- David Campbell BMW G650GS
- Leo Farrelly BMW R1200GS
- Peter Thomas BMW F800GS
Saturday morning was overcast and spitting when the three of us assembled at EPIC and by the time we were running down Macs Reef Road it had settled in to a cold drizzle. However, past Bungendore and Tarago, the rain had eased and patches of blue were threatening to open up. By the time we stopped for coffee in Goulburn there were definite blue skies above us. After coffee we had a delightful run through Taralga to Oberon for lunch. The skies had resumed their greyness by then but at least it didn’t look like the rain would be returning.
From Oberon we followed the Duckmaloi Road to the Jenolan Caves Road through Hampton and then on to the McKanes Falls Road up to the Great Western Highway past Lithgow and on to the Castlereagh Highway before turning off to Lidsdale at Wallerawang Power Station. We followed the Wolgan Road to Wolgan Gap and some spectacular views of the Gardens of Stone National Park.
At the bottom of Wolgan Gap the dirt started but it was a very good all weather road. However, it was only five kilometres or so past this that David’s front tire had a run in with a rock and subsequently deflated. Luckily, Leo and I had spent one Saturday early in the year unsuccessfully practicing tyre repairs. But that’s how you learn. After a bit of hesitation we set to and between the three of us, we had a full set of tools to do the job. We soon had the wheel off, the bead broken and tire levered free. We removed the tube and found twin cuts in one of the side walls. The rock had pinched the tube on the rim. We put some patches on and the tube tested OK. Remembering some invaluable advice and tips from Derek Titheradge regarding how to get the tire back on the rim, we soon had it all reassembled. It had taken us just over an hour to do a roadside repair in the dirt and we were feeling quite pleased with ourselves. I adopted my “If at first you do succeed try not to look too surprised” look and we continued along the twenty kilometres in to Newnes.
It was starting to get late by this stage so we rode past the delicenced hotel in to Wollemi National Park and the Capertee Camping area. There were about a half a dozen different groups set up in the area but we quickly chose a site near the river and got our tents set up. Just as we finished setting up and were seriously contemplating our first cup of tea, three young boys approached us and passed on their Dad’s invitation to join them at their campfire. That’s the sort of invitation you don’t pass up so we were soon sitting around a lovely warm fire with Jeff and his three boys, Cameron, Daniel and Matthew. Their hospitality was very much appreciated. We each cooked our dinners then spent the evening having a few chardonnays, Tim tams and Jeff whipped up a batch of dough so the boys could make twists to cook on the coals. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any Golden Syrup to fill them with so they had to make do with honey. Sometimes you have to rough it in the bush.Sunday dawned absolutely beautiful but slightly tarnished after David discovered something had gnawed through the side of his tent, through his Canberra AGM bag and in to his stash of Belgium Chocolate inside a sealed zip-lock bag. I have had so many run ins with an Antechinus helping themselves to some of my food in the bush before that I now call them all "Antichrists".
Anyway, after breakfast we rode back along the road to the car park and the locked gate at the start of the Glow Worm Tunnel walk. We forded the river then climbed the surprisingly easy one kilometre up to the line of the Wolgan Valley Rail way. It was an easy three kilometre walk to the tunnel passing through a variety of environments from eucalypt forest to tree ferns and rain forest between the narrow cliff lines. The tunnel is approximately 500 metres long and runs in a semi circular shape. We entered and the daylight faded behind us. Several times we stopped and switched off our torches. The walls and roof lit up in myriad new constellations as the glow worms put on their show. The light at the end of the tunnel soon showed and we were out in sunlight where a pair of lyrebirds ran ahead of us up the track through the cutting. We turned off on to a track that led us up then down to the Coach Road. We followed it down through a natural gorge surrounded by high cliffs. David quoted some Kendall to us as the bellbirds opened up and it was absolutely magical to hear their calls as we walked along.“And, softer than slumber, and sweeter than singing
The notes of the bellbirds are running and ringing.”
We paused for a welcomed lunch break on a benched part of the road overlooking the valley and surprised a goanna as we started off again. We were soon back at our bikes and rode back in to Newnes. Ice creams were consumed at the old hotel before we returned to camp. We left our bikes there as we spent the afternoon following a self guided tour of the shale oil works.Shale was mined then superheated in retorts to distil off the oil and naphtha. Originally started in 1907, the mines, workings and rail way employed thousands. The last mining operation was a test mine for coal in the 1970s. It was a fascinating and the enormous operation is now rapidly being reclaimed by the bush.
We were up early on Monday morning and soon breakfasted, packed and having a great ride along the dirt. We crested Wolgan Gap then on to Lidsdale, Lithgow and Oberon for morning tea where we were reminded to put our watches forward.
The traffic to Goulburn increased due to the aftermath of Bathurst 2012 but we managed to make it to the bakery reasonably unscathed. We had lunch and contemplated a few more of these trips.
We then did our farewells before heading down the Federal to our respective homes. Definitely, a very enjoyable trip.
Peter Thomas
