From my home in Sydney, some friends gave my bike and I a lift to Kalang, which is the name of an area just out of the regional New South Wales town of Bellingen. Bellingen is a shire capital located not far south-west of Coffs Harbour. After a day at my friends' house and exploring Bellingen, I set out to ride northwards towards Brisbane.

Kalang to Dorrigo (via Bellingen and Thora) Halfway up the Dorrigo escarpment. Dorrigo plateau - after the climb.

Day 1 : Kalang to Dorrigo Surface: Good the whole way. Shade: The initial, flat stretch out of Bellingen to the foot of the Dorrigo escarpment is quite exposed in parts. After that, there is solid shade at most times of day whilst climbing, though the last few kilometres across the Dorrigo plateau are highly exposed. Traffic: Light to moderate. Shoulders: Fairly thin the whole way, though it is not a problem once you start climbing as other vehicles must also move slowly. Wind: The plateau is often highly windswept, and I imagine that parts of the initial flat run are also prone to a breeze. Gradient: There is a very steep and sustained climb up to the Dorrigo plateau. Sights: Other than the natural views of pastures and mountains, there are a couple of novelties along the way (a bus-shaped postbox, etc.). There are also excellent views whilst climbing the escarpment, both in the distance and up close - Doriggo National Park is a World Heritage area. Setting out around 9AM from my friends' house at Kalang, I had no sooner powered up a hill (about where it says 'LOOKOUT' on the map), and begun to sail down in to Bellingen, when I realised that I had forgotten my helmet.  I don't normally ride with one (in other countries), however in Australia you can get fined.  Too lazy to bother going back, I pressed on hoping for the best. Heading west out of Bellingen, I rode westward along the plain towards Dorrigo.  Other than a fruit stall and an interesting letter box or two, it was fairly uneventful.  There were no shoulders here, and the traffic was moving fast... but it wasn't too bad. Passing through the small town of Thora at the bottom of the escarpment, I began the 10km climb to Dorrigo.  Due to road works, nobody was travelling too fast, and the climb was rather pleasant all around, save for a short while when the sky clouded over and a viscious wind whipped itself against the hillside. Reaching the top, I expected to be in Dorrigo proper - but in fact there were a good five kilometres or so of pleateau to contend with.  This was unfortunately a little less pleasant than it could have been, due to the re-appearance of my ancient nemesis 'headwind'.  Then again it wasn't too bad - at least the view was good! After a stop at the bakery, which I can highly recommend as cheap,  tasty, and a providore of hot vegetarian fare, I found a motel with a double-bedded room for AU$30... none too bad. There was the first annual Folk & Bluegrass Festival on that night, so after a shower and a snooze I had the honour of attending.  It was bloody cold getting there, and not much better inside the hall.  There was a great young act called from Armidale, which isn't far west , and an Aussie strumming his guitar and singing about being Aussie in an occasionally humorous way - I got the feeling his target audience was 'intoxicated'.  The other acts didn't tickle my fancy so I moped back to my motel and counted sheep.

Dorrigo to Grafton (via Tyringham and Nymboida) Centre of town in Dorrigo. A picturesque portion of the route to Tyringham. Dust in the wake of a vehicle.

Day 2 : Dorrigo to Grafton, NSW Surface: Good for most of the route, there are however poorer seals and some dirt kilometres to contend with in the middle of this leg (between Tyringham and Nymboida). Shade: Between Tyringham and Nymboida you mostly cycle through forest, so there is an abundance of shade. Short stretches here and a longer area after Nymboida are exposed, however. Traffic: Very light to light (perhaps less than one car every 15 minutes, on average). Shoulders: Though they are not necessary due to the light traffic and wide roads, there are some present in the busier sections heading out of Dorrigo and on approach to Grafton. Wind: Minimal when I passed through, probably due to the dense forest cover and mountainous terrain. Gradient: It's fairly up and down the whole way, with a few flat and downhill stretches toward the end of the route - most of the hills are before Nymboida. (The predominant gradient is downward, but you wouldn't know it.) Sights: The general store at Tyringham is a bit of a classic, and the Nymboida Hotel is a historic building that has quite recently been restored. Setting off early, I passed the well-stocked Railway Museum that hasn't yet opened on the edge of town.  Beats me how they get trains up that hill... After an eternity of meandering across the plateau, I finally got in to some relative shade, joined the Grafton to Armidale road, and slid in to Tyringham.  Tyringham doesn't sport much except a general store, however that was plenty for me - I was after chocolate. Pushing on, I really hit the hills.  Lots of ups and downs here ... though lots of forests too.  After a good while, there's an unsealed portion and then the small and historic town of Nymboida. Nymboida sports a hotel/general store, which has recently been restored.  Inside, there are posters and plaques that feature old pictures of the region, stories of the inhabitants, etc.  Very interesting, and a recommended stop for lunch.  They don't really have anything vegetarian, so I ordered a large plate of potato wedges. Well, big mistake!  I'd forgotten I was in country Australia, where large really means LARGE.  After perhaps 25% of the wedges and a cold drink, it was back on the road and a tired and sluggish trip in to Grafton.  Though I had been seeing roadkill all day, including a massive snake, I encountered a live one here.  It was positively huge - perhaps 3 metres in length! Still without a helmet, I was also passed by two police cars on this leg - neither of them cared, but they looked as if they were speeding with a purpose so perhaps I'm just lucky that they were otherwise disposed.  There's another store and some petrol stations before Grafton. At the edge of South Grafton I got dive-bombed by a magpie, which took a great chunk out of my skull, and gave me a great fright.  Bloody magpies!  They get really agressive during breeding season.  I had a big lump where it hit me for the best part of a week! Inside Grafton, I searched for Internet access without success - there are two Internet cafes, and surprisingly neither of them are open on Saturday afternoons.  Eating and checking out the accomodation, I found that the Grafton Hotel had the best balance of comfort and cheapskate-factors... AU$30 rendered me the sole occupant of a clean and new room with TV and running water, but a shared external bathroom.  Not as cheap as Dorrigo, but a good deal better than the other cheap offerings.  By comparison, the cheapest proper hotel room was AU$55. I picked up some fruit and bread for the next day's trip, and treated myself to pizza for dinner.

Grafton to Kyogle (via Whiporie and Casino) Part of the Whiporie to Casino leg. Casino/Kyogle leg - too hot even for the cows! The end of an era. You served me well, my dear!

Day 3 : Grafton to Kyogle Surface: Good the whole way. Shade: Not a great deal. Traffic: Light to moderate. Shoulders: Present in sections, though due to the light but speedy traffic I preferred to pull off the road. The Grafton locals guessed the distance as 'a little over a hundred', and then guaged transit time as 'less than an hour' - ie: you should expect an average speeds of over 100km/h for passing traffic! Wind: I imagine that this route could be quite a hassle if you copped the wrong wind direction, as its 'slice out of a forest' physique would seem, at least on the surface, conducive to wind tunnels. Fortunately, I didn't encounter any real winds - a fact which I put down to the direction (north-south), and the fact that the prevailing winds are likely east-west (to and from the coast). Gradient: Fairly flat the whole way. Where there are hills they tend to be spread out and of low gradient. Sights: Riding through the state forests and National Parks between Grafton and Casino is quite beautiful at points. There is a quirky little general store at Whiporie (the only one on the whole route), which also acts as a post office, news agent, community notice board, and probably everything else for the nearby residents. Other: Though after Whiporie there are one or two places to stop for water, there is absolutely nowhere to get food... bring enough food to last you to Grafton. The early morning leg to Casino was more draining than I expected. This area is pretty much deserted, I didn't actually speak to a single human the whole way. After reaching Casino, I found somewhere to relax and get vegetarian food and use Internet. I decided to push on to Kyogle to limit the next day's ride. Unfortunately, after getting about halfway out of Casino, one of my pedals came off and I lost the bolt. That left me 15km to walk in the seering mid-afternoon heat. After about 3-4km (which took me around an hour), I realised I was too exhausted to keep going in the harsh sun. None of the trucks (many of which had with empty trays, I might add) would stop for me. From this I concluded that unlike Taiwanese and Chinese, Australians are not friendly to strangers or permanently looking for a quick buck! Thus, be warned - hailing lifts with a bike in Australia is not an easy proposition. Eventually, out of desperation, I decided to leave my bike and hitch without it. This wasn't such a terrible thing, as the bike was a bit small for me, its chain was in need of replacement and the seat wasn't far off disintegration. If I'd slogged it in to Kyogle, I would have had to stay there a couple of days (Sunday nights aren't exactly 'happening' in Sydney, let alone some pathetic country town). Still, it was a little heart wrenching to leave the bike I'd been so far on. I left it in a schoolbus shelter, with a note, for some little kid to find. The note was to the effect of "this bike has been to many countries, now the pedal has fallen off, its all yours"... though it was written in a little more flowery language. I got a lift in to Kyogle and was eating a vegieburger in no time. Even before I'd finished it, I got another lift to the start of the 'Lions road' to Brisbane ... and within a further 45 minutes I got another lift to Ipswich, which is essentially southwest Brisbane. From there, after spending 40 minutes waiting for a train (and meeting an interestng Sri-Lankan woman on the platform), it was a quick trip to my grandmother's place, where I sunk in to a slumber.

Walter Stanish
Sydney, Australia
2002-09-12

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