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fingers jammed.
Pulling up the street to take some photos of Phil’ s V-Strom riding out of town, a lady worked furiously in the garden in front of her picket fence, digging and pulling out weeds. She told me that she and her husband came for a visit from Sydney a few years ago. They fell in love with the place and decided to come back and stay. She was trying to get the garden finished before the storms predicted for the following day. I’ m still convinced she’ s trying to find gold.
The road from Sofala to Hill End has been upgraded to bitumen and is an unchallenging ride for any motorcycle. The wooden truss bridge at Wallaby Rocks campground was still in good condition and still only one lane. Heading towards Crudine, blades of wind generators rose over the hills powering 75,000 homes. The hills are a mix of 1800’ s miners huts and 21st century technology. You realise how far humanity has progressed in a little over 150 years.
Entering Hill End, we were ready for a meal. Phil and Peter had never visited here so we did a quick tour of the town, going past the stone buildings, wooden cottages, wild goats grazing amongst remnants of houses and wallabies sunning themselves on the sides of the road. It’ s easy to understand why artists such as Russell Drysdale, Margaret Olley, Glen Whiteley, and others were drawn to this village. In contrast to last time, I was here, many of the shops were empty.
Speaking to the cook in the general store, he told me,“ This is still the fall back from covid. The town has survived many booms and busts and will survive. Trade here is starting to pick up again.”
He had been here for a couple of months and every weekend was getting busier.
The start of the Bridle Track advised 4x4 vehicles preferred and not suitable for caravans. Peters decided his Subaru would be fine if he took it slowly and used common sense.
The first section was narrow, long, and windy. Concentration was heightened due to shadows on the track masking potholes and ruts. We also had to keep an eye out for wallabies and goats that wander the track. A water crossing at the bottom of the hill beside Cave Hole Reserve campground was easily negated but I could imagine it being a challenge during flood.
Several people had already staked their camping sites along the Turon River, tents were pitched, fires smoldering, and a few people stood by the river with fishing rods in their hands waiting for dinner, others were splashing in their canoes. This weekend the numerous camping spots along the river were taken.
The Bridle Track is in far better condition today than it was ten years ago when I last rode through. The track is flatter with less potholes and ruts, the tennis ball sized rocks were no longer strewn along the track making you weave the whole way. The bypass of Monaghan’ s Bluff was steeper and softer than I was expecting and much wider than the rest of the track. Second gear with a steady throttle, you shouldn’ t have a problem getting up the hill.
Peters Subaru with highway tyres had a little slippage but nothing major. Although I would not want to do it in the wet. Pulling over at the halfway mark of the bypass, you could see the original track hugging the hillside and the drop off to the Turon River below. It’ s a very pretty stretch of road and you must admire the people that first surveyed the road and those that built it without the use of modern machinery. Hill End as a gold producing town must have been particularly important in its time to justify building the road to get there. I am not sure government funds would be allocated these days.
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