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| Araluen from the Majors Creek Road |
Route: Majors Creek, Araluen, Moruya.
Distance: 72km
Online Map: Canberra to the Coast (Map 1) - Canberra to Moruya.
Majors Creek to Araluen (14km)
From Majors Creek, the Araluen Mountain Road descends steeply down the escarpment to the Araluen Valley, in one section losing 400 vertical meters in less then 5km. This dirt road was in reasonable condition when I cycled it, though it would potentially be very muddy in wet weather. The other route into the valley is called the Araluen Road, which is main route into the valley. It is sealed the whole way, takes more traffic than Araluen Mountain Road and would be 7km longer if coming from Majors Creek. This option would be worthy of consideration if conditions are wet or if you are cycling up the escarpment. Enquire at either Majors Creek or Araluen Valley Pubs for further information on road conditions.
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| Araluen Mountain Road | Araluen Valley |
Araluen, once a gold fossicking town, is now a small village, surrounded by orchards and steep valley slopes. There is a free camping area at the bottom of the valley (on Araluen Mountain road near its junction with Araluen Road, and some 10km from Majors Creek Pub) with toilets barbecues and picnic tables. I am unsure about the availability of water. The Araluen Valley Hotel is a couple of kilometres south-east of the road junction, and 13.7km from the Majors Creek Pub. It is the only commercial outlet in the valley. Apples and stone fruit can be purchased from some orchards in season (usually November to February).
Araluen to Moruya (58 km)
The road from Araluen to Moruya winds through the Deua River Valley. About 48km is unsealed and much of it lies within or adjacent to the Deua National Park. I found that the unsealed sections were often corrugated or rough. Nevertheless, I had no problems cycling this on my hybrid.
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| Air strip near the Araluen - Moruya Road |
There are three official camping areas within the national park by the Deua River. Deua River Camping Area (where I camped) is about 22km from Araluen Valley Hotel and 36km from Moruya. It has toilets but no picnic tables. There is a nice camp site down by the river and away from the road. Bakers Flat Campground is 1km closer to Moruya and has toilets and picnic tables, though the campsites are less secluded from the road. Several kilometres further toward Moruya is the turn-off to the Dry Creek Camping Area (4WD access). I did not visit this campsite; the access road seemed steep and the campground was perhaps a kilometre from the main road. Fee for all three campsites are $5 per night per person. Water is available from the river (boil before drinking). When I visited in February 2009, the Deua River had stopped flowing due to 10 years of drought. There were still large pools of water in the river.
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| Scenes around Deua River Camping Area | ||
Moruya is a town of over 5000 people situated on the Moruya River (the same watercourse as the Deua River) and 7km from the coast. The main shopping centre lies on the busy Princes Highway (which I found a shock to the system after two-and-a-half days of quiet cycling) and includes a camping and a cycling shop. If you are looking for accommodation in the area, then you would be better off (in my view) cycling another 8 or 10km to Moruya Heads or Congo, which both lie on the coast. Some options are discussed in Stage 3.
© 2009 Robert Taggart. Last updated 31 October 2009.