So, our exploration of Australia‘s bottom right corner is complete. It had been my intention to provide an update once we got to Melbourne but, to be quite honest, we were just too busy having a good time!
It has been a challenging trip but this was largely a problem of our own making: We set ourselves an 80 miles/day target and ended up doing several considerably longer days and we were hauling all our own gear. Despite this we had the time of our lives! The coastal route offers a great variety of scenery, ranging from ‘pleasant’ to stunning, the roads are mostly cycle-friendly, Sydney and Melbourne are world-class cities and the Australians are friendly and welcoming. Oh yes, and the weather is brilliant. Accommodation along the route was plentiful, available and inexpensive and we ate like kings. There can be little better than a double lamb shank after a hard day’s ride.
We ended up with 2100 miles on the clock, which was done over 25 riding days. Our longest day was an eye-watering 117 miles and our shortest was about 60. Our hottest day reached 40 degrees and the coolest started at about 12. The task now is to package some (or maybe even all) of the route for a magical Bike Adventures trip in 2017. See you there.
PS
If you would like to see our tan lines, Chris and I will be leading the Camino and Portugal trips in late April/Early May – it isn’t too late to join us!
