'twas about 10am on the last day of the year with perfect weather (25C) I decided to head out into the nearby hills for a motorcycling 'fix'. Almost 300km through God's own country which included some ideal twisties such as:
- The Saint Andrews Kinglake Road,
- Chum Creek Road from Toolangi to Healesville,
- The Black Spur (Maroondah Hwy north of Healesville) with a quick stop to look at the Maroondah Reservoir,
- Lake Mountain Road with a pit sop and photo at the top,
- Marysville Woods Point Road,
- Buxton Marysville Road also known as the Reefton Spur,
- Warburton Hwy with a refreshment stop at the Reefton Hotel then to Healesville via Don Road, and
- returning home via Chum Creek Road & the St Andrews Kinglake Road.
I'm not good with taking photos but here's a couple snaps from my iPhone featuring the CB and some pleasant backdrops of the Aussie bush. The descriptions are courtesy of my old pal Google.
For you folks in the northern hemisphere I do hope the pictures of a sunny day and the condensation on a cold glass of beer depict the warmth of our Aussie summer ... come down under and join us sometime.
Maroondah Reservoir:
The Maroondah Dam is a rock foundation concrete gravity dam with an uncontrolled rock chute spillway across the Watts River, located in the Central region of Victoria.
Height: 41 m
Opened: 1927
Dam volume: 132×10^3 m3 (4.7×10^6 cu ft)
Spillway capacity: 465 m3/s (16,400 cu ft/s)
Location: near Healesville Victoria
Lake Mountain:
Lake Mountain is a 1,433-metre-high mountain and cross-country ski resort that is located in Victoria, Australia; approximately 120 kilometres from Melbourne. Not really a mountain by the rest of the world's standards but none the less it is a decent hill.
... and one more just 'cos I liked the look of the CB from this angle
Upper Yarra Reservoir:
The Upper Yarra Reservoir is located east of Melbourne, beyond Warburton within the locality of Reefton. Water from Upper Yarra Reservoir supplies towns in the upper Yarra Valley, and Silvan Reservoir, which transfers water to most parts of Melbourne. Upper Yarra Reservoir has a capacity of 200,000 megalitres ...
Water volume: 200,000 megalitres
Surface area: 750 ha (1,900 acres)
Catchment area: 33,670 ha (83,200 acres)
Average depth: 27 m (89 ft)
Reefton Hotel:
Established in 1886 The Historic Reefton Hotel is situated 16 km's out of Warburton in the Yarra Valley.
Route Map:
Mrs. Flyer has already reminded me on a couple of occasions that it was a 7.5 hour outing undertaken whilst she was managing home duties. My advice for her to buy a motorcycle and join me was not taken in the spirit in which it was intended ... will I ever learn to just shut up!