Otways Rainforest Roads · part 2

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Photo stop near Wallan

   When the explorers Hume and Hovell pushed south in 1824, they climbed a forested peak north-east of here hoping to glimpse Port Phillip Bay, saw nothing but trees, and named it Mount Disappointment. The name stuck, and the ranges that rise east of Wallan still carry it. Wallan itself is a growing town on the Hume Freeway, the main road from Melbourne to Sydney, and the meeting point of new housing estates and old farmland.

   Read the complete Photo stop near Wallan write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Photo stop near Wallan is where the day begins. Next is Melbourne / Victoria return.

2. 2. Near Gembrook, on the way back

   Gembrook sits on the eastern edge of the Dandenong Ranges, at the far end of the line of Puffing Billy, the narrow-gauge steam railway that winds through the forests from Belgrave, carrying tourists on wooden carriages with their legs dangling out of the windows. Just south of the town, near Pakenham Upper, the country opens into a landscape of rolling hills, orchards, forests and small farms, between the ranges and the plains of the south-east.

   Read the complete Near Gembrook, on the way back write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Melbourne / Victoria return comes up about 104 km into the recorded legs. Next is Food stop near Clyde North.

3. 3. Food stop near Clyde North

   Clyde North is about as new as a Melbourne suburb gets. Not long ago this was flat farmland south-east of Berwick; now it is a sea of fresh rooftops, wide boulevards and shopping centres built almost overnight. As a place to end a ride, it has one big advantage: it is easy. Plenty of food options, ample parking, and a short run to the Monash Freeway and the South Gippsland Highway.

   Read the complete Food stop near Clyde North write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   A break here. Next is Back to Otways Rainforest.

4. 4. Back to Otways Rainforest

   Werribee South and Point Cook lie on the western shore of Port Phillip Bay, at the point where Melbourne's urban sprawl runs out onto the flat, windy plain toward Geelong. It is an unglamorous end to a ride that began in the damp green of the Otway Ranges, but it has its own odd charm. The land here is flat as paper, divided into market gardens that produce much of the lettuce and cauliflower Melburnians eat, and the sky is huge.

   Read the complete Otways Rainforest write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back to Otways Rainforest closes the day.