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Canberra to Merimbula in Feb

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:58 pm
by girlfriday
Hello,

This is my first post - looking for some advice from those in the south east corner.

I have planned a short tour from Canberra to Merimbula via Majors Ck, Araluen to Moruya starting around 11 Feb. With the recent fires and extreme weather in southern NSW recently, I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice on whether this is still a good idea.

Normally I would not be so risk averse but the trip has become known as the 'third time lucky' tour. It is the third attempt at starting a tour from Canberra in the last 2 years. Surely this time nothing can go wrong - but now thinking maybe it can! We will be riding bike fridays and planning on taking our time so we can enjoy the country we have been feeling nostalgic about (living in Brisbane, ex-Canberrans).

Any thoughts on what the weather might do over the next few weeks, the availability of water, or the chance of total fire ban days, or needing to be evacuated due to fire anywhere along the route in mid-Feb would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Canberra to Merimbula in Feb

Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:25 pm
by Vintagetourer
I would not like to guess specific answers to your questions because the only predictable thing about fires and the windy heatwaves which help generate them is their unpredictability. Closer to your departure date however forecasts would be accurate enough to decide whether to go into certain areas or not, especially the state forests and national parks.

The Bureau of Met. and NSW Rural Fire Service sites would be worth a check.

Almost guaranteed conditions will be very hot (north westerlies) with occasional cool changes from the south and south east.

I've ridden part of your planned route on a fully loaded bike.(not my Bike Friday, but it would have been fine)

Journalled here. http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/6276" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Canberra to Braidwood via Captains Flat. You will note I avoided the Kings Highway via a route laughingly named 'Old Sydney Road'. Don't do this bit. Since I did this ride, improvements have been made to the Kings Hwy exit out of Queanbeyan. It has a wide shoulder now right to the Captains Flat turnoff.

I passed the turnoff to Majors Creek before I got to Braidwood.

Re: Canberra to Merimbula in Feb

Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 9:38 pm
by girlfriday
Thanks for your reply. It is good to know of the improvements to the Kings Highway. I wasn't looking forward to that bit. The Old Sydney Rd sounds like a good thing to avoid!

We will just keep an eye on the weather over the next couple of weeks and will pack to do the trip and make the final decision when we get to Canberra. We are driving down so can be quite flexible. We've come up with a number of possible alternatives for shorter trips and day rides in the general area that we could fit together based on conditions if needed.

Heat is OK in theory, well, if under around 35 and low humidity. It's been 10 years since I lived down that way. I remember cold but not much hot.

I am a great fan of CGOAB and have in fact read all your journals - always enjoyable. Your most recent tour looked fantastic.

Good to see others touring on bike fridays. I love mine for touring although I did go and buy a Surly LHT after having an 'incident' with small wheels and corrugations with loose gravel. The LHT is good but not quite as much fun.

Re: Canberra to Merimbula in Feb

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 9:19 pm
by WarrenH
Girlfriday, G'day. I'll be back in Canberra on the 8th Feb. I'll post a reply with some recent shots showing your proposed route but only as far south as Mystery Bay and 1080 Beach. If your able to call back late afternoon on the 9th Feb and it's not too close to your departure, I'll post up some current road conditions stuff.

Going via Majors Creek and Araluen, is a thrill and very beautiful visually. There was only 5-6ks of dirt between Majors Creek and Araluen and then only 52ks of dirt between Araluen and Moruya. Concerning the weather the extended GFS (the global model forecast) is showing quite a hot intrusion about the 14th of Feb inland, but if the rain stays away, it's actually the best time for summer down on the coast and temps hopefully will be remaining in the low to mid 20s. ... enjoy the ride.

A few old shots, from down on the Deua. You wont be far away from water at any time, if you have a water filter and can process water well. I would avoid drinking from the Deua unless you can process the water because of the stock upstream.

Smokey day, Deua River.

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A cold morning on the Deua.

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Warren.

Re: Canberra to Merimbula in Feb

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 11:47 am
by RonK
WarrenH wrote:Going via Majors Creek and Araluen, is a thrill and very beautiful visually. There was only 5-6ks of dirt between Majors Creek and Araluen and then only 52ks of dirt between Araluen and Moruya. Concerning the weather the extended GFS (the global model forecast) is showing quite a hot intrusion about the 14th of Feb inland, but if the rain stays away, it's actually the best time for summer down on the coast and temps hopefully will be remaining in the low to mid 20s. ... enjoy the ride.

A few old shots, from down on the Deua. You wont be far away from water at any time, if you have a water filter and can process water well. I would avoid drinking from the Deua unless you can process the water because of the stock upstream.
Geez Wassa - you're just trying to seduce the poor girl with those photos...I see through you. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: Canberra to Merimbula in Feb

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:16 pm
by iacl
It's a beautiful ride, and the scenary is that good, not to mention a downhill to die for.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

Re: Canberra to Merimbula in Feb

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 11:36 pm
by WarrenH
Ron, Hello.

Warren.

Re: Canberra to Merimbula in Feb

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 11:37 pm
by WarrenH
Ron, Hello, you see through me? Well, I hope that you're not expecting to see a bike shot giving me an opacity? I've seen a bike ... so I've seen through them all.

Sparra's fart ... at 1080 Beach.

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End of day Little Drom'.

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Warren.

Re: Canberra to Merimbula in Feb

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:49 pm
by WarrenH
This past week has been very smokey on the South Coast. The fire hazard level has been set at Low-Moderate but today it has been raised to High. For the last five days the Northerly has been at times, moderate to strong and has not let up. I certainly would not have liked to have been riding North into the wind.

Here are some shots from the past week from Majors Creek Mountain Road ... its not the best maintained back country road but it is interestingly steep with good views at times, to the Araluen Valey and to the Deua-Woila Wilderness. The shots of the road are how the road is all the way, until it flattens out at Neds Gate.

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... and the Araluen Road. If water is an issue, the Araluen Pub opens at 12.00 noon. The few road-side water tanks on the South Coast, that I saw all required a Bunnings triple fitting tap handle.

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It can be a bit of a shock, when you first hit the dirt on the Araluen Road at the Neringla Road junction but it is only the next 6 kilometres that are badly corrugated. 50 kilometre from Moruya, the road improves. It is 20 kilometres to the camping ground, the first easy access to water. None of the side creeks had water. It is very steep walking/climbing down from the road to the river, before the camping ground is reached, if you need water. The road has a few smooth sections. Graders are maintaining the road at the moment.

If you haven't considered taking the Dalmeny to Narooma multi-use path, it is very good. It starts at the Sports Club 100m from where you first turn off the highway, heading to Dalmeny. The path goes past an IGA a kilometre along and it finishes at Wilcocks Street where there is a large Woolies Supermarket, in south Narooma. The views from the multi-use path will blow you away. On a clear day, the locals told me, they can see (looking north) to The Castle and to Pigeon House Mountain in the Budawangs.

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Girlfriday have a good trip.

Other images from my reccy of the South Coast, I'll post in Country and Regional.

Warren.

Re: Canberra to Merimbula in Feb

Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 6:28 pm
by WarrenH
I went to a funeral yesterday in Narooma, for my closest male friend John McMillen who I explored the length of the NSW Great Divide from Willis to Mount Lindsay with. John was struct-down with an extremely rare blood cancer. After the wake, in the late afternoon, I went on the Narooma to Dalmeny cycleway that John introduced me to, a few years back. It was lovely Autumn weather yesterday. Warm, not too much sea breeze, the tide was rising, the light was directional, there was no one about except for a few slow circling Sea Eagles and many fast flying Pelicans. There was lots of smoke in the Coastal Ranges ... brilliant ambiance.

The boardwalk cycle way in deep shade on the Northern side of Mill Bay.

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... and two magnificent flyers.

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If you're cycle touring and passing through Narooma, riding on the highway (like I saw a rider doing the hills there yesterday), and you cope with a bit of sand, ride on the cycleway, then ride on the water's edge of Brou Beach, past the sand cliffs to Potato Point then rejoin the highway.

Warren.