IF THE legendary founder of the Great Southern Rail Trail, Eric Cumming, had a vision in his mind’s eye of what the trail might become in the future he might have imagined a visiting trio from Canberra who rode the trail last week.
Veterans of eight Great Victorian Bike Rides, and many of the rail trails around this state and others, they were coming back to an area they’d visited before, and they just loved what we’ve done to the place.
Stopping off at Port Welshpool for the night, on their way over from Sale, they walked out on the Long Jetty.
They listed the steep ride up to Foster as challenging but rated the view over Corner Inlet and Wilsons Promontory from the Hoddle Ranges as one of the highlights.
“We camped overnight on the Foster Showgrounds and stopped off at the town with the tea pots, Fish Creek, and Meeniyan along the way. Fish Creek and Meeniyan are lovely little towns, the people are friendly and there are some nice touches along the way like nice rest points and toilets.
“They’ve done a great job,” said one of their number, Pete Dykgraaf, from the Canberra suburb of Tuggeranong.
“The bakery at Meeniyan is a real treasure and we also loved the covering of trees as you come out of Koonwarra on the way to Leongatha,” said Jenny Bowden.
Together with Pete’s wife Faye, they continued on to Loch where they stayed the night and dined in at Olive at Loch while also walking around the town.
“It’s been fantastic. The trail is so well looked after and there’s lots to see along the way,” said Faye.
Prior to joining the Great Southern Rail Trail at Welshpool, they left their cars at Sale and rode to Seaspray and then on to Yarram.
The rail trail extension from Yarram to Welshpool is under construction but not expected to be ready until December this year.
After Loch, they headed across country and picked up with the Bass Coast Rail Trail (which will eventually be linked back to Nyora) near Woolamai and rode on to Cowes on Phillip Island where they stopped for a light breakfast and coffee at G’Day Tiger and took the ferry from Cowes to Stony Point.
“We’re going to get the train to Melbourne and then out to Traralgon and we’ll ride the trails back to Sale to complete the round trip,” said Pete.
“It’s been great,” he said.
The extension of the rail trail from Leongatha to Nyora will be officially opened at the weekend, but it is already being heavily used by riders just like Pete, Faye and Jenny and when the likes of Eric Cumming and other driving forces behind the development of the rail trail, including John Kennedy and others, had a vision for what these tracks might be in the future – then surely this is it!
