Sydney celebrated the first day of this adventure with grey skies and light rain which was not the upbeat start I had hoped for. To be honest the weather somewhat matched my own nervousness about the size of the undertaking on which I was embarkiing.

The rain continued as I passed through Windsor and Richmond and up in the Blue Mountains, along the Bell-Line of road, the temperature dropped and made for an uncomfortable ride. Lithgow was no better and it was only as I entered Bathurst that the rain ceased and some sun appeared.

I stopped for the night at Macquarie Woods a grassed clearing located in Victoria State Forest on the northern side of the Great Western Highway about 25 km short of the town of Orange.