Beecroft

Heading south from Sydney it doesn't take long to discover some amazing beaches and beautiful seaside towns. Less than 2 hours away is the wonderful Jervis Bay with it's pristine waters, white sandy beaches and sleepy holiday spots like Huskisson. It's not unusual to see Dolphins and Whales frolicking amongst Navy destroyers whose home is the Naval base of HMAS Creswell on the southern shore.

http://www.jervisbaytourism.asn.au

A bit wobbly (gotta get the hang of this panorama thing) but you get the idea - beautiful

I have fond memories of Jervis Bay, spending many summer holidays camping at Honeymoon Bay with my cousins. While I have been back the odd times over the last 40 years this is the first time I've ridden a motorcycle here.

Setting of from home I wound my way down the coast past Bombo beach and into the vibrant seaside town of Kiama. A quick stop to have a look at the blowhole and the lighthouse, I was soon back on the bike with my sights set on Gerringong and Geroa. The day was perfect for a photo op overlooking Seven Mile beach. Who could resist?

As beautiful as it was I didn't want to linger. Being a Sunday there was much traffic on this stretch and my schedule was a tad tight. So I was back on the bike again feeling a bit like being on a Contiki tour. Coolangatta came and went as did Bomaderry and Nowra. It wasn't long before I was on the road to Currarong and not much traffic to boot so I was able to stretch myself a bit, flip flopping through the sweepy bends with reckless abandon. Well........ as much as you can on a GS and it felt good to me LOL.



Just before Currarong my destination loomed as I turned onto Lighthouse Rd. High security here. Well.........not really LOL. Beecroft Peninsula is a bombing range and nowadays they want to know who comes and goes. Just a formality but make sure you sign out.

Gloves off, helmet off, get your temporary pass with a pin to get back out. Man it sure has changed.

Kitted up again it was time to hit the dirt. I remember the road in to be pretty corrugated and full of pot holes so I was getting excited. Imagine my surprise when I saw how smooth the "dirt" road was today. Oh well - that's progress for you.

Next surprise - I couldn't go all the way to the lighthouse. I had some fanciful ideas of getting a photo of the bike next to the lighthouse - obviously not.

When we used to come here for holidays there was a lighthouse keeper who lived here with his family. We made good friends with the kids who lived here and every year it got re-kindled. Since the early 90's the lighthouse was automated and now the cottages are vacant. I often wonder where those kids are today.

Lighthouse Keeper Cottages

The old and the new

http://www.lighthouse.net.au/lights/nsw/Point%20Perpendicular/Pt%20Perpendicular.htm

Time to head back to Honeymoon Bay and maybe go for a swim

OK - so what happened to my L plate?

This section of road used to be pretty bad too and I was always amazed at how people got caravans in here. I remember how we broke the rear axle of my cousins mighty Vauxhall Viva a bit further in from here but now you wouldn't break a sweat getting in. But either way - it's well worth it.

Left side

Right side

And yep - I'm definitely going for a swim. 

Yadboro Flats

A long weekend with awesome weather formed the perfect backdrop to get on the bike for a little Adventure Ride and to explore a place that I remember from my younger days. Yadboro Flats lies on the upper reaches of the Clyde River and is in (funnily enough) the Yadboro State Forest - http://www.forestrycorporation.com.au/visiting/forests/yadboro. It's a peaceful spot (normally but not at Easter) with Bass Fishing, Bushwalking, swimming and Four wheel driving very popular and obviously, during this weekend - camping.

With my bags packed I was ready to go (hmmm - there's a song in that hehe) and I slowly meandered down the coast with a little bit of easter traffic. Past beautiful Kiama and Geringong, I was soon in historic Berry. From there it was a quick run to Nowra and on to sleepy Milton for a quick stop to top up with fuel and grab a drink. I soon found Woodburn Rd and headed inland to the turn off for the Clyde River Rd. Here it turned to dirt and dust started creeping into everything very quickly. Being Easter, traffic was constant and I was a real risk of being run over by weekend 4wd warriors - or so I thought.

To most of you this obviously looks like a motorway but not to me..................

For this trip I had a new toy to play with in the form of a Contour Camera. I had a couple of mounting possies - one on the helmet and one on the side of the bike. This allowed me to be a little creative in filming some of the ride.  Add a couple of stops along the road at interesting places, setting up some different angles made for some great footage. I know right - Steven Spielberg I'm not but do I care? Last run past the cam I was getting a tad too excited and while turning the bike around the back wheel slipped of a rock. I got unbalanced towards the low side of the road, lost my footing and the GS decided to have a lay down. Gentle as you like. So much for my preconceived ideas of getting run over by the weekend warriors.

My first oops :(

The offending rock can just be seen

Not impressed Jan. Thankfully no damage. Only to my pride. And to add insult to injury my embarrassment didn't stop there. It was at this point I found out how heavy 200Kg is and with the bike also facing downhill I struggled to pick it up. Obviously this is a skill I need to master. Nothing to it but to wave down a passing car. Very obligingly they stopped to help and after they stopped laughing the bike was back on its two wheels in a flash.

Lesson learnt - hopefully. Back on the bike it wasn't long before I was running down the hill to cross the bridge over the Clyde and head into the camping ground of Yadboro Flats.

The Clyde  - or Bhundoo as the local Aboriginal people call it, is reputed to have the cleanest, least polluted waters of any major river in Eastern Australia and I can believe it. 

http://www.southcoast.com.au/clyderiver/

It meanders through 3 National Parks and 10 State Forests nearly totally uninhabited, has no polluting industries along its banks and is one of the last major rivers in Eastern Australia that remains un-dammed. The upper river valley is surrounded by rugged coastal mountain ranges with Pigeon House and The Castle standing tall in the distance. I was yearning to go and climb Pigeon House again having done it in the past but not this trip - that I will save for a quieter time. For now I was content to arrive at Yadboro Flats, set up my camp for the night and relax with a cold beer.

A little dusty but happy I made it with only a "small" oops.

Enjoying a well deserved Beer - thanks Tim :)

A quick vid can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWVRxXXVwuU