What a fantastic long weekend away with a great group of people and it was really good to have more couples come along to add to the mix of laughter and mayhem as well as old faithfuls, Ed Lance and Graham. Three couples, Kel and Mop, Mick and Belinda are joining us for a tour in Europe next year while the third couple, Jim and Nicky met us in Taralga for the NRL grand final on Sunday night.
Day 1: Map (248 klms travelled)
We met the group at Maccas McGraths Hill, for coffee, before setting off.
A group shot before heading off. It's good to see more couples on our rides.
After a ride down Bell's Line of road, we cut across to Mt Victoria and then to Hampton for our first break.
Ed with his Yamaha cruiser.
Mick and Belinda with their 650 BMW.
Kelly and Grant with their new 800 BMW.
Old faithful, Lance with his 800 Triumph.
Martin and Susan joined us for a day ride, with their 900 KTM.
And us with our baby.
Whenever I plan these group tides, I try to allow for extra chat time. this one was no differant.
Eventually we carry on to Oberon where we all refuel and take a lunch break,
Actually it's just an excuse for more chatter and giggles.
We leave Oberon and I take the group to see Oberon Dam.
Another group shot before Martin and Susan leave us to head back home.
Here Ed rode ahead of us to take individual action shots. Us.
Martin and Susan.
Lance.
Kel and Mop.
Mick and Belinda.
Here we take a short stop at the Abercrombie River.
This area off to the side of the bridge, makes for a nice pic.
They certainly don't build them like this any more.
As you can see, traffic on the bridge wasn't a problem.
Who's taking a pic of who?
Hmm, I'm sure that wasn't there a minute ago.
The Abercrombie is only a stream at the moment.
Eventually we make it to the Taralga Hotel.
The guys join Cath and I on our walk.
As usual, Cath waits for no-one.
Some of the old homes around the town are gorgeous.
This typically Australian bark hut, gets Mop's attention.
Welcome to Taralga.
So Taralga sits two thirds of the way to Goulburn from Oberon on wonderful winding country roads.
Mick finds a life size garden ornament to play on.
The side view of the pub. Beautifully renovated.
Another lovely old home.
Belinda spies some home made jams at the grocery store.
Certainly not a supermarket, but it does the job.
The boys realise it's beer o'clock.
A short walk to the other end of town is the Argyle Inn.
The Argyle has recently been taken over by this gentleman, Jeff. Ed and Graham were staying there the night and told me the new owners name, only for me to realise that I have known him for years through work.
He has a family that are all in to motorcycles and his pub will do well in the motorcycling community as time goes by.
The walk back to our pub.
Dinner time. The food is hard to beat at this pub.
The mixed grill is ridiculously large.
Our man Graham is the only person we've seen actually finish the whole meal.
And again, he doesn't disappoint.
If only the bone was edible.
Yes that's a straw in the gravy pot.
Day 2: Map (294 kms travelled)
Early the next morning, Cathy and I set off for a walk.
The colour in the morning sky was spectacular.
And seemed to change before our eyes.
This one with a few wind turbines in the back ground.
The number of these things have almost doubled this year, much to the dismay of local land owners.
The sheep were still waking up.
These two beauties were chasing each other around the paddock.
The morning sun made for a top shot over this paddock of cattle.
Nearing the end of our walk we come to this unused fuel stop. Mental note, no fuel available in Taralga.
After breakfast we all saddle up for our day trip to Boorowa, for its Irish Wool Festival and annual Running of the Sheep.
It seems, thousands came from all over for this event.
You can buy numbered tickets for $5 each for the running of the sheep and if the sheep with your number comes through first, then you win a sum of cash. All for charity and a bit of fun.
Waiting for those bloody sheep to run through.
This is the farmer with his quad to do the job. I cant help but wonder if he is the same bloke I have photographed in the past, herding his sheep along the road from paddock to paddock.
Oh here they come ! Go Baaaabra! Get going Shawwwwn!
Those working dogs are incredible to watch.
Anti wind farm float.
The local school kids get involved.
Various trucks pulling floats through the main street.
Show casing the areas wool industry.
And what's a parade without a pipe band.
Even the local recreation club gets a float.
These alpacas are sometimes used to protect herds of sheep due to their protective nature.
Then a bush ranger re-enactment.
Then a collection of antique tractors pass by.
This young fella enjoys a ride with his dad.
After the excitement of the wool fest, we set out for a short trip out of town to a Greyhound breeding facility owned by friends of Ed, who also happened to be related to people I know through work. What's the odds?
Imagine the surprise of riding up the long driveway to the facility and being met with this stunning scene. A beautiful field of canola in bloom.
Parking the bikes outside one of the huge sheds of the facility.
Apart from the valuable "prize" dogs, there are numerous older dogs that they keep as pets and get taken care of just as well as the more valuable ones. The family truly love greyhounds.
There are 2 lots of gas cookers, just like this, used to prepare the meals. As you can tell, this a one huge facility and very interesting to see.
And of course the cute puppies.
Soooo sweet.
The family are very informative and spent a good hour from their busy schedule with us. The concrete floors in this birthing room is actually heated for the winter months.
A trolley of carefully prepared food for the dogs. (4 layers high)
These pens are where the pups are kept with their mothers while they grow little.
Several exercising pens in the background. This facility sits on 3000 acres of land.
Heading back out of the facility, I stop to take a few more shots of those canola fields with the others making their way back in the distance.
The individual canola plant doesn't look like much.
Mick and Belinda making their way back to us.
Let's not forget Ed.
We get to experience some fantastic things on our rides.
Ok, I cant be sure what Mick was up to in this pic, but let's just say, I'm glad I choose olive oil in my cooking.
This Shingleback lizard spotted by Lance on our way out the driveway.
After a great day out to Boorowa and a visit to the Greyhound facility, it was time to settle in to watch the NRL grand final together and dinner at the pub.
Here Nicky and Jim joined us at the pub and it was Nicky's birthday, so the girls bought her a cake from the wool festival.
One candle, only twenty short !
Ok, formalities over, time to watch the grand final, which the Cowboys won.
Day 3: Map (300 kms travelled)
After a great weekend away, it was finally time to return home, but first a visit to the beginning of the Swallow Tail Pass and the wind farms in the area, before heading out through Goulburn. We have done the Swallow Tail before but Graham has found a longer section which we have missed so we have vowed to return and travel through the area again one day.
There are about forty of these huge things outside Taralga now.
On the way out to see the Swallow Tail pass, we were able to get up close and personal to them.
They are bloody huge.
That's Cathy on the staircase. It gives you an idea of how large these things actually are.
Mick lays on the ground to try and get the whole thing in his screen for a pic.
After heading out from Goulburn, we made our way through the Highland Way from Marulan.
Reaching Bundanoon, we stop for one last break to say our good byes, before heading home.
This cafe roasts their own coffee beans and it does taste very good.
One last pic for the trip, on our last stop.
Another great trip away with good people to share some laughs and a few drinks with. Although we do return to our favourite places, we always seem to mix it up a little, making each trip differant to the other and always enjoyable.
