Murrurundi Magic - Goin’ up the country
For me, one of the real hidden pleasures of riding hybrid/adventure touring bikes is not simply the riding of deserted gravel roads. It’s the discovery of the pristine 20km, 30km sometimes 50km stretches of sealed back roads that lead only to them. Because these black strips lead only to gravel, they are empty of caravans, void of B-Doubles and bereft of slow Sunday drivers no matter what day of the week. And there is no better example of this mix of wonderful back road bitumen and mild unsealed sections than Murrurundi in the Upper Hunter of NSW. The trucks steaming up the New England are incessant and noisy and most hotels are slap bang on this painful artery so I stay at the Railway Hotel at Murrurundi. It’s a few blocks back from the NEH, under friendly new management, is quiet and friendly and can lock up your bike. If you are coming up from Sydney the best portal to the Upper Hunter is Singleton. Once you’ve had your obligatory Pie, head north slowly on the NEH and then take the first right after the Hunter River onto Bridgeman Rd, signposted Lake St Clair. Singleton is spreading but it’s just over ten km’s til you clear any semblance of the town and you’ll be on an eight metre wide strip of unmarked and un-lined bitumen. You can enjoy this for over 30kms. Rural backroad touring, hardly a car, no caravans or trucks and the scents of forests and farms permeating under your visor. At 30km you’ll get the Gravel sign the first of a big series of causeways. Every causeway in this region that I’ve crossed has been concrete based and pretty well maintained. Cross them with caution but be careful if they are flowing higher than your axle. The dirt strip is a tick over 15km and in the dry it’s pretty straight forward and at the end of it, turn left at the T on Rouchel Rd for a further 18km of great uncluttered tar back to Aberdeen on the Highway. Normally, just over 10km along Rouchel Rd you can turn north and cross over the Hunter River for a squirt up to Glenbawn Dam. But the low bridge is still closed due to flood damage and it doesn’t look like opening anytime soon. If you are set on coming up the back road though, just return to the Highway and then take the next right at Segenhoe Rd and follow the signs to Glenbawn Dam. This 8km section has a poorer surface and more traffic, especially campers and boaties towing their loads to the dam. Slow it down a bit! At the top of Glenbawn Rd, turn left onto Gundy Rd for the ride into Scone. From here it’s an easy blat up to Murrurundi.
I have ridden these roads a good few times and have also crossed over to Gloucester via Barrington Tops. The overriding impression I’ve had is the speed at which the weather here can change. A sunny day in Scone can be a misty boggy morass in the nearby hills. Don’t ever assume that you are not going to encounter severe cold, heavy rain, and slippery mud. The Eastern Loops are not places to be out on your own. Balancing this is phone reception. I don’t monitor my phone every second but I would’ve checked it around 100 times whilst researching these rides. I had Telstra reception on every occasion. (In addition of course to my Find me Spot.) As with all my rides for detailed route maps like motorbike nation on Facebook and go to the Discussions.
Has all the services you are going to need and a really helpful gang of women running the information office toward the north end. Can be aloof if you aint an owner from one of the opulent horse studs that surround it!
A good town with all services. The Shell carries all fuel types and each of the 4 pubs in town is friendly and hospitable. The Telegraph Station Café has just closed but the info office has a decent nosh house attached.
A town doing its best to keep afloat with a good breakfast at the north end and two good coffee and snack places at the south. The pub has a great restaurant but there is no fuel.
The Victoria Pub is now being run by Paul and it’s a great meeting place. It’s accessible on the fully sealed road in from Scone. Good drinks, good people and great food in their renowned restaurant. A must! No fuel.
Fabulous old gold town. The Peel Inn is a bikers’ magnet and the old store down the street is well worth a visit. No fuel.
The café boasts the best coffee outside Italy (it isn’t) and the best burghers (sic) outside Belgium (they aren’t) but at Ivan’s Roadhouse to the south of the town, you can get fuel and roadhouse food from one of the road’s true characters.
No free access even for a quick day visit and swim but if you are swagging it’s good value with lots of quiet secluded spots.
Good town with all types of fuel, half a dozen eat places and a good park to take a stretch.
THE WESTERN LOOP (BLACK 215 KM)
This is the longest loop and includes 18km of gravel. We’ll do it clockwise but like all these rides, is equally fun in either direction. Head down the NEH to Scone then take the right for Merriwa/Bunnan and just follow your spirit. There tends to be a lot of cattle on sections of this road so take notice of any signs. Remember, if the cattle signs are out and you still hit one, you are fully liable. And you don’t get to eat what you kill! About 47km from Scone, after some very good riding, you’ll come to a T. Take the left if you are heading into Merriwa (and I suggest you do, it’s a friendly town with good places to stretch, relax and recharge). If for some reason you are in a hurry, take the right for Willowtree. If you’ve taken a break at Merriwa, simply retrace your steps, turn down the side of the Royal Hotel and follow the Willowtree signs. You’ll hit the dirt about 25km from Merriwa but at the bottom of the ranges the road splits and becomes one way and sealed for the ride up the ranges. Once you get to Willowtree turn south onto the Highway and cruise back to base.
THE EASTERN LOOPS
Head south on the NEH for a tick over 5km and turn east on Timor Rd and after 17km turn north onto Jenkins, signposted. ‘Gloucester’. A bit over 8km along and you’ll have your decision: Straight ahead for the Nundle Loop or right for the Moonan Flat Loop.
NUNDLE LOOP (BLUE)
The 20km of gravel begins immediately after the turn for Gloucester. In the dry sunshine it’s a beautiful friendly road but in the wet the 8km of tight twists up and down the mountains can be a real challenge. (See notes at the bottom of this article). If rain is possible or has been falling recently this is best avoided by street bikes. Once you are off the gravel it’s a great squirt into Nundle where the Peel Inn will give you a warm welcome! Again you have a few options here but take the western road down the side of the pub and then some 3kms outa town take the left on Lindsays Gap Rd signposted Wallabadah which you’ll get to after turning south on the NEH. If you’ve had enough you can keep heading for home or turn right at Walla for Quirindi and you’ll get a 15km joyride to another nice town. From there it’s just another 15km of good riding on a busier road back to Willowtree
MOONAN FLAT LOOP (PINK)
This Loop has the most gravel (28km) but also some of the best scenery and the best pub, so you can work out your own cost-benefit analysis! Take the eastern turn for Gloucester (See Eastern Loops above) and you will cross a cattle grate and immediately be on the gravel section. There are a hell of a lot of blind corners on narrow one lane sections of this road and you should not ride it on your own. Added to this is the problem that this is the access road for staff at Ellerston, Jamie Packer’s huge private estate and as they know the road they rip along at a great rate. In the dry, with dust to warn you, it’s not so bad but when its wet you’ll have no such warning as you skid along on the wet clay. Fun! The climb starts about 14km from the turn and is goodly steep on both sides, taxing but immensely satisfying if it’s your kinda ride. Once you hit the tar again, it’s just 3km to the Moonan Flat Pub, one of the real jewels of bike riding. (If you have mates on road bikes, get them to meet you here by coming in from the south with is all sealed.) The Linga Longa at Gundy a bit further down is closed as I write due to some dispute between the owners. From Moonan Flat it’s 40km of sweet backroads riding back to Scone. Ah!
