Buchan-Orbost Road to Dargo
4-10 February 2023
Buchan - public toilets, campground at the Caves State Park - booking online but can also book at Parks Office. Campground has hot showers, flush toilets and laundry - washers and dryers. Used to be a backpackers in town but it is long gone. Pub with food but no accommodation. Small motel. Post office/general store with basics but pretty pricey. Roadhouse has good options and burgers are excellent and use fresh, local beef. Willow Cafe next door is excellent and supposedly has good coffee as owner worked in cafes in Melbourne for 13 years before moving back home. Lots of healthy options and the Persian Love Cake is amazing.
Balley Hooley CG - this isn’t far in kays from Buchan but there is some really steep climbing and a long descent to get there. This is also the main takeout point for rafters and kayakers on the Snowy River, so the campground and road can be busy.
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Tulloch Ard Road - no camping areas along this, but lots of places you can make do. Must bring water with you though. There is one secret spot that requires leaving the road to ride down to a creek.
Karoonda Park - there is a farmstay here with dorms, small motel rooms and a basic shop but best to book ahead.
Near junction Tulloch Ard Rd and Buchan Rd- roadside rest area, but I think you could camp here without being bothered. There is a private residence pretty close by.
Buchan-Ensay Road - no camping areas along this road and some private property on either end. There are places you can wild camp near and by the Timbarra River Crossing though.
Ensay - you can link back roads to get to Ensay. There is a pub there, but it is not open every day.
Doctors Flat - public toilets here and can camp at the rec reserve. Use the back road from Doctors Flat (original highway) for a scenic ride and to bypass the busy Great Alpine Road and a big climb along that.
Swifts Creek - small general store/supermarket that is very well-stocked for its size. Get key/pay for caravan park here. Caravan park has new amenities block with good hot showers and a laundry (though dryer was out of order). Not a lot of shade but reasonably priced and has a good bbq area for cooking. Town also has a pub but no accommodation, bakery, post office and perhaps another cafe/coffee place. Maybe a chemist?
Brookville Road/Groves Gap/Birregun Road- need to be completely self-sufficient and prepared to ride down off ridges to get water. Only official camping area on this section is at Dogs Grave on the Birregun Rd. Hut, picnic tables, drop toilet and creek for water here, but VERY popular with 4WD crowd. Lots of places you can wild camp along this whole bit, but you must be strategic with water.
Upper Dargo Road - has 4 or 6 camping areas along the river ranging about 10-15 kms from Dargo - some with drop toilets and picnic tables. Lots of space but quite heavily used. You’d definitely want to treat the water here - river is a permanent source of water.
Dargo - General store/takeaway - long hours in summer; check in winter. General store stock is quite limited but takeaway has good options and I had a really good steak sandwich.
Memorial Hall on outskirts of town has public toilets.
Pub does meals and is quite famous and VERY VERY popular with the 4WD crowd. They have some accommodation but gets booked out. You can camp behind the pub along the river for pretty cheap. Portaloos for toilets but these were pretty clean. Also have porta-showers that had decent water pressure and hot water. Just don’t take in anything you’d normally set on the floor. The pub may want to charge you a $50 key deposit for the gate to the camping area. The earliest you can return the key is 8am. However, you can easily get your bike through the pedestrian gate that does not require a key, so you can decline a key and get going early the next day.
Today's ride: 311 km (193 miles)
Total: 1,319 km (819 miles)
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