Ride to Recovery ( Australian High Country )

[andrew2]

It was still raining so The Pinnacles would have to wait.I always look at it as an omen or guardian spirit looking after me.There's always tomorrow:thumb.Onward to my happy place,Dargo, and Ollies jump up for the night.Looks like a I'll be sleeping with the pitter/patter of rain tonight.Cool:thumb


After setting up camp I thought I would take a walk and look for some wildlife.This area took a pounding with the fires and probably had the least amount of wildlife of the whole trip.At least the Kookaburras kept a smile on my face every sunset and sunrise.

Because of the overcast conditions I could'nt lay down and look at the stars so it looked like an early night.I got a bit of a surprise the next morning though.This definately was'nt there last night.

It must have fallen down through the night and missed my tent by 7m.I did'nt hear a thing:eek1

 

[andrew2]

The showers had eased the next day so I packed up early as I wanted to check out the Crooked River Rd before meeting up with Ian and Nev around lunch time.
The Crooked River Rd is a wonderful scenic ride.I wanted to ride to the bottom of Billy Goat Bluff but stopped when I came to some road works.A nice ride all the same.

I got back to Dargo and hardly had time to put the bike on the centrestand when the boys pulled up.I had'nt seen Nev or the tent bitch:viking :rofl for a while and was good to catch up again.We saddled up and headed back to Jonses Rd and on to Swifts Creek.

 

[andrew2]

15 kms past the Birregun turnoff we were met by a river but no bridge.It must have been washed away by floods.After a bit of thought I decided I would give it a go if the boys were prepared to catch me if I tossed it away (not much of a river crosser),they were'nt so I did'nt.It was getting late and I did'nt feel much like taking a chance and possibly having to de-water the big girl,but not before Ian had a go.He made it look fairly easy and I was half impressed..

...until he bogged himself on the far shore:rofl

 

[andrew2]

Where was I.The water crossing.Ian finally got himself unstuck so Nev and I waited with cameras ready for the return ride.Unfortunately...I mean fortunately he made it withot incident.We backtracked to the Birregun Rd turnoff.It sure seemed to take a lot less time than it did to get to the river.Ian and Nev had never done this road before and although I had only a week previous,it's a road you can do often and not get bored on.Next stop Mt Birregun.

Light was fading so we bolted to our camp for the night,The Dogs Grave.

Now I've had the odd person tell me I snore but of course I don't believe them(I've never heard it) but I was getting a bit concerned when the guys would'nt let me put my tent up next to them.

The track in.

Not long after retiring it started to rain.Thank goodness I bought that tarp at Dargo as my tent leaked badly.Something I had'nt noticed before because of the drought.It's been a while since I've camped in the rain.One other thing I noticed,my sleeping bag has lost it's warming qualities.It was rated to -8 but now it would be lucky to be +5.Needless to say I froze.A new sleeping bag will be on the list when I hit Melbourne for the World Superbikes in a weeks time.
The next day was overcast with the boys a little worried as they had dual purpose tyres on,but their worries were ill founded as the dirt was nice and grippy.
Coming to the end of BirregunRd.

Only a short distance to Omeo and fuel from here.

 

[andrew2]

Our destination was Corryong,Tintaldra to meet up with some ADVers and pick up "The Pudding" then back down to Geehi for the night.The Benambra/Corryong Rd is brilliant.I particularly enjoyed the southern end but the whole road in general is great.A little bit of tar at the southern end before the fun started.

All that's left of a Doctors house from the 1800s.

We were looking for a place for lunch and passed a large open paddock on our left a few kms back so it was decided to backtrack.What a terrific spot for lunch,quiet,secluded and a river for the kids to play in.

It's amazing how much weight a thin piece of rope can hold...unfortunately.

 

[andrew2]

We had lunch on the remains of the old house with an old couple who must have thought this was a great place also.The only downside were Blackberry bushes with plenty of fruit on them which i believe was,a little later,to play havock on the tummies of the 2 kids I had with me.I'm glad I did'nt eat many.

It was with great effort that we put our gear on and got back on the bikes.We could have easily put our tents up right there and just chill out but it was only midday and th guys only had 3 days to get as much riding in as possible.
Further along the road.

A stop in Coryong to pick up some supplies then on to Tintaldra.

 

[andrew2]

I did'nt take any photos of The Horizons Meeting at Tintaldra so I've pinched some of S2W's ordinary type photos:rofl .Hi Stevie:wave

Oh,and one of Stevie before I took the Pudding off him.

 

[andrew2]

We only stayed at Tintaldra for an hour or so as they were a rough looking bunch and "The tent bitch" was getting a little worried so onward to Geehi for the night.
As you can see I was made to camp away from the others again:nod.

This little fella was very friendly.In fact he ended up eating the best part of an apple.

The Pudding is now protected by a Kangaroo skin cover..

....as well as it's resin skin

Boy has this thing done some miles and to be honest I was glad to pass it on after taking it for a ride.This thing has legendary status and I did'nt want to be the one to lose it:shog

 

[andrew2]

We had a great night chatting and laughing and as with any good company the time flew and it was time to hit the sack.I decided not to leave with Ian and Nev the next day as I wanted to kick back for a another day before moving on.I'd meet up with them in Melbourne in 4 or 5 days for the Superbikes anyway.Thanks for the good company guys:thumb.

I did some washing and relaxing the next day.This is pretty much how I was too.

Got talking to a nice couple who camped next to us the previous night.Turns out they're ADVriders also,small world.Also found out that the wild dogs that were howling the night before were in fact Dingos so I slept a little better that night:rofl.
The river behind my tent.

The old air strip.

Only a short walk to the river.

Did I mention I like rivers and creeks:thumb

 

[andrew2]

Some of my friends for the day.

It took me ages to inch towards the roos.There's a lot less there now as they culled quite a few so I guess they're a bit wary.