With the disappointment of not getting away on the bike in March we were able to get away over Easter for some time under canvas (well nylon).

As every man and his dog are likely to be going away and have booking well and truly in advance, finding somewhere to go was going to be a challenge. And I’m not a fan of cramped camping.! So let’s keep away from the coast and head to the mountains.

But where…

A recommendation from a riding friend suggested a small village on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Tintaldra. That was enough of a recommendation for me and they had space. Done.

With the bike and trailer packed we hit the road on Thursday in time to be setup before dark.

I have to admit feeling a bit underwhelmed rolling into the Clearwater caravan park but the price was right, and once we scoped out a nice spot surrounded by autumn colours it started to feel okay.

One thing there isn’t in Tintaldra is distractions … there’s the pub and … well … that’s it. That’s okay as we didn’t have any plans for the weekend.

But I’m not good at doing nothing. So each day we went for a little ride to check out the broader district, scope out potential new camping spots, and discover the surrounding towns.

And what is camping without a camp fire under the stars, toasting marshmallows.! While we were out we stuffed our panniers full of firewood. And as it turns out … if it fits in the pannier it’ll fit in our little fire pit we carry around in our trailer. The important discoveries.

And a few random photos from the weekend.

After a restful few days it was time to quash the chill and head back to the salt mines. But before that happened we had to get home and between us and home are any number of great roads navigating the snowy mountains. On the way here we skirted the edge of the snowies, but heading home we took a more scenic route through the mountains and while the fire devastation was obvious it is still a stunning ride and I always struggle between getting into the ride, and just cruising and taking the opportunity to just take it in. With the trailer on the back cruising is a much easier option.

Then as we cleared the yellow lines of the alpine region and exited the mountains we merged with the traffic from the NSW alpine villages, and the traffic who climbed Brown Mountain from the coast. And then it was just the drudge back up the Monaro Highway to home, one of my least favourite roads.

So would we go back.? If we were totally self contained we’d most likely look at free camping spot right on the river, but as we’re not this is certainly a nice base, with a great little pub in walking distance and a larger town 20kms down the road and a range of little places to visit and nice roads to ride. So, yes I think we would return.

Till next time…