After weeks off the bike, I finally had my plaster removed and completed my first physiotherapy session. Needless to say, I was itching to get back out for a ride. I didn't want to tackle anything too technical while my thumb was still recovering, but I was keen to get some kilometres under the tyres.

It also gave me the perfect excuse to explore one of New South Wales' hidden gems—Swallow Tail Pass, near Bannaby.

This adventure bike-friendly route winds its way through some of the Southern Tablelands' most picturesque countryside, linking the charming towns of Gundaroo, Collector, Towrang, Big Hill, Taralga, Crookwell and Gunning before looping back to the ACT.

With a mix of scenic backroads, easy gravel, and spectacular rural landscapes, it promised to be the ideal ride to ease myself back into the saddle while discovering another fantastic route close to home.

Watch my Swallow Tail Pass video on YouTube.

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The goal of this adventure is to visit several historic churches (all over 100 years old). The churches visited are:
Day 1.
* St. Andrew's, Adaminaby
* St. John's, Adaminaby
* Round Plain Uniting, Rocky Plain
* All Saints, Berridale
* St. Joseph's, Berridale

You can watch the four-part Southern Churches, Adventure Ride mini-series by following this link: Southern Churches, Adventure Ride. Ride

The weather was too good to waste in Canberra, so we made a snap decision—head to the coast for the day.

Rather than follow the usual path to Batemans Bay, we aimed a little further south. Our destination: Meringo, with a stop in Moruya along the way. We left Canberra and followed the familiar route to Braidwood, but instead of turning down the Kings Highway, we continued straight on towards Araluen—a road I hadn’t driven in years.
The descent into the Araluen Valley was as scenic as I remembered—twisting bends through open country, the kind that makes you slow down and take in the view. We made a quick stop in the valley so I could grab a photo of the old church there—just a reference shot for when I come back with proper gear.

From Araluen, the road follows the Deua River and becomes a narrow, winding dirt track in places—barely wide enough for one car in some stretches. It’s a quiet route, hugged tightly between the hills and the river, and the scenery is well worth the slower pace.
Partway along, we turned off onto Larrys Mountain Road—new to me, and a nice change. Eventually, we hit sealed roads again and made it into Moruya. As we crossed the bridge, we noticed a market happening on the riverbank, so we pulled in for a break. It was a good chance to stretch our legs, wander through the stalls, and grab some lunch. While we were there, a seaplane landed on the river—first time the kids had seen one up close, which added a bit of novelty to the stop.
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After lunch, we continued south to Mullimburra Point. I had hoped to check out Cathedral Rock, but access wasn’t really suitable for the kids, so we parked on the other side and walked down to Mullimburra Point Beach instead. It turned out to be a sheltered spot, good for swimming and exploring, and shared with only a couple of other families.
Once the others were settled, I ducked back over the headland to scout Cathedral Beach properly. I wanted to get a feel for the location and light—worth returning another time with camera gear in hand. I took a few quick shots and returned to the beach to rejoin the family.
After some time exploring the rocks with Joel, we packed up and headed for home, this time sticking to the Kings Highway. It was a straightforward return, rounding out a 370 km loop.
A good mix of familiar and new roads, with a quiet beach at the end—definitely a spot worth revisiting.

I had my eye on Bungonia for a while — more specifically, Christ Church, the old Anglican church perched on the edge of town. The forecast wasn’t exactly promising: cold, windy, and a slight chance of rain. But with the camera packed and a small window of time after school drop-off, I took a chance and hit the road.

The drive up the Federal Highway started bleak — low clouds, occasional rain, and not much sign of it lifting. I was starting to think I might be photographing mist and mood instead of sandstone and sun. But just past Goulburn, the clouds began to break apart and scatter, and the light started to shift. Things were looking up.
As I turned off onto Mountain Ash Road, I got my first glimpses of blue sky and a few golden breaks in the cloud. It was still misting here and there, but the light was changing — fast.
Driving into Bungonia for the first time, I passed St. Michael’s Catholic Church on the hill. Beautiful location, but not quite right for the time of day or year — I logged it as a "return later" spot. The rest of the town was a surprise. So many of the buildings carry their history proudly — the old 1882 Public School and former Police Station are now homes, but still marked with signs telling their stories. I could easily spend a day here just photographing heritage buildings alone.

At the far end of town, Christ Church finally came into view — a solid sandstone presence, slightly elevated, with views back over the township. The gate was closed but not locked. I slipped through, parked carefully, and took a moment to read the history sign before unpacking the gear.

While setting up the tripod, the break I’d been hoping for arrived — the clouds parted just enough to let a wash of sunlight hit the church façade. Warm light against cold stone. Exactly the contrast I’d come chasing.

I spent a solid hour working the angles — wide shots, close details, and a few different perspectives around the grounds. I even turned the camera toward the car, now wearing its new tyres — the light was too nice to pass up a quick automotive snap or two.
On the way home, I circled back to St. Michael’s. Took a few reference shots and captured the info signs. Based on the sun angle, it’s one for the warmer months — late spring or early summer should be perfect. I’ll be back.
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And here it is — the first images of the church from the shoot and a couple of the car. The light didn’t last long, but it arrived at just the right moment.

I was recently away on a two-week work trip. This trip started with me flying to Brisbane with a work compatriot, catching a taxi to Yamanto to meet up with two others and driving to Tenterfield for the first 5 days of working at Jennings.

Let’s start with a bit of context:

1. Lately, I’ve noticed some strange quirks with the instrument panel on the MU-X. The most alarming incident happened Friday—just as I pulled up at the traffic lights, the dash lit up with warnings, and the car promptly shut itself down. I barely had time to read the errors before the guy behind me lent on his horn. Panic set in as the MU-X wouldn’t restart; it wasn’t in park, so I couldn’t cycle the ignition. After some wrangling, I got it into park and restarted. Damn modern tech!
2. On the health front, we’d been hit hard. Joel had taken a sick day from school with cold symptoms. Then Edie, Rebekah, and I all went down with similar symptoms. We figured Joel had kindly shared his germs with the family.

Saturday: Battery Blues and False Starts
With everything packed and the camper hooked up, I ran a final check—confirmed the camper battery was charging from the car. All good. I ducked inside, rounded up the family, and went to start the car. Nothing.
The dash lit up like a Christmas tree: system malfunction, key error, and a bunch of other warnings. The manual helpfully advised, “See dealer.” My heart sank—weekend plans to Young looked dead in the water.
I disconnected the trailer: lights, brakes, and charging circuits. Still no luck. Then it hit me—maybe it’s the battery? Grabbed jumper leads and hooked the MU-X up to the Triton. It gave a half-hearted crank. That was enough to convince me the battery was toast. After leaving the Triton running for a bit, I tried again. Third time lucky—it started!
Straight to Mitchell to get the battery tested. Turns out it had dropped 200CCA. I didn’t muck around and asked for the biggest replacement they had. Unfortunately, they were out of the SS75TX, so I went with the next best: an SS66TX 4WD battery, boasting 920CCA (up 320 from the original). $300 later, we were finally on our way. Well, to the servo and McDonalds!

Heading to Young
The drive was uneventful, aside from on-and-off rain and icy winds. We stopped briefly at Boorowa to stretch our legs and visit the old courthouse (now the info centre). Picked up a few brochures and pressed on.
We made a quick detour in Murringo to photograph the beautiful Christ Church (built in 1866, designed by Alberto Dias Soares). I have added the photo of the church to Flickr, and have added a historic newspaper article about the laying of the foundation stone. Additionally, I have added the newspaper article, which is the closest I could find to the opening of the church.
​The town is dotted with historic buildings—we’ll definitely return for a proper explore.
Young is just 25 km from Murringo, so before long, we were pulling into the caravan park. Since the camper had been out of action for over a year, we didn’t want to risk off-grid camping again  just yet. Staying at a powered ensuite site gave us a soft reintroduction and some much-needed creature comforts. The camper’s electrics behaved, but the electric 240v heater was vital—nights were bitter. A diesel heater is now on our “must buy” list.

Settling In (Sort Of)
After setting up, we popped into town for a few supplies, then stopped at the old railway station so I could snap a photo of the Welcome to Young sign. Dinner followed, then an early night—sort of.
It was freezing, so the electric heater kept us cosy until bedtime. After that, it was doonas, blankets… and Edie. She flat-out refused her bunk and wedged herself between us. Score: Edie 1, Parents 0.
Around 2:00 AM, Joel appeared, wide awake and unable to sleep. Our bed was already at capacity with two adults, a child, and a Chihuahua. I convinced him to head back to bed with a book or his tablet. Thankfully, he did. Joel 0, Parents 1.

Sunday: COVID Curveball
At 3:00 AM, Edie’s constant wriggling finally drove me out of bed. I ended up watching a couple of episodes of Clarkson’s Farm and Welcome to Wrexham. The rest of the family slowly surfaced by morning, all of us feeling fairly average.
First stop: the chemist. Edie was full of snot and needed something to ease her symptoms. We just managed to get there during the one hour it was open (yes—just one hour!). Rebekah grabbed Benadryl and, for good measure, a couple of Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs).
While I popped into the information centre to grab a Young Heritage Walk guide, Rebekah did a test. Positive. She suggested I take one too. Sure enough—positive. That would explain the “cold” symptoms. We decided to test the kids next. Back to the chemist for more RATs. Edie—positive. Joel—negative (somehow).
​Three Out of Four—That’s Not Too Bad, Right?

Touring While Crook
Despite the weather and COVID revelation, we decided to do a bit more sightseeing—by car. We admired old homes and buildings, then headed out to the Chinese Tribute Gardens. A quick comfort break and a couple of rushed photos between squalls, then it was back to the caravan to huddle under blankets and feel sorry for ourselves.
That night, Joel crashed early with a fever. I took over Edie’s bunk (she still refused it—Edie 2, Parents 0). Joel woke at 6:00 AM, disoriented and thinking it was evening. He’d slept 12 hours straight but had sweated through the bed.

Monday: Homeward Bound
We dragged ourselves through breakfast, packed up slowly, and were mostly done by 10:00 AM—right when the manager came knocking. He wanted the ensuite cleaned immediately, despite no cleaner being in sight for the next 45 minutes. A bit rigid, but we moved along anyway, using the ensuite as a dry packing spot due to the rain.
Joel dozed off again in the car and barely stirred on the drive home. Quick stops in Boorowa (for drinks) and Yass (for fuel), and we were home by 1:00 PM. We unpacked, aired out the camper, hung up wet gear, and I made a trip to collect the cats from the cattery—another hour round trip.

Final Thoughts
Despite the cold, the wet, the dodgy battery, and catching COVID—we really liked Young. It’s a charming country town with a lot of history and character. We’ll definitely be back… preferably when it’s warm, dry, and we’re not all sick!

At Kambah shops, thereptile shop commissioned this mural.
I really like the contrast between the tiles, slatted ceiling, ​and the fluororescent mural.

Expanding my line of clothes, I designed this Explorerist photography truckin hat. It cost a bomb, and was made in the UK. But all in all, I think it worked out cheaper than getting it from Australia. ☹️
My ultimate goal, would be to have one 3D embroided, with a slightly larger emblem, but I am unsure whether I could afford to get one made up.

Photos from a road trip from South Australia to Merimbula. This section is From Deniliquin, via Blighty, Finley and eventually camping overnight at Tumut.

Deni
What a great place. Rode the best pump track that I've ever ridden, even if you mulched it, you could still pump back up to speed.
Found some MTB trails, visited a pub and the Ute on a stick.
Fun was had.
Map of ride.

Willoughby National Park MTB trails
I rode the Crater and Echidna trails this morning and although it is flat floodplain area, it was a bit of fun. Would've liked to have explored some of the other trails, but that will have to be another time maybe.
The Echidna trail was the better of the two as it had berms.
Map of ride.

Tumut MTB sampler
What a great bunch of trails. Unfortunately time was once again, against me.
These trails remind me of Jetta trails. Twisty and a few rocks scattered around to make it interesting.
Would be great to have had suspension.
Map of ride.

Day 26 - Port Lincoln to Arno Bay Caravan Park (120Kms)

​On our way to Arno bay we stopped by Tumby Bay to check the place out for future visits. Tumby bay is a pretty coastal town with some great attractions.