The food is real good and the view is even better.

A gourmet pizza place with pasta salads and wine list was a great way to spend the afternoon wallowing away the cloudless blue sky and scorching sun.

Not 5 star but reasonably priced I'd spend another lunchtime here.

Do you like japanese food?

Well if you do try a favourite place called Asakura on King St in Newtown. It's on the North end of King not far past the Missendon Road intersection.

Newtown is a burb of Sydney full of unique shops's, pubs, bars (yes bars as in no food or accommo just wine beer and spirits), restaurants, cafes, all populated by the colourfull, the trendy, the suits (who must think you can buy character by investing in Real Estate) and the alternative lifers. By alternative I mean industrial strength women, lady boys, the third sex, every colour hair you could imagine, tatoos, things stuck through lips, cheeks, ears, tongues, nipples and who knows where else.

You will hear every language under the sun and be in the heart of 'University-ville' and all that means to an urban landscape.

The food in Asakura is always fresh as is the service which is provided by a squadron of Japanese wait staff who are always within a wave of the hand.

The seaweed salad is perfect as is the sushi and sashmi.

Bring your own wine as the selection in house is boring but well priced.

I would call ahead too as the place is always packed.
Regards

Well you would know if you'd been on one of FoodPath.com.au's paddock to plate, producer tours! Jill Dyson and Nick Padol offer boutique tours of the more interesting producers in The Southern Highlands or Southern Tablelands here in Australia. I had the pleasure of being on one of their trips this past weekend.
Nick and Jill escorted us to our first stop... a raspberry farm operated by a couple of Sydney's corporate refugees who knew more about berry farming then I ever will! Dave and Nicki taught us how they grew, prepared, packaged and sold the various berry products they offer. Raspberry and Blackberry Jam, Rhubarb and Ginger, and my favorite... Raspberry and Vinegar dressing!
Next up was an interesting tour around an egg farm, population 4000 chickens and 5 Maremma dogs as minders. They all are free range layers (no roosters!) so the chickens roam freely around the farm then like clockwork, go to a coop at night to sleep and lay eggs. We toured the sorting and packing facility and learned how to make egg pasta as well.
We then met the best cheese makers in Australia! This is not only my own opinion, as they win medals and awards regularly for their cheeses. We learned, tasted and bought up big before leaving for our final destination to talk and graze at one of the local cafe's where we sampled more cheese and local munchies and met more cheese makers.

It was a great day as some of these photo's will testify. Go to FoodPathWebSite for more info or see Jill's Blog FoodPath Blog.

Ok, ok so by now some of you are wondering what kind of rider goes on 'boutique gourmet paddock to plate farm tours'? Well to save face here let me first say that I am old enough to remember when sex was safe and motorcycling dangerous!

Boy has our world ever changed!

Motorcycle travel, particularly long distance touring for me, as for many riders out there, has grown over the years from the pastime of the burly bourbon drinking hairy crowd to the realm of explorers, adventurers, endurance and cruisers. I for one have traveled extensively here and enjoy exploring and learning about the many sides of Australia as I do.

I've toured power plants, caves, helicoptered over gorges in the Red Centre, Sydney Harbour and the coast north and south of here. I've been opal mining, pig shooting, cow tipping, and even spent a few days droving! I've mused in almost every museum in Canberra, toured Old and New Parliament House, and marveled at the woodwork craftsmanship in Bungendore. Sailed from Sydney to Gold Coast, dived off Hamilton Island, went over the edge on the Vertical Railroad in the Blue Mountains and gotten drunk with a bloke named Mad Dog in a pub in Julia Creek, QLD. I've enjoyed live Jazz in Wangarratta and Country music at Tamworth and folk music in Gympie. I've skied, surfed, climbed, soaked my aching bones in natural bore baths, been totally alone on a beach with emerald colored ocean water on the west coast, and ran from Crocs trying to get into my boat!

I've chopped down trees, went 4 wheeling up the Dampier Peninsula, swam with dolphins in Monkey Mia, and fell out the back of a 1945 Land Rover that was almost vertical as it tried to climb a small mountain in Oberon! I've slept in 5 star hotels, pubs with bands playing right under my room, on picnic tables when it became too late and dark to risk 'Roo Time' in the outback, and graveyard front cottages with a barnyard full of animals between me and the toilet at 2am in the morning!

Among the most enjoyable of experiences has been tasting and savoring some world class food and wine available here when traveling. The quality of the food and the skills of those preparing have put Australia on the epicurean map of must explore places... you will be surprised at what you find and where you find it.

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Almost every trip to, or through Tumbarumba, I hear syncopated rhythms inside my helmet... 'tum um bar-umba, tum um barrrr-umba'  kinda makes you want to stop, get off and do the Samba... however I tend to get too many strange looks to make a habit of it! I'll save myself for 'So You Think You Can Dance!

Note to self: load new music in my Nokia one of these days!

Well in Tumbarumba you're in logging country and on the verge of 'The Man From Snowy River' stomping grounds. It's a great place to layover on your way in, or out of the Snowy Mountains. Today I'm meeting Peter and Thao of www.wheezyrider.com fame to ride the road from Tumut along the Snowy Mountains Highway to Cooma then up and over Brown Mountain to the coast for a meal in Merimbula, NSW before heading north to follow where our collective noses bring us.

If you've been following my various blogs you will recall that Peter Sever (AKA WheezyRider) contacted me while riding through Nam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand looking for info on what to do and see in Australia as their arrival was looming. Their ETA at the time was January, so my advice was 'upon arriving in Darwin get a motel room, lock the door turn the air conditioner on and sleep til April'! Unfortunately for them they were getting down to the last leg of their 2 year, 80,000 KM, 40 Country trip and had to make up some time. I gave Peter a blow by blow itinerary of what in essence, was an early draft of my soon to be released 'Two Wheel Touring Ride Guide 'Shooting The Centre'. they hit Australia armed with things to do, see, and where to stay on the road from Darwin to Adelaide then around the coast up to Sydney. They evidently loved the suggestions as Peter has been raving about it on his own blog.



Unfortunately for me I hit Tumbarumba on a Sunday night and most eating places were closed. I had dinner in one of the local pubs last night which was as local pub fare often is... thank goodness they had wine, had a fantastic breakfast at 4 Bears cafe (see photo) which could've been called 4000 Bears Cafe. Go to www.4bearscafe.com.au. service was great and so was the Coffee.


Fortified, well rested and ready to go I'm off to Tumut to meet Wheezy Rider.
I'll load some more pics of interesting little Tumbarumba when I get back to Bowral.

No camera problems here, no it's not a bug smudge on your riding glasses.... this lake is pink! This particular lake is located along the Coorong between SA and the border of VIC.


So, Why Is It Pink?


Salt Creek Roadhouse.

Now if you're passing through this region you must stop at Salt Creek Roadhouse... its a fisherman's haven as well as cafe and petrol stop. I've been passing through here for years now and Adam, the proprietor remembers me every time and he'll no doubt go out of his way to attend to you too. Tell Adam that guy from New York City on the black BMW motorcycle told you to stop by and say hello!  His kitchen boasts great local fish as well as other fantastic dishes.











Salt Creek. Check it out in the Coorong. By the way... The Coorong starts around Meningie, SA and runs along the coast to Kingston SE in SA. you'll no doubt traverse it if you follow the coast between Melbourne and Adelaide.

Speaking of Kingston SE...

In case you too have been nagged by those big questions of life such as.... why are we here? Is there a God? Is there intelligent life in the universe, and is there a big lobster! Well I'm here to tell you that you can you can sleep just a little bit deeper tonight for sure... I've found THE BIG LOBSTER and it's located in Kingston SE just south of Robe SA. Actually of all the 'big things' in Australia this has to be the best. It's life like and larger than life as you can see below. Note to self: It's also for sale!


Photo above. That's Nick and Jill from Slow Food Australia standing under the lobster. Nick is the Australian Chairman of Slow Food International and Jill runs an interesting food tourism business in the Southern highlands by the name of Food Path Australia. They'll take you on whole farm natural food excursions to the producers of fresh food in the Southern Highlands and surrounds. Check it out. I had the pleasure of sharing part of my journey from the Barossa SA, to The Great Ocean Road.

 
This particular trip however I was on a mission to get to The Barossa. I'm meeting friends from our local Southern Highland radio station who had been on a week long excursion through wineries and restaurants in the Barossa region. They are involved in an interesting international group known as Slow Food. Go to Slow Food Australia to earn more.



I crossed over to the Flinders just south of Port Augusta and continued south to Clare in hope of spending the night in a favourite old hotel in Crystal Brook... surprisingly enough named... The Crystal Brook Hotel. The publican there always take care of me opening the yard to his private residence so I can secure the motorcycle for peace of mind. Realistically, the sleepy little town of Crystal Brook poses little risk, I guess I still carry the paranoia associated with losing 3 cars and a motorbike on the streets of Brooklyn some 10,000 years ago. The food is always fantastic at the pub the place is always packed and the ambiance is exactly what you would want from a well cared for small town a few hours from anywhere.

Tired and exhausted from rain on and off since leaving Fremantle some 4,000 KM's ago, it was fast approaching dark as I decided on an what turned out to be an excellent little cabin in Watervale (makers of my favourite Riesling I might add).

My cabin was more like a 5 Star hotel room than a cabin in a caravan and cabin park. Rob the proprietor rides a BMW GS and we quickly swapped stories about great rides. He loved the Two Wheel Touring concept and will be watching the website for the launch of my TWT Ride Guide Series.

















The pics in this post are of the comparatively tame end of the Flinders Ranges as I approach to head south to Clare and a shot of one of my favourite little pubs in Greenoch. The food fantastic and the wine list superb... all in what looks like an old neighbourhood local!

Sipping a macchiatto in a little cafe doubling as the Visitors Centre in Cowell SA I learned the ferry to Wallaroo was out of action for mechanical repairs. I had traversed some 3000 KM's and perhaps an extra 3 or 400 to get to the ferry rather than head direct to Port Augusta around the Spencer Gulf to the Clare Valley where I intended on staying the night. While enjoying my coffee and feeling sorry for myself it dawned on me that I had not encountered a single traffic light since leaving Fremantle, what a pleasure! Kind of helped make the next 400 or so KM's a bit easier, or so I tried to tell myself.

The Great Australian Bight pretty much runs the entire length of the south coastline of The Nullarbor and spans both West Australia and South Australia.

Heading in the direction of Ceduna SA toward the east about and 300 KM's past the WA/SA Border Village in South Australia is stretch of coastline known as the 'Head of The Bight'. Here you will find a natural safe harbour where whales go to birth their calves and nurture them during their early lives before they all head out to sea.


When I was last there I had the good fortune to watch about 8 or 10 mothers and calves frolicking around, breaching nose up first perhaps the height of a small house, or diving with a tail flip in the air leaving a wake of turbulence as the only tell tale they were ever there! The first give away that something was about to happen was a blast of water and air from a blow hole atop a black silhouette visible only when they come close to the surface.

The photo's above and below are from this safe harbour. Those above are from my camera phone and posted in near real time as there was wireless internet access nearby, those below from the DSLR. Either way, and as beautiful as they are... they only tell part of this often tear provoking experience as I witnessed some of natures inspirational events.

More to come.