2026 East Gippsland Stray

I decided again to make the pilgrimage south for the 2026 East Gippsland Stray
I could only do the middle section from Orbost to Tumbarumba as heading further south to Bruthen would mean and extra 3 days including 1 to, and 2 on the way home.
I Left home right on 6am stopped for fuel and quick breakfast in Goulburn
Took a quick break at Lake George which was still almost full and took some photos
Had another stop for coffee and a muffin at Bredbo Bakery
Refuelled in Cooma and bought some thermal inner gloves at Rhythm Sports as the temps were dropping due to cloud
Some low cloud approaching Nimmitabel which is about 1000m ASL and then misty rain from Bibbenluke to Bombala
Quick toilet break in Bombala then off down the Cann River Rd
Misty again from the Imlay Rd then light rain from the start of the twisties to Cann River
Had Lunch at Cann River then off along the Princes Hwy to Orbost with more intermittent light rain
Arrived wet and cold after 650kms of riding at about 330pm and checked in to the Pub
The room had no heater but a pedestal fan so I set it up to dry my jeans and leather jacket which worked
When the rest of the guys from the Club arrived from Melbourne we went to the Orbost Tiki Bar for cocktails which was a laugh. Then back to the Pub for dinner

Sunday we left Orbost with more cool overcast weather and predicted patchy rain so geared up with wet weathers
Rode up the Bonang and had a blast on my Interceptor 650 chasing Charles on his new Classic 650 thru the many many turns of one of the best roads in the country
I even turned off my Spotify to hear the symphony of two twin cylinder engines with sports exhausts resonating in and out of sync
The overcast misty weather made the road surface variable with some wet patches many potholes and the low light conditions attracted innumerable marsupials which was another thing to concentrate on.
We stopped a couple of times along the way to regather the group and take a break from concentration required for the fast riding Charles and I were doing.
Refuelled in Bombala but strangely the café basically closed the minute we pulled up and since there was no other option it was push on to Berridale
We got to Dalgety and pulled up for people to put on more wet weather gear as the outlook west was very stormy
Had lunch in Berridale and then took off towards the Snowy Mountains Hwy and stopped in Adaminaby for fuel
From there it started to climb in elevation to over 1000m and started to get cold
Leon who due to his old Iron Barrel 500 was struggling on some hills lead from there
One hill near Providence Portal he pulled into the breakdown lane and let us pass
At the Link rd. turn off at Kiandra we stopped to wait for Leon but alas he never arrived
I took the opportunity to rummage thru my bags and don any extra clothing I could find
A search party was sent back and they quickly returned with bad news – Leon blew his motor and was waiting for his wife to come from ACT with the trailer
So we pushed on and rode thru the northern alpine of the Kosciusko National Park past Mt Selwyn Ski area and Cabramurra which is almost 1500m ASL
Then we stopped and regrouped at Tooma Dam for a photo op before removing our wet weathers due to the change in weather with the westerly aspect
No cloud no rain it was sunshine and lollipops riding down towards Khancoban and the Vic boarder
before heading north again up to Tumbarumba where we arrived at the newly refurbished Reunion Hotel right on Beer o’clock after about 500kms riding
Monday the Victorians were headed to Bruthen thru the Vic alpine and Garry and I rode north along a great road to Adelong and Tumblong to the Hume Hwy and made it home at about 330pm and 478kms wet again due to rain on the last 10km of the M7 Motorway.
Great ride again with the Stray regulars total of 1600 odd kilometres over 3 days
There was a lot of highway transit for me to get there but the roads and company are always worth it