Day 3 - Traralgon - Bairnsdale

Tuesday 9th February 2010


A rather late start today; by the time I’d spent an hour or so replying to emails and having breakfast it was about 9.30 by the time I was on the road north heading out of Traralgon towards Maffra. It was already getting hot, too.

Having deviated somewhat from the Lonely Planet recommended route I was intending to rejoin it at Sale, some 60kms east of Traralgon. Instead of taking the main A1 Princes Highway between these two towns I had intended to ride along the Gippsland Rail Trail, a cycle path along a disused railway which formerly linked Traralgon with Stratford, via Maffra and Heyfield. I’d picked up a guide to the trail from the tourist office which said that the surface of the trail was suitable only for mountain bikes, but had gradually been upgraded and the last section would be suitable for all bikes.


Quick drink stop at Toongabbie - already very hot

The railway trail was never far from the C460 road so I checked it at frequent intervals but the surface, while it did gradually improve, never reached a good enough standard to tempt me away from the road, which was well surfaced and had only minimal traffic. I’m going to have to ride plenty of miles on unsealed roads later in the route and I don’t want to shred my tyres unnecessarily.

Another monument to early explorer Strezlecki at Heyfield, 25kms from Traralgon

Mc Alister river, outside Maffra

Mc Alister hotel, Maffra

Maffra main St. A very well kept small town with some interesting historic buildings.

Metropolitan Hotel, Maffra


At Maffra the surface of the disused railway trail improved somewhat and I rode it for a few kms but it got rough again so I returned to the main road.

The rail trail finishes at Stratford, which is, unsurprisingly, on the river Avon (below) which was somewhat dried out today:

I had lunch in Stratfiord by which time it was already well into the afternoon, it was still very hot and the LP route to Bairnsdale, through remote country via Stockdale and Lindenow, would have been another 77kms; instead I went straight down the main A1 highway which wasn't all that busy and had a good wide shoulder - on which I came across this echidna perilously close to the road:

I also saw a couple of kangaroos but couldn't get the camera out quickly enough to photograph them.
This short cut saved about 25kms so I arrived in Bairnsdale about 6.30pm, having ridden 136kms today. I checked into a very comfortable motel and enjoyed a good fish and chips at the Main Hotel, washed down by a very agreeable Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon.

This ugly water tower is a distinctive feature of Bairnsdale's main street.

Bairnsdale is at the easternmost end of the Latrobe valley; tomorrow I'll be commencing the ascent into the Alps, so I had better get a good night's sleep and I hope to be on the road early to miss as much of the heat as possible.