Day 4 - Oberon to Kangaroo Valley

This post is a bit late due to there being no next G signal at Kangaroo Valley,


I woke up to find that the rain had stopped and the cloud appeared to be breaking up. WooHoo!!
I loaded up with the intention of heading back to Kanangra Walls, since it was a much better looking day and the weather had kept me away yesterday. To get there is about 20km of sealed road then 30 odd km of rough, nasty dirt road, I was probably half way there when the mist once again descened and i was again in the clouds, the rain following soon after.
At this point , i decided it was pointless to continue on as i wouldn't be able to see the views through the clouds anyway so i swung around and backtracked to make my way to Wombeyan Caves.

The first 30-40 km was reasonable dirt roads through pine plantation and non descript sheep farming country, so nothing too exciting to look at here but before too long i was back into National Park. I really didn't know where i was going but i knew i had to head south and pick up Range trail which was said to deliver me close to the caves. I came over the top of Mt Werong and checked out the huts and gold mining remnants there. Still unsure on where to go, I headed on, deeper into the scrub and was beginning to think i'd have to re-trace my steps when i stumbled upon Range Fire Trail and a sign saying Wombeyan 45km.

The Range fire trail turned out to be a bit of an effort! in some ways it reminded me of the trails i regularly ride at home on Bago. Mushy, wet gullies and steep, rocky uphills with a fair bit of slick red clay thrown in to keep me on my toes. The technical track made for slow going but we got there. I'm so impressed with the capabilities of my bike. It was true enduro bike country but the big girl ate it up fully loaded and all! The 45km took me well over an hour though with a few nervy moments through the rutted, muddy parts.

Eventually i pulled out onto Wombeyan road and made the short trip down the windy tarmac road to the caves.
The caves were awesome! $12 and i was able to do a self guided tour and there was no-one else there!!
I took a LOT of photos but unfortunately they all turned out rubbish. taking photos in the caves is difficult because the flash tends to wash out all of the colour. But it was very beautiful, even if my photos were crap!!

After my tour and a hasty lunch i was back on track again. The road from Wombeyan to Mittagong is something else!! Best road i've ever ridden! Bar none!! I can't think of a word that does justice to how much fun this road was. 50km of very narrow, winding dirt carved into the sides of the mountains with massive rock faces on one side and seemingly bottomless drops on the other. I was smiling into my helmet the whole way! AWESOME!!!

In Nattai N.P. i came across what i can only assume were brumbies, miles from anywhere and definitely no farms about. Some of the rock formations out here were amazing, there's even a tunnel carved through a gigantic slab of rock.

I bypassed Mittagong and headed onto Berrima and Mossvale where i bought food, fueled up and headed off  into the rain to Kangaroo Valley to camp for the night.  The campsite here was said to be free so i wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. A nice big grassy area, clean and neatly mown with clean drinking water. The rain even eased up so i was able to set up camp in the relative dry.

All in all day 4 was a winner. I didn't do that many km, maybe 220, but the quality of the riding combined with how good the caves were meant i'd had a great day. I don't even care about the rain anymore.

Still undecided as to what to do for day 5. Lay day perhaps? or cruise the South Coast and find a camp down near Eden for the night?