Sightseeing Adventure from Fitzroy to Cambewarra

A beautiful sightseeing adventure from Fitzroy to Cambewarra is filled with great roads, waterfalls and valleys that will take your breath away. It is an adventure that can easily consume a whole day!

Scorecard

• Difficulty – Experienced
• Duration – 42 mins
• Distance – 32 kms
• Average Speed – 42 kph
• Max Speed – 100 kph

The Ride

Depending upon where you live there are a few ways to get to Fitzroy Falls. Once you’ve loaded the map you can add your starting point and build your own journey. I live out west so for me taking the Old Hume Highway is the best way to get to Fitzroy Falls.

If you live towards Sydney city, then Princess Highway would be the best approach. This ride from Fitzroy Falls does require your full attention as there are some tight roads and crazy hairpin turns. So when you do get to Fitzroy Falls its a great opportunity to stop and take a break before heading on. Parking here is metered so make sure you get a ticket as rangers do monitor this carpark.

Soon after you leave Fitzroy Falls, there is a left and turn off to Manning Lookout its within a few minutes so depending upon your mood you can stop to check these out. I happened to miss these last time I rode by but its up to you.

As you head further south on Moss Vale Road, the road starts to descend through Barrengarry and you come across some really tight hairpins. Once you get to the bottom of the mountain you arrive into Kangaroo Valley which opens up to majestic views along the road. Best way to enjoy these is to cruise along at slower speed and breathe in the fresh and sweet air.

When you pass through the small town of Kangaroo Valley you come across a One Way bridge called the Hampden Bridge. This is again a unique and historic wooden bridge which is quite magnificent. It takes you over the Kangaroo River towards Cambewarra Range.

Your journey continues through the Kangaroo Valley with nice open stretches of road where you can pull the throttle and accelerate into the slight bends. Lean your bike and enjoy the adrenaline kick in.

And you’ll soon feel the road starting to elevate as you head into Cambewarra Range, the lane gets tighter and there can be trucks and big four-wheel drives that may go over the lanes. Keep a safe distance as you head up into your final destination of Cambewarra Lookout. Take a left hand turn onto Cambewarra Lookout Road and ride up to the top of the mountain where the road takes you.

You will arrive at your destination where you can enjoy the amazing view looking south towards Nowra and on a clear day, you can even see the ocean on the left.

I rode there with a few friends, Kevin, Dean and Raja (from left to right – pic above). Unfortunately, we got stuck behind a few trucks riding up to Cambewarra after we got through Kangaroo Valley so the ride up was bit of a crawl but I’d love to go back again and ride on this road again as its such a great adventure.

Stops Along the Way

There are numerous opportunities to stop along the way to stretch your legs, enjoy the sights or grab a bite to eat.

1. Fitzroy Falls

The waterfalls are impressive if there has been some rain in the last 24 hours and the water drops down to about 100 meters. However as you can see when I visited it hadn’t rained so the waterfall was less than impressive. Regardless the view is quite nice and there are some small trails you can do if you are into it. There is a cafe here as well so you can enjoy a coffee, tea or bite to eat.

2. Manning Lookout

Literally next door to Fitzroy Falls, is the Manning Lookout. Although I haven’t stopped here during my ride it looks like a potentially good lookout to enjoy the views it has to offer. Use Google Street View to judge for yourself. Next time I head down this way I will surely catalog some pictures from this location.

3. Kangaroo Valley Pie Shop

Established in 1880, the Kangaroo Valley Pie Shop claims to have the “The World’s Best Pies”. Not sure how official these claims are but it has some good reviews on Google. The photo is courtesy of Google Street View (not mine).

4. Cambewarra Lookout

Looking down to Nowra, Comerong Island (on the left) and over Shoalhaven River the lookout is definitely worth the ride up here. To top it off, there is a very nice restaurant called, “The Lookout” with outdoor and indoor seating where you can enjoy some freshly prepared lunch.

Any Tricky Stuff

The trickiest section of this ride is when you descend or ascend Barrengarry mountain which has lots of tight hairpins. Use a low gear 2nd or 3rd to corner through these sections. I shared some cornering tips here which are courtesy of Mick Doohan, an Aussie Legend.

This area is all one lane each way and there is only one section for overtaking. So if you get stuck behind a truck, slow down and don’t rush.

Patience and caution is definitely worth exercising in this section of the ride.

Summary

This is by far my favourite ride to go on, even though it’s a 350 km trip from door to door but the scenic beauty you experience here is amazing. Luckily, I have been on this road both on a car and on a motorcycle so I can say for sure the best way to enjoy this road is on two wheels.

Definitely, something I will be visiting again in the very near future and perhaps doing a moto vlog on this journey.

The Map

Get directions on your phone by clicking this google map link.