looking for touring tips north of sydney

merijnwijnen

Hello all,

In december we will bring our recumbent tandem and child trailer to Sydney and will be touring for 2.5 to 3 weeks north of Sydney. Daily distances about 50 km (to keep the little one happy), staying preferably at campsites.
I am looking for touring tips for the region. We are thinking about going north along the coast, and southwards more inland, as there are a lot of national parks there.
Any tips are welcome.
What make of maps is good to cycle on for the Sydney area and north of it?

Greetings,

Merijn

artemidorus

I feel shamed into replying by the fact that noone else has, but actually I can't offer much as I've never toured north of Wyong, except for the Loop the Lake (Macquarie).
Sydney: best maps are produced by the RTA: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/trafficin...csydne_dl1.html

climbo

North of Sydney there is plenty of stuff to tour around and keep you busy. At 50 kms a day, to get up towards Lake Macquarie will take about a week depending on your route. Gregory's or UBD make local street maps of most of the area or you can go for the topo maps from a more serious level of detail if you are worried about hills etc. The route to the North is quite hilly, I don't know much about tandem recumbents with a trailer but I imagine big hilly routes are not the best. For camping areas, the NRMA (road and touring association in Australia) should be able to help you out there, they list plenty of campsites in their touring books.

There are plenty of National Parks in all directions from Sydney, north or south, most are inland a little way from the coast but there is also plenty of camping along the beaches in smaller towns all the way up the coast.

Here's an example of some places in the region NOrth.

http://adunk.ozehosting.com/bushwalking.html



http://adunk.ozehosting.com/natparkslocmap.html

merijnwijnen

Thanks forth info, guys.
I did not expect any reactions after almost a month.
When we are in Sydney next week I will try to get hold of the camping info, and buy some maps. It is good to know what to look for.


Greetings,
Merijn

climbo

no problem, saw the post a little late but got there just in time, where are you coming in from? Are you staying in Sydney for a few days? If you need more info I can try to help point you to a map store and camping/bike shop which might help you out also. Have fun !

merijnwijnen

Hi ,

I am from the Netherlands. My brother is living in Melbourne, but now working in Sydney (preparing a Sydney-Hobart boat for the race).
We will arive in Sydney on 1 dec., and stay in th ecity for about a week, probably on th elane cove caravan park as it is in convenient reach of the city centre.
After that we will tour for about 2.5 to 3 weeks. Then we fly to Melbourn eto be with my brother after the Sydney Hobart race. Home again from Sydney on 8 jan.
In the mean tim eI found the Lonely planet cycling guide, and that is quite a nice source for a coastal route.

Greetings,
Merijn

climbo

great, sounds like you'll have an awesome time. Hopefully the weather warms up a bit before you get here. Enjoy it !!