We started out early at 8am with a little trepidation about the hills to come.  The weather was clearing and we made good progress out of town and into the forest.  The trees were spectacular and got better and better the further we biked.  Large old rain forest gums got older and older the deeper into the wilderness we got.  We had the road to ourselves with less than one car per hour which was nice knowing that someone would come along if we needed help.

We originally planned to bike to Martins Creek picnic area which was 46km.  We made good time and the hills seemed easy to bike up.  The previous 500km of cycling has built up our leg muscles and slopes that would have been in bottom gear two weeks ago are now easy in higher gears.

We got to Martins Creek at mid-day, well ahead of expectations.  We revised our days destination to Goongerah, the only settlement between Orbost and Bonang.  We rolled into Goongerah at 3pm and set up tent in the free campground.  Goongerah has a reputation (according to the Orbost Caravan Park manager) of self-sufficient hippies.  It’s beautiful here and it’s easy to see why people would want to live here.

Camping in a non-serviced campground means there is no camp kitchen, lounge etc and therefore no light after dark.  At this time of year that means it will be pitch black at 6pm.  We will cook, clean-up and be in the tent by 6pm.  It won’t be hard dropping off to sleep early after a long and very rewarding days biking.

Highlight of the day: The spectacular trees and the surprising fitness we’ve build up.

Lunch at Martins Creek

Spectacular Trees on the Bonang Highway

Writing the blog at Goongerah