With only 2 1/2 weeks to go until departure, it's probably about time I started to think about the route that I'm going to take.
Whilst the intention of the adventure is to take things as they come, enjoying the experiences along the way and gradually moving towards Melbourne, having a rough idea of where the journey may take me would be a nice idea.
The first part is easy: head south out of Adelaide, through the hills towards Strathalbyn, then Wellington, turning off the Princes Highway for Narrung, circumnavigating Lake Albert and finishing the first day in Meningie.
After this, heading south towards Robe, Mount Gambier and Portland before heading towards the Great Ocean Road, riding the length of it to Geelong and then to Melbourne. Exact route to be determined, with nightly stops worked out as I progress.
After Melbourne comes the challenge - returning to Adelaide. I don't wish to return the same way that I came - unless the ride is so spectacular that I feel I have no choice but to do roughly the same route home. I've been considering heading north from Melbourne towards Shepparton, then following the Murray to Echuca, swan Hill, Mildura, Renmark, Loxton and Morgan to Mannum, then choosing a road for the final stretch back to Adelaide.
However, it will be mid-January by the I arrive back in Adelaide - the middle of the Australian summer. Heading inland and along the Murray may not be the most sensible option. That is, unless the weather stays as cool and as wet as it has been of late - okay, not quite as wet as it has been in some places.
The alternative would be to come back via Ballarat, the Grampians and Coonawarra region to Naracoorte and then retrace my first days along the coast road along the Coorong and back to Adelaide. Still likely hot, but perhaps not as warm as inland may well be.
Depending on how progress to Melbourne goes, I may go down the Mornington Peninsula to spend a bit of time there, before heading back into Melbourne. Or perhaps even further eastwards towards the alluringly-named Fish Creek.
Having covered very little of any of the routes previously - let alone since my age has had two digits in it - it's all pretty much new to me. And how a 50cc scooter will handle it.
Update: just discovered by accident whilst playing with Google Maps that there is a ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento, which would make heading towards Fish Creek much more attractive than it already was.
You could have a couple of alternatives up your sleeve, choosing which to used based on the weather at that time.
ReplyDeleteThis would give you some flexibility and still allow you to see parts that you haven't travelled before.
I've done the Canberra-Hay-Mildura-Adelaide trip several times (by car) in January/February and in all cases the days were stinking hot - one trip saw the mercury hit 41 C at Mildura.
If the weather was that hot, irrespective of your route, I would urge that you travel in the relative cool of the mornings and lay up for the day onjce it became too hot.
You wouldn't want to be riding in the late afternoon on a stinker of a day as you'd be heading into the setting sun (on the return trip).
Thanks for your comments, Bruce. I'm thinking of having a couple of plans, should there be a heatwave/bushfires/flooding/alien invasion, just in case.
ReplyDeleteI've done Newcastle-Adelaide once (in January), and the heat was a worry in a truck. The early morning departure idea had occurred to me in passing, but not the setting sun - thanks.
I'm thinking more of staying south, even if it does mean covering the same stretch on the way back for a while, so as to minimise the risk of stupid temperatures. It isn't as if I know the area at all anyway...