The Road..

Winning · 08-04-2003, 10:19 AM

Ok, since we all love to drive, name all the great driving roads you can think of. I will keep updating this thread.

NSW:
1. Old Pacific Highway, Berowra; Over 30km of smooth winding road, a lot of tight 2nd and 3rd gear corners.
2. Royal National Park, Wollongong; Nice but dangerous especially at night, as some section might be wet and slippery. Some lookout spots as bonus.
3. Galston Gorge, Galston; rally style road, but very very dangerous. Couple of hairpins and the road is not very smooth.
4. Back road up to the Hunter Valley, from Peats Ridge through Wollombi
5. Wisemen's Ferry Road
6. Putty Road
7. Bobbin Head Road
8. Henry Lawson Drive
9. "Thunderbolts Way" Take a left off the Pacific Hwy about 40km north of Newcastle and head north through Glouchester and Walcha. You end up joining the New England Hwy just before Armidale. Some great windy and hilly sections, as well as some long straights to wind 'er out. Not much traffic and a very low probabillity of cops ruining your day. Might get a bit hairy at night or in the wet though. Recommend day time and dry conditions to get the most out of it.

VIC: (please help with description)
1. Mt Dandenong
2. Great Ocean Road
3. The Black Spur is an excellent road. East along the Maroondah Highway and into the ranges. Just stay on your side of the road and watch out for motorcyclists and logging trucks.

SA:
1. The Adelaide Hills have many great roads, and you can be there in 15 minutes from the post office.
2. Montacute Road - From Athelstone in the suburbs into the Black Hill conservation park, through Cherryville, along the ridge at Marble Hill, then back down Norton Summit Road into Magill. About a 30 kilometre round trip, lots of tight corners and sweepings bends. It is only 80 kph limit, but lots of 25 and 35 corners to try and achieve thay limit. Watch out for the police.
3. Lobethal Road through Ashton, Basket Range, Lenswood and Lobethal. My favourite. Extremely tight twisty road with camber always changing on you. The perfect road for an RX8 to pull away from something stiff like a 350Z or a CV8.
4. Gorge Road - Along the banks of the Torrens River all the way from Athelstone in the suburbs, past the Kangaroo Creek Reservoi and Paracombe, up to the Chain of Ponds, and then stop off at the National motor museum at Birdwood. Alternates between lots of low visibility tight corners with a river on one side and a granite rock face on the other, to blind rises and falls. A favourite for motorbikes as well, and usually scores a few fatalities every year. Dangerous but fun.

QLD: (please help)
1.

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msydd · 08-04-2003, 04:36 PM

NSW

Got to add one of my favourites... the back road up to the Hunter Valley, from Peats Ridge through Wollombi.

donaldc · 08-04-2003, 05:41 PM

In Victoria, The Black Spur is an excellent road. East along the Maroondah Highway and into the ranges.

Just stay on your side of the road amd watch out for motorcyclists and logging trucks.

Donald

SSS 01 · 08-05-2003, 05:03 AM

Adding further to the list ...

Wisemen's Ferry Road
Putty Road
Bobbin Head Road
Henry Lawson Drive

These are all great drive spots as well, some are short others much longer.

Wildcard · 08-05-2003, 05:30 AM

If you are travelling between Brisbane and Sydney, give "thunderbolts way" a go. Take a left off the Pacific Hwy about 40km north of Newcastle and head north through Glouchester and Walcha. You end up joining the New England Hwy just before Armidale. Some great windy and hilly sections, as well as some long straights to wind 'er out. Not much traffic and a very low probabillity of cops ruining your day. Might get a bit hairy at night or in the wet though. Recommend day time and dry conditions to get the most out of it.

msydd · 08-05-2003, 07:59 AM

DGW - got to say I love the Thunderbolts way as well... my son is at Uni in Armidale and I use this road often to go up and back from Sydney.

eccles · 08-05-2003, 08:50 AM

I'm surprised nobody from Melbourne has mentioned the Black Spur east of Healesville.

Edit: Never mind, I see donaldc just did!

dbb · 08-05-2003, 05:45 PM

SA:

The Adelaide Hills have many great roads, and you can be there in 15 minutes from the post office.

Montacute Road - From Athelstone in the suburbs into the Black Hill conservation park, through Cherryville, along the ridge at Marble Hill, then back down Norton Summit Road into Magill. About a 30 kilometre round trip, lots of tight corners and sweepings bends. It is only 80 kph limit, but lots of 25 and 35 corners to try and achieve thay limit. Watch out for the police.

Lobethal Road through Ashton, Basket Range, Lenswood and Lobethal. My favourite. Extremely tight twisty road with camber always changing on you. The perfect road for an RX8 to pull away from something stiff like a 350Z or a CV8.

Gorge Road - Along the banks of the Torrens River all the way from Athelstone in the suburbs, past the Kangaroo Creek Reservoi and Paracombe, up to the Chain of Ponds, and then stop off at the National motor museum at Birdwood. Alternates between lots of low visibility tight corners with a river on one side and a granite rock face on the other, to blind rises and falls. A favourite for motorbikes as well, and usually scores a few fatalities every year. Dangerous but fun.

jax8 · 10-10-2003, 03:12 AM

I live 4km off Thunderbolt's Way near Walcha. and visit Sydney at least once every three weeks (currently wrx sti, 8 arrives end Nov.). Malheuresement, the cops have discoverd some of the straights near Nowendoc in the past 6 months and the extraordinary speeds some of us used to achieve. I understand that they patrol it at least once a week between Nowendoc and Walcha, and Walcha to Uralla has always been a local favourite for the boys in blue.
Correction: a female policeperson is frequently on this beat, and like so many females in authorotative roles, she takes no prisoners.
Gloucester to Nowendoc is police-free, but the kangaroos and wallabies from dusk to dawn are a liability.
We get literally hundreds of bikers through every weekend. The Gloucester/Walcha/Wauchope/Wingham triangle is legendary amongst them. And justifiably so!

Wildcard · 10-12-2003, 05:18 AM

Thanks for the heads-up jax8. I'll be a little more careful next time I do thunderbolts way. I'm glad that I got it all out of my system a few weeks ago, before I read your post!