Gold 'N' Wave Ride 2018 - Cycle Australia
- Perth to Kalgoorlie to Esperance to Wave Rock to Denmark to Margaret River to Fremantle: March 25, 2018 to April 26, 2018. 2, 670 kms and 6 rest days.
This trip brought together pretty well everything that Australia has to offer the tourist. Outback, gold mining history, waves, unique fauna and flora, towering forests, pastoral lands, inland lakes, vineyards, big blue sky, amazing stars.
The tour started in Perth, the capital of Western Australia on the sandy coastline of the Indian Ocean and headed eastwards into the goldfields. From here, we headed southwards and made our way through a slice of Outback Australia to the pristine beaches and waves of the Southern Ocean and Esperance. We explored the national parks here for a few days before beginning a zigzag journey inland to find another wave - Wave Rock. This is the biggest wave with a rock face in the form of a wave standing 14 metres (46 feet) above the surrounding plains. From here, the route zigzagged through the wheat fields south again to the ocean at Denmark. From here the trip became a journey of towering forests and vineyards as we worked our way around the South West corner to Margaret River and reaching back to Fremantle, Perth's harbour city.
Rider Report Gold ‘n’ Waves Cycle Tour in WA - Lynne Prentice
I was happy to be able to ride my bike most days in April 2018. A perfect month for cycling in Australia. We met tour organisers Collis and Kathy at the Bell Tower in Perth. 10 men and 7 women ready for adventure. 1 German, 3 Canadians the rest Aussies. Many had cycled with the company before but not me. I’d been introduced to this style of touring over the last few years by John and Julia Widdup, (Down the Darling 2013 and Gibb River Road 2015) and grateful I was too because their 3 week rides were a good introduction to this 5 week one. Limited luggage, 20kgs max, camping most nights with some remote bush camps and occasional opportunities to upgrade to a cabin in caravan parks. The 2,728k 33 day ride panned out like this:
Perth to Kalgoorlie - 660ks.via Toodyay; Wyalkatchem; Mukindubin; Southern Cross; and a bush camp; These were hot days often with headwinds (of course). Getting out of Perth was easy on their good bicycle paths but the range over to Toodyay challenged us on the first day. Our first of many IGA shops followed for breakfast and lunch provisions as we always self catered for these. The first of many Pub dinners followed. My first upgrade occurred at Mukindubin, a shared Railway Barracks room at $20 each a real bargain. Beautiful Salmon Gum Trees started appearing so picturesque lining the roads. Flat roads with road trains on some days, back roads on others. Kalgoorlie and ‘Donga’ accommodation for me after 6 riding days and clogged sinuses most welcome. We bought a dreamt of real coffee and ‘smashed avo’ breakfast and visited the ‘Super Pit’ on our rest day.
Kalgoorlie to Esperance and Cape Le Grande National Park – 506ks via a bush camp; Salmon Gums; and Lucky Bay. A couple of long days on the saddle but beautiful Lucky Bay was the reward. Matthew Flinders sheltered and named it Lucky being able to shelter from stormy weather here. A rest day and bush walk to Thistle Cove was rewarded with spectacular views of turquoise waters, white sands and wildflowers.
Esperance to Hyden (Wave Rock) -394ks – via Munglinup; Ravensthorpe and Lake King. Four days of riding through some struggling towns in the WA wheat belt. It’s the dry season with views of wheat stubble everywhere. Pretty sunrises and sunsets with large salt lakes starting to appear. At Hyden we stayed at what the locals call ‘The Resort’ a caravan park and more, located 5ks from town at ‘The Wave’. They’re connected by a bike path into a proud town with a rich heritage. I was lucky to chat to a friend’s grandma here at the local op shop obviously a local icon at 90yrs. Others later chatted to her helping out at the resort cafe.
Hyden to Denmark – 428ks. Via Lake Grace; Ongerup; and Moingup Springs; The first part of this ride was like a moon landscape with salt effected country and enormous mostly dried out salt lakes. Highlights were the Malleefowl Centre at Ongerup and the ride approaching the Stirling Range and bush campsite at Moingup Springs in the Range. Beautiful sunset/sunrise, top tucker made by Kathy, black cockatoos and our coldest night. We rode off in the morning at 1C with me wishing I’d remembered to pack long fingered gloves.
Denmark back to Freemantle – 740ks via Walpole; Pemberton and Augusta; a rest day at Prevelly Beach near Margaret River; Busselton; Harvey Estuary; and Woodman Beach. As expected we encountered some showers in the tall timber country. A shared cabin at Pemberton and Prevelly kept me dry and riding in gentle showers was Ok. There were some long riding days here and I was a bit fatigued by now but the tree lined roads were spectacular. Caves road near the coast roughly parallel with the highway but without the traffic a highlight. Almost 100ks of tall timber riding, interesting caves, options to veer into Margaret River wineries and ending up swooshing down to coastal Dunsborough and a 30k bike path all the way to Busselton. I was also fascinated to see the Lake Clifton Thrombolites near Harvey Estuary.
Hats off to the organisers of this tour who supported the group wonderfully. Planned and explained the great routes, loaded and transported our gear every day, set up morning teas and lunch stops for us and on long days additional stops for water and a snack if you needed it. The five bush camp dinners were hearty and included dessert, a tavern dinner and 2 breakfasts along with all the morning tea stops all included at a very reasonable cost to the touring riders. No one got lost or damaged (aside from the odd saddle sorenesses). We were a supportive and friendly bunch ready to share pooled knowledge about cycle touring.
Australia is a very big country but it’s possible to cycle quite large chunks of it with some preparation, a month (or two) to spare and a little support if you’re up for a challenge.
I was happy to be able to ride my bike most days in April 2018. A perfect month for cycling in Australia. We met tour organisers Collis and Kathy at the Bell Tower in Perth. 10 men and 7 women ready for adventure. 1 German, 3 Canadians the rest Aussies. Many had cycled with the company before but not me. I’d been introduced to this style of touring over the last few years by John and Julia Widdup, (Down the Darling 2013 and Gibb River Road 2015) and grateful I was too because their 3 week rides were a good introduction to this 5 week one. Limited luggage, 20kgs max, camping most nights with some remote bush camps and occasional opportunities to upgrade to a cabin in caravan parks. The 2,728k 33 day ride panned out like this:
Perth to Kalgoorlie - 660ks.via Toodyay; Wyalkatchem; Mukindubin; Southern Cross; and a bush camp; These were hot days often with headwinds (of course). Getting out of Perth was easy on their good bicycle paths but the range over to Toodyay challenged us on the first day. Our first of many IGA shops followed for breakfast and lunch provisions as we always self catered for these. The first of many Pub dinners followed. My first upgrade occurred at Mukindubin, a shared Railway Barracks room at $20 each a real bargain. Beautiful Salmon Gum Trees started appearing so picturesque lining the roads. Flat roads with road trains on some days, back roads on others. Kalgoorlie and ‘Donga’ accommodation for me after 6 riding days and clogged sinuses most welcome. We bought a dreamt of real coffee and ‘smashed avo’ breakfast and visited the ‘Super Pit’ on our rest day.
Kalgoorlie to Esperance and Cape Le Grande National Park – 506ks via a bush camp; Salmon Gums; and Lucky Bay. A couple of long days on the saddle but beautiful Lucky Bay was the reward. Matthew Flinders sheltered and named it Lucky being able to shelter from stormy weather here. A rest day and bush walk to Thistle Cove was rewarded with spectacular views of turquoise waters, white sands and wildflowers.
Esperance to Hyden (Wave Rock) -394ks – via Munglinup; Ravensthorpe and Lake King. Four days of riding through some struggling towns in the WA wheat belt. It’s the dry season with views of wheat stubble everywhere. Pretty sunrises and sunsets with large salt lakes starting to appear. At Hyden we stayed at what the locals call ‘The Resort’ a caravan park and more, located 5ks from town at ‘The Wave’. They’re connected by a bike path into a proud town with a rich heritage. I was lucky to chat to a friend’s grandma here at the local op shop obviously a local icon at 90yrs. Others later chatted to her helping out at the resort cafe.
Hyden to Denmark – 428ks. Via Lake Grace; Ongerup; and Moingup Springs; The first part of this ride was like a moon landscape with salt effected country and enormous mostly dried out salt lakes. Highlights were the Malleefowl Centre at Ongerup and the ride approaching the Stirling Range and bush campsite at Moingup Springs in the Range. Beautiful sunset/sunrise, top tucker made by Kathy, black cockatoos and our coldest night. We rode off in the morning at 1C with me wishing I’d remembered to pack long fingered gloves.
Denmark back to Freemantle – 740ks via Walpole; Pemberton and Augusta; a rest day at Prevelly Beach near Margaret River; Busselton; Harvey Estuary; and Woodman Beach. As expected we encountered some showers in the tall timber country. A shared cabin at Pemberton and Prevelly kept me dry and riding in gentle showers was Ok. There were some long riding days here and I was a bit fatigued by now but the tree lined roads were spectacular. Caves road near the coast roughly parallel with the highway but without the traffic a highlight. Almost 100ks of tall timber riding, interesting caves, options to veer into Margaret River wineries and ending up swooshing down to coastal Dunsborough and a 30k bike path all the way to Busselton. I was also fascinated to see the Lake Clifton Thrombolites near Harvey Estuary.
Hats off to the organisers of this tour who supported the group wonderfully. Planned and explained the great routes, loaded and transported our gear every day, set up morning teas and lunch stops for us and on long days additional stops for water and a snack if you needed it. The five bush camp dinners were hearty and included dessert, a tavern dinner and 2 breakfasts along with all the morning tea stops all included at a very reasonable cost to the touring riders. No one got lost or damaged (aside from the odd saddle sorenesses). We were a supportive and friendly bunch ready to share pooled knowledge about cycle touring.
Australia is a very big country but it’s possible to cycle quite large chunks of it with some preparation, a month (or two) to spare and a little support if you’re up for a challenge.