The Cormanus Chronicles: Riding South

[Cormanus]

25 January 2026

Day 6
Cooma to Lakes Entrance

Click on the image for a scrollable map

My plan to spend the day riding over the Alpine Way through the Kosciuszko National Park was not a goer. Bushfires meant a lengthy detour would make it too long a day if we were to get AussieFlyer to a place from which he could easily get home the following day. We decided to make our way along a couple of scenic roads and get into the state of Victoria where we could meet up with noroomtomove and position AussieFlyer for a home run.

Restored to working order and ready to go

The first leg involved a quick ride across the high plains to Brown Mountain Road, along which we would descend into Bega. It's a great ride.

The high plains are less fun than the mountain …

On the way down

We had a quick look at Bega, before stopping for water and coffee at Macdonalds — one of the things I wish America had been selfish about and kept all to itself.

There's a joke about spaniels that says when they look at you appealingly and indicate they want to go outside they're saying something like, "Let me out, I want to come in again." So it is riding with Cormanus: you ride down the hill so you can ride up again. Or the other way around; that's the beauty of it: it doesn't matter.

This time we were to take the Mt Darragh Road and, to save a little time, we'd take a shortcut past the pretty town of Candelo. All of which went well until the GPS took us on to Tantawangalo Mountain Road.

Let us pause here, just for a moment, so I can share, mostly for the Ferret's benefit, some wonderfully Australian names. I mean, how about Tantawangalo? Or Bulbugeroo Creek? Or Mookalimterria Creek? That was the one that stuck with me as I rode past. We didn't get there, and it's not particularly Australian, but near Tantawangalo, there's apparently a place called Wattle Happen.

We both thought we'd died and gone to heaven. It was a lovely road and we were sailing happily along until we met my old friend, the dirt. So, we stopped, turned around and rode back again which was not, if I'm honest, a hardship.

Somewhere up Tantawangalo Mountain Road

We then took to the Myrtle Mountain Road, which was also enjoyable and took us to Wyndham where we joined the Mount Darragh Road. That was also good fun. I've a recollection we rode it in 2017 on the Tour Down Under. It may well have rained.

Mt Darragh Road

At Bombala, where it was very hot, we stopped for fuel, water and coffee. I wanted to ride the Bonang Road, but, while I thought I'd heard the dirt patch in the middle had been sealed, I wasn't sure. Instead we took the Cann River Road, about which there was nothing to complain.

At Cann River we turned right and met a head wind which was warm but offered some respite from the heat of the high plain. A strange reversal. We stopped briefly in Orbost for water and chatted with a bloke on a Versys (I think) who was making a quick return to Queensland.

At Lakes Entrance, a very pretty seaside town, we found rooms at a motel and were soon joined by noroomtomove who dined with us.

We dined at the RSL Club, to which the motel was attached. The RSL is the Returned and Services League — a club ostensibly for service men and women and veterans, although they welcome anyone prepared to spend money in the bar and the slot machines. It's an organisation with strong views on a range of topics and loves to enter the fray to express them. We were talking about Australia Day, which was the following day, 26 January, and pondering the argument that rages every year about whether it should be celebrated on a different day. This is one of the topics on which the RSL has a strong view, and was, perhaps a foolhardy topic of conversation. I'll take the blame; I'm pretty sure I started it. Anyway, we were quickly joined by a member who "couldn't help hearing you're discussing Australia Day". He had a range of views so fascinating that noroomtomove made good his escape even before he'd finished sharing them.

Luckily we'd hatched a plan to meet up with him the next day.

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26 January 2026

Day 7
Lakes Entrance to Cobains

Click on the image for a scrollable map

There's not much to say about the ride from Lakes Entrance to Cobains. Victoria has some spectacular riding roads, but many of the ones that aren't are tedious. The Princes Highway from Lakes Entrance to where we turned off at Bairnsdale is one of the latter. I'm not sure why, but it is. It was made worse by feeling my years and being a bit weary.

Mrs noroomtomove laid on tea, coffee and snacks and we had a most agreeable catch up, before leaping aboard our bikes — well, they lept.

Three of them

Somewhere in Cobains

The Gippsland Vehicle Collection is full of cars and some bikes that have been lent by people for display purposes. It's an eclectic collection and changes from time to time. Nearly all of the vehicles run and the donors are welcome to remove them from the display any time they want or need to use them. I've no idea why, but I didn't take a single photograph. Not even of the Aston Martin. I'll just have to go back. Did I mention it has amazing collection of model cars?

AussieFlyer had figured out an interesting route home and left us to take it. He had an appointment that he had to be back for, and Melbourne, where he lives, was promising to be 44ºC the following day which is no weather to ride in. A pity we lost a day's ride due to my ineptitude.

Meanwhile, noroomtomove took me to the Port of Sale where we had coffee, enjoyed the view and I remembered to take a photo.


Then we went to inspect an old swing bridge downstream from the port.


I can tell you it opened in 1883, is the oldest swing bridge in Australia and was designed by the architect John Grainger whose other claim to fame is that he was the father of the Australian pianist and composer, Percy Grainger. It is said to be remarkable for an exceptionally wide moveable span and the way it transfers deadweight to the end fixed spans. You can read this and more in the Wikipedia article.

Near Sale is a Royal Australian Air Force base and noroomtomove took me to see a display outside the front gate where I again forgot I had a camera. Wikipedia has let me down this time, but there is a picture of one of the planes on display in Google Maps. That will let enthusiasts have a bit of a look around on street view. Some technology is wonderful.

We then returned to noroomtomove's place where his wife and I watched him move a large pile of dirt with a borrowed tractor. We got to wave our arms enthusiastically and shout occasionally when we wanted to save him from crashing into something. We also got our steps up walking from pick up to dump and back to make sure everything went smoothly. We then had a lovely dinner and turned in. It was cool and dark and quiet and I had a most excellent sleep.

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27 January 2026

Day 8
Cobains to Moruya Heads

Click on the image for a scrollable map

It was still cool early when noroomtomove and I got under way, but it promised to get hot later. It was hard to believe that, a little further west, it was going to get seriously hot. Melbourne recorded a temperature in the mid 40s Celsius. Yuk.

He generously gave me 10 litres of fuel to ensure I'd get to Newmerella where we planned to refuel.

We returned along the Bengwarden Road, taking the Bruthen road after Bairnsdale. It's prettier and a less busy ride. Bruthen sits at the bottom of the Omeo Valley highway about which too much has been written in others of these chronicles.

noroomtomove cruises through Bruthen

What you do when there aren't highway pegs

We refuelled at Newmerella as planned and then headed up the Bonang Road to Bombala. It's a better, prettier ride than I remember and I'm happy to report that the 12 kms of dirt that once graced part of the road has been buried under bitumen.

The Bonang Road

Eventually the road clears the forest and one is back on the high plains. By the time we got there it was hot again, but not murderously so.


We arrived in Bombala around 1 pm and made straight for the coffee shop for water, coffee and an ice cream. Very welcome.

We then refuelled and said our farewells. noroomtomove headed down the Cann River Road on his way home and I decided to retrace the route AussieFlyer and I had taken two days before. Almost as soon as I left Bombala I started riding into a very cool north easterly sea breeze which took much of the discomfort from the day.

There's lots of these wooden decked bridges in New South Wales. Occasionally they carry warnings to cyclists about gaps

Somewhere on the way down the hill I decided to ride to the coastal town of Tathra and ride up the coast for as long as I could rather than taking the Pacific Highway. While it's prettier than the section we'd ridden in Victoria, it's still a main road and there's traffic. I stopped in Tathra for a stretch.

Sometimes you get lucky. As I pointed and snapped, a wave hit the rocks in the distance and shot a generous plume into the air.

The coast road took me to Tilba Tilba where I rejoined the highway for the run to Moruya Heads where I was visiting friends. I was pleased to arrive.
 
28 January 2026

Day 9
Moruya Heads

I had a lovely day in Moruya Heads. Thanks for asking. Caught up with my friends, watched some of the Australian Open tennis, had a delightful swim in the Pacific Ocean and a rest. They invited me to stay another night which meant I had to exert myself to think about it.