Around Australia: Day 38, Tingara to Mallacoota

Summary: Day 38 of my trip Around Australia on my Burgman 650 Executive brought me closer to the strom front moving east, I was now following for a few days. The night brings some distance to the rain. Roads were littered with debris, some towns are flodded.

Diary Entry for May 31, 2010

My initial, short entry in my "Around Australia" diary for the day read as follows:

Day 38: Yanakie to Mallacoota
Another good riding day — good from a weather perspective. The forecast High is pushing the rainy weather out to the Atlantic Ocean. The sun was not out when I tried to get some nice shots of the scenery in Wilsons Promontory — though was lurking out the odd moment during the day. I saw a bit of rain around Bruthen.
The weather must have been bad in the area I am in: Mallacoota. The host at the motel said they received 20 cm rain the past few days. No wonder there were large puddles along the roads and run-offs across the roads, etc.
The roads were empty as usual; except between Yarram and Bairnsdale. Today was also the day of the biggest police presence on the road I have seen on this trip in any state, including Vitoria so far: 4 police cars in action between Yarram and Cann River.
I settled in Mallacoota for the night.

Photo of the Day

Squeaky Beach, Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria

Tingara to Mallacoota

My Cottage for last Night, near Tingara, Victoria, Australia

Yesterday, the weather was enjoyable; the sun was out more than not. Today, the sun plays hide and seek; sometimes she disappears in seconds, making it really hard to capture what I see and enjoy. I was up at 06:45 and on the road at 07:15 — heading south into the Wilsons Promontory National Park.

Sunrise, Corner Inlet, Victoria, Australia

It was a beautiful ride; nobody out there — cars and humans that is; roos was a different story: heaps of them, but all friendly. The 80 km/h speed limit is sensible in order to protect the wildlife.

Whiskey Bay, Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia

Wilsons Promontory National Park is a beautiful place to visit. My short stint did not do justice to the beauty of nature to see in this park, and I am convinced exploring the park can easily be made a week-long adventure.

Squeaky Bay, Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia

Squeaky Beach, Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia

I wiggled my way up to Mount Oberon. It is less than 3 km from the T-intersection to Mount Oberon, and took me 5 minutes; yes, I stopped to take in the scenery and the odd photo. Most of the twisties allowed only for 40–50 km/h.

View from Mount Oberon, Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia

Beach Vegetation, Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia

I left Wilsons Promontory National Park around 09:20, and headed back to Meeniyan, onto the South Gippsland Highway, and to continue Bear Ride #57, which ultimately ends in Sale.

Darby River, Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia

Greater Corner Inlet Area

Corner Inlet is the most easterly, and consequently the warmest, of Victoria's large bays. It boasts a complex network of mangroves, salt marsh, mud banks, seagrass beds, rocky islands and deeper channels. Corner Inlet supports huge numbers of migratory water birds and healthy populations of seafloor animals and plants that are rare or absent elsewhere in Victoria.

Farmland (looking north), near Foster East, Victoria, Australia

There is certainly some very beautiful scenery along the way. To describe the geography: Corner Inlet Marine National Park (also called Nooramunga Marine Park), encompasses some 1,550 hectares with Granite Island at the north and Benison Island at the southern most portion of the park. It is close to Yanakie and Foster and is north of Wilsons Promontory National Park.

Map: Greater Corner Inlet Area, Victoria, Australia

Toora

Silcocks Hill Road leads up the mountains to Toora Wind Farm. It is only 2 km up the road around some 20 bends, and definitely worthwhile to ride up there for two reasons:

1. The twisty road
2. The magnificent views over Corner Inlet, and as far as Snake Island and Mount Hunter

View from Silcock Hill over Corner Inlet and Mount Hunter, near Toora, Victoria, Australia

The observant reader may have noticed in my other Around Australia reports that wind generators did grab my fancy. =res=1% I find these modern windmills simply amazing. The construction of the Toora wind farm started in 2001. It was one of the first commerical wind farms in Victoria. There are 12 turbines up the hill, each 67 metres in height; the rotor has a diameter of 66 metres. Each turbine produces 1,750 kW of electricity, feeding some 700 homes with power. The farm did cost $38 million. Impressive figures!

Princess Highway

I could have stayed up on the hill a bit longer… my next stop was Yarram: time for breakfast.

Aussie Breakfast, Yarram, Victoria, Australia

Old Railway Tracks, Orbost, Victoria, Australia

One thing to note: Victoria and the New South Wales experienced some really bad weather, storms and heavy down pours; interestingly enough I am following this weather system for the last few day, and — what I did not knw then — was going to follow that system fo rthe next 5 days, all the way back home to Brisbane.

Black Swans in make-shift lake, near Genoa, Victoria, Australia

I turned right in Genoa to ride Bear Ride #164 to Mallacoota. The "make-shift" lake (above) as I called it was simply a flooded paddock; flooded by the heavy rain less than 24 hours earlier. It was almost gone the next morning.

Sunset, Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia

I did some fruit and food shopping in Mallacoota, and then chased the sunset. Well, I should have done it the other way around, because I missed the spectacle.

I found a suitable place to stay in form of the Mallacoota Log Cabin.

Trip Data for the Day

577 km over the elapsed time of 10 hours.

Accommodation for the Night

My room at the Mallacoota Log Cabin, Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia

I stayed at the  Mallacoota Log Cabin in Mallacoota for the night. Cost: 90 AUD.

My comment: Nice, clean, good value for money accommodation. Was lucky to get a spot. Would stay there again!

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