I left Eden and rode the short distance to Boyd Town that is opposite Twofold Bay.
Boyd Town
The history of this place is quite interesting. Follow the links with the Wikipedia Article
Genoa
After a brief stop in Boyd Town I continued onto Genoa. The riding was quiet tough with narrow verges and some steep hills.
Genoa is a dying town. The Princesses Highway by passes it and so do most people.
There is a pub and ‘free camping’ which is somewhat popular with ‘grey nomads’ in campervans. I pitched my tent and headed into ‘town’ for some food.
I had a very ordinary meal in the pub. That was all that was on offer.
The only other customers in the pub were a couple on motorbike. She was Finnish and she was riding a Harley Davidson. He was an Aussie on a Moto Guzzi. They were interesting to talk to. He had riding in many parts of the world – India, Nepal, Argentina and Africa as well as the USA and the UK and Europe. I was impressed that she was ride such a bit bike.
Cann River
In the morning, I headed off with no breakfast.
It was a tough ride to Cann River over quite a steep hill. It was hot.
When I arrived in Cann River I decide that was enough for the day and checked into a motel. The pub does offer accommodation anymore. I had a meal in the pub. I was only marginal more palatable than the Genoa meal.
‘Old Coast’ Rd
In the morning I decided to take the ‘Old Coast’ Rd to Bemm River.
This turned out to interesting but tough. It is a unsealed road that appears to been recently graded. The problem was that there were large section of sand. This would be ok in a 4WD, but was not good on a heavily laden bicycle. I fell off three time as bike slide from under me. I also had to push the bike for large sections.
Snakes
I saw four snakes on this road. I didn’t stop to take any photos as they may have been Tiger snakes. They will come after people.
Bemm River
I had never heard of Bemm before. It turned out to be a really nice place. The town is on the lake between that river and the sea. Apparently, it is great for fishing, but is still a ‘well kept’ secret.
I stayed in the camping ground and had a great meal at the pub.
One of the topics of conversation among the customers and staff in the pub was the number of snakes they had been seeing. The locals put it down to “the lack of recent bushfires and good rains”.
Options for Getting to Marlo
There seemed to a number of options to get to Marlo, which was my next objective. These included: the coastal track that, as its name suggests runs along the coast, the ‘Old Coast Rd, which is a bit inland, and going back to the Princess Highway on a seal road and then another sealed road to Marlo.
I ruled out the first option on the basis of advice from the bloke who looking after the camping ground. He told me that there was “too much sand for you”. He also said that “there was a shit load of sand on the next part of the ‘Old Coast’ Rd.
Bellbird
In the end, I decided to take the long way to Marlo via Bellbird where I stayed the night. Bellbird has a pub and nothing else. The pub is for sale. Soon I think there will be nothing in Bellbird.
Marlo
In the morning, I headed off down the Princess Highway before turning east towards the coast and onto Marlo.
It was raining heavily when I arrived in the town and decided to take a cabin in the camping ground. This turned out to be a good idea and the rain intensified through the afternoon and into the night.
Snowy River
Marlo is where the Snowy River meets the ocean. There has been a lot of dispute about the amount of water the is directly down the river from the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
There seemed to be a reason flow at the moment.
In the morning I went for a walk along the Snowy River Estuary. It is worth doing if you are in the area.
Flickr Link
https://flic.kr/s/aHskwN52Th
Garmin Links
Eden
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2513819361
Genoa
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2513819434
Cann River
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2519788171
Bemm River
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2519788233
Bellbird
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2519788299
About Twofold Bay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twofold_Bay
billrider2013 