Day 023, Monday, 20 April, 2009

Distance travelled – 56.0 km
Avg speed –15.8 kph
Max speed – 44.9 kph

Casino, Summerland Way, Kyogle, Kyogle Road, Wadeville

The plan today was to have a short day and only ride the 32 km to Kyogle and then on Tuesday ride  64km along the Kyogle Road to Murwillumbah. The reason for this approach was that we had been told that there was a lot of climbing on the Kyogle Road and we had doubts that we could make Murwillumbah in a single day. Prior to leaving Casino we could not find anywhere to stay between Kyogle and Murwillumbah so we decided that we should stay in Kyogle and tackle the hills when we were fresh the next day.

The ride to Kyogle was uneventful. The road was good and the traffic light and the grade very reasonable. Average speed along this leg was 22 kph. There was a strong tail wind so we made very good progress completing the journey in about 90 minutes.

There was a big contrast in the countryside from the forest we had been predominantly travelling through over the last number of days. Today we found ourselves in open pasture with what looked like a mix of housing estates (close to Casino) hobby farms and dairy and pastoral enterprises.

Arriving in Kyogle we made enquiries at the visitor centre about accommodation options in  Kyogle itself as well as along the Kyogle Road towards Murwillumbah. To our surprise we found that there was a place we could stay in Wadeville 20 km along the road.

As it was only midday we both knew that Wadeville was perhaps the most sensible option. We parked ourselves in a picnic shelter in Apex Park to talk it through and look at the maps. I found that after eating our prepared lunch I was still looking for something else so we headed for the Box and Dice Café to fix this problem and get ourselves into the “mental space” necessary to climb some unexpected hills in the afternoon.

We left Kyogle just after 2.00pm and for the second time today found ourselves in a different type of countryside.  Kyogle is known as the gateway to the rainforest and the road we followed this afternoon was through very lush and green countryside. A mix of both cleared hillsides and forest. For the first 10km some of the climbing was rather challenging but all in all it was not as bad as we had originally thought. The only downside was the return of light rain but the first 10km of hard work was rewarded with 3 km of a ‘no pedalling’ downhill into Cawongla.

We stopped at the Cawongla General Store and had a very nice devonshire tea each. The store is nearly 100 years old and the shelving inside is as it was when the store was first built. The owner told us that each shelf was made from a single length of timber, something you would not see anywhere today. 

Our destination was 6 km away so shortly after 4.00pm we headed off, being told there was one more hill to climb before we could call it a day. Denise later commented that if this particular hill had gone on any longer she would have had to had a stop which in her case she will reluctantly do as she finds it particularly difficult to get the bike going uphill without clouting one of her legs with the pedals. Next time you see her check out all her bruises, the colours change daily.

Today was one of those days that started off with a ‘vague plan’ and ended up with us doing something that we did not expect to do. It would be nice if the whole of our trip was like this. Not sure we will end up tomorrow.

Zoom into the map and use the 'Satellite' layer to see our new location.

 

pict

pict

On the road between Casino and Kyogle

pict

A new business opportunity for Mr and Mrs Twaot

pict

Main street of Kyogle

pict

Ray Smith Memorial Lookout, Kyogle Road between Kyogle and Cawongla

pict

Cawongla Store and Gallery

pict

Wadeville

pict

Wadeville

 

Previous Report

Next Report

Top

 

Photography by Multilocus - A Division of Multilocus Interactive Pty Ltd
Home | Daily Reports | About | Contact Us | Merchandise | Site Map
© 2008 Mark Arundel