Sydney Journey Pt2 - Merimbula to Canberra

Morning at Merimbula

Day Four (Jan 3) - To Port Kembla

It was very busy in Tilba, but a beautiful place

I had originally planned to just head up the highway, but a look at the maps suggested I could take a more coastal route at least part of the way, so I took that option. In doing so I learned a valuable lesson - use a paper map as well as a digital one. I missed a couple of turns and when I got back to the highway, I wasn't sure which way I needed to turn to get to Tilba Tilba. I took the wrong option.
Tilba was amazing, and well worth the time to stop. Just make sure you know where it is before getting started.

On this part of the journey, I hit a lot of holiday traffic. This slowed the journey up more than I thought it might and meant I was reluctant to stop at crowded places even though I probably needed to stop. Bateman's Bay was crazy busy so while I did stop to get something to eat, trying to get petrol meant queuing up, and I wasn't interested in that. I did find a petrol station a bit further up the highway and was able to stop without crowds around me. I like that.

Got stuck in more rain, but fortunately I could see it coming. There are roadworks around Berry, and that seemed a good place to stop for a cuppa. I couldn't believe cafes were closing when there were so many people walking up the streets, but I was thankful for the chance to stop while it was dry, have a cuppa and then put my wet gear on under cover of a cafe before continuing on.

Tonight was my first experience of Air BnB and it was a good experience. I confess it was a bit strange staying in someone else's house, but again it was a good, cheap stopover.

When I planned this trip, this seemed like a good distance to travel. As the day rolled on though, I felt like I could have kept going a lot further. I'll take this as a good sign.

Day Five (Jan 4) v- To Sydney

The conference I was attending in Sydney was starting earlier than I had realised when planning, so I just took the easy option of putting the address into the phone GPS and following the blue line. Some of the riding was good, and some wasn't. But I got there in good time. And it didn't rain!
There was even some motorbike parking available just outside the University which meant I wasn't worried about where the bike was in this strange city called Sydney.

Day Six (Jan 7) - To Epping

I had decided I would do something iconic and ride over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I'd hoped to have some interesting footage of this, but the camera I was having trouble with the camera I was using and couldn't get it to start. Turns out the battery was flat, but I couldn't work out what the problem was. Anyway, as I rode across the bridge - which was one of those magnificent things I'll probably not do again - I got to the end and wondered, "Which lane am I supposed to be in?" Followed my nose and ended up in the right place. Nothing else interesting about this, but I did get to a friend's place where I was to spend the night.

Day Seven (Jan 8) - To Canberra

Today was hot. I had planned and expected to be  in dry and hot weather for most of this journey, but today was the first real hot day. After visiting a church with my friends, and a good lunch, it was time for me to leather up, pack the bike and get going. Again, I needed the GPS so I could follow the blue line to get me out of the Sydney suburbs and onto the highway to Canberra.

A stop at a service centre on the highway gave me a chance to have an ice-cream and a SMS chat with my wife who was now in Tasmania. My son gave me a water bladder thingy for Christmas, and today it proved invaluable. The ability to keep hydrated while on the go meant I could keep riding for a much longer period than normal. Winner.

The ride into Canberra around Lake George is brilliant. That is a big lake! I stopped at a few places along the way to take a few photos and really just to try and take it in. It is so very big.

A view over Lake George

I arrived in Canberra in good time and thought I might head up to the lookout. My memory failed me, so instead of going to Mt Ainslie I went up to Telstra Tower where there is nothing to see but trees. So it wasn't really worth the effort. I knew that I needed to find a petrol station but they seem hard to find in Canberra. In fact, it is the only place that I have had to use google to find where I could buy some petrol. Anyway, once the tank was full I rode into my cousin's place for the night. Always good to catch up with family. 

New friends in Canberra

Part three of the journey is here - http://sitwonder.blogspot.com/2017/01/sydney-journey-pt3-canberra-to-home.html