Friday, January 20, 2017

Cattai to Cells River

Leaving Sydney once again I tried a different route.

Cattai NP seemed worth a look. And it was.

A lot of history here.










Out through Windsor the Jacarandas were in bloom.




I stopped at St Matthews Church - Windsor to pay my respects to an Ancestor.




Then up the Bells Line of Road.

Where I got pinged on radar by a very sneaky Highway Patrolman.

Just out of Bilpin up the hill is a side road. Bilpin Springs Road.

He has a nice little spot there he seems to use a lot.

Be warned.



Mount Banks was a great view.




Then I checked out the Zig Zag Railway.

The turnoff to the Old Bells Line of Road is here.



Off to the left is The Hand Track. 

Or Blackfellows Hand Track as its termed further up.

It's a great trail for a DR650. 

Sandstone outcrops abound and you can feel the age of the stone.

Lots of ancient aboriginal tribal juju here. A really cool place.

Treat it with respect.





My big Nikon camera had chewed through all its batteries by this stage.

I had to resort to the iPhone 5.

Ah well. 




This is the jump up on the Bicentennial National Trail above Wolgan Road.

Its a bit of a test. I got it on the second run.

Harder with a full load of camping gear.

Here's some video - Bicentennial Trail Rock step.



I got caught out here. I left my LED lights on and went for a wander.

Also my phone was on charge.

Upon my return the bike would not start.

I spent the next hour pushing it up the hill 3 times to get a roll start.

Surprising how exciting it gets rolling towards a 300 metre cliff.



I stopped at Bylong for the night. Not a bad camp.

Got to watch the Super Moon.

The mossies were punishing though.

I pushed towards Moonan and caught up with some friends.

Then on the way north to Barry Station I saw Tomalla on a sign.

Never tried that one I spose, so off we go.

I tried to push through a few green hell trails but got turned back.

Fuel was running low. I miss my safari tank.

Dilgry Circle and Thrunderbolts Trail where worth a look anyway. 

The back up into Barrington Tops via Pheasant Creek Road.



The Cells Road was unreal.

I caught it in the best light and cursed my Nikons dead batteries.

But damn. What a ride.

I met an old timber cutter coming down the road.

I knew he was a timber cutter from the chainsaw bite in his chin.

He gave solid directions for me and thank god he did.

I wasn't sure where the hell I was and the sun was dropping.




The old Navman is usually pretty good. But it was clueless up here.



Anyways I made it home once again after a grind up the highway from Wauchope.

Did you know squished mossies smell like fish guts?

Thanks to Tabitha and Harrison for giving me a bed.

I was wet through after the Bells Line.





Tunks Park - Luna Park - Port Botany

There's a great little park in Northbridge.

Just off the Long Gully Bridge. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northbridge,_New_South_Wales














Then into the city for a looksee.








I drove up to Port Botany for a look at the loading.


Saturday, January 14, 2017

Cockatoo Island to Mungo Brush

Seemed like a good day to be near the water.

The temps were up and the sun was shining.

I hadn't seen Cockatoo Island since I was a kid.

I think its a good idea to check it out again.




You can catch em. But don't eat em.



My new boat over there.



Here comes the ferry.



Nope, you can't go on the island.

They are filming Ninja Challenge.

Nice to see National Parks making a profit at our expense.



The Ninja Warrior set.





Bye Alexander.



So off to find another distraction at Gladesville.



This dog was funny. More like a mountain goat.



So I packed to leave Sydney.

These stupid young girls though it hilarious to ash copiously out the window.

I stopped to wash the embers from my eyes.



I'd taken my wheel to a local Brake and Clutch shop in Chatswood.

They had a big compressor and I knew they could seat the bead.

Problem is the apprentice used motor oil as a bead lube and it ran out everywhere.

I went through Ourimbah roundabout full lock sideways and nearly threw it away.

I tried to wash the worst of it off, but didn't have much luck.



The tyre was still slick as gooseshit, so I pulled off the highway at Awaba to find some mud.



This looks a likely puddle. A few muddy burnouts stripped the worst of the oil.



Hey, someone stepped out of their thongs to unbog a 4wd it seems.

Brand new pluggers. Score!



Out through Tea Gardens and up into Mungo Brush.

A pleasant little foray into unknown territory.



Geez, the Bombah Point Ferry doesn't miss motorbikes.

I was a little short on change. 






Bombah Point runs into Buladelah. Well worth the detour.




I saw a very nasty accident on the way home.

A 4wd and caravan upside down.