Solo Mission: Weekend Blast To Bundarra

Adventure Rider Issue #42

• It’s we what do
• Cairns To Darwin
• Triumph 900 GT Pro
• Solo Mission: Weekend Blast To Bundarra
• Husqvarna 701 Enduro LR
• Two Heads Are Better Than One
• Adventurous Encounter
• GS Safari Is Go!
• Suzuki V-Strom 1050
• Lyndon Poskitt
• A Touch Of Paradise
• For Some Reason (FSR)
• Carrying Extra Fuel
• Paper Chase
• Andy Strapz Thermalz
• The Bag Lady with Mike Ferris
• Mechanical Sympathy with Miles Davis
• Lockdown Lowdown with Andy Strapz
• Karen’s Lockdown Highs And Lows with Karen Ramsay
• Checkout
• Fit Out

The Home Boss was working and the only mandated decree for the weekend was, “The grass will be cut and yard tidied before I get home on Monday.” Hopper saw an opportunity.

A conniving plan was formed. I knocked off work early, fired up the Victa and battled the mozzies and long grass into Friday evening to free up the weekend for a blast in the bush. A late-night call to Ruth at Bundarra’s Commercial Hotel locked in accommodation, a tooth-brush and a spare pair of undies were packed, and all was set for an early start.

Postcard scenery.

Not quite an early start

I left Newcastle at 7.45am, rode the highway to Maitland, then backroads through Rosebrook, Elderslie and Glendon to Singleton. The 790 roosted on to Lake St Clair then peeled off, finally hitting dirt and the well-known Bowmans Creek Road. It was awesome riding and a total contrast from heading to the 2019 Congregation when the same route was nothing but a barren brown land and thick with dust. On this day in 2020 lush green paddocks were dotted with the cattle looking like Adventure Rider Magazine’s editor – very well fed. Lizards were sunning them-selves. I even saw an echidna.

I rolled through Gundy, resisting the urge to stop at the Linga Longa Pub – I’d enjoyed some good feeds and the odd beverage there in the past – through Timor and Crawney Pass for more great riding, and into the old gold-mining town of Nundle. A splash of 95 octane for the 790, and some highly recommended home-made pies and hummingbird cake for the rider, made for a pleasant break. It wasn’t as busy as usual, but there were still a few road riders to share a yarn.

Awesome on a big adventure bike.

Clean socks

With both bike and rider full I blasted onto Nundle Forest Way. A few loose gravel sections required care, and then Niangala Road and Campfire Road offered up great dirt riding to the small township of Woolbrook. A short stint on the Oxley Highway and some back-roads through Wollun and Kentucky led to a top up with 98 octane at Uralla, then it was black-top to Kingston, taking the Old Kingston dirt road through Sundown country.

A few culverts across the road could cause the unwary rider some grief on that section, but I coped and rolled into the Commercial Hotel at 3.00pm after 504km. The hospitality was great and I joined the locals for a refreshing ginger ale before unpacking and changing the 1190 prefilter socks which work very well on the 790.

Author, Hopper, and his 790 preparing for fuel, home-made pies and hummingbird cake.

Drink up

I’d stayed at the same pub a month earlier and the same people greeted me in the bar. It was a great evening.

I thought us adventure riders could spin a good yarn, but we’ve got nothing on farmers. It was great to see the camaraderie in these trying times, and how they were working together as a community to get their work done.

The talk was mostly of building up stock numbers following recent rain, which was a much better vibe than a few months previously.

A seafood basket and a ginger ale made for a great atmosphere. I found out after the third glass the ginger ale also had vodka in it, which probably contributed to that night’s sleep being a good one.

It was awesome riding and a total contrast from the barren, brown land and thick dust of a year before.

Off the grid

The next morning I packed up, chatted with some of the workers staying at the pub, and left at a very civilised 8.45am.

After backtracking to Kingston, I headed south on Bendemeer Road, a good-quality dirt run. The map showed a track running parallel, so I jumped across on to the Airlie Stock Route. It certainly needed a lot more respect than the main track, but was quite doable on a big adventure bike.

I would normally have stopped at the Pioneer General Store in Bendemeer for great food and coffee, but,unfortunately, it’s closed. That’s certainly a loss. It was well frequented by riders.

Bendemeer Station Track was next, another well-known adventure route, and it was great to see the grassy paddocks and the greenery on the fire-darkened trees. There are great views at the top of the track, but ambition overtook ability on one of the cattle grids when the far side dropped a metre or so and tested the 790’s suspension. Thankfully the excellent front and rear saved a poor choice from the rider becoming a very poor choice.

Much relieved at a narrow escape, I headed back through Woolbrook and on to Walcha for fuel and a chilli-chicken wrap at the servo.

Crawney Pass beckons with care.

See you soon

The Oxley Highway snaked its way toward Port Macquarie and I turned on to Brackendale Road and blacktopped it for a while, then hit the dirt again.

It’s normally a good, high-speed run, but on this day, with a lot of large, loose-gravel sections, I was uneasy at the bike’s wandering through the corners. The 790 must’ve had a worn rear tyre – it couldn’t have been the fault of the rider.

Through Nowendoc I blasted, staying on the backroads to Cooplacurripa. It was a good winding road, with plenty of ups and downs, great views and some ideal picnic spots along the river. Several iconic adventure tracks run off this road linking Nowendoc Road to the Oxley Highway – Enfield Range Road, Cells River Road and Knodingbul Road, for example.

On to Tiri Road to cross the Manning River the 790 and I rumbled, and it was great to see the river flowing again and people swimming. It hadn’t been ‘swim-mable’ there for a while.

A high bridge across the Gloucester River gave good views of the rapids below before the road headed through Bundook and on to a good winding section well suited to a brave rider.

With the throttle open I joined Bucketts Way and pulled up to check out the incredible views from Mograni Lookout.

It’s postcard scenery up there, looking across the Bucketts Mountains behind Gloucester.

After a splash of fuel at Gloucester I was homeward bound along 30km of Bucketts Way then back on the dirt through Monkerai to Dungog. From there it was 470km of backroads to Newcastle.

It was an easy two days of great adventure riding and Bundarra Pub was certainly a great place to stay.

I look forward to seeing many of you at this year’s GVF Congregation.