Companions for Australia..
 

60 year old English cyclist would like to tour Australia this October onwards or Feb 09 onwards.2 or 3 month ride...Prefer to ride from Melbourne to Brisbane or Brisbane to Darwin or wherever?..Open to suggestions..Would welcome companions and advice...Looking to camp mainly or hostels...Happy with 40 to 50 miles per day but can do more..tudorowen1@hotmail.com

Wow, I'd be checking the climate etc as you start planning. The northern part of Australia would be absolutely brutal in summer. You'd be looking at 50 degree days... Melbourne to Darwin via Brisbane would be nice, starting Feb or March.

Steve

we are just 2.2 km off the Pacific Hwy, half way between Sydney and Brisbane, you are welcome to a bed and hot shower if you pass by ... if we are not off touring ourselves! We've got a very quiet 60 acres to pitch your tent if you prefer, and about 100 kangaroos hopping around for an up close and personal experience! :-)

If you ride between Melbourne and Brisbane at either of those times you have chosen there is nowhere along the coastal route that you will experience 50 degree heat. In land in northern Australia would be horrific though. My son lives in Katherine, NT and cycle commutes to work each day on a cycle path and is horrified at the idea that we plan to cycle up to visit.

Late spring/early summer you may experience some wild summer storms in the afternoons along the NSW coast. However what may be worse is that late summer through autumn is our wet season and you may get prolonged rain along the coast. Having said that you wouldn't get a better climate anywhere in the world than the north coast of NSW and through SE QLD during autumn. Beautiful warm days and mild overnight. In fact our winter days are perfect for cycling, average low to mid 20's C.

Generally the cycle tourists (and grey nomads) start coming through here around March in an effort to reach western QLD and the NT in winter. The grey nomads wait until the summer holiday traffic is off the roads. Cycle touring during late December to late January would be awful given the volume of summer school holiday traffic on Australia's highways which are not all that bicycle friendly at the best of times.

Some Aussies will recommend that you stay further south during summer, but we watch the weather charts daily and to be honest for the past two summers Victoria and South Australia have been 10 degrees hotter through summer than here on the North Coast. In fact we thought it was hilarious, because a friend of ours migrated from England to Grafton and after 2 summers she moved to South Australia 2 years ago for the better climate!!! It is SOOOO much hotter and dryer down there, especially for the past 2 summers that she has been down there.

There are heaps of good blogs on cycling the Brisbane to Darwin route, not as much perhaps on the Melbourne to Brisbane route. One thing I have found is that a lot of cyclists on the Sydney to Brisbane route rush along and miss the all the best things to see!

Also when getting out of Sydney, consider missing the highway and taking the scenic route by ferry. You can ferry from the city to Manly, cycle through Sydney's northern beach suburbs to Palm Beach and take the ferry to the central coast. There is also a hostel in the national park on the western side of Pittwater (opposite Bayview). You can cycle in through the national park via West Head. The views over Pittwater are absolutely stunning. (The bike path into the hostel from West Head might be more mountain bike territory though) however you can catch the ferry across from the eastern side of Pittwater. That would make a nice diversion for the day and a nice place to stay. Otherwise you could camp at Narrabeen Lakes halfway between Manly and Palm Beach or alternatively do the Sydney to Central Coast in 1 day and camp on the northern side of Pittwater the 1st night out.

Get off the highway a bit coming up the coast otherwise you won't see anything much worth seeing. If you check out David in Oz's blog he is currently circumnavigating Australia. He started in Perth and came via Sydney/Brisbane/Cairns and is now somewhere in the NT. He detoured off the highway a lot and camped in some nice places. eg Diamond Head.

There are 2,000 yo Aboriginal stone fish traps in the Ocean at Arrawarra just off the highway a few km between Grafton and Coffs Harbour, and a small but interesting Aboriginal musuem and bush tucker walking trail. Its not something that tourists ever go and see, but if you are passing by its an interesting diversion if you re interested in Australia's indiginous culture.

+1 for Dorrigo National Park.

In our immediate area Red Rock, Diggers Camp, Minnie Water, Angourie or Woody Head are terrific places to spend a night if you want beach and bush. If you need further recommendation the billionaire founder of Billabong is building a house at Angourie.

If you prefer to miss the far north coast you can take the back road from Coffs Harbour to Brisbane via the Summerland Way, though there are some big hills over the mountains on the border. Or cut across from Kyogle to Murwillumbah through Uki (Mt Warning National Park at Uki is a must if you go that way) ... absolutely beautiful! If you want to get to Byron Bay, you can still do that from the back road. There is a steep, gravel road, (very scenic) with very little traffic, from Uki to Mullumbimby, then its a short ride to Byron Bay.

Alternatively from Murwillumbah take the back road through the Gold Coast hinterland. Very lush and beautiful National Parks through there. By the time you tour I hope to have a web site available with maps and directions for these Pacific Highway alternatives and links to relevant touring blogs.

There is a new book available for cycling South East QLD. I don't have it (yet) but the marketing blurb looks positive.

best regards

Oz
 

I bicycled between Cairns and Darwin in July and August. It was cool at night until I reached the Katherine area. It went up to low 30C during the day at that time of year but at night it could get to 10C in the Atherton Tablelands. Near the coast the temps are moderate with no extreme temps.

On the way (near Borroloola) I met a fellow who bicycled "up" from Melbourne earlier in the year, and a fellow who left Hobart a couple of months earlier - BUT he was doing at least 120 kim a day when he was on the road.

There are no 50C temps in that region even during the wet season. Mind you, inland it does get warm and you will need to be careful that you take enough water. OTOH, you can always flag someone down and ask for a couple of liters of water - most folks are quite accommodating. Some folks asked me to join them for tea and biscuits and some even offered beer, or chocolate bars and "energy drinks".

The other problem with Australia is once you are outside the main citys there is not much in the way of Bike shops,food or water so take a few tubes and tyres with you 800km between bike shops is normal.
Adelaide to Perth is around 2500 km between Bike shops

You need to read the full story on that, however. Most climate figures in Australia are somewhat misleading as they only give the maximum temperatures, but ignore things like humidity and average temperatures. Yes, the maximums in Victoria will be hotter in summer, but it won't be that relentless, muggy, humid head that we get in Queensland, and the nights will be much cooler which is important if you like to ride on more than 5 hours of sleep per night. Also, the weather down south changes much more frequently, so you're less likely to get a run of consecutive hot days.

That whole area around Mullumbimby is worth a few extra days. You can drop into True Wheel Cycles at Mullum for a guide to some stunning places to ride in the area, both on and off-road. The area around Minyon Falls (which has a lovely camping ground) is worth a visit, as is the Border Ranges National Park north of Kyogle. The above mentioned gravel road between Uki and Mullumbimby has some scenic detours to waterfalls itself. Another way to get to Byron Bay is to take a back road from Casino to Lismore, then another scenic back road through Clunes (I think) will take you to Mullumbimby and on to Byron Bay. There are a zillion scenic back roads in that area to explore. I've been at it 10 years and still haven't seen half of them.

There are many back roads through the Gold Coast Hinterland worth exploring, but be prepared to climb! Also note that it's likely to be massively overcrowded in December/January, so it's worth waiting a couple of months. I'd vote for spending that time in Tasmania before heading north.

The Binna Burra and O'Reillys campgrounds at Lamington National Park are the gateway to some of the country's best hiking/bushwalking, and even if you don't fancy that, the rides to get to are worth doing regardless. Springbrook is another place I like to spend time, with some spectacular waterfalls not far from the road.

+1 for True Wheels Cycles at Mullumbimby. We used to live about 6km from Mullum and I am still riding my (steel) mountain bike I bought from True Wheels over 15 years ago.

I was very sorry to leave the Mullumbimby/Byron Bay area ... the views and climate are hard to beat. My daily cycle was along Coolamon Scenic Drive, million $ views the whole way.