20 years ago, perhaps 15 - maybe even only 10? whatever else they offered, my favourite roads would have provided enough solitude (and safety, in every sense of the word) that one didn't really feel antisocial by giving the loud pedal a bit of a tickle. I have always loved sporty cars - still do, nearing 75 - and my brother and I are part of a 4 generational collection of revheads. Well at least on the male side. But those days are past, and now great drives certainly have to feature (relative) solitude and of course scenery, some nice curves - you know the story - but not foot music!
Some of my favourite drives, not specifically in order, include the following. Sorry, no room for pics:
. The Black Stump Highway, past the quaint pub at Tambar Springs, from Mullaley (west of Gunnedah), through Coolah and down to Dunedoo. Must have the longest, unbroken series of 95 kmh advisory signs on gentle, sweeping curves in the world.
. Thuderbolt's Way, from Gloucester west of Taree, through Barrington, Walcha and up to Uralla on the New England Highway. Love the lengthy warning signs reminding motorbike riders that they aren't in fact on a racetrack. What a challenge to them all, that is!
. The magnificently formed Mulligan Highway savannah way, from Mareeba through Mt Molloy and over the Annan River Gorge, past the hugely mysterious Black Mountains, up to Cooktown.
. Bells Line of Road from Richmond west to Lithgow. Not that I have driven it for many, many years, and I doubt there is much of a solitude aspect now!
. Another great ridge road, from Hamliton to Coleraine, through Major Mitchell's "Australia Felix". Coming into Hamilton, the views of the Southern Grampians are magnificent.
There are many more - the back road from the Western Highway, down around the intriguing Mt Emu to the Hamilton Highway, the 'top of the world' ridge roads radiating from Millaa Millaa, the Omeo Highway - and I haven't even mentioned SA, WA, Tassie or the NT!
Cheers al
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Wednesday 5 December 2012
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Thunderbolts Way is indeed a drive to remember. It is along there that there is a plaque in a little "pull in" on the side of the road , remembering the Slim Dusty song "Kelly's Offsider", which in part recalls how Kelly scattered his "offsiders" ashes , his wife who accompanied him in his truck, in a "place the Truckies all know"....One of Slims more poignant songs,apparently based on a true life story.
ReplyDeleteA very slow and long descent into Gloucester in a loaded truck, I can assure you.
These days any drive without seeing a speed camera off the side of the road or a cop over a verge aiming at you, is a good drive (not that I indulge in anti-social speeding :0) but ah yes the mind sometimes wanders back to the days when chances of getting pinged were much less. One memory occasionally repeated at family gatherings involved a trip home from Bundy on a Sunday night in the trusty Allan Moffat Special with the tacho sitting on a lazy 2500 which equated to about 120km/hr when way sideup ahead the driving lights picked up a reflective silver jacketed figure step out onto the road, arms waving me down.
ReplyDelete"Bloody hell, they've got me," I muttered.
"What's wrong, you can dodge that kangaroo, can't you?" my dozing wife replied. Well I've heard them called other names but that was the first time I've ever seen a silver kangaroo pull me over and write me a ticket.
BTW, the Allan Moffat was mine for more than 13 years before we parted company but with about 260,000km on the odo and still purring like a kitten I got back more than I had paid originally. These days it would likely be much more.
John, I fondly recall your bright red Moffat Falcon, and remember when you upgraded it to solid state ignition. And Tony, I have driven Thunderbolt's twice, in different sporty coupes, but both up, never down. I think I can (sort of, more or less) imagine what manhandling a loaded truck, down into Gloucester must have been like! :-(
ReplyDeleteA couple of other favourite little drives of mine are from Dalby, through Bell up to Kingaroy, with sweeping curves through the Bunya Mountains, and little Bell, glistening white in the afternoon sunlight, on the side of the hill, and through the marlborough Hills grazing country north of Yamba, on the way up to Sarina. Boy, was that (and the 'detour' through St Lawrence) a b*** breaker back in the 50s!
Cheers al
I'm just a little over driving at the moment..5.30 am start this morning at mate's depot to drive his water truck on a road repair job,on site loading ( pumping) water out of creek and then on to the job site.. all day in and out of truck, out of truck start the pump on the tank , in the truck and wet down a section, park up and get out to shut pump down.Didn't worry about the seat belt while on site all day, left at 5.30 pm and on the way home our friend the policeman came screaming up behind me so I slowed and pulled off to let him past, only he didn't want to go past...then I realised that I had driven out of the job site with the seat belt hanging neatly behind me... $330 and 3 points gone ...particularly annoying as I made $250 for the day so half of tomorow will go towards the rewards of crime as well. Dammit.
ReplyDeleteOh, Tony - that is nasty isn't it???? When you realise you worked all day for nothing (even less than nothing!!!). I have just found time to come on and check some things out so my first contribution to date.
ReplyDeleteNo greenie would get caught like you did that is for sure - Because they wouldn't have been doing any work. LOL
Oh is "politics" allowed on here? haha
Back to nice drives - I do believe the drive from Cairns to Port Douglas is one of the nicest. You have the beautiful Coral Sea on one side and the mountains or northern beach suburbs on the other. Some of the suburbs adjoin the esplanade area along the way of course. It is always a pleasant place to take visitors to or an area to direct them to. Even taking the drive from that coastal area a little further north to head up to the Tableland via the Rex Range is another beautiful drive.
ReplyDelete(I do like the idea of being able to preview what is written before actually publishing).
bev, totally agree with your felicitations to poor, unfairly treated Tony. Grrrr!!
DeleteRe the Cook hway up to Mossman / Pt Douglas, agree with you. But it was vastly more exciting back in the 50s (before you were born! :-), when it was less than half the width! AND with crumbling verges, dropping away vertically to the Coral Sea :-(
Cheers al
Hello Al, Beverly, well here I am to comment on great drives.
DeleteOne of the best IMHO is the Grand Ridge Road along the top of the Strezlecki Ranges in South East Gippsland in Victoria.Beginning at Seaview, about 15km south of Warragul one drives through 134 km of magnificent scenery ranging from fertile pastures of the Latrobe Valley through magnificent fern gullies and tall stands of mountain ash and forestry timber plantations, quaint villages and on to glimpses of the blue waters of Bass Straight and Wilson's Promontory. Not a drive to be taken in bad weather as the road is part sealed, part gravel, but well worth the hours it takes.
Well come aboard jan, and what a propitious day to start commenting here - 12.12.12!
DeleteWe have driven that road, but years back when we and a couple of mates we frenetic barbecuers, with our little kids, all over Vic. Your description brings it back, and indeed, magnificent country. In a totally different way, the drive along the wild and wooly Coorong in SA, heading south towards Millicent, used to be magnificent too. That was when Lake Alexandrina was always full, the Coorong was full, and the narrow strip of land between it and the raging Southern Ocean, bursting with life. I think it would be great if Dr Jen Marohasy won the argument to open the Murray mouth to the ocean, and salt water inflow / outflow. ie a normal estuary. But not too many flying pigs around these days!
Cheers al
Thanks Al, I'm well and truly aboard - three times actually, as I seemed to be having trouble registering, and finished up with 3 titles, can't delete them for love nor money.
ReplyDeleteWe have driven that road from Adelaide via the Coorong which did have water, Robe which is fascinating history wise, Millicent where a long time friend from my nursing days lives, and along the coast (where possible) back to Melbourne. A magnificednt drive.
Hi Jan, and yes, I did notice you there amongst the Members, with your new avatar. If you 'sign in' under that address, when you comment it will come up with your own sign, rather than the ubiquitous orange 'g'. But then perhaps you like orange? Always one of my favourite colours (along with various dark blues, and black), but I assure you that 'Mikkelsen' is not Irish - of either persuasion :-)
ReplyDeleteCheers al (With a shilelagh under me arm ......)
Great drives - the old David Low Way stretching along the Sunshine Coast's magnificent beaches between Mooloolabah and Noosa, particularly the stretch from Coolum up thru Perigian, Marcus Beach, Castaways and Sunshine Beach would have to rate pretty high even if it is nearly all 60km/hr these days and pretty busy. But the beach views are as great as they ever were, the sands still white and the surf blue and clear - a big contrast to present day Gladstone Harbour.
ReplyDeleteThat drive up to Mossman/ Port Douglas would take some beating but now that I have acquired a 4WD Navara STX dual cab ute with all the off road bells and whistles (still comfortable to ride in) we will have to give thought to eventually tackling the Cape York trip one day.
ReplyDeleteWe had an interesting trip back from the SS Coast with the CB radio on in the background, hearing the truckies warning each other (and us but I didn't join in) of where the boys in blue were, using codes like "blue pony heading south out of Maryborough" (a blue highway patrol car) and "flash and cash at the northern end of the bypass" (camera van off the side of the road).
They also warn each other of idiot drivers like "watch out for the yellow Mitsibishi shit box behind you now - just passed us on a blind bend. Obviously tired of breathing oxygen..."
Breaker, breaker.....
DeleteRe breaking in your new mount, consider the Pinnacle Rd, which branches off the Bruce north of Gin Gin (near Lowmead??) and heads through grazing properties, up to and over the Many Peaks Ranges, to Kalpowar. You can then come home through Many Peaks down to Calliope, as associated with many vast floods by a guru who shall never be named. My 61 Falcon did it a few times, poor thing, and somehow survived. But then, company cars could do anything! :-) The track saved considerably more than half he distance by main road9s) between Monto and Bundaberg.
Cheers al
In the first week of the new year I'm off on roads most of which I haven't been on before. I'll give you the basic route, nothing set in concrete at this stage & you can tell me what to stop to see or what by-way is far better than the most obvious route.
ReplyDeleteWe are off to SA & back, cross the Qld border at Hebel & drive down to Broken Hill. Plan a full day stop over to visit the likes of the Pro Hart museum. Broken Hill to a brother-in-laws place in the Adelaide Hills. Got plenty to do there for a wk with the wineries of course but old Stiller haunts from when we arrived in this country in 1844.
Take our time comming home, cross into Vic & travel the great ocean road. Somewhere abouts Gelong head north & cross back into Qld at Goondiwindi. Thinking of comming up Thunderbolts way throught the western New England rather up the Newell highway.
Well Dale, that sounds like a lot of good driving! if you are thinking about taking in Thunderbolt's Way, that means you will have to have worked your way towards the NSW east, north of Sydney.
DeleteFrom geelong, why don't you choose a way north to the Murray (there are a few0 and then head east to, and beyond Albury, to the Olympic Highway. Again various branch / choices once you pass Wagga, but pick up the Black Stump Highway north of Wellington at Dunedoo, and go on through Gunnedah to Tamworth. or if you prefer, west to the Newell.
Good travelling!!
Cheers al
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ReplyDelete