April 24, 2025
It’s a Bluebird Day
Tumbarumba to Killimicat
As I write this blog I’m sitting by a raging campfire on the banks of the Tumut River. We’ve just polished off a degustation meal prepared by Chef Ross of vintage cheddar and salami on crackers, sous vide fillet of Norwegian salmon with fire baked potato and sweet potato and a Greek salad. I’m disappointed that there was no Aussie sauce as an accompaniment but aside from that it was a superb meal. Desert was a simple but stunning deconstructed Kit Kat courtesy of the extremely bumpy and rocky track to our campsite. A couple of Tumut Rivery Brewery Ales followed by a cheeky Pinot Gris made it a memorable meal.
Back to the start of the day in Tumbarumba. We had two rooms in a lodge just off the main street and ate a cold selection of small goods in the courtyard sourced from the supermarket across the road. Both pubs in Tumba were closed, a recurring theme on this trip.
The ride to Tumut I had done many years ago in reverse. I remembered it as a big long slog uphill virtually the whole way so I was very much looking forward to putting my feet up on the handlebar, lighting up a Galloise and coasting down the hill for 70 kilometres for an early lunch in Tumut.
As it turned out we had a 400 metre climb out of Tumbarumba followed by a series of undulations before a screaming downhill into Batlow for lunch. The tailwinds of the past few days are a thing of the past. We battled into a blustery headwind all day.
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The post lunch ride into Tumut was easier but still gently undulating and by days end we’d done almost a thousand metres of climbing. That is not what I’d expected!
The Tumut River Brewery is on the outskirts of town and directly on our route so it would have been sacrilegious not to stop and imbibe. That we did and I can highly recommend the lager.
After Tumut we’ve got two days with no services so we did a big shop for provisions and lugged it all the way to ‘Willaway’ where we’re camped tonight. John and Jenny’s place is just paradise and we’re fortunate to be able to stay here. It will be hard to move on tomorrow.
Today's ride: 85 km (53 miles)
Total: 904 km (561 miles)
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