Capertee - Gardens of Stone - Cullen Bullen - Jerrys Plains

On my last day in Sofala, I decided to take the long way home.

I headed into the Upper Turon and out past Bingletree Station to Capertee.

The road deteriorated severely in the upper reaches.

But the DR650SE isn't fazed by a few rocks.

This is the good section. 

Bingletree Station.

Upper Turon.

Red Hill Road - Upper Turon

Below Turon Gates Road

Turon Gates Road

Ben Bullen Station

I turned into the top of The Gardens of Stone Trail.

Above Baal Bone Gap Road.

I heard this Katoom roaring down the trail. He stopped for a yak.

He reckons he was testing a set of Mitas E09 for an across Australia run.

The 4wd's have chewed the hell out of this trail.

Now I can see why its called Gardens of Stone.

Sheer walls of rock. Awesome.

Some gritty hill climbs too. Especially with a full load of gear.

Nice view down into the Wolgan Valley.

This was a bit technical below here. 

Two 4WD's were having a hard go of it.

I scraped past them and wished them luck.

Geez. Which muddy rut is the shallowest?

Heading up into Cullen Bullen now.

Bylong Valley way and out through Bureen, Martinsdale and Jerrys Plains.

The biggest damn Wedgetail I've EVER seen. 

Now for the long dark haul through the night.

I was busting to get home. So I put down 800kms in a day.

My butt was killing me, but I had to push on. The new LED's helped light the way.

Finally pulled in home. Had a shower and a home cooked meal. Happy days.

Mount Horrible to Sunny Corner and Lithgow.

I left the oldies to it for a day and headed up the Turon to Mount Horrible.

This joined up with Dark Corner road and down to Sunny Corner.

I turned left onto the highway and headed into Lithgow to see some of the lookouts.

This is Hassan's Wall lookout.

Crossing the upper Turon.

Rocks and sheep near Mount Horrible. My mate Kiwi will love this.

Mount Horrible Road. It's not so horrible.

Nice little run through Dark Corner Road.

Very picturesque.

I stopped to check out the cemetery, as we may have relatives up here.

Coming into Sunny Corner.

A nice old Church just out of Sunny Corner.

Steps up to Hassans Wall Lookout.

A very practical walkway out to the trig point.

I could sit here all day.

Braceys Lookout above Lithgow.

Hassan's Walls again.

Then I headed south out of Lithgow. This is Lake Lyell.

Through Tarana and up to Kelso, then home to Sofala.

I had a great day out. Explored dirt and tar. Can't beat a DR650 for that.

Sofala - Old & Rooted Motorcycle Club

I pulled into the Old & Rooted Summer Camp after sundown.

Luckily Kiwi helped my set up my tent in the dark.

I was stiff and cold so was grateful for the assistance.

I didn't last long that night. A few beers and off to bed.

Here's a few of the O & R getting breakfast together over the fire.

A lineup of O & R bikes by the road.

Here's my camp for the next three days.

It's a top spot on the Turon.

The sign has seen a few pissheads in its time.

Mist rising off the Turon in the morning.

Heather, Farmlo and Bobby Moss.

Breakfast time. Bobby is giving Kiwi a hard time over his chew and spew in a tin.

Surprisingly intelligent conversation comes out of these fellows.

Curry and the crew.

Howard arrives in Al's cadillac.

Kiwi explains the dicey ride over the Barrington.

Al is on breakfast duty. 

Harry showing his leather crafting skills.

My old man in a friendly mood.

A dirty old beeza.

Curry checks out the Jesus mobile.

Friendly faces around the fire.

My old man giving my little bro a hug.

The Sofala camp.

Morty and Glen organised a big granite stone for the O & R departed.