Sydney to Brisbane - Day 4 - Forster

There was no 8.30am morning ferry running this morning over to the oddly named town of Tea Gardens on the other side of the water, so I had till 11am to relax and refuel. I took the opportunity to wash and dry my cycling shorts...no doubt my butt will be very grateful (salt build up will encourage saddle sores...no thanks!) The harbour area is really pretty here, although I noticed a lot of haze to the north...and could smell bushfires.

Bianca was secured on the roof of the boat, and I was off. Its an hour crossing here and this is one you need to plan ahead and book.

For me this meant I would not be cycling till after 12pm and there are afternoon headwinds forecast. So, a shorter day was on the cards...maybe I will be able to get going very early tomorrow. After disembarking at Tea Gardens (yeah that really is the name of the place) I had a little explore out on the Western Coast. The wind was really picking up here and Bianca got blown over while I was taking this shot North:

But I managed to keep my pants on....

This does not mean, what you think it means

I road up to Bombah point on the beautiful and quiet sealed road, but into a strong northerly...as described here from some cam footage

Here there are 2 options: Either 22km up a dirt track to seal rocks, or take the Bombah ferry ferry crossing followed by a much longer round route north, but probably on much better roads. All enquiries I had made previously indicated the dirt road to seal rocks was very rough, even for MTB's...so I took the Bombah ferry option.

Bombah Crossing

Its a very short winch ferry situated in beautiful mangroves. No timetable...operates on demand and a bike will cost you the grand sum of $2. On the other side I had not managed to learn much info about the road, and found it quickly became unsealed, with a few corrugations in places...but OK on thin tyres...and for about 5km before becoming sealed again.

At the village of Bulahdelah, I stopped, very thirsty at its lone shop to get more water. A friendly old chap took a great deal of interest in the bike, in fact I was unable to steer the conversation any other way...I guess life takes a different pace in Bulahdelah.  Resupply turned out to be wise. Turning onto Scenic highway 6 there was a significant climb and by the time I'd pounded to the top, I was utterly dripping and immediately wishing I'd taken another water bottle or two. This is a beautiful forest, however keep your wits riding, the shoulder is poor.

There is a very small village at a place called Bungwahl, with 1 shop and a huge relief to get another cold drink...I wasn't in a good state here! Took a gel to get through the final leg into Forster.

This section of the road was amazing, especially in the Booti Booti national park area.

Due to the very late start the sun was going down and I really had to push to get to Forster before dark. The air here was thick with smoke as well, from a very large bush fire still burning just north of town. I have learnt to always check the state fire alert websites in Australia, plus this one was all over the news...so the fire wasn't a surprise. The volume of smoke however, was a surprise.  There was a chance I'd be in Forster a while till things settled down. Lets see what tomorrow brings.