Victoria, blue mountains, a steam powered paddleboat, train and critters

Skirted Sydney doing our best to avoid it and rode through the Royal National Park. 

Big deal. 

This was probably the one section that was worthy of a photo.

The rest was small, tourist town after town and traffic.

Lot's of stop and go. Maddening. 

Targeting Apollo Bay for the night.

I take photos of the places I stay to try and remember the sequence. 

Being in a new place each night can be disorienting. 

Never mind remembering what date or day of the week it is.

Oh yeah, I remember now. This was a town on the outskirts of Canberra.

I just love it when the shelves accommodate all the gear.

And a pretty decent kitchen to cook in with new pans.

Found a pool nearby to swim again.

If I didn't need to sleep, I could just shower at these places during the ride.

ADV Rider.

This is where I get a lot of good ideas for planning my rides.

I also get to meet other people on this forum. 

This is Steve. He offered to store my motorcycle at his place for a year for free. 

Had to stop and say hello.

After a day of high winds, it was a welcome rest stop.

His 'stable'/man cave.

The side mirror won't stay where I want it so we needed a 10 mm washer with just the right thickness.

Fortunately he had just what we needed and gave us a lot of advice around the snowy mountains.

The road is guaranteed to be open by Oct 7, I targeted the 8th to be sure.

Like I said, big wind. Going up into the Snowy Mountains was pretty nerve wracking. 

Not sure what all the fuss is about, just a bunch of off season ski resorts. 

Turned around and came back to Berridale.

To find these babies on our doorstep. 

These horses were very playful in the crisp 38 degree morning air. 

Thank goodness I didn't listen to the well intending guy who said I shouldn't need heated gear.

Yep, watch out. All kinds of critters.

Really amazing how lush and beautiful Australia is.

It is spring here so that helps but whenever I see photos of Australia, it is of a big city or Uluru (which of course is only an area of the continent) but somehow, dry, barren and flat is what I expected.

Hardly.

We had a long day of riding and there were two roads. 

Wanted to take the 'shorter' road but Google insisted the longer road. 

Found out why the next day when we went to see what we 'missed'.

Don't want to be on the wrong side of this.

Seriously. 

Couldn't believe this sign. 

Just how big are they?

I would say the road covered in eucalyptus leaves is a lot more dangerous. 

Turned a twisty forest road into a lot of work rather than fun.

Later I saw a truck pulling a large, rotating brush to sweep the road.

Buffalo Mountain.

Maybe named to look like a buffalo?

Who knows. 

Short, twisty, fun in and out again road.

Then it was on to Phillip Island. 

And the penguin parade.

It was a ton of fun.

No photos of penguins because they are light sensitive. 

Colony of 1500-2000. 

They are tiny and blue. 

Digs for the night. 

Toilet with a view. 

Then a ferry to, ahem avoid another big city. Melbourne.

Saw this imitation Bob's Big Boy sign.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I had Arka go to the Burbank location and pick up a bag of their yummy chili spaghetti sauce. My favorite childhood meal.

Enchidna. The young are called puggles. 

Saw this guy making it across the road in a hurry.

When I got close, it hunkered down under its shell.

Next was a gorgeous, swooping road through yet another eucalyptus forest, and gorgeous rolling hills and on to the 12 apostles. 

I thought a lot about my dad this day. 

Next stop. Sovereign Hill living museum.

Sure it was a bit cheesy but it was cheesy fun.

In case you are wondering, I made it.

Read the instructions on how to bowl. 

Yep, excellent way to throw your back out.

Pass.

This place was made famous by this gold nugget.

Then on to a steakhouse for dinner. 

650 grams, um, well OK. 

The next day, rode through lots of farmland. 

Mustard fields.

Next stop, Echuca. 

Paddleboat steamers.

The wheels on this thing are wood too!

Tonight's Airbnb actually had ICE. 

**gasp**

I've learned to order a glass of 'ice water' and also a 'glass of ice'.

Then I pour the water into the ice.

Nearing the end of the ride. It has been just under a month. 

The Tiger has treated me well and the Benelli has kept up with my 800 cc triple. 

New South Wales and a whole lotta Koalas

The fun part about Australia is all the interesting wildlife. 

Take the Koala. 

I finally met something that sleeps more than me. 

I like to get 8-10 hours during the week, add a nap to that for weekends.

These cute buggers 16-20 hours a day sleeping.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. 

100+ Koalas. 

Geeze....what a life. Eat 4-6 hours a day. Sleep the rest of the time.

Paid a little extra for a Koala Close Up!

I prefer to see these in a park instead of on the side of the road.

Oh and the smell....even if you can't see them, you can smell them there.

Lazy buggers.

Unless food is available. 

Tasmanian Devil.

Tree kangaroo.

At first, thought, hun, they live in forested areas.

Nope, they live in the tree.

One of the sheepdogs.

Just as interested in Koalas as me.

Emu. 

Water Dragon. 

Gorgeous eagle. 

Felt weird watching him walk around on the ground.

Next stop Tambourine Mountain.

Where I discovered Turkish Delight Gin!

Double please.

Took this photo because it was just so dreamy. 

People have serious green thumbs here. 

Plants (as well as eggs and other items) are for sale in roadside stalls. 

Stopped at a public toilet and saw these cool stones.

Grafton. 

Jacaranda capital of Australia. 

Invasive species. 

Gorgeous purple flowers that bloom for a short period in the spring.

They are all over Los Angeles. 

Many heritage buildings.

And a little Art Deco.

The cars back into the parking spaces. 

Weird.

Found a nice apartment with cool door handles, shoulder height of course.

Each town has one of these large, travel motels.

There are some seriously scary water crossing warnings. 

Glad it's not rainy season. 2 meters!

No wonder there are so many Ute's with snorkels. 

Stayed in a rail road car. 

No heat on my side, 42 degrees F.

These rail cars are "Red Rattler's" and were used in Sydney.

By morning I was under 3 blankets. 

Dorringo. 

A stop along a known good motorcycle road.

Train graveyard. 

Totally unexpected. 

Rode along the top of a range and had spectacular views in both directions.

Katoomba. 

Blue Mountains.

Cozy and comfortable. 

Built in the last 1800's then got an Art Deco facelift. 

Finally, Grindle made a friend. 

Although he thinks he's a bit too clingy. 

Scenic World the next day.

Sure, tourist trap but it was pretty cool.

First was the Cable Scenic car down to the original mining area.

I asked 

I asked why it was called the Blue Mountains.

Seems the eucalyptus leaves contribute to the color of the haze in the distance.

Yep, it does look blue.

Beautiful footpath through the lush landscape. 

The cicadas were very loud.

No Koalas, seems Katoomba had a Koala hunting society.

Felt like Jurassic Park.

That could also be due to all the fake dinosaurs they had everywhere. 

It wasn't even noon by the time had done and see everything and rode the world's steepest train.

Went down these stairs.

Told everyone coming up they were going the wrong way.

Saw these cute birds and babies.

Hate taking selfies but hey it's a cockatoo.

Picked up some stowaways at the gift shop.

Grindle thinks he's pretty clingy. 

Given the epic winds of the last couple of days, good thing this other one holds on tight.

Snowy Mountains next.