This was a strange – but strangely wonderful – overnight ride. What with accidents, injuries, back-seat boycotts, dog pickups and caravans, there were equal numbers of bikes and cars on this excursion to Tumut’s Festival of the Falling Leaf – our first since 2012.
Damon & Jen, Andrew and I turned up on two-wheelers, Derek & Margaret on their three-wheeler, and Kim & Ron and Catherine & Sally in their four-wheelers. We picked up Maritta in her four-wheeler on the side of the road in Murrumbateman (perhaps she had slept there all night after a wild evening in Yass), while Butch and Jan were already at Tumut, ensconced in the luxury of their tin-plated mansion on wheels.
This was the last weekend of the school holidays, with double demerits for so much as picking your nose, so we took it easy out along the Barton Highway in slightly chilly but otherwise perfect weather.
Our first stop was Jugiong, where we joined a host of locals and travellers taking refreshments at the Long Track Pantry. Despite the plethora of patrons and the seeming chaos, our coffees and sourdough toast with butter and Vegemite arrived promptly and without fuss, as is usual at the LTP no matter how crowded they are.
From there it was a short hop down the highway to Pettit, a tiny collection of houses just off the freeway that prompts an obvious question: why is it there? It is only 4km from Coolac and it is so small and insignificant that it doesn’t even have an entry in Wikipedia or on Google Maps (or anywhere else on the internet).
Anyway, leaving aside the existential mystery of Pettit, it was there that we turned left off the freeway and tootled south-east on Gobarralong Road till we crossed the Murrumbidgee River at Gobarralong, a rural locality that does make it into Wikipedia and onto Google Maps with a mere 52 inhabitants (plus an unknown number of cattle and sheep not interviewed for the census) spread over hundreds of square kilometres.
Between Pettit and the river we rode over some of the roughest, most rutted roadworks I’ve ever encountered but, amazingly, no-one fell off (it could have been a different story if the water truck had just been through) and even Maritta’s MX5 made it through unscathed.
We crossed the river on the luxurious new bridge and turned immediately right onto Darbalara Road, which is narrow and unfenced for the first several kilometres. At times we shared the road with sheep and the odd cow but they were obviously used to traffic and nonchalantly ambled out of our way.
Beside the Tumut River, where the road to Gundagai turns off, Darbalara Road became Brungle Road and we followed this through the pretty village of Brungle, up the Killimicat valley, up the steep, twisty climb at its head and through some lovely rolling country to the Wee Jasper Road. Here we turned right and in a few kilometres were in Tumut. Apart from the one section of roadworks, the roads are all sealed and in good condition, though often narrow and winding.
Most of us checked into the Merivale Motel, though Maritta was in a motel around the corner and Butch and Jan were in the Riverglade Caravan Park, sited amidst spreading elm trees on the bank of the Tumut River.
A few of us had a pie for lunch at the Pie in the Sky Bakery before watching the 2pm street parade. I have to say it was a little disappointing compared to the one five years earlier. Back then there were at least two bands, this time there were none. However, there were plenty of historic cars, including dozens of Minis, and a torrent of trucks that kept the kiddies entertained with blasts on their air horns. Paraders from a real estate agency and a couple of NDIS providers only added to the feverish euphoria.
After the parade, needing to calm our frenzied nerves, some us walked to the Tumut River Brewery (I had a pint of dark, delicious smoked porter) and had a quick wander through the obligatory markets, then retired to the motel. We were all settling in for a nana nap when one of our number (who shall remain nameless) started cooeeing, whooping and hollering that it was time for pre-dinner drinkies, so we all dragged ourselves out of our snug beds and into the parking lot, lugging tables, chairs, food and wine, and got stuck into socialising.
The only person not enjoying the moment was the lady in room 6, who was woken from a deep sleep after the rigours of a two-day family reunion and thought maybe the motel was on fire or something. We moved our party a bit further up the parking lot and made our peace with her the next morning.
Maritta had booked dinner for us all at Kinnaree Thai in the Commercial Hotel in Tumut’s main drag. The food was good and plentiful and the conversation was – how can I put this – wide-ranging (what is said on a ride stays on a ride!). Let it be said that no-one left hungry or with their brain unscarred.
From there we made a 10-minute dash to the Bull Paddock for the 7:30pm fireworks, which were pretty bloody good. Everyone had front-row seats and there were no untoward cock-ups by the pyrotechnics professionals. Even better, the fireworks weren’t set to wanky music, so you could lie back on the grass and let the laser-like flashes and blasts sear their way into the Stone Central part of your brain.
After such a big day, we slept well. On Sunday morning I and a few others shuffled down to Macca’s for an egg & bacon McMuffin and a large coffee to kick-start our seedy brains. Catherine & Sally, Ron & Kim, Butch & Jan and Maritta in their tin-tops headed back home via the freeway but the rest of us on our bikes rode south on the Snowy Mountains Highway.
And it was a fantastic ride! After winding along above Lake Blowering, we detoured into Talbingo and the Tumut 3 hydro power station, then climbed up steep, winding Talbingo Mountain, past Yarrangobilly Caves, Kiandra and Adaminaby and on to Cooma for lunch.
There was almost no traffic, perfect sunny weather (the temperature varied from 6° near Yarrangobilly to 19° at Adaminaby before settling down to around 15° at Cooma), spectacular scenery, a smooth road surface with plenty of both tight and sweeping bends … it was paradise! However, not wanting to earn any double demerits, we took it easy and gently cruised the whole way. Margaret said it was the first time she had been across the mountains without having to hang on for dear life!
We lunched in Cooma at Under the Elms café, across the road from Centennial Park, before joining the traffic on the Monaro Highway back to Canberra.
Ian Paterson
Ian Paterson Honda GL1800
Kim & Ron Tito Isuzu DMax
Damon & Jen Hatchett BMW R850R
Derek & Margaret Titheradge Spyder
Andrew Campbell Yamaha FJR1300
Catherine Campbell & Sally Paterson Mazda 3
Maritta Heiler Mazda MX5
Butch & Jan Wills Mazda BT50
