Japan in Australia Ride

This is a two-day jaunt along pleasant, quiet back roads (mainly) into country NSW – but to a rather sombre destination. If you don’t know about the Cowra Breakout in 1944 during the Second World War, you’ll have a chance to learn about it at the Japanese Garden in Cowra. 

This commemorates the attempted escape by a thousand or so Japanese prisoners of war, in which several Australian soldiers and hundreds of the escapees were killed. The garden is a truly beautiful place, especially considering that it commemorates such a grim occasion. It lies just outside the centre of Cowra. 

Make your way out of Sydney to Windsor along Metroad 2. I generally take the tollway, the Hills Motorway, to the turnoff onto Old Windsor Road and continue along that. It’s a good compromise between cost and traffic delay. Just before you reach Windsor there’s a sign pointing to the left to Richmond; this is a bypass which is well worth taking.

In front of you now is Bells Line of Road, one of Sydney’s best bike roads. Enjoy, but beware of the Highway Patrol! Continue through Lithgow to the Great Western Highway and turn left to Old Bowenfels, just three kilometres or so down the road. Here you turn right to Lake Lyell, Sodwalls and Tarana until you reach the Bathurst-Oberon Road at O’ Connell. This is also a terrific run along empty (but not always very well surfaced) back roads. Turn right to Bathurst, and left onto the Great Western Highway. Stay on the highway now through Blayney, and consider a very short detour to historic Carcoar down in the valley to your right. It’s a beautiful little town with many historic buildings and an interesting outdoor museum of rusting farm equipment. 

After Mandurama and Lyndhurst on the highway, you’ll see a turnoff to the left to Woodstock. There’s no rock festival there, but you will find a pleasant little pub and the beginning of the Reg Hailstone Way which will take you south to Wyangala Dam. Continue along this road and it will eventually take you into Cowra. The tourist information centre, which will be very happy to help you with accommodation, is just across the Lachlan River. 

The way home begins with a stretch of the Mid-Western Highway as far as Mandurama, where you ride to Neville. Yep, that’s the town’s name. Even better, the next town is called Barry. Sadly the names become more ordinary after that with Newbridge, Perthville and The Lagoon, and then O’Connell – the same place you passed on the way out. The roads are terrific, empty and generally (only generally) well maintained. Very few services are available along the way.