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| Sunset over Wagonga Inlet and Mt Dromedary, Narooma |
Brief Description: A classic route from Australia's capital to the beautiful south coast of New South Wales, the first two stages of this tour follow quiet roads over the southern tablelands and through the picturesque Araluen Valley to Moruya. The third stage explores the beautiful forest and coastal scenery between Moruya and Narooma while avoiding unpleasant traffic along the Princess Highway. This tour comes highly recommended - I would certainly do it again.
Route: Canberra, Queanbeyan, Captains Flat, Majors Creek, Araluen, Moruya, Narooma.
Online Maps: For convenience, I have created three online maps to cover the tour.
The maps were created using GPSies and come with a detailed altitude profile. For more information on using GPSies maps, click here.
Distance: I cycled 286km on this tour. A shorter variation (Canberra to Moruya with no side trips) would be approximately 162km, with a total climb 2050 vertical metres.
Time Required: The shortest variation in this tour could be cycled in two days. I took three days, but it could be easily extended to more, allowing more time for side trips, sight-seeing and swimming.
Stages and route variations: Unlike other tours, I have subdivided this one into Stages rather than Days. All variations begin at Canberra/Queanbeyan, pass through Majors Creek (end of Stage 1) and Moruya (end of Stage 2), with the option of extending the trip to Narooma (Stage 3). A few options for putting a tour together are listed below.
Short weekend trip without a tent.
Day 1: Canberra - Captains Flat - Majors Creek (pub stay). Day 2: Leave Majors Creek early to arrive at Moruya before 2pm. Catch the bus from Moruya back to Canberra (arriving 5:30pm).
Four day trip without a tent.
Day 1: Canberra - Captains Flat. Day 2: Captains Flat - Majors Creek - Araluen. Day 3: Araluen - Moruya - Congo (or as far as Tuross Heads). Day 4: Congo - Bodalla - Narooma.
Four day trip with a tent.
Day 1: Canberra - Captains Flat, camp at Berlang Camping Area or Lowden Forest Park. Day 2: Campsite - Majors Creek - Araluen, camp by the Deua River. Day 3: Deua River - Moruya, camp by the coast between Congo and Blackfellows Point. Day 4: Congo - Bodalla - Narooma. (Note: I did this in three days, cycling from Deua River Campground to Narooma in one day.)
Traffic conditions: Traffic is light throughout most of the trip, the exceptions being along The Kings Highway near Queanbeyan (less than 10km) and the Princes Highway (most of which can be avoided with a little creativity).
Road Surface: Between Canberra and Moruya (Stages 1 and 2) there is over 70km of unavoidable unsealed road. Expect more gravel road if you want top avoid the Princes Hwy between Moruya and Narooma. I did this tour on a hybrid and generally found the going fine, though in places a little rough between Araluen and Moruya.
When to travel: This route can be travelled all year round. In summer it can get quite hot (it was 38 degrees on the day I left Canberra when doing the tour), though it can be up to ten degrees cooler along the coast. Morning frosts and subzero overnight temperatures are not uncommon in winter on the tablelands. Therefore Spring and Autumn are probably better seasons for cycling. Ocean temperatures will be much nicer for swimming in Autumn than in Spring. Avoid busy coastal traffic by travelling along the coast (Stage 3) outside holiday periods of the warmer months. For specific climate information, check relevant pages at the Bureau of Meteorology.
Fitness Required: This tour can be enjoyed by cycle tourists of moderate fitness. There are no really hard long climbs if starting at Canberra. Some effort is required to cycle along parts of the unsealed sections.
Direction to Travel: This tour is best done from Canberra (590m above seal level) to the coast rather than in reverse. Most altitude is lost in one short steep descent from Majors Creek (700m above sea level) to Araluen (220 m above sea level).
Transport Access: Murrays Coaches has a daily coach service between Canberra and the South Coast (stopping at Batemans Bay, Moruya, Tuross Heads, Bodalla and Narooma), which is ideal for cycling from Canberra to the coast and then catching the bus back. Murrays also runs frequent services between Canberra and Sydney. Bookings on these coach services are necessary, and please check Murrays' bicycle policy before making a booking. (In 2010, Murrays insisted that bicycles be boxed. As Murrays does not currently supply boxes, one could ring up the bicycle shop in Moruya or Narooma and politely ask if an unused bicycle box is available.)
Print Maps: Those wanting to purchase printed maps should consider the following. The NRMA NSW Touring Map 2 (Canberra and South East NSW ) covers the entire trip. For topographic coverage, the Canberra map in the Natmap 1:250 000 series (with 50m contour intervals) covers the first two stages of the cycle (Canberra to Moruya). The Bega map of this series covers Stage 3. The South Coast Forest Map, produced by Forests NSW, covers most of the tour (from 20km east of Queanbeyan to the coast). It comes with information about camping areas in the region and shows main forestry trails. If you are planning on doing some cycling in the south coast forests (in the Narooma and Moruya districts) then I would either buy this map or the two topographic maps mentioned above, with a preference for the topographic maps over the forestry map. The NRMA touring map is not detailed enough in these districts.
Drinking Water: It is recommended that water coming from streams, rivers and dams be treated (boiled, purified or filtered) before consumption. Tap water in larger towns and villages need not be treated. Water from the Molonglo River (and its tributaries) should not be consumed. See notes for each day regarding the availability of water.
Bicycle Shops: Canberra has numerous bicycle shops, including at least three on Lonsdale Street, Braddon (about 1km from the city centre). Search the Yellow Pages for other outlets in Canberra. Some contact details that were accurate in February 2009 are given below:
Further information and links
Date Travelled: I cycled this route in February 2009.
© 2009-2010 Robert Taggart. Last updated 18 January 2010.