Day 1 - Yerrinbool to Bundanoon
The first day of the ride begins with a train trip. To get out of the Sydney suburbs I decided to catch the train to Yerrinbool. From here the road is very quiet. My first major stop was Bowral, which is a sizeable town. If you are planning on camping, you can get all the food you need at the supermarket here. I came through Bowral in the autumn and a lot of the trees were turning red. If you come through Bowral in the Spring you may be fortunate to see the tulip festival.
After Bowral I followed mostly quiet backroads to Bundanoon. Bundanoon is a small town which caters a lot for cyclists. At the Ye Old Bike Shop Cafe they have a number of maps of rides around the area. I headed down into Morton National Park, where I was going to camp for the night. The campsite only has ten spots, so in the peak season it is worthwhile contacting the national park to ensure you have a place to pitch the tent. The facilities at the campsite are excellent. There are hot showers, bbqs and undercover camp kitchen. The lookouts through the park are very accessible by bike and the views are certainly worthwhile. If you have time there are also some walks through the park which appear to be interesting. |
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Day 2 - Bundanoon to Kangaroo Valley
After a very cool night, I woke up to a beautiful blue sky. First stop for the day was Fitzroy Falls. Thanks to all the rain that had fallen in NSW in the previous months, the falls were very impressive. There are a number of lookouts you can easily access from the visitors centre.
Once I finished enjoying the views I headed down the escapement. The road drops about 700 metres in around 7kms. What a fun descent. Once at the bottom you are in very lush farmland. I continued to Kangaroo Valley via Hampden Bridge, a great old wooden trustle bridge across the river. Kangaroo Valley has a few cafes and shops. Once I was fed I headed for my campsite for the second night, Bendeela Picnic area. This is a vast area for camping near the river. In the off peak season, half the campsite is closed to motor vehicles, but you can still access the closed area with the bike. This is what I did and had a campsite away from the main area. During the evening you could go for a walk along the river and get to see a lot of wombats. The campsite does not have showers, but it does have toilets and drinkable water. Overall, for a free campsite it is great value for money. |
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Day 3 - Kangaroo Valley to Kiama
After another great night camping I headed back over the bridge and along Kangaroo Valley Road. I followed the signs to Berry, which gave me a nice hill climb for about 5kms. Of course this was then followed by a very twisting and steep descent. After the descent you arrive in Berry.
Berry is a major town on the Princes Highway, so the main road can be quite busy. There are plenty of cafes and shops in Berry. After you are fed you can follow backroads for most of the way towards Kiama. This keeps you off the Princes Highway. Unfortunately after Gerringong you rejoin the Princes Highway. There is a hill climb for about 2kms, but there is no shoulder. So you have to contend with busy traffic. Towards the top a shoulder reappears and the ride does get better and then it is mostly downhill to Kiama. Kiama is a pretty seaside town which has blowhole and some lovely beaches. From here you can either catch the train back to Sydney or continue riding on mostly bike paths to Wollongong. |
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