Day 3/3: The Prom

When you're on a bicycle or on foot, fellow hostel dwellers wish you a good trip. When you're on a motorbike, they wish you a safe trip. Having been wished a safe trip by a Scandinavian family, a friendly Irish lesbian couple, and a European of a non-identifiable nationality, I set off to complete the South Gippsland Highway. The South Gippsland Highway lies on the coastal plain South of the Strzelecki Ranges and finishes at Sale, where it connects with The Princes Highway.

Yarram, the only town of any size on the remote Eastern half of The South Gippsland Highway, was the first stop. Between Foster and Yarram, a side-road to Port Welshpool gives a view of the Southern coastline. It also has a small museum (top picture). At Yarram I accidentally filled up with premium fuel and was having breakfast at the bakery when a group of fifteen or so motorbikes parked next to my machine. Large bikes with lots of gadgets and hard lockable luggage; my GS500 with its soft panniers felt inferior.

About 20kms before Sale, around Longford, there are two turnoffs: the first goes to Seaspray while the second goes to Loch Sport, and I took the latter. The 50km road to Loch Sport runs along the strip of land surrounded by Lake Reeve and Lake Victoria, behind ninety-mile beach. It's a picturesque place to visit, but the pay-off didn't quite justify the 100km detour. Just outside of Loch Sport I had to slow down to avoid a group of large birds, Emus I think, running across the road. Unfortunately I was riding into the sun and they were a fair distance ahead of me, so my video camera (i.e. my iPod nano) didn't pick-up a usable image. Past Loch Sport, I tackled 9kms of compacted but rutted dirt within The Lakes National Park; a record for me as I rarely take the bike off the asphalt. I was happy to keep to the 30km/h speed limit.

After visiting the historic swing bridge just South of Sale (bottom picture), I finally completed The South Gippsland Highway. The bridge no longer swings (it is currently under repair), and no vehicles are allowed on it other than bicycles. Now through the back-roads above The Princes Highway; North to Maffra, then West through Heyfield, Toongabbie, Glengarry, Yallourn North and re-connecting with The Princes Highway at Moe. I must get myself a 'my bike is parked because I am watering a tree and I am perfectly fine' sign.

A trip North to Walhalla would have been a good ride but I wanted to get back early to avoid the returning long weekend traffic. So I took the slab back to Melbourne, with a rare trip on Eastlink to make the journey a little easier and a little dearer.

Riding Distance: 510 kms
Total Distance: 165 + 170 + 510 = 845 kms