Scooterbobs trip to the Royal National Park

For Scooterbobs next adventure I decided that I would take him down through the Royal National Park which is down south between Sydney and Wollongong. Forgive me for the photo heavy post. Riding down past Brighton Le Sands beach side strip I stopped for a quick photo of the beach. We have hundreds of beaches here in Australia much like this one, many of them are empty and have no one on them. Some of the ones I passed today are quite popular and have lots of people on them.

Turning off the princess hwy I entered the National park which is only an hours drive from the CBD of Sydney. The park which is known by Sydney bikers as simply the 'Nasho' is a 16,000 hectare world heritage listed park, the second oldest in the world. There were quite a few bikes coming and going through here today and it was a cracking day for it, you couldn't have asked for a better day.

The road twists and turns it's way down into the park and descends across the Hacking river which was a perfect spot to show SB around.

After our short stop at the river I continued further down towards Stanwell Tops which has a fantastic look out. But before you get to this point the road starts to get really twisty just after the waterfall turn off. There are plenty of smooth hot mixed bends along here. And to Geoff James who asked if I talked to SB, yes I did find myself talking to scooterbob. When I hit the twisties I said "Yey Ha Scooterbob, were riding the twisties"

SB checking out the bends

It was almost lunch time by the time I pulled up in the car park at Stanwell tops, SB suggested we grab some lunch and an ice cool drink as it was hot out today so we sat on the benches watching the para gliders whilst having a toasted sandwich and coffee. There were quite a few bikes and cars up here today all soaking up the atmosphere.

A beautifully restored MV Augusta rolled into the car park

Seacliffe Bridge from Stanwell Tops lookout

We spent about an hour here watching the world go by, para gliders, bikes, cars and all manner of people from all walks of life. SB came out to take in the views too. It's amazing how many people actually talk to you about this little fellow and when they do they are completely amazed by his story. I even had some Japanese tourists taking photo's of SB below on the post. They though he was amazing.

SB taking in the views

It was time to keep moving and I took the grand pacific drive down to coalcliffe and across the seacliffe bridge. This is a spectacular route down by the sea side with magnificent views especially on a day like today. The bridge has been built out over the ocean due the too many rock falls on the old road that used to hug the cliff faces.

Seacliffe Bridge

SB checking out some of the local riders

We continued down past the seacliffe bridge and followed the road as it hugged the cliffs with fantastic views of the ocean. We passed by many little beaches along the way including some good ones like Thirroul beach.

SB wanted to stop in at the beach and check out the surf which was quite big today as we had a large easterly swell, and he wanted to check out some of the local wildlife.

After visiting the beaches we headed back up inland from the sea. Wollongong is surrounded by steep mountain faces called the illawarra escarpment. The road winds its way up from the sea to the top of Mt Kiera 464m(1522ft) which we ended up at the Mt Kiera look out. It has some superb views right over the top of Wollongong and out into the Pacific ocean(Tasman Sea).

Another superb day out riding with scooterbob despite the heat, I know I keep saying this, I guess you guys in the northern hemisphere would love to have our weather right about now, especially seeing as most of you have been covered in snow and freezing temps. It's been hot here 30°C+(86°F+).

Stay tuned for more adventures of the AMAZING Scooterbob!!!!!

Scooterbob visits the 3 Sisters

G'Day mate and welcome everyone from sunny Sydney Australia for scooterbobs continuing Aussie adventures. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Steve also known as Chillertek from The Road to Nowhere blog. I have graciously been given the honour of carrying scooterbob on his continuing adventures around the globe. This is his second leg in Australia many thanks to Theo for his wonderful tour of Victoria, Australia. I hope I can keep up the high standard that the other bloggers have set for scooterbobs travels. I'm sure that Bob would be very happy with what the blogging community has done, coming together in his memory and taking little scooterbob where Bob never got to go.

For my first outing I have decided on a trip up into the Blue Mountains, which is both a popular tourist destination for visitors from around the world and it also has some great motorcycling roads so hopefully we will get to do a bit of both and have some fun along the way. If your wondering why they are called the blue mountains, then one only has to look at the photos to see why.

It is going to be a hot day today(32°C/90°F) so I decided to leave early just after 7am. I couldn't put my camelbak on as I had to put scooterbob in my backpack so fingers crossed. Heading up into the mountains early was starting to look like a bad idea as I hit fog and mist, but luckily most of it burnt off as the sun came out and it ended up being a beautiful sunny day. First stop is the 2 look outs at Wentworth falls. There was some low lying fog in Jamison Valley this morning. Amazing views up here.

For the non Australian readers the Blue Mountains is a part of the great dividing range which runs up the east coast of Australia The blue mountains are a dissected Plateau carved out of sandstone bedrock. The mountain ranges are not very high as far as mountains are concerned and range up to around 1189m (3901 ft) and have precipices dropping away suddenly of up to 760m (2493 ft). Eucalyptus trees grow throughout the valleys of the ranges and the oil released by these into the atmosphere creates the blue haze which the mountains are named after.

I saw on google maps another lookout I hadn't visited before so I thought I'd check that one out for a different view. Unfortunately for me 4 mini bus loads of tourists had beat me to it so it was a bit hard taking photos. Those Japanese tourists are sitting on the edge of a massive drop easily a couple hundred feet.

Scooterbob admiring the view

I was a little worried about bob in that last shot above as I thought he might roll off the rock backwards, he was sitting precariously. Lucky he didn't as there would have been no way of recovering him if he went off the edge. I moved on from here and headed around towards Echo point which is the home of the 3 sisters.

Scooterbob at Echo Point

Scooterbob, meet the 3 sisters

 The three sisters is essentially a unusual rock formation. The character of the Three Sisters changes throughout the day and throughout the seasons as the sunlight brings out the magnificent colours. The Three Sisters is also floodlit until around 11pm each evening looking simply spectacular set against the black background of the night sky.

After bidding the 3 sisters good bye I followed the Blue Mountains Drive around the cliff tops and passed by scenic world which is basically another place to fleece the tourists of their hard earned. I stopped by eagle hawk lookout again with spectacular views of the valley and the 3 sisters.

Looking straight down from eagle hawk lookout

I'm sure Bob would have loved to visit the blue mountains. There are plenty of little places to visit up here. Fantastic coffee shops, cafes and antique stores and those magnificent views everywhere. I moved along a bit to check out some more views. It was getting very hot now especially seeing as I was stop/starting a lot because I was taking so many photos. I was also getting hungry and thirsty. Time to find something to eat after one more picture.

I decided to stop in at Mountain pies and get a coffee and a pie. They have won awards with their pies. Again for the non aussie readers our aussie pie's are a pastry base filled with meat and cooked in the oven. I ordered a pepper steak pie. It had chunks of beef and actually had green pepper corns inside. Beautiful, washed down with a coffee. If your ever in the area stop in and try one of their pies. They are fantastic.

With lunch finished it was time for me and scooterbob to head home back to Sydney. It was so hot today and I missed my camelbak dearly in the heat but still it was a great ride and a fantastic day out.

29 December - Scooter Bob visits Wilsons Promontory - Another adventure "Down Under"

With the Christmas festivities behind us I thought it was time for my final trip showing Scooter Bob some of my favourite local riding destinations. The plan for today was to visit Tidal River which is a holiday destination located in the Wilsons Prom National Park. Wilsons Prom is a beautiful rugged, mountainous national park which is a huge attraction for hikers and campers particularly during the holiday season. The very tip of the Prom is also the most southerly part of the Australian mainland. The weather bureau forecast possible showers later in the day but when we left at about 10:30 all looked well.

The area abounds with wildlife and there are lots of signs asking drivers to take care to avoid the locals by driving/riding slowly. Scooter Bob observed some traffic signs which are unique to Australia.

The road to tidal river is very scenic and provides lots of views of the ocean. We stopped at this one to observe the rugged Wilsons Prom terrain and some of the off-shore islands.

We reached Tidal River at about 1 pm and found the place packed with caravans and tents and campers enjoying the summer holiday. Lunch plans were quickly abandoned when I realised it would take a long time to get served, so down to take a quick look at the Tidal River Beach. 

Not a lot of people at the beach because the weather had started to cool and when I looked at the sky towards home there was some ominous cloud activity there. We had no sooner started the return journey when the first raindrops hit so a quick stop to don the wet weather gear. Good decision because within 15 minutes or so we were riding through steady rain and quite gusty winds. This was the pattern for the whole return trip and it was good to get home around 4pm.

Well, it is time for Scooter Bob to travel to his next adventure down under and tomorrow I will be checking him and his little black travel case at the post office. I'm sure the little scooter will visit many more interesting locations in Australia so keeping checking here for future Scooter Bob reports from Australia.

Total Distance Today 320 km

Contributed by guest blogger Theo van der Meulen

24 December - Merry Christmas from Scooter Bob Down Under

It's Christmas Eve and Scooter Bob is spending the festive season in Traralgon, Australia
Once the festivities are out of the way, and hopefully some of the holiday traffic has died down, Scooter Bob will take another ride into the Victorian countryside before moving on to his next home away from home, in New South Wales.

In the meantime all that remains is for me to wish the circle of Bobskoot and Scooter Bob friends a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Safe riding everyone!

Contributed by guest blogger Theo van der Meulen

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Around this time last year, Bob posted Christmas greetings on this blog.

I missed it, just like I missed too many other wonderful posts, because I just didn't have the time.  In that way the impending holiday season is like a silver cloud with a grey lining.

Kathy didn't miss it though.  She e-mailed me and suggested a WetCoast blog challenge.

Read about it here.

I did.  And I can think of no more fitting way to kick off the coming holidays than to have Bob wish each and every one of you amazing holidays.


Thanks Kathy.

Merry Christmas, Happy Christmas, Happy Chanukah and very best wishes for the holidays!

16 December - Scooter Bob visits the Gippsland Lakes (Down Under)

The Gippsland Lakes are a network of lakes and marshes in East Gippsland, Victoria, covering an area of about 354 sq km (137 sq mi). The lakes and surrounding towns are an important tourist destination for Australians and international visitors alike, and feature boating, fishing, pristine beaches, fine dining and wineries. The lake system is connected to the sea at Lakes Entrance which is also a commercial fishing port. As the weather forecast promised temperatures around 35ºC I thought it was time to take the Beemer, and Scooter Bob to check out this wonderful destination.

Our first stop was to check out the commercial fishing fleet in Lakes Entrance.

Then, we were off to the hill overlooking Lakes Entrance to get a great view of the lakes and the entrance to the sea.

The pace in Lakes Entrance is picking up. Here in Victoria, as in the rest of Australia, school has just finished and main holidays of the year are underway. There was a constant stream of traffic ready to set up camp either here or in other coastal towns further up the coast.

After Lakes Entrance, it was a short ride to the village of Metung located in the middle of the lakes system. Metung appears to be developing into a retirement destination with lots of new residential developments and golf courses. As it was lunchtime we dropped into the Metung Galley for a bit to eat and some much needed hydration. Metung features a range of attractive holiday accommodation as well as boat and yacht hire and is a popular stop off for the may 'boaties' on the lakes. Restaurants and a great pub are only a short walk from the public jetty.

Finally, after some great riding and sightseeing it was time to head in the direction of home but not before a quick stop at our friends John and Sandra who live in Paynesville, also located on the shores of the Gippsland lakes. After the heat of the day, it was nice to sit in the shade for a chat, a coffee and a cigar before heading home.

The final leg of the trip was very windy and a sign of the storms forecast for later this evening, and it was nice to get home and have a well deserved beer (or two).

Total Distance 360 km.

Contributed by guest blogger Theo van der Meulen

14 December - More Scooter Bob Adventures Down Under and Scooter Bob Meets Shadow Riders of Australia

Once again a sunny hello from Australia where Scooter Bob is currently seeing the sights.

A beautiful day today and time to show Scooter Bob some more of the beautiful Victorian countryside. Our destination today was Christmas Hills to attend the Christmas BBQ of the Shadow Riders of Australia, a group of riders who enjoy the Honda Shadow motorcycle in its various forms. Our first stop was the little town of Noojee, which was at one time a thriving centre for timber production. Timber was hauled from Noojee to provide housing material for a booming Victoria and dedicated enthusiasts have recently placed one of the old steam locomotives used to haul timber, in a park in Noojee. The railway line travelled through the mountainous forest clad area around Noojee and joined the main Melbourne line via 7 timber tressle bridges. Only one of these now remains and Bob visited this last vestige of a once busy industry.

From Noojee our trek continued into the Yarra Valley wine region and then to the Sugarloaf Reservoir located in Christmas Hills. This was the meeting place for a number of Victorian members of the Shadow Riders of Australia for the annual Christmas BBQ. Before meeting all the SRA members though Scooter Bob visited the actual dam wall for another photo opportunity.

Then it was time to meet the SRA members and their families and to grab a group photo.

Finally it was time for Scooter Bob and me to start the long ride home back to Traralgon.  It was such a nice afternoon we returned through the mountain route and after a coffee in Yarragon we reached home after a great ride and a fantastic day.

Total Distance 362 km

Contributed by guest blogger Theo van der Meulen