Thunderbolts Way — Gloucester toWalcha.
Distance
148 km
Duration
1 day
Climb
1,500 m
Thunderbolts Way — Gloucester to Walcha.
One of New South Wales' great motorcycling roads — about 150km of fast sweepers and tight mountain switchbacks climbing from the green Manning Valley at Gloucester up the Great Dividing Range to the New England tableland at Walcha.
Quick facts
SurfacePaved
Distance148 km
Days1
Total climb1,500 m
Fuel stops1 along route
DifficultyChallenging
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The route.
GloucesterStart · Fuel up and grab breakfast in Gloucester; this is the southern gateway to Thunderbolts Way and your last full-service town for a while.
CopelandScenic Point · Old gold-mining village beside Copeland Tops rainforest; short detour to the tall blackbutt forest and historic diggings.
BrettiScenic Point · The road threads the Barnard and Manning river valleys through Bretti Nature Reserve — shady river flats before the big climb.
NowendocFuel Stop · Last reliable fuel before the high country; tiny settlement, fill the tank and rest — the next stretch is remote.
NiangalaScenic Point · You've reached the New England tableland — open grazing country near 1100m, cool air and long sweeping bends.
WalchaEnd · Roll into Walcha, a tidy New England town known for its open-air sculpture trail; end of the run and a good base for the Oxley Highway next.
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