Check it out: Nowa Nowa

“Nowa Nowa....Never heard of it!” up until last week that was the response I also gave to tell you about this hidden little gem of a town which has a MTB purpose built park. Built by Mountain Bike Track Services and officially opened in April this year, this park has awesome berms, log rolls and sweeping fast corners.

Let me start by explaining how it is I came to find myself hookin’ down the sweet rollin’ berms of Nowa Nowa. I was recently offered a full time P.E teaching job in a small town called Orbost. Now having never heard of this place I felt it was important to do some research on whether there would be decent mountain biking tracks nearby and quiet roads for those long road rides, as those 2 factors were going to determine whether I packed up and moved.

I contacted the Gippsland MTB club who were awesome in providing plenty of info, and have races (including enduros) every month. They also advised of an abundance of tracks in nearby places such as Blores Hill, Mt Taylor, Colqhoun Forest and Nowa Nowa. I was sold, packed the car, drove 6 hours south east, found a rental and began working. (Orbost is about 40 minutes drive continuing East from Lakes Entrance, East Gippsland.)

There is also the 100km East Gippsland Rail Trail which runs from Orbost to Bairnsdale, so I decided to ride it from Orbost to Nowa Nowa. For some reason I didn’t really think about how long it would take me and had a 4hr ride to do so thought this would be the perfect way to do it. Jumped on the rail trail and the scenery was amazing;, think green lush paddocks, cows in abundance, blue skies and the suns a shining.

I cruised past some green grassy knolls that would have been perfect for hosting the “World Champion Rollie Pollie Competition.” The rail trail was undulating and the landscape changed from farmland to dense bush and with some terrific rail bridges still intact it kept the ride interesting. At one point I came across a wombat, and the only wombats I had ever had previous dealings with were always unfortunately ‘sleeping’ on the side of the road, so unsure what this creature was going to do, I approached with caution, trying to think if anyone had ever warned me that these things might charge? We stared each other down for a good 10 seconds before thankfully it scooted off in the other direction, putting Usain Bolt to shame.

I reached Nowa Nowa about 2 hours later, the park was well signposted from the highway and rail trail, and I found a car park and sign with a map (think a smaller version of Forrest), with a sign outlining the tracks and their degree of difficulty. The park consists of 1 uphill track, which took me about 25 minutes to get up, and then 6 tracks which come down off it. I chose number 3 to begin with and this awesome fun. Some cool berms and log rolls, perfect for practising cornering and braking techniques.

Up again and down number 5, once again it was great fun and offered some great switchbacks and berms to keep me on my toes. Next up track 2 was on the agenda, and boy did it deliver. The best track from the ones I rode, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face the whole way down, even yelling out a “WAHHHOOO!!” hoping no one was walking nearby or they might think I was a little strange. So excited by it, I went back up and rode it again. Some terrific berms, log rolls and sweeping corners made it very exciting indeed.

Nowa Nowa isn’t full of technical or tricky tracks, but it is great fun and it’s great to have something like this here. It is perfect for those (like me) who need to get out and practise cornering, braking and being an efficient and smooth rider. Nowa Nowa has a general store and a cafe which has terrific food and drink, although this was closed on Sunday afternoon and signified my downfall on the way home. Thinking I was only going to be out 4 hours, and thinking I could buy more food/drink at the store, I came unstuck when I was actually out for 6 hours and both stores were closed. The 2 hour trek home on the rail trail was a bit of a struggle as I rationed out the last of my food and drink to try to get myself home without meeting the dreaded Mr Bonk as well as having no ipod!!

Definitely recommend visiting Nowa Nowa as you could easily spend 4-5 hours at the park, and apparently there are loads more trails out there which are yet to be mapped. Also recommend riding the East Gippsland Rail Trail as there is a shuttle bus which can collect you at the other end.

Next on the agenda for Nowa Nowa is the “ Nowa Nowa 2010: A Bike Odyssey!” This festival is all about celebrating cycling and will be held on Oct 29 – 1 Nov by The Bike Wilderness Group. The town will be buzzing with all things mountain biking and events include a 4 hour enduro, maintenance workshops and skills sessions, night rides, mtb orienteering races, campfires and live music. It is set to be the biggest event ever to hit the town no doubt. For more info and event schedule check out the website: www.wildernessbikeride.com.au

For further info on mountain biking in east Gippsland check out:www.bikenowanowa.com
www.eastgippslandrailtrail.com
www.wildernessbikeride.com.au
www.mountainbiketrackservices.com

Safe Riding,
Courtney