Lakes Entrance to Thredbo

While Bob and Sandy walked up to Mt Kosciusko, Bruce,Doris,Rick and Donna went on the bob sled.



Two Jerks attacking the others, most of the time unsuccesfully.



Some of the riders after the shave.



Bob and Donna do the laps of Cooma.



Riders assemble at Nimitabel.



The four girl riders dress up,all did a great job riding around the country.



The Support crew.



Some cross dressers.



Inspector Clouseau.

The Final Day.
403kms to Thredbo,We had a dress up night on the last night and some good outfits were on show.
Neal (Inspector Clouseau, most everyone had nick names )and I left early so that we could get to Bombala and regroup the riders as they came in. Another regroup was planned for Nimitabel where we where met by a police escort for the run into Cooma and then on to Thredbo.
They closed the main street in Cooma for a while so that all the riders could have a parade and then pull up in the street and do a few interviews and TV coverage.
Then on to Thredbo, we had the film crew filming out of the back of the van as we were driving along. We did this coming out of Nimitabel and then going on to Thredbo.
All riders arrived safely and were presented with commemorative medals to signify the great achievments of all the riders and support crew.
Drinks all round.
When we had stopped in Cooma in the main street, it was quite an emotional time for all once with hugs and kisses all round and also some had family come to visit and join them for the trip to Thredbo.

D & B ~ Had nice blat up through Cann River to Bombala stopped for a coffee & regroup. Some of the group visited with Tony, the rider who broke his leg near Fitzroy Crossing up north. Off again with a final blat to Nimitabel to meet up with the police escort.
The police set a good pace & we were in Cooma in no time. We entered the main street to a rousing reception by the crowd assembled of family, friends, fellow bikers, local dignitaries and film crews. Kristin, Cameron and Naomi had made the trip to welcome us home so tears and cuddles for all.
My dear friend Dene (fellow postie challenge participant), Trish & Marilyn were also in there to show support, thanks girls!
Then on to Thredbo where the temp was 6 degrees , lucky Donna had her heated jacket which she had been wearing since Border Village SA!
Rode into Thredbo with more fanfare, Steven Walter's mum Sue was pillion on the lead bike going up and his dad Phil was one of our reliable support crew.
We had made it, 15000km in 35 days. Time to celebrate!with a beer or two.

Lorne to lakes Entrance

Ferry Terminal



Tyre shop that fixed the tyre for free, gave him a Around Australia Cap and lot of thanks.



Adam , one of the riders who was on KTM (one of the Adventure Twins) and had a bad spill, a few broken ribs etc.



General ferry shot.

Only 445kms, but I had to find a tyre shop to fix a flat tyre on the van. On the way we called in and saw Mark and Cate Hunter from Spot On Lasers, who made B and D coffee. After a short chat Cate took me to the tyre shop at Drysdale where they fixed the tyre for free after he saw the stickers on the van and I explained what we were doing. Many thanks Dale. After that I made my way to the Queenscliff to Sorrento Ferry, only to find out that I had missed the 10 o'clock ferry that most of the Riders had caught. Time to kill an hour. Got of the ferry and took the scenic route around the coast then up to the freeway and on to Lakes Entrance.
Was a long day and didn't get to take any shots of Lakes Entrance, which is a pity because it is a very picturesque place.
On arrival to Lakes Entrance everyone had come to the realisation that this was the last night. With a bit of a fancy dress organised for dinner it was time to catch up with the riders who were camping and normally stayed apart from us.
They are really nice people.
D & B ~ Hard to believe that 70 people from all walks of life can get on so well, none of us wanted the adventure to end. We hope to renew these friendships in the future.
The riders had an eventful day with the GPS, after missing a turn the recalculation took us on a dirt road ( Donna's favourite) and had us bamboozled for a short time.
We ended up in Koo-wee-rup at a organic cafe for lunch & right across the road was an op shop for our evenings attire, 3 outfits for $9 what a bargain!
After deciding that our time for sight seeing was fast running out we made a move to get to Lakes Entrance by a more direct route and headed up to the Princess FWY. Once on the freeway and keeping a steady pace we came over a rise to see a familiar white van ahead of us in the distance, even though he was on the ferry an hour after us. It never ceased to suprise us that no matter what time we left that van would always catch us.

Mt Gambier to Lorne

Jetty at Beach Point?



Blue lake at Mt Gambier, which is their water supply.



Great Ocean Road.



12 apostles or what is left of them.Is it 7 left??, or 6 1/2.



Cray Fisherman weighing their catch,they were a bit cagey about how much it was worth.

Mt Gambier to Lorne, 400kms,
Went to Portland, Port Fairy and then along the Great Ocean Road,and then on to Lorne.
The views along the GOR are spectacular.
The road is fun to drive along in the van as I had no passengers, and I could fling it around the corners,and then stop and fix up all the wine cases that had slipped around.
From Donna & Bob~ One of the highlights was Rebecca's bakery @ Port Fairy were Donna had the best ever Caramel slice, 6cm high x 7cm square - mmmmmm... coffee was good too.
We stopped at some of the viewing spots along GOR and assembled for an aerial shot from the film crew that had rented one of the sight seeing helicopters to video most everyone heading out from the 12 Apostles car park. Once we had traveled in a group for around 3 minutes we went back to normal speed and went "hunting" for the GOR then to Lorne. Through the Ottoways, great bike roads & beautiful scenery, the Ducati W.....s had a blast!
Had drinks & dinner at the pub and bade a final farewell to 'Clint & Kylie' who were finishing thier tour in Melb, a great couple whom we shared many laughs with. Hope to catch up with them in the future.

Lyndoch Hill to Mt Gambier

The Blue Lake which has water fed by pushing up through the water table.



The Coorong



The entrance to Lyndoch Hill.



Pink Lake.


450kms ride along the coast and past the Coorong. The Coorong and Murray Lakes region in South Australia is a vast unspoiled ecosystem comprised of freshwater lakes, wetlands, ocean beach and saltwater.
Also went past the pink lakes as well, which is coloured by Beta Carotene, which is found in carrots.
Mount Gambier was totally different to what was expected. We had always assumed it had been a very industrial town but to everyones surprise it was extremley nice and well laid out. A place that would be well worth a revisit. It also has the "Blue Lake" and a bunch of "Sinkholes" (not stinkholes, I think they got rid of them).