Day 1: Map (420 km travelled)
Here we meet the others at Pie in the Sky, Cowan. I personally don't rate this cafe, however it makes for a good meeting point to start rides heading north.
As per usual, there were many bikes parked up, even though it was a Saturday. There's usually many more on Sundays.
We rode the Old Pacific Hwy, through Kulnura and on to Wollombi, where we had our first break at the Wollombi Tavern. This is another popular spot for riders.
From Wollombi, we head through the Hunter Valley, through Cessnock.
In Cessnock, while to of the guys were refuelling, Ian notices a nail in his rear tyre, which brought back memories of an identical incident he experienced in Oberon 4 years ago. We quickly repaired the puncture and continued on.
And here's the pic taken 4 years ago in Oberon. Ian isn't very lucky with punctures in his rear.
The pub in Bulahdelah serves good food and well worth the wait.
This picnic ground sits on the river bank, just behind the pub.
The area is popular among sports fisherman and has a good ramp to launch their boats.
The view up river.
Families enjoy the day together, wetting a line.
Bulahdelah is well known for its Bass fishing and has an annual event called the "Bulahdelah Bass Bash" which attracts sports fishermen from all over.
Not a large town but has all the essentials.
After lunch we carry on through the Lakes Way and on to Forster for a quick photo and toilet break. The Lakes Way is a great tourist route.
We cross the Forster bridge and enjoy the park on the other side.
Ian with his beautiful Honda.
My two girls.
Tamzin with her Ducati.
And hubby James with his Ducati.
And together
We were blessed with great weather all weekend.
Cathy strikes that "wind blown" look for the camera.
The inlet at Forster is split in two by this sand bar. Often you can see a pod of Dolphins passing through.
Eventually, we carry on through The Lakes Way and on to the little hamlet of Harrington. Here, the bikes were parked safely behind locked gates in the pub's beer garden.
These pelicans, were feeding on a school of small fish.
Another great example of a typical Aussie pub. Cathy and I paid just $55 for our room, which included a standard breakfast of cereal, toast, juice, tea and coffee.
Pelicans, always seem to enjoy roosting on lamp posts.
So I don't recommend walking underneath them, as they use these lamp posts as public toilets. When they do a poo, it's quite spectacular and not small.
This public wharf is conveniently located near the rear of the pub.
Standing on the wharf, I look back and zoom in on Cathy and Ian, enjoying a drink while I take a few shots.
This the beer garden. One of the best we have been to in my opinion, with it's peaceful and fantastic views.
Eventually James and Tamzin join us at the pub for drinks and dinner. What a fantastic atmosphere we enjoyed,
The lovely couple celebrating Tamzin's birthday weekend.
The meals at the pub are renowned for their quality and value for money and it really showed.
Cathy waiting patiently for me to take the picture, so she can tuck in.
Soon we were enjoying a quiet meal with a beautiful sunset as our backdrop.
The colour of the sunset was incredible.
These two ladies enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.
Day 2: Map (519 km travelled)
The next morning, after breakfast at the pub, we took a short ride up the road to the break wall.
The break wall is popular with locals and visitors alike, for fishing.
And very long, stretching from one side of the Manning River to the other.
People enjoying the wonderful NSW coast.
That's the rear of the pub, taken from the break wall.
Tamzin and James had spent the night in Coopernook, while Ian and ourselves stayed in Harrington. We parted with Ian on our return trip at the turn off to Forster to visit Cathy's Mum for a few hours while we were in the area.
After leaving Forster once again, we headed through Stroud then here to Dungog for a rest. We just so happened to stumble across this new boutique brewery which had just opened up 5 weeks ago. I enjoyed a nice cold beer, brewed on site and enjoyed it very much. They also serve finger food meals and the place was already popular with the locals.
As you can see, everything was brand spanking new and spotless.
We then carried on through the Putty Road which was quite enjoyable as there was little traffic slowing us down, however it was coming on dusk and with that comes the added risk of wildlife on the roads.
Here, we take one final rest break at Colo before carrying on home, arriving at 7:30pm, tired and sore but already looking forward to our next one.
