Australia's best motorcycle roads. Wisemans ferry and Bucketty to Woolombi

Wisemans Ferry and Bucketty to Wollombi.

It has been a while since I posted any roads from my Moto-GP tour last year, however I still have a few left to show you and talk about. The rides here north of Sydney are no doubt well known and popular for Sydney based riders who would have alot more information on them, however I come from Brisbane so I will be speaking from a touring point of view. I therefore have grouped these two sections of road together even though local riders may not necessary do the same.

Between Sydney and Cessnock there is two enjoyable routes to choose from, the Putty road or via Bucketty and Woolombi. Now you could also ride via the infamous Old Road and then up to Bucketty which would not be a bad choice perhaps on a weekday however when coming from the south or west it does mean involving yourself in Sydney's traffic or toll roads to get near Hornsby, where as you can skip that hassle going via Windsor to Wisemans. The Old road is also rather short and over as soon as it begins however the approach to Bucketty from there is good.

From Windsor you head off as if going to Putty then turn right to Wisemans ferry. The road reminded me of rides out of Brisbane northern suburbs at first with very similar feel. I rode via Sackville for my first ferry crossing of this trip, then on to the Hawksbury river to the Wisemans ferry crossing. Some excellent curves along the way and I imagine it would be very scenic on a fine day however a some fog and haze spoiled the views on the morning I was there.





After the river I mistakingly explored the wrong road which turned to gravel however it was such lovely countryside I did a loop to St Albans village and back to the river just to enjoy the scenic valley. I perhaps wouldn't have minded to ride on via the gravel either except I wanted to see what the road along the river was like.
This road would have been much nicer on a clear day and I will revisit again however the road surface was rather poor on this section, and for me to say that you can guess how bumpy it is. (photos not of the bumpy sections)


Once back on the main route north you will be on smooth fast roads with some excellent corners. This road seems very popular with sports bikes and I stopped at a popular motorbike servo for a rest and coffee break and watched dozens of groups of riders come and go. Dropping down from the hills the temperature warms up towards Woolombi and the road changes to a series of interesting sweepers through the countryside which any rider any bike will find very enjoyable, an excellent section of road both in its surveying and rural scenery.




Seems nearly all the bikes I saw stopped there and then perhaps return via the same or possibly swing over and back down the Putty road. I have ridden both of these in both directions and it is difficult to say which works best in what direction. I would simply choose according to what route you have on the other side of Sydney. South via here then the Old road then toll roads past Sydney to the Hume then Kangaroo valley and Princess h-way works well for a quick way south. Via Putty and swing west via Bells line of roads also seems to work well. Riding around the outskirts of Sydney to go via this route in either direction seems the much longer and slower route.

Chefs summary: Curves a plenty, surface poor in a few places next to the river, enjoyable ride.
Route map