Honda Adventure Tour 2010 – Part One

The more trips away with car companies I'm privy to, the easier it is to identify true passion from paid dogma. And I can tell you it's with warm relief I find myself amongst people who truly believe in and enjoy the product they sell.

But rather than lay on another conference in another hotel someplace, Honda prepared a little cross-country expedition for us (myself and colleague, Feann Torr) to reacquaint ourselves with this year's range. In what's best described as an effort in letting their product do the talking, Honda arranged a selection of cars and motorcycles for the drive from Australia's highest point (Mt Kosciusko) to its lowest (Lake Eyre), sampling a mix of world-famous rural Australian hospitality along the way.

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Zigzagging the borders from the nation's capital in the ACT, across the peaky ski fields of NSW, the route snaked along the Murray River in Victoria before again heading north on two wheels. From Mildura, Feann threw a leg over some of Honda's latest dirt-capable two-wheeled offerings trekking on and off road to Broken Hill. Finally, a westward journey saw the ten-strong crew of motoring scribes wind up at the full Lake Eyre in South Australia -- our expedition eventually covering more than 2800 kilometres.

Day One:

Honda MPE's famous red lawn mowers were set to task -- much to the amusement of the Pollies on their way to work -- before we headed south to Cooma for a flowing stretch across the high country roads. For the first section I was chauffeured in a Milano Red Honda Accord Euro by none other than three-time Indy Car Series champion Dario Franchitti. We should also mention he's won all his titles with Honda power.

Dario's easy going personality and instinctive feel for the road made the hour-long stretch fly by as we swapped stories on cars and travel, I answered his many questions concerning this part of the world (don't be misled by the name, Dario hails from Scotland).

As we approached Cooma it was striking how the history of these small towns heading towards the Snowy Mountains was almost tangible. Indeed many of the buildings were untouched from a time when over 100,000 men and women came from over 30 countries to participate in what was our largest ever engineering project, the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme (1949 – 1974).

Intriguingly, the small towns were perhaps the only solid evidence of much of the scheme's undertakings with only two per cent of all work carried out visible from above ground.

At one such rustic establishment (Lott Foodstore, Bakery & Cafe), an old weatherboard corner store, we enjoyed great coffee and some terrific homemade cakes as friendly locals regaled us with local anecdotes. The quality of the food (and coffee) on hand provided a welcome surprise in such a small and relatively isolated country town.

Joining Dario again in the red Euro we set the cruise control and made tracks for our lunch destination in Jindabyne, arguably the hub of the Snowy Scheme during much of its construction. The town sits on the shore of a large man-made lake created to harness water for the generation of electricity and, eventually, irrigation.

Snow was still present on the taller distant peaks as the chilly air told us we were on the right path for our highlight destination and Australia's highest point, Mount Kosciusko. Stopping for lunch at the Tourist Centre the group recounted the unusually high number of native fauna struck dead on the road into town, the lure of water drawing kangaroos, wombats and echidnas from the nearby bush across traffic to Lake Jindabyne.

After climbing the picturesque valley through the winter ski fields of Perisher and Charlotte's Pass, our journey saw us reach the official beginning of our trip, or should I say almost. Mt Kosciusko summit is an 18-kilometre round hike from the car park, which gave us an opportunity to stretch our legs, take in the view and, thanks to some late snow, throw a few snowballs at one another.

The fresh alpine air was quite exhilarating, almost brisk as we reached the summit, and the view from the top of Australia truly inspiring. Our trip now felt sanctioned -- an official beginning -- as the team of Honda Adventurers began to discuss the trip ahead and the highlights we expected to encounter.

As the sun dipped beneath the taller peaks we headed back to Jindabyne for fuel (not that the Euro needed much) before heading to Thredbo Village for a spot of dinner and couple of local reds, swapping stories until the staff setting up for tomorrow's breakfast hinted it was well past our bed time.

Day Two: Thredbo to Cobram (373kms)
After a brief and rather chilly photo shoot at the hotel pool our posse set off for sleepy Khancoban, but not before a twisty downhill section of road woke us with its enthusiastic pace.

Slipping behind the wheel of the Alabaster Silver Civic Type R (or 'the secretary' as it became affectionately known, think about it...) I couldn't help but feel I'd landed the perfect vehicle for the morning's travels.

Narrow, winding downhill sections saw us arrive all too quickly in the flatter valley floor, our intermission taking in the view of Tom Groggin Station, the home of Tom Reilly who was reportedly the original 'Man from Snowy River'.

Kanchoban was passed in a mere blink, the town established to house workers from the Snowy Mountain Scheme. The small village is now a shadow of its former self, quite aged and rustic as it declines into decay.

The roads occasionally cut back through the hills with curious cuttings in places a reminder of the toil imparted all those years ago by miners, tunnel makers and quarrymen. The deep gaps in the rock were strangely 'pinched' at the top, the narrow opening allowing rock to fall on the road in several places -- hardly ideal in our low clearance Type R.

As we continued to push through the hills, a brief stop at Murray One Power Station gives us a real appreciation of the scale of the work carried out here a generation ago. Stories in these parts focus on towns that were moved to accommodate massive lakes, flooded valleys relocating towns, people and wildlife alike as progress pushed these rural settings from forgotten isolation into vibrant, but comparatively short-lived prominence.

It was great fun driving down fast flowing sections of road into Tallangatta to take in the three million plus megalitre enormity of Lake Hume, the man-made reservoir full for the first time in a good many years.

Lunch saw us roll by Bonegilla on the shores of Lake Hume en route to Wodonga. Bonegilla was the first home to over 320,000 migrants from more than 30 nations after World War II, the facility marked as a Reception and Training facility for newcomers to our shores for over 20 years (1947 – 1971).

We excused the menu's poor spelling (Lamb Curray anyone?) for the lunch break at the Blazing Stump Hotel, since the portions were generous and impressively tasty. Our convoy of now bug-covered Hondas then took the Hume Freeway south briefly before heading west to the old gold rush town of Rutherglen (1850) and its world-famous vineyards.

As I was now passenger for the next section of the day the opportunity to taste and select wines for the later sections of the Tour wasn't wasted. Campbell's Winery offered a fantastic array of reds and whites as well as premier fortified examples, some of which stem from recipes passed down through as many as five generations.

As I dozed in the passenger seat, the convoy made its way westward to Yarrawonga for a spot of fishing on the now full 23-kilometre long Lake Mulwala, our charter boats powered by a Honda outboard of course.

Pleasingly, I scored the first catch of the afternoon -- a good-sized Murray Cod. The slow growing fish was surprisingly soft to touch, despite the aggressive spikes along its fins. It was a docile catch after a brief early fight. A few quick photos and the yellowy silver fish was released to its home beneath the rotting red gums that punctuate the tranquil water like slate-grey headstones.

As we tied up back at the shore it was a curious sight to see school kids' after school sport program involved being towed behind a boat over jumps -- water skiing the sport of choice. Jealous! We left the water for Cobram, a town surrounded by dairy farms that supply the Devondale brand. Dinner took place at a small cafe on the 'beach' at Barooga on a curve of the river Murray; exceptional food again surprising our gang of well-fed travellers.

The owner told us the establishment was flooded in heavy rains only three weeks prior to our arrival and with 60mm of rain due overnight the floodgates being opened upstream at Mulwala could see a repeat performance in a day or two's time.

Day Three: Cobram to Mildura (484kms)
We left the RACV resort in Cobram, taking the long straight road that is the Murray Valley Highway. The highway stretched like a narrow black streak across green paddocks filled with dairy cattle. We passed the time by discussing the impact of irrigation on the land before arriving in Echuca with a visit to Noel Raverty's Motor Museum.

Noel (a man in his 70s) boasts an eclectic yet impressive collection of mostly American vintage and classic cars sourced mostly from hay sheds and barns in the local region. His vivid stories on each car's history captivated the small audience, especially Dario who marvelled at the restoration work Noel himself has carried out single handedly on a number of now forgotten names.

The Beechworth Bakery (now franchised from the famous original in north-east Victoria) was our next food stop before a quick look at the Paddle Steamers at the historic three-level Echuca Wharf. The site was one of Australia's busiest inland ports in the late 1850s as the steam-powered wooden vessels transported supplies, wool and cargo. The multi-level structure accommodated rises and falls in the river's height and ultimately reached an impressive length of 1200-metres before rail transport took over in the early 1900s.

From here the long straight road west saw the vegetation gradually diminish as we pushed on through Cohuna and Kerang where wetlands consisting of over 50 separate lakes, swamps and lagoons house literally thousands of water birds. Several larger lakes (Boga, Kangaroo and Charm) are popular spots for fishing, water sports and boating and also share a history of flying boats dating back to the Second World War.

Viniculture was again prevalent here, notably with the Brown Brothers who established a vineyard next to Kangaroo Lake in the 1960s, producing a number of exotic warm-climate blends.

Swan Hill is not a locality known for its Japanese restaurants, but our lunch destination was precisely that -- a Japanese restaurant (Yutaka Sawa) producing some of the best sashimi and traditional dishes I've had this side of Tokyo. Head chef 'Kate' was raised in Hong Kong and taught to cook by her Japanese grandmother. The highlight of our meal was a delicate mango sago (pudding) made for only three weeks of the year with first-pick fruit.

I took the driver's seat of the red Accord Euro for our next stint. A lack of radio reception saw the iPhone put to good use for some tunes over the course of the warm afternoon, as we tracked through Robinvale, where were stopped for some photos beside the massive wheat silos that dominate the austere skyline of the border town, surrounded on three sides by the twisting tendrils of the Murray River.

The train from Bendigo first arrived here in 1924 but as with most of Victoria's rural railway lines was closed shortly afterward (1943) and is now replaced by a bus service, which we followed to Mildura and our overnight stay.

Mildura, meaning 'red earth' in the indigenous language was settled after explorer Captain Charles Sturt arrived in the 1830s in his search for an inland sea -- a fitting link considering our ultimate destination. Finally growing to a settled township in 1887, Mildura didn't really boom until irrigation improved agriculture, attracting post-World War One soldiers and immigrants (from England, Greece, Ireland, Italy and the former Yugoslavia) to the district. By 1937 Mildura officially became a city and gave rise to several elegant hotels that were paragons of their day, including our accommodation point, the Mildura Grand Hotel.

As we enjoyed dinner and jazz at the hotel, the team insisted our international guest try the local Aussie fauna. Dario tucked into a plate of kangaroo before we set off in search of the world's longest bar. Sadly, we were about 15 years too late, the bar demolished in 1995 without trace and a well-worn photograph at reception of the repugnantly renovated Mildura Working Man's Club (1895) the only trace of a once proud local icon.

As darkness enveloped the town and black storm clouds rolled in we settled in to the Mildura Brewery to sample some of the local bevvies and enjoy some tall tales from my fellow motoring scribes. The guys waxed lyrical of trips overseas and driving expertise in a boyish attempt to impress Dario and of course the local bar maids.

Day Four: Rest Day and Driver Change
Having bid farewell to my newfound friends, I broke away from the group with some sadness for a rough flight back to Melbourne where work commitments prevail. My colleague Feann Torr joined the group the next day where he will pick-up Part Two of the Honda Adventure Tour.