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Australian
Bicycle Camping Fact Sheets
PO Box 3331 Rundle Mall SA 5000
Purpose
This fact sheet is intended as an
introductory guide to cycle camping in the South East of South Australia.
The region is an established conventional tourist destination; and general
tourist and promotional information is readily available from mainstream sources elsewhere.
This fact sheet assumes the reader has, or will have, access to those sources.
Resources
The " SA Cycle Route: South
East " is a bicycle-specific map of the region, scale 1: 250 000. The
map covers the area between Mt Gambier, Kingston & Naracoorte, and includes
a suggested route, avoiding main roads where possible. Produced in 1986, this
map was once distributed by cycling organisations, map shops and Information
SA. It may now be more difficult to obtain.
The RAA (car organisation) produces
twin regional maps "Upper…" & "Lower South East"
East " (aprox 1 : 350 000 ), including town maps, some details of
forests and hills, and is useful for the minor roads, showing some roads
that are not listed on larger scale road maps. Free to members of car clubs,
otherwise $1.50 from RAA offices
in larger towns. For an on-line map, click here : www.atlas.sa.gov.au
Bicycle contacts : The "Tatiara Tourers" Bicycle
Club.
The SA National Parks &
Wildlife Service [ NPWS] has a number of useful leaflets and maps,
including " The Tattler" (sic) a free broadsheet listing a
variety of information about NPWS sites and their facilities (camping etc).
There are several offices in the region, HQ at Mt Gambier office 8735 5290.
Information may also be collected from an
Wind directions and other weather
information is available on the www at : http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/wind/wrselect.shtml
Neither SA Department of Transport
nor SA Tourist Commission presently
have any information for long distance bicycle travellers.
History
Aborigines of the the Ngarrindjeri
& the Booandik
People inhabited the region for millennia , till French explorer Nicholas
Baudin discovered and named Guichen Bay in 1802 . European settlement began in 1839 when
Charles Bonney opened a stock route between
Environment
The South East is a generally flat
plain with some gentle undulations and a few short hills. There are a number of
striking volcanic features in the landscape ( eg Mt Gambier). The region is one
of mixed sheep & cattle country with tracts of pine plantation and some
native forest. The Coorong
is a particularly attractive feature, and it would be worthwhile to take at
least a couple of days there for sight seeing. There are also several cave
sites of interest (eg at Narracoorte
), and the region includes several important wet land sites eg Bool Lagoon, as well
as notable wine growing areas eg Coonawarra.
Getting there
by bike |
Mt Gambier is 457 km from |
by bus |
Stateliner bus
serves the main towns. Charge for bikes is around $15.00 extra. |
by rail |
The Great Southern Railway's
Adelaide-Melbourne line traverses the SE. However, high prices for bike
carriage make the service unattractive for cyclists. |
by air |
Airport at Mt Gambier |
Roads
There is an extensive network of
well maintained sealed roads, sometimes narrow (one lane). Car traffic
generally very light and considerate, however through roads between major towns
will be busier , sometimes with heavy trucks .
Some newer sections of through roads have useful sealed shoulders, but there
are significant stretches without a safe shoulder - be particularly
aware of traffic both behind and on-coming on these stretches. It's also a good
idea to wear a bright helmet and clothes with high visibility - a yellow shirt
or vest is ideal. There are also unsealed earth roads and some rough, sandy
tracks providing useful & picturesque alternatives to sealed roads, eg the
"
Water
In
Food
Most small towns have a general
store open long hours ( see below), but generally with a limited range of food.
There are supermarkets in the larger towns, usually open 7 days (7D) .If you're
on a budget, ask if there is a " low code" or "price
reduced" trolley, for foods with a low "use by" date. For
camping in the cold seasons, Damper may be a useful
alternative. For other cooking ideas for bicycle touring, click here. Be sure to try naturally brewed Cooper's beer, a South Australian
speciality.
Camping
In
Communications
Most public libraries provide free
email and www services, and it's not always necessary to book. Both OPTUS and Telstra
produce a re-chargeable phone card with an in-coming message service, (
particularly useful for travellers ). ABC Radio National is readily
available across this region, providing a mix of Australian and international
news, weather and informative discussion.
Services
Beachport |
gen store, pub, c/p, backpackers,
beach |
Glencoe |
gen store, liquor 7D till 1830.
National Trust museum, wild peaches |
s/market, pub, water at antique
shop. Self guided history walk |
|
Meningie |
2 x s/ markets, pub, camp site |
|
|
Mt Schank |
pleasant picnic area with grass
& tap, volcanic crater walk, views |
Policemans Point |
c/p $8.00. pub, canoes, pool ,
spa, friendly management.. gregdermody@bigpond.com
tel/fax 08 8575 7045 |
Port Macdonnell |
general store, library with www,
pub, c/p |
Robe |
heritage town, trading on tourism.
Water at the school. NPWS bush campsite to S, no facilities. |
Salt Creek |
water tank at school, roadhouses
with fast foods. |
Tantanoola |
pub, general store, large grassy
park |
This fact sheet was produced by grassroots
cyclists. No responsibility for errors or omissions can be accepted. It is
intended for free or low cost distribution on paper or on the www, and you are
free to copy it on that basis. Suggestions for improvement are most welcome!
Other
Bicycle Camping Fact Sheets in this series include
Central Australia
| SA Kangaroo Island | SA Flinders Ranges | North Queensland
|
WA Kimberley | Stuart Highway | NSW Central West | NSW Sydney to Canberra |
|
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