Why this ride
From Sydney it runs 183 km to Sydney; allow about 3 h 51 of riding. It goes by way of Old Government House and Domain, Australian Convict Sites, Old Great North Road and back through Australian Convict Sites.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sydney afternoon · Old Great North Road
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 183 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 51
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Grand Pacific Drive
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 28 km this is Grand Pacific Drive, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
- Named road
- Grand Pacific Drive
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Sydney
Sydney's harbour is the reason it exists. The First Fleet arrived in 1788 and chose the sheltered cove where the city stands, on land long cared for by the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. The Harbour Bridge, opened in 1932 and known to everyone as the coathanger, and the Opera House, whose white sails by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon were completed in 1973, have since become the pictures people carry in their heads. In reality both look better when you stand under them at dawn, with the ferries just starting up and the water gently moving.
Read the complete Sydney write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sydney is where the day begins. Next is Old Government House and Domain.
2. Old Government House and Domain
Few buildings in Australia can claim to be as old as this one. Old Government House sits in Parramatta Park, on a rise above the Parramatta River, and was begun in 1799 under Governor Hunter. It is the oldest surviving public building in the country, a plain, graceful Georgian house where successive governors lived and worked, including Lachlan Macquarie, who added to the estate. It forms part of the UNESCO listing of Australian Convict Sites, which recognises how the penal colony shaped the nation.
Read the complete Old Government House and Domain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Old Government House and Domain comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Australian Convict Sites.
3. Australian Convict Sites
North of Sydney, where the Hawkesbury River winds between sandstone cliffs and forested ridges, there is a road that convicts built by hand. The Old Great North Road, begun in the 1820s, was meant to link Sydney with the Hunter Valley, and it was cut and paved by gangs of prisoners working with picks, hammers and iron bars, often in chains. It runs for over two hundred kilometres, and several sections survive, with walls of fitted sandstone, culverts, drains and cuttings that still look neat after two centuries. Together with other sites it is part of the UNESCO-listed Australian Convict Sites, which record the transportation of about 160,000 men, women and children from Britain.
Read the complete Australian Convict Sites write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 87 km into the recorded legs you reach Australian Convict Sites. Next is Old Great North Road.
4. Old Great North Road
The Old Great North Road is one of the most remarkable pieces of engineering in Australia, and it was built by men who had no choice. Between 1826 and 1836, convicts were set to work cutting a road from the colony at Sydney north to the Hunter Valley, a distance of well over two hundred kilometres, through some of the most broken sandstone country on the continent. They cut deep into the rock with hand tools, built retaining walls of carefully fitted stone, and carried out the work in chain gangs under harsh discipline. The most spectacular surviving section is Devine's Hill, a steep climb with tall dry-stone walls that still look perfect after almost two centuries.
Read the complete Old Great North Road write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Old Great North Road, about halfway. Next is back through Australian Convict Sites.
5. back through Australian Convict Sites
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Australian Convict Sites write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Australian Convict Sites sits at 124 km, about halfway. Next is back through Old Government House and Domain.
6. back through Old Government House and Domain
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Old Government House and Domain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Old Government House and Domain comes up about 159 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sydney.
7. Sydney
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sydney write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sydney closes the day.
Leg by leg
Sydney to Old Government House and Domain
Sydney → Old Government House and Domain is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Old Government House and Domain to Australian Convict Sites
Old Government House and Domain → Australian Convict Sites is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Australian Convict Sites to back through Old Government House and Domain
back through Australian Convict Sites → back through Old Government House and Domain is 70 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Old Government House and Domain to Sydney
back through Old Government House and Domain → Sydney is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.