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| Casino Wall Art |
Even though Grafton is only 100kms south of Casino we spent
the whole week getting there via the (long) scenic route.
Day 9. Today was our longest day of riding. The scenery was very
diverse – including farmland, State Forest, National Parks and lagoons. The
weather was hot and windy (tailwind, luckily) – then humid, before a big storm
came through late afternoon. It was our first day of rain since we left. We
just made it to Alice Creek Campground. We just got the tent up in time – and
it proved to be cosy and waterproof.
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| Riding out of Casino |
Day 10. We had our least enjoyable day of riding so
far. The road was very long and winding,
with lots of hills. The road surface was very corrugated and rough. At least we
had a tailwind. And we found a very nice camping spot for the night right next
to the Clarence River.
Day 11. We had a short but hilly ride to the Jackadgery
Caravan Park on the Mann River (half-way between Grafton and Glen Innes if you
go via the Gwydir Highway). We were planning
on stocking up on more food at the Jackadgery General Store – but they didn’t
even stock a can of baked beans (Lots of ice cream, soft drinks and chips).
However, they did have take-away meals, so we ate hamburgers and egg &
bacon rolls and toasted sandwiches to save our dwindling food supplies for
later.
Day 12. What a day! It started with a climb up the Cangai
Road, which then turned into a very scenic ride along the river. After 20kms we
came out at the Gwydir Highway – then had 20kms of climbing up the Gibraltar
Range (summit 1100m). The Highway wasn’t too busy – but we did pull over
whenever we heard a truck coming up behind us. Soon after the summit was the
turn-off to Washpool NP. We made camp at Coombadjha Ck. Campground. We had the
whole place too ourselves – stunning rainforest, next to a flowing rocky creek.
Late at night we heard a rumpus – and discovered a baby possum sitting in the
helmet at the front of the bike scoffing off all the banana chips and half the
dry biscuits! Somehow the possums managed to open the zipper on our food bag! After
that, we were on food rations until we got back to Grafton. It is very
difficult cycling, thinking about food all the time. ….
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| Cangai Road |
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| Riding up the range |
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| Washpool National Park |
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| Keeping Warm |
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| Food Thieves |
Day 13. We started the morning watching a lyrebird putting
on a very showy display in the rainforest. Then we had a short but difficult
day of riding/hike-a-bike. We took a fire trail road through the National Park
to Boundary Falls Campsite. It was only 19kms – but because of the difficulty
it took us 4 hours. For about 5kms of it we had to walk the bikes either up or
down short but very steep hills. In
spite of the difficulty it was well worth it – the scenery was amazing. The
heathland was flowering in abundance (saw Waratahs in flower), and the granite
formations were stunning.
Day 14. We decided to
try the BNT (Bicentennial National Trail) out of the campground. The first 5kms
were very rough – but we persevered and it ended up being a great ride.
Surprisingly, we saw lots more cattle than horses on the trail. After crossing
the Gwydir Highway we found the Old Grafton Road. The descent into the Mann
River Reserve was great fun – but very steep. Had to change a set of brake pads
half-way down. The campground was right next to the river – with heaps of
wallabies feeding at dusk and dawn.
Day 15. What a great road for cycling! We followed the Old
Grafton Road the whole day. The scenery is stunning – with river views on one
side and steep rock escarpments on the other – some of it cut by hand. Towards
the end of the ride was a 20m long tunnel built by convicts.
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| Old Police Compound at Dalmorton (abandoned) |
Day 16. The day started well – more stunning hand carved
roads with trees hanging over either side made it like riding through an
arbour. After a while the scenery changed into more open woodland with pines
and silky oaks lining the road. The last 40kms of road was bitumen – which was
welcome at first as the dirt road had become very rough. But after a while the
cleared farmlands became tedious and it was so hot the tar was melting in places.
We were really pleased to make it into Grafton. The first take-away shop was a
very welcome site after 7 days with no supplies. We still had food left – but
none of it seemed very appealing anymore!
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| Double Decker Bridge at Grafton |
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| Clarence River at Grafton |
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| Fancy Viaduct |
