The destination was Port Macquarie, a nice seaside town on the way North to Brisbane on the Pacific Highway. We would ride up and they would ride down. We�d meet, drink copious amounts of alcohol, dribble shite and fall asleep.
There were twelve of us leaving from Sydney, from the obligatory McDonald�s. The mist was so thick at that time of the morning, that I arrived at McDonald's pretty wet and cold.
I was the only one there and was wondering (as one does), if I had got the wrong McDonald�s and everyone else was sitting somewhere else.
After a coffee and sausage & egg McMuffin, people started to arrive (much to my relief).
We all had a quick chat and introduced ourselves around, and then after making sure that all that were going, had actually arrived, we hit the road.
I had dried out a little by the time we left, but it would be another hour or so before the sun finally burnt the low cloud off and warmed us up.
Don�t you just hate it when you have that cold early morning drip on the end of your nose?? The wind was blowing under my helmet and catching this rogue drip, wiggling it about like an epileptic jelly bean. Then with a final blast..... the drip lets loose.
For a few microseconds it�s loose in space.
I�m looking crosseyed at this free form drip, doing a few somersaults between the visor and my nose, then explodes it all over the visor on the inside!!!
Shit�. I hate it when that happens�..
Too much information huh??
Anyway� We travelled via Pitt town to Wiseman�s Ferry (of Crunchy nut fame) and crossed the ferry onto the road leading through Lower Mangrove and Spencer. We then went through Mount White and had to hop on the freeway for a little while, until we could get off and onto the old Pacific highway again.
The sun was well and truly awake by now and the day was beautiful. We then travelled to Swansea where we stopped for fuel and a break on the edge of town. This is where Lake Macquarie exits into the sea.
Back in the saddle, we then followed the road through Newcastle and back onto the Pacific Highway again.
Following the highway all the way, we stopped at a pub in Bulahdelah for a spot of lunch. From here we went on to Kew for another rest stop and then some of us decided to take the leisurely scenic route through North Haven, Bonny Hills and Lake Cathie to Port Mac. The others went direct to Port Macquarie via the highway. I�m a leisurely person myself and was in no rush to be anywhere so took the more scenic route (well worth it).
The accommodation was in a caravan site and we had booked cabins right on the waters edge, where the Hastings and Maria rivers meet the sea.
We soon met up with the others and after much hand shaking we got into a couple of cases of beer to oil us up before dinner.
Unfortunately dinner was a bit of a disaster. We couldn�t seem to get ourselves organised on what we were going to eat. In the end groups went their own way. Some had Chinese some had McDonald's (again) and others went to pubs and clubs.
As long as everyone had fun, it didn�t really matter though.
A few of us ended up in a pub with a band (that was bloody excellent), where we had a few more beers and a chat before heading home back to the cabins.
At the cabins we had yet a few more beers and a (slurred) chat before bed.
The next day Jimmy and myself, got up for a walk in the early morning sun. All the resident regular walkers were �strutting their stuff� down the sea break wall, so we tagged onto the back of them, checking out all the nice bums (women�s only).
It had the promise of a great day and we had a good walk, ending up at flagstaff hill.
When we got back to the camp site, some were already leaving to head home. One had a wife in hospital, one�s daughter had broken her arm the day before, one had to go to work that afternoon. These people were going straight back via the highway.
We that were left, had a shower and packed up our bikes. After checking out, there were five of us in our group and we decided to come back to Sydney via the scenic route.
One dropped out before we turned off the highway with a sore bum. He was riding a loaned BMW which was very old and only had an inch of compressed padding left on the seat. He decided to head straight down the motorway.
The rest of us turned off and headed for what�s called the Bucketts Way.
What tremendous scenery!!! I really must add this to my �To Do� list as another ride. We had a fair few kilometers to go before we got back to Sydney so we were going at a fair lick. The road and countryside really lends itself to a slow meander though so you can drink in the scenery.
I didn�t have enough time for photographs but maybe on the next trip.
Jimmy�s passenger foot pegs rattled off, and his son lost his mobile phone. There wasn�t much hope of finding either so we carried on through Singleton and home via the Putty road.
I got back to Sydney at about 7pm totally knackered but well happy.
