Last leg to Unanderra

Today is the final day of the journey started 10 days ago. It began as usual early in the day with a steep climb overlooking Seven Mile Beach and Geroa.

The road continued through Gerringong and turned into a full blown Motorway when it merged with the Princes Highway. With wide shoulders and a marked cycle lane the road began a long climb to the the top of a ridge approaching Kiama, where it suddenly reverted to a narrow shouldered blind curved speedway. We took the first exit we could to take us to Kiama, breakfast and, of course, the blowhole.

After breakfast we joined the now again fully formed motorway heading towards Shellharbour.

Unexpectedly on particularly nice downhill run and a slight bump over a piece of plasterboard, the rear end of my machine began to shimmy. Upon bringing the beast under control and stopping I found my rear tyre was flat. This was the only flat over the 400km trip. I inspected the tyre and tube and it appears that the tube must have been pinched when I fitted the tires in the first place as there were no abovious signs of puncture anywhere on the tyre itself.

We were soon back on the road, when Mark spotted this sign.

We tried to use any cycle paths of the main road where we could but eventually we found that they just didn't connect together as expected so we rejoined the motorway to reach Unanderra, lunch, and the end all a fantastic, if at times challenging, road trip on three wheels.

Beating the heat to Geroa

Today we took our last look at Huskisson and Woollamia and hit the road early.

Found a new peril beyond scrappy shoulders, rumble strips! When the shoulders get narrow you need to run your wheels along the while lines, with a rumble strip you get quite shaken up!

Our last major hills for the day were on the way to Nowra where afterwards there was a very nice wide cycle path leading for several kms to the city's outskirts. After breakfast in Nowra, we spent the rest of the day following the coast to take advantage of the sea breezes keeping the temperatures down. We found shady avenues of trees like this on the way to Shoalhaven Heads, where we took in the shade as much as possible.

After passing alongside the coastal rainforest at Seven Mile Beach we arrived early afternoon in Geroa and grabbed an ice block. At the Discovery Holiday park we made our way to our cabin which was close to the river. We took refuge in the air conditioning, until cooler winds arrived in the afternoon.

Far fewer hills today but tomorrow we start with a steep climb into Kiama as we head for Unanderra and the end of our trip.

Ulladulla to Woollamia (Near Huskisson)

Got out onto the road by 6am today. Trying to beat the heat as much as possible. Had a nice breakfast  at the Heritage Bakery at Milton before climbing the hills towards Wandandia. 

Generally the road shoulder was nice and wide and smooth on the Highway, which made it lot easier than dodging the pot holes.

Reached Wandandia as the sun was reaching it's highest point. Had a nice meal at the Blue Dog Cafe and tried to stay out of the sun for an hour before rejoining the trail. The place seemed quite popular.

From this point on the temperature continued to climb as we headed for Huskisson. Due to a misreading of the map we passed the turnoff and had to double back, costing us a few k's. 

We passed through the hamlet of Tomerong and stopped to buy ice blocks from the somewhat taciturn locals in the store. 

By the time we reached the Jervis Bay Caravan Park we had clocked up 62kms for the day.

Tomorrow the forecast is once more for high temperatures. We'll be setting off early again and shrouding ourselves once more from the sun before hitting the road to Geroa, the last stop before Wollongong.

Ulladulla rest day

Preparing once more to meet the heat on the road tomorrow. Washing, downtime and good food.

Feeling pretty good by the end of the day, ready for the challenge tomorrow.

Bateman's Bay to Ulladulla

Slow start today with lots of hills, so slow that even the buildings were overtaking us!

Managed to capture some shade as the temperature started to rise throughout the morning. Some beautiful rainforest scenery, unfortunately still hilly. Did I mention the hills?

Mark was looking a bit like a ninja with his cool snood, trying to keep the sun at bay.

Reached Lake Tabourie after lunch, and found the now disused caravan park we used to holiday at as kids.

Around here and later at Burrill Lake we took advantage of a new cycle path which went all the way through to Ulladulla. This was a welcome break from the noise and rough shoulder of the highway in parts.

Rolled into the Ulladulla Headland holiday park around 4pm, with stiff knees an sunburnt toes. The view from the cabin is lovely.

Tomorrow we will be taking a rest day before the 3 final legs through to Wollongong.

Hot day on the road to Bateman's Bay

On a hill out of Tuross heads Mark lost his bottle! This time however he also ran over it.

We started early again today to try and beat the heat and some of the traffic on the highway. The hills continued to appear in front of us today as the temperature rose to 30 C.

I found a new friend somewhere on the way towards Moruya with apparently the best prawns on the coast.

Soon after we were approached by a farmer who was very interested in our trikes. He said he was looking into getting one to ride around Australia on. 

Reached Moruya in time for second breakfast at the cafe with the biggest writing. 

From Moruya we continued north to Mogo an historic town with lots of bric-a-brac shops and stayed for lunch.

The final 9 kms to Bateman's Bay was the hottest and hilliest for the day. 

We got to the Zorba hotel around 3 o'clock, a bit stiff and tired but feeling better than yesterday as it was downhill for the last km or so.

We travelled about 50kms today. Tomorrow we head for Ulladulla and the second rest day for the trip.

Narooma to Tuross Heads

Great weather today! 

Headed off towards Tuross Heads about 40kms away. We took advantage of a side track along the Dalmeny cycle path. This path goes for about 6 kms along the coast with a smooth surface and nice views.

After Dalmeny we headed for the highway and turned north for Bodalla.

As it was still early in the day the highway wasn't too manic and we made good time. 

We stopped and tasted some delicious cheese in Bodalla and bought some to eat tonight. 

Arrived at the Tuross Headlands caravan park and dumped our stuff in the unit before heading to a local cafe for lunch.

Had a delicious 2 course lunch at the Pickled Octopus Cafe before heading back for a rest.

Knees are a bit stiff but overall, feeling pretty good about the trip so far, it's been great fun despite the treacherous weather at times.

Tomorrow we head to Bateman's Bay about 55kms up the highway. This will mark about the midway point for the trip.

Narooma Rest Day

Took a break today. Did my washing. Slept in. Pedal-free.

Back on the road tomorrow :-)

Wallaga Lake to Narooma

A shorter run today, just 25kms. Beautiful weather this morning which stayed pretty good all day. 

Headed off to TilbaTilba for breakfast, then up to Central Tilba for a look around. 

From here we then hit the Princes Highway for the first time on the trip. It was a bit of a luxury for a while to have such a wide smooth shoulder to ride on. Unfortunately after a few kms it reduced back to  an intermittent gravel shoulder. 

Along the way we met a man out running and also a fellow called Michael who was pushing a 3 wheeled barrow. 

After chatting for a while we learned that he'd travelled from Fremantle and then across the top of Australia. He left us, heading for Tasmania and then back to Fremantle.

Eventually, we reached Narooma, picked up some groceries, and checked into the Easts caravan park. We'll be here for a rest day before we head further up the coast to Tuross Heads.

Tathra to Wallaga Lake

Day started pretty soggy in Tathra, but gradually improved through the day.

We had some tricky climbs over the hills, especially where the road was really cambered. There was quite a steep slope off to the left and with a trike you can't just lean away from it to avoid tipping.

At one stage, a farmer in a truck stopped across from us on the road to tell us about the causeway up ahead which had about a foot of water over it from the heavy rain. When we got there we were able to strap the low hanging bags on the top and ride slowly through it.

About halfway along the road for the day we stopped for a slap up meal at the Mimosa winery, very nice!

Soon after leaving the winery we came to the worst hill we'd seen so far. It took us quite a while to climb it using the lowest gears we had.

We reached Bermagui and ran into some people we had met a the winery. Mark had just noticed one of his water bottles was missing, and here was a lady holding the bottle. Apparently it had fallen off on the steep driveway out of the winery.

Eventually we reached our accommodation for the night with a nice view of Lake Wallaga.

Looking hopeful for good weather tomorrow.

Moist ride to Tathra

Woke up early today, had a great breakfast at Willis bakery in Merimbula. Took a look downtown and by the water.

At about 10am we headed up the road towards Tathra, the hills were big and the water continued to seep into our clothes. The cycling sandals were working out well despite the rain, and were quite comfortable. Plenty of roadkill to pique our senses from time to time as we slowly wound up the hills. 

We arrived in Tathra (27 kms) about midday and feasted on mushroom pies and a welcome coffee. We're drying out now at the caravan park as we prepare for a full day tomorrow when we head to Wallaga lake, near Bermagui (51 kms).

Merimbula

Transported the trikes to Merimbula via Canberra and Cooma. Weather was particularly striking. Unfortunately we weren't able to capture the Lightning with the phone camera. 

It's just us and trikes from now on. 

Heading to Tathra tomorrow, weather forecast is a little bleak.

Final Packing

Well, 1 more sleep and we set off to the south coast. Spent the day packing weighing and repacking the bags. we each will be carrying around 25 kgs in baggage.

we've hired a car to transport the trikes to Merimbula our destination tomorrow. Everything's packed ready to go!