Port Macquarie is situated on the Central Coast of the State of New South Wales. Today it is a place where many people retire but in the past it survived on Sugarcane, Fishing and Timber. A very pretty town with a sparkling beach front and a lush green hinterland. My reason to stop here was to make an early start to ride the famous Oxley Highway which runs west-northwest; a bit in the wrong direction if you want to go south but certainly worth the detour. The "Oxley" is described as a two-wheelers paradise.

The interesting part starts soon after leaving the timber town of Wauchope (which is pronounced Woh-hope) behind you; it runs along the Hasting River were the road leapfrogs over the many ridges running down to the water. Riding out of the Hasting Valley one comes to the interesting bit; thick forest around and not a straight of flat bit of road surface anywhere. The road is in excellent condition and predictable so without thinking you can double the advisory speeds around the bends and have a ball. In town I was told that the people working after this road are motorcyclist themselves and this is evident by the many safety features along this road.

Before reaching Walcha the road levels out on a high plateau with wide roads and long high speed weepers. (I could not help myself here –see GPS) The fun is nearly over when you reach to town of Walcha. But although the country has changed and made way for farmland the roads are still in good condition.

The next town is Tamworth. This town is what Nashville is to Tennessee. Country and Western and not only the music which half of the stations on the bike radio produced when I scanned the dial. I stopped for fuel alongside rough looking men wearing large cowboy hats; a lady walked out of the petrol station towards her car wearing boots with spurs and all. Then it was on to Singleton and another gem, the “Putty Road.

The Putty Road runs from near Singleton to Windsor and follows a narrow river through rocky terrain where the road is chiselled out from the rocks on the side of the mountain. This is a back road of about 170km leading to Windsor, one of the western suburbs of Sydney. Always make sure you have enough fuel as there is nothing in between other than a couple of rest stops. This road is dangerous especially late in the afternoon as there is a lot of wildlife about as the road has a national park on either side. At 7 pm I arrived after 700km of rip roaring fun. My old mate Charlie Miller who accompanied me on my ride from Australia to Europe back in “97 was waiting for me with a cup of hot coffee. Charlie, now 78 still rides his BMW around parts of the world and is off to Melbourne in two weeks to watch the superbikes championships.