We took a day off work and decide to head out to the Condamine Gorge, 1.5 hours from Brisbane. 13 river crossings, 430 kilometers of great roads, and a top bunch of blokes... Heaven!!
Did the Condamine solo today on F800GS BMW. Brisbane to Boonah then straight through The Head (stopping to watch the lazy 3.5m python crossing the road), past Queen Mary Falls and down into Killarney. Turned back east and up the Condamine River Road. "Roads Closed due to Floods" sign was visible about 5 km in, but it hadn't rained for a week, and also by then I was sort of committed so kept going. Was a little deeper today than in the video, eg the flat rocks visible at the start of Crossing No. 5 were about 20cm under. Made it the whole way without dunking it, but quite a few oh sh*t moments. Novel feeling getting the gloves splashed as the bow wave creeps up, and dabbed the feet more than once but the new TCX Infinity Goretex stayed dry as. Turned right back at Carney's Creek Road then down Fletcher Road and up Burnett Creek Road coming in the back of Maroon Dam. Right turn to Rathdowney and then left up Cannon Creek Road and back to Brissy. 340 km 5hrs. Great day!
Beautiful scenery, challenging but enjoyable terrain and appreciated your work on the crossings. Nice bunch of guys to ride with and share the experience. Well-done on the editing.
Excellent video of a great ride. I really enjoyed it. This is in my 'backyard' so im quite inspired now to do this route. I noticed Cannon Creek Rd early in the video. I have done that on my new Africa Twin but would love to do the Condamine Gorge sometime. Thanks for sharing this :)
Thanks mate.Yep it's a great part of the world. Much prefer doing Condamine on the DR, rather than the Beemer though! The big ships take a bit of concentration. Cheers.
Hi Strummer - great Video, have been on a lot of those roads, but would you have a gpx / map !? I have an R1200 GS - bit big for some parts- and have struggled with those water crossings, but its pretty dry now. Thanks so much for doing this.
***** Hey Brad. I have done it on a 1200gsa. Only dropped it once! Try looking on the TransAustraliaTrails website. Barry puts all his gpx files up there. Cheers.
+advrider777 Thanks mate.KLR should be ok as long as you are with another rider who can help pick it up if you drop it! Usually after rain the river swells a bit, but when we were there it was only about 8 inches deep. Watch for slippery rocks though! Cheers.
That was an awesome ride! The Condamine River Road is on my bucket list but I am not sure how I'd go on the crossings with the combination of my crap ability and the heavy weight of my V-strom. Maybe I'll have to get a lighter bike or increase my skills! The first part to the dam looked OK for me though, until you got past the border and went a bit further offroad. Is there a way to get through that part and on to the road to Queen Mary Falls without going that extreme? Is it White Swamp Road?
***** Hey, yep it's possible to do a bitumen ride out there, or part dirt road, or more extreme, depending on your tastes. White swamp road is quite easy. I have done it all on a 1200 beemer, but it's definitely easier and more relaxed on a smaller bike like a DR650. Doable on the strom, but take help with you just in case you need to pick the bike up! Enjoy, Cheers. Strummer
Dear Strummer, I just wanna thank you and your friends. Very nice video very nice adventure. I appreciate all of you guys. And especially making this video and sharing. Ride safe fellows. Peace. PS: I am going to share this video on our Adventure riding group on Facebook... ;) facebook.com/groups/advtours/