Canberra - Bairnsdale via the Alpine way

Map showing the route I took from Canberra to Bairnsdale.

View Canberra - Bairnsdale - Great alpine road in a larger map

Took the less busy Boboyan road out from Canberra to Adaminaby on the first of November. Was not much traffic so great for cycling but the road was the hardest part of the trip if you only look to road conditions and not include weather factors. Partly I guess it's was because I was heavy loaded with lots of food and supplies when I left Canberra. Really didn't need to carry all that food because could find big supermarket in Jindabyne and also Thredbo and Adaminaby had a smaller store. Then it was a bigger shop in Corryung. But the main reason was that it was very much up and downs like riding bike waves, the cycling that I find most challenging. 

Had a nice camping in Namadgi and some views along the way but other from that it was nothing special. Biggest advantage with the road was that it was not so much traffic. In Adaminaby you have the chance of viewing the biggest Trout in the world. 

After Adaminaby I could feel that I was heading towards the mountain. The temperature fell and it started to be very cool. Camped about 10 km outside of Adaminaby and the next morning when I began cycling again it was just 1.9 C and windy. No problem with keeping upper body and legs warm but was a bit cold for my feet and painfully cold for my fingers. 

I didn't bring warm gloves so if you plan to cycle this road please make sure that you have warm cycle gloves and shoes. It would make the trip much more enjoyable. But after a couple of hours the temperature had slowly raised to around 10 degrees and I could get my hands warm again. Crossed a pass of 1317 meters and could then for the first time see the snow on the mountains in the horizon. 

Cycled passed some old settlements, very isolated farms even now and back in the old days the farmers here had to be completely self sufficient. 

Jindabyne is one of few skiing resorts in Australia. Had a very big and good visitors center, shopping center and lots of ski shops. Ski season was over so not so many tourist here. I found a campsite just before the city with nice looks over the lake. On the next morning the tent was covered with frost. 

From Jindabyne it's about 34 km to Thredbo but I chosen to stop just after 12 km at Thredbo Diggings. The reason for that was that I planned to walk up to the summit of Mt Kosciuzsko and then I would arrive to late in Thredbo if cycled all the way in one day. The campsite was great and in within the Mt Kosciuzsko Np and therefore free for cyclist (because you pay a day fee per vehicle). But I didn't see any other cyclist on the hole way but a lot of motorbike riders. Guess the winding and quiet roads are funny to ride. 

Was a great place to stay at and the next day I continued to Thredbo. Took about 2 hours to get there because the road was quite hilly. The visitor center there was kind and let me leave my bike and gear in lockers while I walked up Mt Kosciuszko. I will make a separate report about the walk later. 

From Thredbo that is located about 1300 m the road continued to climb. Very gentle climb so easy cycling and at Dead horse gap you reached the top of 1580 m. From there you had a long and winding descent. A very funny and easy cycling. 

The cycling from Dead horse gap and on to Geehi would I rate as the best part of the Alpine way. It was magic riding there; I had the winding and narrow roads all for my self, perfect tarmac and for 30 km it was like riding through a corridor of forest. All along the way the sound from the cicadas was so loud as it was almost unreal. I stopped just to listen and it was almost painfully load then. But when cycling the wind and speed reduced the sound to a more enjoyable level. 

At Geehi the descent ended and I stayed there at Geehi flats camping area. It's on the banks of the Swampy plains river and with views over a big grassy area with the mountains in the background. Really a stunning camp ground. The camping area is really big and you have your own private place. But there were also a lot of flies there now in November.

From Geehi flats there is a very long climb up again. Started early and shortly after I left the camp I saw a wild dog/Dingo on the road. It was black/dark grey and look really like a dog. Had read before that people had heard them howl when camping at Geehi.

Followed the Apine way to Corryong where I took the Benambra-Corryong road to Omeo. A trip of around 136 km of which 67 km is gravel but it's a very well maintained road so no problem cycling there. There are a long climb over a pass of 1370 m. When I cycled it was raining and temperature around 5-6 degrees. So was pretty cold, sky was all grey all the time. Was a short break in the raining on late afternoon and I used it to put up my tent next to the road. No traffic so no problem. It was about 1310 meter so the following day I had mostly downhill to Omeo. 

The rain continued all day and was really heavy before Omeo. So I took shelter in the BBQ area in a park. 

After Omeo the road joined the Great alpine road again. But it's only the name that is alpine. No mountain views or scenery so it was more of just getting to Bairnsdale. The ride is about 125 km and took 2 days for me.