We did this tour in September/October and travelled on secondary roads as much as possible, with about 1/3 of the trip over good gravel roads.  This is definitely a ride that I will do again.  It covered a wide range of countryside, from the farmlands and forests of the New England tablelands to those of the coast.  We were also fortunate enough to have seen whales returning from their northern migration.  Seeing the newborn farm animals, as well as the bird life also added to the enjoyment of the trip.

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

I caught an early morning train from Newcastle to Muswellbrook.  Visit the CityRail website for the Hunter Line on the Links page to check the timetable and for trackwork.  My touring companions chose to start a few days earlier and rode to Muswellbrook via Freemans Waterhole, Cessnock and Jerrys Plains.

This was a short day due to my mid morning arrival at Muswellbrook.  The main street of Muswellbrook is not very bike friendly as it is a busy regional centre with heavy trucks travelling the New England Highway.  It is possible to avoid that by taking the back streets adjacent to the railway on the western side of town.  There are limited supplies at Gundy, so it is wise to stock up at Muswellbrook if you have not brought supplies with you.  The back road through Kayuga is quiet with occasional farm and mine traffic.  We stopped for an early lunch at the park at Aberdeen.  There are a few shops in the small town.

Gundy has a pub and a general store/takeaway/fuel stop.  We camped at the local showground, which had shelter, a kitchen, water, showers and toilets.  It is necessary to book this beforehand with the friendly staff at the Gundy General Store.  This is to ensure that there are no events on at the showground that may prevent you from camping there, and that the hot water for showers is available.  This is the photo of its amenities block, including the camp kitchen.

Most of this day's ride was along a good gravel road through a mix of farms and forests.  Timor is a locality with a few scattered houses and the local tennis courts.  We were able to get water there as the local tennis set were having one of their match days.  There are no other facilities until Nundle.  After about 52kms, the most memorable climbing of the trip starts in earnest.  With an average gradient of nearly 8%, I walked some of the 4kms climb to the top of the range at 57kms, where we were able to rest in a clearing before the enjoyable descent to Nundle.

Nundle is a town with a number of pubs and general store, as well as the caravan park on the northern side of town.  One of the interests for the area is prospecting, and there are a number of opportunities to head bush and try your hand at prospecting in the area.

The ride to Kootingal was reasonably easy, with a gradual downhill run.  Woolomin and Dungowan both had small general stores/fuel.  The countryside was picturesque and the views over Chaffey Dam, just past Bowling Alley Point, were great.  It is only a short detour into Nemingha or Tamworth from the turn towards Kootingal at 51kms.

Kootingal is a town with a supermarket, pharmacy, pubs and a couple of caravan parks.  We camped at Kootingal Country Caravan Park - 2 Chelmsford St - 1k W of the supermarket.  It had a good restaurant and kitchen facilities.  The camp was uphill, so it is wise to shop beforehand at the supermarket.

There was no food stop along the road until taking a detour in to the pub at Walcha Road.  The road was 25kms of gravel from Limbri and was quite scenic travelling through hillside farming areas.  Some of the cattle were unfenced, and we had a few of them run alongside us for some distance.  The railway to Armidale is often a part of the scene with the occasional crossing and train.

Walcha is a regional town, and has supermarkets, pubs, etc.  We stayed at Walcha Caravan Park, 113N Middle Street - 1km NE of PO - which had some good camp kitchen facilities, including a stove, a communal fridge and microwave as well as tables and chairs under cover.

The road to Uralla was generally moderately busy with all types of transport and plenty of grey nomads.  Uralla is a regional town with the expected facilities.

Armidale is the university capital of the New England and is a large city.  We stayed in a cabin at Pembroke Tourist and Leisure Park, 39 Waterfall Way - 1.5km E of PO - due to impending bad weather.  It is best to purchase supplies in the city before heading to the camp.

We rode this section in rain showers with a strong 3/4 tail/cross wind.  Fortunately it was not cold.  We carried sufficient supplies to last us through to Dorrigo as we were not expecting much to be available at Ebor, and that proved correct.  Nor had we known about the general store at Wollomombi - off the main road a couple of kilometres east of the turn to the Falls.

The camp at Wollomombi Falls is a part of the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park.  It only had pit toilets and water available.  The views of the Falls and its river valley are impressive.  For those interested in bush walking, there are ample opportunities to have a wander.

This was another day of riding with a strong cross wind.  Take a ride in to the falls just before Ebor to have a look at them.  They form a part of the Waterfall Way.

We arrived at the Ebor pub where we had booked dormitory accommodation.  They also allow camping at the back, but if you do, make sure that you get a key to enable you to access toilets when the pub is closed.  We were told that it can get down to minus 17^oC, and having seen the frost on the grass the next morning, we believed it.  We were able to get a hot meal at the pub that evening, but there is also a takeaway/store/petrol at the eastern side of the village.

This was a great day's ride through some picturesque farmland and bushland, with plenty of birdlife near Tyringham.  There is a general store at Tyringham, but we did not see it as we turned off a little distance from the village to head towards Dorrigo.

Dorrigo is a major town at the top of the range.  Supermarkets, pubs and a caravan park are in the town.  We passed a railway museum at the northern end of Dorrigo.  It did not appear to be open on the day that we travelled, but it seems to have a large range of railway rolling stock.  It is also worthwhile having a look in one of the irreverent shop windows on one of the side streets on the southern side of the main street - possibly Hickey Street.  We camped at Dorrigo Mountain Resort, Waterfall Way - 1.5km E of PO.  It is best to get supplies in the town before making your way up the hill to the camping area.

We started the descent down Dorrigo mountain early to try to avoid busy traffic.  It was a great 10-12km ride.  We arrived at the large town of Bellingen and found a good bakery for coffee and cake to talk about the ride down the hill.  Bellingen is a bit touristy and alternate lifestyle as well.

The gravel road over the range starts at about 35kms and ends after 12-13kms not far from Bowraville.  Bowraville has a few pubs, takeaways and supermarkets.

The road to Macksville follows the Nambucca River.  Macksville is a regional centre with most facilities.  We stayed at Nambucca River Tourist Park, 999 Nursery Rd - 3km N of Macksville.  From the PO, cross the bridge on the western footpath. A cycle path curls back under the bridge and follows the river downstream along Bellevue Drive. A footbridge takes you to Nursery Rd and the caravan park.  Shop in Macksville before going to the caravan park.

We were pleased to get off the Pacific Highway after 6kms and head towards Scotts Head and Stuarts Point.  Stuarts Point has a store/takeaway/fuel stop with limited food supplies.  We found this day to be a bit frustrating as we were continually working to regain height lost on some short sharp hills.  When we rejoined the highway at 33kms, we found the road shoulder to be OK, but there was still the continual roar of trucks and traffic.  There was a roadhouse at Clybucca at 45kms.

South West Rocks is a tourist town, so pre-booked accommodation is a necessity during holiday periods.  We stayed at Horseshoe Bay Beach Park - Livingstone St - 100m E of PO.  There are a number of walks and the Trial Bay Gaol to visit.

We rode this section into gale force winds.  We did not get any respite from these winds until we got away from the flat, clear dairy pastures and were into the bushland at about 35kms  Gladstone is a small village with a fruit shop, pub and takeaway.

Crescent Head is a dormitory suburb of Kempsey, but mainly a sleepy tourist town.  It has takeaways, a pub, supermarket and caravan park.  We camped at the Crescent Head Holiday Park, Pacific St - 400m E of PO and on the popular beachfront.  Bookings are required in holiday periods.  The Country Club over the road also serves meals.  If you are keen, you could have a hit on their "interesting" six hole golf course on the side of the hill.

After 4kms riding, we joined the Maria River Rd.  It was gravel through to 33kms and consisted of riverflat farmlands.  There was no food or drink until the ferry at Settlement Point.  From there into the busy tourist resort of Port Macquarie, there are supermarkets, pubs, etc.  We stayed at Sundowner Breakwall Tourist Park, 1 Munster St - 200m N of PO.

The road from Port Macquarie to Laurieton was busy with tourist traffic, but apart from a few places coming out of Port, we were not effected to any great extent by it.  The road was OK.  There are a number of tourist towns on the way through with plenty of opportunity to graze along the way should you get hunger pangs.

At Laurieton, take the turn at 33kms towards Dunbogan.  After 2kms, take the turn to the right after the bridge to head towards Crowdy Head.  At about 40kms the gravel road will start and continue through to Crowdy Head.  The sign at the left turn to Crowdy Head was well hidden at 54kms.

Harrington is a popular tourist fishing village with supermarket, pub and caravan parks.  We camped at the Oxley Anchorage Caravan Park - 71 Beach St - 800m W of PO.  It had a good undercover kitchen with communal fridges and barbeques.  Booking would be wise in holiday periods.

We had arranged to be ferried across the Manning River by the owner of Manning Point Marina.  We had to phone several days in advance to organise this, and he came across in his tinnie and took us across to Manning Point.  If you wanted an early start, it would be best to arrange to be ferried across to Manning Point at the end of Day 13.  Manning Point has a general store/takeaway with limited supplies and a nice caravan park.

This was a pleasant day's ride.  We stopped at Tinonee for morning tea at the local store.  There was nothing else until Krambach.

Krambach is a small town with a pub and a takeaway/store/fuel stop.  We rough camped  behind the toilet block at the baths next to the pub.  There were a couple of tables and chairs under shelter nearby.  There was a bit of a slope, but it did not cause any undue problems.

The gravel road through the farmlands and timbered country started at about 12kms and rejoined the bitumen at 31kms.  Lovely country!

Bulahdelah is a regional town and has pubs, supermarkets, etc.  Try the bakery.

We rode along the Pacific Highway to Karuah, and, although it was noisy, the road shoulder was OK.  Karuah had general stores, etc.  We camped at Karuah Caravan Park, on the main road through the town and south of the bridge.

The road shoulders along the Highway were good until we turned towards Medowie at about 13kms.  There are toilets and shelters at that turnoff, but no potable water.  From there the road shoulder was OK and traffic was only light.

Medowie has a pub, supermarket, bakery and coffee shop.  Try the bakery, but it is closed on Sundays.

The road between the Richardson Rd roundabout and Nelson Bay Rd roundabout is not bike friendly, particularly where it passes the RAAF Base at Williamtown (28kms).  If you are interested when passing RAAF Base, a visit to Fighter World is worthwhile, and it also has food and coffee onsite.

If you intend to catch a flight home, the turn to the Williamtown Airport is at about 30kms.  It is serviced by VirginBlue and JetStar.  Use Links to view their schedules and destinations.

After the Williamtown roundabout, take the right turn along Fullerton Cove Rd at 32kms.  It is quieter, safer, more interesting and keeps you away from the busy main road for 5kms.

At Stockton, you could camp, stay in a pub or catch the ferry across the harbour to Newcastle and then make your way home.

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.