05 Days On The Road - Melbourne To Sydney Coastal Run - Day 5

Day 5 - Yass - Albury - Melbourne

Ah ! The last day of the travel,which only has a short story to tell.The entire day was spent on riding on that boring Hume highway.Though some exciting landscapes killed the boredum for a while.But it was a long run and boredum won the race,I was just sitting on the saddle..pushing the throttle and following the speed limits.

Map for the day



Long way to go Mate !!

05 Days On The Road - Melbourne To Sydney Coastal Run - Day 4

Day 4 - Sydney - Katoomba - Jenolan Caves - Goulburn - Yass

Map for Day 4


The original plan for the Day 4 was to hit Canberra and sweep the forest and mountain area around it.But when is the last time i went according to what i planned.I screwed up the original plan and decided to visit the Blue mountains national park area and Jenolan caves.

I wont mention that i started late,because that has become default case with me.As I always start late.I came out of Sydney and took the Great Western highway to move towards Katoomba.Got some pretty nasty jam for around 5-10 kms as there was road work in progress.I reached Katoomba by afternoon.

I followed the tourist board signs and the first place where i reached was the Sublime Point.There was a trek involved of 4-5 kms to reach out to the other points.I left my bike and the other stuff in the parking area..Picked up the camera and left for the trek.The Sublime view point was few meters away from the Parking.The valley in pic is called as Jamison Valley

05 Days On The Road - Melbourne To Sydney Coastal Run - Day 3

Day 3 - Rest Day and Sydney Darshan

Day 2nd's night ended quite late and clashed with the Day 3rd's morning.Day 3 was planned as a Sydney Darshan day with Amitav guide.Amitav is one of my very good friend,we were in Mumbai together as a room mate for 02 years when i was working with JP Morgan Chase.Quite an asshole he was during that time...and trust me..i found him as it is when i met him after 02 years.

Our day started quite late due to the early morning booze party.And by the time we got ready it was noon already.We took a ferry from Paramatta to Sydney CBD to have a close look at the Opera House and Harbour bridge.Instead of taking a backseat at the ferry,I preferred to stand at the front and look around how beautiful Sydney is.And meanwhile this beautiful girls back caught my attention 



And this was my ride to Sydeny CBD,Look at the Caption COOK posing 

05 Days On The Road - Melbourne To Sydney Coastal Run - Day 2 - PART 2

I continued ahead towards Tathra and just before i reach Tathra,I was pulled off by a Highway Patrol.Now you guys know why i mentioned about the cops in first Para :P.The cop was monitoring me for 2000 mtrs ..before he asked me to pull off by flashing the lights of his car and by putting the siren ON.
He asked me all the papers and Driving License.In that part i was clean,so he asked me that why your right indicator was ON for 2000 mtrs.I explained him that it might have left ON,while i was merging from Left lane to the Right lane.Then he took out the breath analyzer and asked me to blow some air  :P.I came out clean as i hadn't drank much in the last night.
I promised him that i won't make this mistake again and will triple check the indicators .. every time i switch them ON and Turn them OFF.So he let me go,Later on i checked that the offence i had made is not enough for issuing a ticket,that is why the COP left me with the warning.

I reached Tathra and stopped for a Coffee break at Tathra Beach Cafe.

Next destination was Bermagui,which was another 45 Kms.The road was two lane and was in pretty good condition.The bridges on this tourist route were the old wooden bridges,which were maintained quite well...except the fact they were not too wide and were able to allow one side traffic at a time.

05 Days On The Road - Melbourne To Sydney Coastal Run - Day 2 - PART 1

Day 2 - Mallacoota - Merimbula - Tathra - Bermagui - Nowra - Wollongong - Sydney

Map for Day 2 



It was a different experience spending the night in a Caravan.The number of beds which i saw in the caravan..could have accommodated 5 more peoples.I packed my stuff and went to the Mallacoota Beach.Didn't saw many peoples except few surfers.

05 Days On The Road - Melbourne To Sydney Coastal Run - Day 1

Day 1 - Melbourne - Sale - Lakes Entrance - Orbost - Mallacoota


It was the late start to the ride and weather was bit spooky but the rain was still holding up..just to spare me from its wrath i guess.I set my GPS to take me out from the city and put me on the M1/Princess Highway.For my 05 days journey i was carrying a tent along with a sleeping bag as i planned to camp on the way if i get any good and safe camping place.


Here is the map which i followed for this day 



The Spooky weather and the awesome highway

380 Kms of Unplanned Ride to Snowy Mt Baw Baw - Australia

Melbourne - Woori Yallock - Yarra Junction - Noojee - Mt Baw Baw - Warragul - Drouin - Pakhenham - Melbourne

A restless Saturday followed by an awesome Sunday.Saturday i was bit confused,which direction and which place to visit.Being in a new country you always face such type of situations,even google doesn't helps much on the weekend gateway's part.It throws you to those tours and travel websites which are of no use.

The confusion,whether i am going on a ride or not made me start late at around 10:00 AM in the morning.Set up the route details to reach Yarra Junction from where i planned to head towards Mt Baw Baw via Noojee.Here is the route map which i followed on my ride.



Took the Eastlink Freeway this time,Instead of the City highways.Took and exit at Springvale Road,from where the Eastlink Toll road started.Was back on the state highways.Followed Maroondah highway to reach Seville,Woori Yallock and then Yarra Junction.Stopped at Yarra Junction for quick breakfast.

A view from an inside road in Woori Yallock



Diverted from the Yarra Junction towards Noojee.Roads were as usual butter smooth and awesome.Was easily cruising at 80 km/h.

Solo Ride to Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley - Australia

An unwanted onsite assignment,which threw me out of the country to Australia.Its been two months and i have been dying to be back on the road..back on the saddle.Saved all money for last two months and bought a Hyosung Comet GT250 for 3500 AUD.Purchasing bike and riding a bike in this country is a serious and costly affair.

After few weekends of struggle at office,I finally got some time to take out the bike and go for a short spinYou have to be careful while selecting the Highways,as toll charges are applicable for Bikes as well .Here is the route which i took.

Melbourne - Dandenong Ranges - Seville - Woori Yallock - Healesville - Yarra Glen - Lilydale - Melbourne

The excitement of the first ride in the country didn't let me sleep properly. For the very first time, I woke up early for the ride.
I had taken enough print outs of the road map to make sure I am not lost. But did it actually helped, not at all. Just when I started from the Melbourne City, I was lost. Which route to take to get out of the city.

Finally I took help from the Google Maps Navigation and everything got sorted out. In order to reach Dandenong ranges, there were two options. First via Eastlink Freeway which had toll roads in between. Second was via city roads.
Since it was my first time, I preferred to take the city roads. As I moved ahead I discovered the trick to navigate easily, I started picking up the street names from where I had to take turns. So I don’t have to stop each and every time and take out my mobile to confirm which direction I need to go.

Traffic rules here are quite easy and are strictly followed. So far I have seen 95 % of the people following it religiously. Which is quite a good score.

Purchasing and Riding a motorcycle in Australia for an Indian National

There are few questions and doubts on purchasing motorcycle and riding them with the Indian Driving licence in Australia.Have talked to many riders,scanned the entire VIC road website and talked to the customer care executive several times.Here are few points and research i have done.


1) Is Indian driving license is valid in Australia - Rules vary from state to state.For Victoria,if you are on temporary visa and your DL is in english..You can ride/drive the vehicles


2) Purchasing a bike and Registration transfer - You can buy the bike from dealer or individuals.Buying the bike from dealer is most of the time safe..but costly.In case of an deal with Individual scenario is exactly opposite.There are two main things which is required to get the bike registered on your name.
RWC (Road worthy)..which decides whether your bike is in ridable condition,will it run perfectly on the road without any major incident or hassle.RWC is provided by the mechanichs who are authorized by the government.You need to book appointment with a nearby mechanic for an Inspection.Things which gets inspected are Headlight,Brake pads,tyres,indicators etc.If anything is not upto the mark,mechanic will provide the approximate repair cost and will fix everything upon the owners agreement.To get the bike on your name the RWC should be obtained..either on the sellers cost or buyers cost.It should not be more than one month old.
Registration...If a bike is already registered,getting bike registered on your name is very easy.Provided you have a valid RWC.You just need to go VIC roads office and submit the registration transfer form along with your passport photo copy (Photo ID),your local adress proof (Bank statement,elec bill,internet bill etc which should have your current address) and a copy of your DL.
If its unregisterd..then i am not much sure what all procedures one has to follow :)

Feel free to post any queries if you have..in relation to Riding a motorcycle in AUS.

Cheers
Biru

Drive To Mornington,Arthurs Seat and Fort Nepean - Australia - PART 2

Returned back from the Arthur’s seat and we were back on the same toll Free State highway. After few miles we stopped again at a tourist spot. Don’t remember the name of the place but it was a good idea to stop over.





Fellow Dowg