From Thredbo, a winter sports resort that was known to be busy in summer, we expected a great descent to Jindabyne and from there a fun route across the Kiandra plateau towards Canberra.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as we had planned, as the first descent was peppered with steep climbs. Every day we covered many meters in altitude even though there were no passes or long climbs. Sometimes we were so frustrated by the strenuous uphill riding that we couldn’t really enjoy the beautiful landscape in Kosciuszko National Park. One exception was Clarke Gorge with its granite rocks towering over the crystal-clear water. Fortunately, we had left our luggage at the campsite and rode down into the gorge on lightweight bicycles on the dirt road. Here, too, there were gradients of 17%.

In the evening and at night, thunderstorms were the rule, which was very impressive on the one hand, but also forced us to set up our tent and cook in the entrance area at lightning speed from time to time. Thanks to our strong and sturdy tent, we stayed largely dry and woke up well-rested to sunshine. The wetness only bothered us on the direct but rather rough route to Canberra. Instead of taking the direct route on the highway via Cooma, we had decided to make a detour via the northern part of Kosciuszko National Park. Here the forest road was very slippery in places, had lots of puddles and the loamy dirt stuck to our tires. Although I knew that the forest section was foreseeable and the route led directly to a better road, my mood was at its lowest point. Two touring cyclists who suddenly appeared out of nowhere didn’t do much to change that. They were the only people we encountered on the 55 kilometers through the forest. Towards evening, we finally reached the unpaved but smooth road that would take us over more hills to Canberra the next day.

On the way into the Australian capital, we stopped at the first supermarket and looked for a dry shelter for the night. Heavy thunderstorms were forecast again and dark clouds were already gathering in the sky. We had already got used to the idea of a caravan park at the other end of the city when David suddenly said with delight: “You can go and buy a large Toblerone”. Which meant we had found a place to sleep. And what a place… Peter & Alison very spontaneously accepted our last-minute request for Warmshowers and gave us a wonderful welcome, even though we had lost the race against the storm front and arrived at their place dripping wet. Over a wonderful evening meal, we were given lots of tips about Canberra and its surroundings and were immediately integrated into the lively everyday life of the family. This included a visit to Alison’s parents the next evening. Her almost 90-year-old mother is the editor-in-chief of the local newspaper and patiently took notes on our detailed travel reports so that she could write about us in the next issue.

During the day, we used the time to visit the parliament building, the art museum, the national museum and the disturbingly glorifying war memorial. We were very happy that we were able to cycle from one place to another. Canberra is very spacious and resembles a large park rather than a city. We liked all the greenery, the great cycle paths and drivers who – uniquely for Australia – stopped for us at the pedestrian crossing.

After three nights in a cozy bed, it was time to hit the road again. On the first stage to Goulburn, we decided to make rapid progress on the wide shoulder of the noisy but fairly flat highway. We needed the short respite, as we soon found ourselves riding up and down again on minor roads towards the Blue Mountains. When we reached the highway again at Lithgow, we were initially very pleased with the good, wide hard shoulder and the moderate gradients. But on some of the steep sections and the many stretches of roadworks, it became uncomfortably narrow again. It was a good thing that Blackheath, our first destination in the Blue Mountains, was not far away.

The landscape with its steeply sloping mesas and waterfalls was breathtaking! The hike into the Grand Canyon was also very impressive. When we started in the dry eucalyptus forest on the plateau, we could hardly imagine that we would be descending into a gorge with damp fern forests and rushing streams. After the very rewarding viewpoints around Blackheath, Katoomba with its famous and much-visited sights had a hard time. On the one hand, the many steep hills on the scenic road, which offered no views at all, annoyed us. On the other hand, we thought the viewing platforms of the Three Sisters rock formation were overrated. Perhaps we were also disappointed by Katoomba, the main tourist center of the Blue Mountains, because we were traveling at lunchtime in the hot and humid weather and with many other tourists. Whatever the reason, we soon had enough of the hustle and bustle and left the Blue Mountains for Sydney with no regrets.

Apart from the great cycle path “The Oaks” on a 30 km long forest road, there was often no alternative to the hard shoulder of the highway on the way to Sydney. Depending on the amount of space available and the roadworks situation, this was anything from impeccable to catastrophic. The same applied to the smaller roads on which we meandered through the suburbs. The closer we got to the city center, the more often we found excellent, practically empty cycle paths.

Quite tired but very satisfied, we reached the easternmost point of our journey in lively Newtown. Here we were able to stay with my former office colleague Michael and his wife Bonnie in their beautiful townhouse, take a shower, do our laundry and sit down at the laid table, freshly cleaned. What a luxury! We enjoyed the meals, excursions and socializing together so much that we almost deprived our hosts of sleep…

The days with Michael and Bonnie flew by and were a wonderful change from everyday travelling life. Sightseeing, strolling through the neighborhood, a trip to the Barrenjoey lighthouse with a great view, a walk across the harbor bridge, museum visits, a drink in a microbrewery, an authentic Chinese dim sum breakfast, … there was room for everything during our short stay in Sydney. After another heavenly breakfast of warm rolls, cheese and fruit salad, our journey continues today…

This post was written on January 28, 2025 and published on February 9, 2025.