Sunday
26th December to Monday 3rd January 2005
Christmas is all but on
us and it is time to make bookings at our favourite Xmas Camp destination, Mt
Buffalo Caravan Park. Situated on the fork of two rivers it offers a fantastic
range of activities including swimming, fishing and bush walking. Close by is
the Smoko Fish Hatchery, the “Wandi Pub”, the Hedge Maze, various berry, deer
and nut farms, and an alpaca ranch. The famous Milawa wineries are close by.
Great road and dirt
riding country abounds. Mt Buffalo offers a sensational 25 km climb to the
scenic Chalet and lookouts. Nearby are good half-day rides to Falls Creek, Mt
Hotham and Dartmouth Dam or full day rides into the Snowy Mountains and some of
the best roads in the world. Who can forget Tawonga Gap? On the flip side there
are lots of fire trails and mountain tracks offering spectacular views of the
surrounding alps, most of which can only be reached by 4WD or dirt bike. So,
bring your road and dirt bikes, the missus and kids, and the 4WD. Supermarket
shopping is available at Bright, 6 km away.
The Club has secured
three unpowered sites. Last year a few couples rented
log cabins for the week, another good option. Ring 03-5756-2235 to secure a cabin or powered site. Otherwise tell Ian
Payne of your intention to camp with the group. Do it now. And organise your
annual leave. At least 8 people have already booked!
Australia Day
Weekend January 26th – 29th, 2005
As per the Melbourne Cup
weekend, the Committee has booked the spectacular “Snowy Mountain Holidays”
house and two cottages accommodation package, right on the Murray River at
Towong, 11 km out of Corryong. Australia Day falls on a Wednesday and hence we
have made a 4-day weekend to take advantage of the great location.
The plan would be to ride up Wednesday, ride around the hills Thursday and Friday and return to Melbourne on Saturday. This means only three nights accommodation and home Saturday night with Sunday free – to go on
the Club ride of course! You’ll need to take annual leave for the Thursday and
Friday, so book your leave days now.
Cost is around $35 person, per night. Remarkably cheap. All you need is
your tooth brush and a change of clothes. Note: Towong payment is by cash only.
As per usual, this is strictly first come, first served, with any overflow into
the Corryong pubs. Preference will be given to members. A $70 deposit is required. Book now – five beds are already taken.
There will be a two cut-off points when no more bookings can be accepted:
(i) two weeks before where we must surrender unused
capacity to avoid financial risk to the Club, and/or (ii) when the beds are
filled. The latter depends on the make up of participants. As a rule of thumb,
the house/cottages accommodation sleeps ten people comfortably (assuming two
couples), and less if more singles. The point of this paragraph is to emphasise
the importance of committing early, and why it is necessary to do so. It avoids
the disappointment when last minute requests for accommodation are likely
refused.
Tasmania
2005 – Feb 26th (Sat) to March 6th (Sun), 2005
Tasmania is motorcycle heaven: few people, fantastic roads and scenery, relatively cheap accommodation, and the locals speak the same language and love tourists. As per last time, we will set up base camps and do day trips, moving every few days to a different location. Whether you attend an organized day ride or follow your own itinerary is up to you. Usually we meet each night over a meal and share the day’s experiences with each other.
The new plan is to go for 8 days leaving on a Saturday (day) and returning the following Saturday night. (The Tasmanian ferry company has cancelled many day trips due to the lack of demand – low airfares taking market share.) This was the successful formula we used in 2003. This time we will have two cars to act as mules to carry the luggage, allowing us to ride unencumbered. Both boat trips are day crossings costing a total of $208 (bike) or $218 (car). (And now an additional $66 for twin share cabin for return night trip.) The first week in March avoids the school holidays and has the greatest chance of fine weather and adequate day light hours.
If you would like to get on the reserved list, please hurry. I have booked for 10 people – those who have paid – and have received the tickets. Another three or so have indicated they want to come but have not paid. Dave and Bron have made their own travel arrangements. The next job will be to book accommodation. Paul Southwell and I have come up with an itinerary – now we just have to book the hotels.