Far Cairn Rally 2017

nev

Super Térrarist
Headed up to the Far Cairn Rally in Tottenham NSW run by the BMW Touring Club of NSW. Missed it the last couple of years so I was keen to get going.

4:15am Friday morning I was off and running, up the Hume Hwy to Wangaratta, then north to Corowa. First stop was to the Corowa Pioneers Cemetery where some people on a far branch of my family tree are buried, to find their graves.

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Then off to meet a friend who lives in town there. Another mate of his from western Victoria had ridden up and stayed there the night. I arrived just as they were sitting down to breakfast, then all three of us geared up and headed off, firstly to Nerrandera for fuel and then morning tea at the local cricket ground...

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..then lunch in West Wyalong, fuel in Condobolin and to Tottenham via the newly surfaced and widened Fifield Rd.

After sourcing a few amber drinks in town we headed to the racecourse, and set up camp on the nice grass in the winners circle

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nev

Super Térrarist
Saturday morning the other blokes were up for a race..

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but some people had such a big night the night before, they weren't up at all..

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Saturday lunch was at the Rabbit Trap Hotel in Albert

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someone turned up on a 1939 Beemer

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Saturday night as soon as the sun set the usual Far Cairn ritual of an motorcycle movie, in this case it was a teaser of Motonomad2... the first half of the movie by Adam Riemann.

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nev

Super Térrarist
Sunday morning, I was packed and ready to go just after 7am. I had a route plotted in my GPS which kept me heading in the right direction to get home, but took me down some back roads I hadn't travelled before. I had over 800km to go so I didn't want to get too adventurous, but by the same token, I was trying to completely avoid the obvious route home, a 408km run down the Newell Hwy.

First stop for the day was Trundle, a town which now prides itself as a little bit of Sweden in central NSW. They have an annual Abba festival here which started a few years ago, no doubt giving some competition for the 70s music dollar which Parkes started with their Elvis festival.

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From Trundle I headed out to Yarrabandai and Warroo, all selaed.

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The shop in Yarrabandai looks like it hasn't sold an icypole for a while

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Stock on the road being mustered by a horseback Jillaroo with a cattle dog.

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After Warroo a couple of small roos joined me for a few hundred metres down this road. (hard to see in the pic but they are there)

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I was hoping to be able to get to Burcher on the Bogies Island Road, but part of the road runs across the lake, and I guess at this time of year there is water in the lake and the road is closed.

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So instead rather than backtracking, I changed course and headed along the bank of Lake Cowel to the Newell Hwy and ran the 50km from Marsden down to West Wyalong.

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Old court house in West Wyalong

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nev

Super Térrarist
Off the Hwy again and down the Tallimba Road

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Then via Kamarah to Nerrandera

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Looks like a new Brewery might be being built next to this historic brewery in Nerrandera.

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After Nerrandera another detour down a dusty road

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into Boree Creek

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where I spotted another Bills trough

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Lunch stop in Lockhart which is full of metal sculptures

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I parked with the local bikie gang

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My last fuel stop was in Howlong before crossing the border back into Victoria. Immediately over the border another dirt road looked interesting enough to follow for a few km on the run down into Chiltern

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From there it was a blast straight down the Hume without a break till I got home again.

Google Map of the route home
https://goo.gl/maps/SuipbtYqKk62
 

robbieb

Tassie Daddy
I see plenty of Far Bins and Far Troughs, but no Far Cairns?

Anyway, nice ride and write up. Is it just me, or are the earlier pics well focused in the bottom left area only?
 

nev

Super Térrarist
I see plenty of Far Bins and Far Troughs, but no Far Cairns?

I didn't go up to the cairn this year. It's about 30km further up the road from the rally site. It's the cairn which marks the geographic centre of NSW.

Anyway, nice ride and write up. Is it just me, or are the earlier pics well focused in the bottom left area only?

Those are the photos taken on my phone. After it shit itself earlier this year I got a replacement (refurb) from Telstra but ever since I got it the camera has never focussed as well as the original.
 
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