep stations.  They were renowned for their temperament, durability and their ability to cope with the terrible conditions and situations in which they found themselves in the midst of battle.  The Australian horses sent to war earned the respect of soldiers around the world.

Take the riverside cycleway west along the levee bank out of Tamworth to avoid any of the city.

Attunga is the only village between Tamworth and Manilla, and it has a store/fuel stop.

Manilla is a regional town with most facilities.  Purchase all supplies before riding 2kms east to Manilla River Gums Caravan Park, 86 Strafford St.  It has an enclosed camp kitchen with stove, microwave, communal fridge and tables and chairs.  There is also a courtesy bus that regularly collects campers and takes them to the local club.

There is no food or water available on the next day's route, so it will be necessary to carry sufficient to get through. 

On the day that we travelled this leg, it became quite hot, and although the distance may appear to be a relatively easy one, we found it to be quite hard.  We carried about 3 litres of water and it was only just enough.  The road is bitumen for the first 24kms and gravel for the remaining distance to Bendemeer.  We walked for several kilometres up the tough climb to the peak of the range at about 53kms.  While the downhill into Bendemeer was a welcome respite, one still needed to be careful on the gravel road.

Bendemeer is a small town with a store and a pub.  The pub was quite popular on the weekend and served a good variety of counter meals.  We camped at Riverside Rest Caravan Park, Havana St, which was a couple of hundred metres up the hill to the east of the pub.  There is also free camping available at the local showground, but there are no showers.

The pub at Walcha Road is about 1km off the highway to Walcha.  There is a nice park beside the river at the turn off to the pub, but without toilets or water. 

Walcha is a former regional timber town with most facilities.  We were warned by the locals to always bring warm clothes when visiting Walcha.  This was borne out when it was hit by some unseasonably cold weather in November.  I had neglected to pack a warm jumper for riding in, so I visited the local Salvo's and was able to pick up a $2 jacket that served me well for the rest of the trip.  We stayed at Walcha Caravan Park, 113N Middle St - 1km E of PO.  There is a communal fridge, stove and microwave in their camp kitchen, as well as tables and chairs.  The camp store also had limited supplies.

I strongly recommend that you arrange to do Days 7 and 8 midweek, thereby avoiding the motorbikes who ride this area on weekends and love these winding roads.  They would most likely want the same line of road that you will. 

There is no food until Gingers Creek Resort.

We stopped at Apsley Falls for an hour or so to view the falls and the gorge.  Camping is allowed at the Falls and the park has its own dedicated camping area with toilets and water.  It is worthwhile spending some time here, and if you chose, you could stay overnight to enable you to do some of the walks along the gorge.

There is a general store at Gingers Creek Resort, but it is closed on Tuesdays and its range of supplies is limited, but you can get takeaway meals there.  It also closes at 5pm.  We camped at Gingers Creek Resort - which is a "resort" in name only.  It had some basic cabin and bunkhouse accommodation, as well as showers and toilets.  It seemed to do a lot of business with bikie groups who come for the weekend to ride up and down the mountain.  If you chose not to stay there, there is also a campsite 1km just east of Gingers Creek Store at Stockyard Creek Rest Area.  It has toilets, tables and chairs under shelter, but the water is marked as unfit for drinking.  Carry some salt at either location in case of leeches.

My bike computer recorded this day's distance as being 82kms.

We left before 7am to avoid traffic going down the mountain.  As it was, I can only recall a motorbike and a car passing me as we braked and coasted our way downhill for 14-15kms.

We arrived at Long Flat in time for an early coffee at the busy general store/takeaway/fuel stop.  There is also a pub at Long Flat, but it did not look like it provided accommodation.  I recommend replenishing water bottles here, and carrying extra for the next stage of the day's trip.

The 10kms of gravel road from the locality of Bagnoo to near the start of the climb to Comboyne was lots of ups and downs - more than appear evident on the profiles.  This is to be expected in foothills.  From about 66kms (indicated on profile), we started our climb in earnest on bitumen.  We pushed our bikes up the mountain for the next 6+ kms gaining about 500m, and it was hot, hard work.  Bandaids were used to help minimise blisters, and at about 75kms (indicated on my bike computer and shown at about 71kms on the profile), we pulled off the road to a rest area with sheltered tables and chairs called The Elbows Comboyne Mountain Park.  We rested there for about 45 minutes before heading off to finish the climb up the mountain.

Comboyne has a general store/takeaway/fuel stop, as well as a cafe that closes around 4pm, and an Ex-Servicemens Club that serves meals on Friday and Saturday evenings.  We camped at the local showground and utilised its showers and toilets.  There were other campers there, so the amenities were not locked, and no one came to collect any fees.  If the amenities are locked, ask at the store as to where to obtain the key.  There was no pub or other accommodation apparent in the town.

This was a tough day.

The gravel starts at Comboyne and continues for about 18kms.  The ride down the mountain was on good gravel that started out wide enough for 2 cars to pass, and then it narrowed to a single lane road for most of the way downhill.  The road traversed beautiful tropical rainforests and steep escarpments.  While the road was in good condition, our average speed to the bottom was only 11kph due to the steep winding course of the road.  We had to rest frequently to give our hands a rest from holding onto the brakes.  I would encourage the use of a GPS or some good maps and navigational aids for this section of the trip as there are a number of bush tracks that lead off the main one, and it would be easy to take the wrong one - we nearly did a couple of times, even with a GPS.

Lansdowne has a general store with limited supplies.

Cundletown is a satellite of Taree and has takeaways, eateries and a variety of accommodation.  The general store is a fair walk from the camping area, being about 2kms to the east down a side street from the local service station, so we shopped before heading to camp.  We camped at Dawson River Caravan Park, 1 Manning River Dr - 5km N of Taree PO.  The camp has a number of kitchens with stove, bbq, microwave, community fridge, TV, and under cover tables and chairs.

Even though this is a relatively short distance with a large downhill component, we found this to be a tiring day.  It could have been fatigue from the previous day, or the downhill where we spent a lot of time out of the saddle and braking, the head winds, or a mixture of all of these.

The road shoulder on the Pacific Highway through to Rainbow Flat had plenty of width and bike friendly.  However, that cannot be said of the Lakes Way from there to Sandbar turn-off.  It had a variable width ranging from nothing to a wide shoulder with rough patches in places.  Given that this is a busy tourist road, increased care needs to be taken along here.  We travelled this road early on a Sunday morning, so we would expect midweek traffic to be much worse.

At Tuncurry-Forster, take the off road cycleway across the bridge.

The towns in this section of the route are tourist towns and have a wide variety of food and accommodation available.  There are a number of caravan parks between Tuncurry and Pacific Palms and Blueys Beach.  We rode a little further along about 4kms of gravel and camped at Sandbar Caravan Park, 3434 The Lakes Way - 6km SE of PO.  The entrance to the caravan park road is not conspicuously signposted.  Purchase all supplies for the next day at or before Blueys Beach as there are only limited supplies at the caravan park.

There are limited supplies at Bungwahl.  There is a coffee shop/takeaway and it was a good stopping point, but it was closed as we rode through there before 8am.  There is no potable water from Bungwahl to Hawks Nest.  After Bungwahl, take a gravel/dirt/sand road through the Myall Lakes National Park on the right at 16kms.  It is blocked by an NPWS locked gate at both ends, but walkers and cyclists are OK to use it.    Allow about 2 hours for travelling this section of road.  It can be rough and/or waterlogged, depending upon recent weather and when it was last maintained.   It is maintained (some would say not maintained) by NPWS.  Check with the Great Lakes office of NPWS on Links page for the current status.  We found the first 10kms to be in good rideable condition.  At about 26kms, take the Old Gibber Track.  The first 4kms are loose sand, which may be rideable if you have wide tyres, but I found it easier to push my bike with its 700x32 tyres rather than the on/swear/off ballet.  The remainder of the Old Gibber Track was good rideable fine gravel to near the Bombah Point ferry at about 36kms.  If you need food or water, take the road to the right for a short distance to Myall Shores Resort for very limited supplies.  From Bombah Point, the road is bitumen to Hawks Nest.

Hawks Nest is a tourist town with all types of food and accommodation.  We camped at Hawks Nest Beach Caravan Park, Booner St - 1km E of PO - which has minimum booking periods at holiday times and is quite busy then.

Food and drink is available every 20kms or so.  We bypassed Karuah along a new section of the Pacific Highway with its good road shoulders, however, if you ride through there, it only adds about 1km to the day's distance.  Beyond Medowie, at 53kms the road crosses Richardson Road.

To avoid some of the high speed traffic after Williamtown, take Fullerton Cove Road at about 59kms.  It rejoins the Nelson Bay Road after about 5kms.

At Stockton, accommodation is available in pubs or the caravan park on the beach near the harbour breakwater.  Otherwise, catch the ferry across the harbour to Newcastle.  From the ferry terminal, it is only a short distance to Newcastle railway station.

Newcastle services for CityRail, CountryLink and domestic airlines can be found using the Links page information.