Day 4 - Bairnsdale - Gelantipy

Wednesday 10th February

I managed to get an early start, leaving Bairnsdale around 6.30am. The route started along the main Princes Highway, fairly quiet at that time in the morning. After 10km I reached the small town of Nicholson where I had a quick breakfast; from here I was able to follow another section of the bike path along the former East Gippsland Railway:

A1 Princes Highway is to the right of the picture.

Soon I was crossing the wide Nicholson River:

The rail trail was a delight to follow; it was tarmaced most of the way to Bruthen, about 20km away.

Towards Bruthen the tarmac ran out but the unsealed surface was still quite good and smooth to ride on:

At Bruthen I stopped at this charming old general store for a cold drink:

There were no further stopping points until I reached Buchan, another 48ks further on. The road went past Mt Nowa Nowa and became increasingly undulating; it was also very hot. Shortly after Bruthen I saw this road sign which was the first I’d seen on the journey to give the distance to Sydney:

I stopped for a late lunch in the pretty village of Buchan. The LP guide informed that this is the last town on the route until Jindabyne, 176kms away. There was also only one place to stay before Jindabyne and that was Gelantipy, about 40kms further on. The LP guide recommends that the section between Buchan and Jindabyne be tackled over 3 days, camping at 2 stops en route, at Suggan Buggan and Jacobs River. I didn’t have a tent with me and didn’t want to carry camping equipment; my plan therefore was to stay overnight at Gelantipy and attempt to make the final 136 kms to Jindabyne in one hit, the following day.

Shortly before 6pm I crossed Gelantipy Creek and arrived at the accommodation at Karoonda Park, a former timber mill, now a farm with cabin accommodation. Apart from a large school party I was the only guest there, and I enjoyed an excellent roast dinner before retiring early to a very comfortable bed. I knew that the next day was going to be a big challenge, the 136kms to Jindabyne had no facilities whatsoever en route so I had to take all the food I needed with me; I knew there were rivers on the way where I could get drinking water but that was literally all there would be.

Karoonda Park.

Total distance today - 132kms.