Gippsland rail trail

I'd finally got the car kitted out with roof racks to carry the bikes so we packed up and headed east for the long weekend to do the rail trail from Leongatha to Foster in Gippsland. It was a nice drive to Leongatha, it actually reminded us of New Zealand. It was very green thanks to all the rain. Anyway, we made it there fine but after we had stopped off at the visitor centre, the car wouldn't start. After trying to push start it (of course didn't work) and trying every garage in town, we finally called the RACV and paid the whopping fee to join up. The nice RACV man got us fixed up and restarted and everything appeared to be fine so we got going on the cycling.

The trail was a great surface and of course very flat. It was a nice ride and we made good progress as the day warmed up.



No, Kelley hasn't had a little accident in the picture below, just some friendly wildlife.



And some more, check out this prickly little dude...



After all of my best laid plans had failed to come to fruition, it was time for Plan C and a nice spot a few km from the end of the day provided the opportunity for me to pop the question. It wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind but with the background of some sheep grazing on the rolling hills and a view towards the appropriately named Wilson's Promatory National Park, I asked Kelley to marry me and thankfully she accepted. All felt a bit surreal really but after we'd rolled into town at Foster, set up camp and called home, it started to feel a bit more real. We celebrated with a bottle of bubbles and a feed at the local pub alongside guests from someone else's wedding who were getting a few under their belt before the reception.

I don't like these type of photos but since I had such a happy look on my face after recently getting engaged, I had to put it in. Appropriate that I'm still in full cycling kit too, I mean, why should I take my helmet off for a proposal, what if she hadn't reacted well?



We took a slightly different route on the way back including some time on the road and some fish and chips near the beach, and a paddle.







Unfortunately the car troubles resurfaced on the way home. Lights starting flashing on the dashboard with about 80km still to go and we pushed on - by the time we got to the BP station in Cranbourne (about 40km from central Melbourne) almost every light was glowing on the dash and none of the electrics were working. We pulled in to the BP and weren't going anywhere after we'd filled up so after another call out and some confusing and frustrating phone calls, we ended up waiting for the most racist tow truck driver in Melbourne to come and tow us home. Poor car....

Rail Trail

We had a few spare days after the weddings in Hawkes Bay and Christmas at home so we managed to lure Jenny and Laurence down for ride on the rail trail. We picked them up from the airport and by the time we had lunch we were running a bit late to be able to do all of what we planned for day one so we threw the bikes on the back of the truck, skipped the flat boring bit and started at Hyde.



After about and hour's riding, the clouds rolled in and it bucketed down. By the time we got to Ranfurly we were soaked so we took the quickest route on the road to get to Naseby. That night was New Year's Eve, and Jenny's birthday so we went out for dinner and even paid a cover charge to get into one of the pubs but it wasn't worth it. It was a freezing night and by the time the bagpipes started playing to bring in the New Year, we were in bed.

Day 2 was a much better day and it was our longest ride, from Naseby to Ophir.



Art on the wall at a cafe where we had lunch, all the stops of the rail trail.



Poolburn Gorge, tunnels and viaducts











Ophir swing bridge



We had a day to relax in Wanaka at the end of the riding and peter and Robyn came up as well. Unfortunately the weather was bad but we did get a morning when it wasn't raining and made the most of it with a walk up Mt Iron.



A quick stop at St Bathans and the Blue Lake on the drive home