Sydney to Brisbane by bike: Day 7

Day 7 - Monday 9th February

After the extra long ride yesterday I didn't manage to get up very early, and it was about 8am by the time I hit the road - and already getting hot.

Ocean Drive, Coffs Harbour - main shopping street

The route began with 3 -4 kms of pretty steady ascent through banana plantations, inland towards Coramba and Nana Glen, small, pretty villages. At Nana Glen (26kms) I stopped off at the Two Tails winery and sampled their produce, it was a pleasant interlude from the increasing heat.

The Two Tails Winery

The road was fairly undulating all the way and it was pretty tough going uphill in the heat. It's definitely getting warmer every day as I go further north. Fortunately there were villages every 10km or so where I always madse a point of stopping for a drink, maintaining hydration and electrolyte balance is a tough job in these conditions.

Orara Way at Glenreagh

By about 2.30pm I was crossing the Clarence River to Grafton, the day's destination. The bridge has an walkway/cycleway on a lower level segregated from the motor traffic:

Cycleway over Clarence River

I was very hot and exhausted by now and checked into the first motel I saw, the Fitzroy. This proved to be a comfortable place and in no time at all I was recovering in the generously sized swmming pool.

Later on I took a walk around Grafton, which is an interesting place. It was originally built to exploit the rainforest red cedar, and was obviously a prosperous place from the start, as amply evidenced by the abundance of impressive civic architecture:

Post Office

Wide streets lined with some impressive trees

Prince Street and the Clock Tower

The Clarence River floods frequently and the river banks are well built up with a levee system (above). The 2 tall posts show where the water sometimes comes up to - I wouldn't like to be there when this happens.