One of my epic tours was a five-day 800+ kilometre dash from Canberra to Melbourne in August 2002 with a friend heading south through the Great Divide: Namadji, Cabramarra, Khancoban, Tallangatta, Yackandanda, Beechworth, Yea, and Yarra Glen as the back way into Melbourne through Epping.

We made the Abel Tasman ferry across Bass Strait with about two hours to spare!

One of my favourite memories was camping in the old ghost gold-mining town of Kiandra when temps fell well below zero, the tent outer and inner were frozen, along with the zips. Another was weaving in and out of the afternoon peak-hour traffic out of Melbourne city centre...

I suffered really bad hotfoot on my left foot on the ride, and when we landed in Devonport from the ferry, I could hardly walk. We both decided we'd done a super job on the trip, and caught a coach home to Hobart.