This bakery run follows the River Torrens up through Torrens Gorge and over the hills to the plains east of the Mt Lofty Ranges, culminating in a visit to Randall St Bakery near the banks of the Murray River at Mannum.
Where do we start?
This ride begins and finishes at Althelstone in the North Eastern suburbs of Adelaide.
The gpx route begins at the Mobil Convenience X on the corner of Hamilton Tce and Gorge Rd, adjacent to Thorndon Park Reserve.
Route overview
This route follows a variety of different roads and tracks, including the bitumen twisties of the Torrens Gorge, good quality gravels roads as well as a number of secondary dirt tracks that run through farm country.
In total, the route covers a distance of 191 km
Let's go!
From our starting point we head up Gorge Rd and follow the edge of the River Torrens. We pass the start of the Linear Park Trail, a shared walking/cycling path that runs for about 35 km back to the coast at Henley Beach.
In this first section, the road runs close the the river's edge
where there are a number of deep pools
Running along the southern side of the road is Black Hill Conservation Park.
Then, a little further along, is Pinkerton Gully Rd that runs up to the dolomite and limestone quarry run by Holcim. There is a constant stream of loaded quarry trucks running the hill during the week so extra care should always be taken along this section! In fact it was only last year that a young motorcyclist was involved in a terrible crash there with one such truck..
As the road starts to climb, Corkscrew Rd is passed on the right. It's an nice ride that follows Sixth Creek and runs up to Montacute Rd - it's not on the route but well worth a look at some stage.
A few historic houses are passed along the way
with more deep waterholes in some of the open areas
before the river is crossed and the road then runs along it's northern side
Gorge Rd is notable for a number of reasons. One of these is the constant issue with rockfalls that occur along the stepper sections, especially after heavy rain. A number of these areas have been shored up to prevent accidents.
caused by something like this! (Actual photo of a rockfall on Gorge Rd - SAPOL photo)
Another reason that Gorge Rd has such an iconic status is due to the multitude of tight twisting corners that provide for a wonderful motorcycling experience. The road conditions can vary dramatically, depending on the weather but the surface is generally of good quality. It's also very popular for cyclists and this can lead to some tight encounters with on coming traffic, especially on weekends.
The road passes by Kangaroo Creek Reservoir, with the giant spillway passed first
before the main body of water can be seen at a few spots where it's possible to pull off the road.
More tight corners are encountered
as the road continues to hug the river's edge
The Gorge Rd Wildlife Park is passed and then the settlement of Cudlee Creek is reached. The first section of the 'town' has the Tavern and Caravan Park
Then there's another few kilometres of road to travel,
before the Cudlee Cafe is reached. This is a very popular spot for motorcycles on weekends!
Soon after passing the cafe, Cudlee Creek Conservation Park is found on the left
and as luck might have it a local resident was spotted nearby when I stopped to take a picture of the sign!
A local fishing hole can be found off a small sidetrack on the last sweeping bend
before we turn off our run up Gorge Rd and down Retreat Valley Rd.
It even has an old bike on the corner to signal the turn!
This is a nice section of gravel road
that runs through a small valley
the road then hooks back to Gumeracha but instead, we turn off down Odea Rd
This was an area that was badly affected by the Cudlee Creek bush fires in 2019. Here's a shot of the road when I went down there not long after the fire.
and this is the same road today!
Burnt remnants can be seen in the paddocks but otherwise it's looking very good!
soon we turn onto Berry Hill Rd with great views out to the north
An area of native bush land has been retained for many years along Reservoir Rd as part of the Lobethal Bushland Park. Ten years ago, well before the fire went through, it looked like this
but was decimated during the fire and ended up a charred and barren landscape as seen in this photo taken soon after the fire.
fast forward to today and the growth has returned in spades.
Once out of the bush land area we soon hit Kenton Valley Rd and head into Lobethal. It was time for a break and although not the target today, the Lobethal Bakery was too enticing to ignore!
It's a great spot that I'll cover on another ride but be wary, it's closed on Sundays!
Of course if it is closed there's always the dedicated Amberlight Motorcycle Cafe just down the main road.
Once past the main part of Lobethal the Woodside Rd is followed briefly before turning off down Golf Links Rd (Head straight down the dirt as Woodside Rd veers sharply to the left near the Lobethal Oval). Now, this stretch of road has been opened and closed over the years due to it becoming ruined by 4x4's after heavy winter rains. Some time a go, gates were installed at either end and it was locked up quite a bit. To my surprise the northern gate was open on this ride so I headed along to check it out..
Firstly it passes by the oval and some horse paddocks
the main reason for its closure has been the deep rutting caused by vehicles along a couple of steeper sections
Many years ago on a ride through here one of my mates popped over the crest of one these slopes at some speed, only to find a boggy clay mess on the down slope. Needless to say it was too much for his Kawasaki 'Super Sherpa'!
The conditions on this ride meant the track was a little damp but easy to negotiate
taking care at a few slippery sections
Luckily the southern gate was also open, so it was a clear run through.
At the T- junction it was off to the left down Western Branch Rd then, after a bit of zig zagging, we picked up the delightful Harrison Rd
which winds its way through some prime grazing country with picture postcard type farms scattered along the way
past a number of vineyards
and through a number of sections that still contain some native vegetation along the verges
it was then onto another of my favourite roads in this area, Sandy Waterhole Rd
it's a very picturesque ride through here (and believe it or not can get sandy in summer!)
there were a few wet areas that required a closer look before choosing the best line through
but all in all, it's a great little run
the last section follows the edge of the Charleston Conservation Park (no motorbikes)
before the intersection with Warmington Run is reached
this leads through to Hermanns Rd, which winds through some more native scrub
and pasture land
before it pops out on the Harrogate Rd and then after another 100mt we head onto Black Heath Rd
as we have passed further to the east the countryside has opened up, with less vegetation and a number of rocky outcrops becoming more visible
soon we pick up Collins Rd and pass an old wooden bridge that crosses an adjacent creek
before turning among the gums down Brinkworths Range Rd
after a few kilometres the roads snakes down a shallow gully
and crossed a bridge over Dairy Creek
directly after the bridge we take the first of a number of tracks on this route that will traverse through open farmland. This one is Hoads Fire Track, and it initially follows the creek
before cutting through between some grazing paddocks
we then reach the first of what will be a number of gates on this loop (around 9 in total with 6 on this section). Of course it goes without saying that any gates passed must be left as they were found (either open or closed).
our second gate (which was open on this ride) is reached as we pass close to some farming infrastructure. At this point it's probably a good time to reiterate how important it is to respect the farmers who operate around these types of roads/tracks. We are literally travelling through their backyards and they don't want their livestock (that often feed along these road areas) to be disturbed, so it's critical that we move slowly through such areas to minimise noise and reduce our impact.
soon the track heads out and up
with a fence now only along one side as we traverse through the more rocky and open terrain
after about 4km a third gate is found when our track intersections with Pebbley Range Rd and Bottroff Hill Rd
a number of the sections that we have have travelled on so far are part of the Kidman Trail (click on the photo for more info)
we follow Bottroff Hill Rd to the east as we travel across the top of the eastern edge of the Mt Lofty Ranges
the area is now generally unfenced and it's important that everyone sticks to the track as they pass through (Note: there are a number of side farms tracks that are not publicly accessible)
there is another gate on the top of the hill
before the tracks begins to head down
but not before stopping for some magnificent views of the plains
and the Murray River in the distance
the last downhill section is a little steeper and slightly rocky
with a final gate found at the edge of a farm once down on the flat
once past the gate be wary of the intersection with the main Palmer Rd as we scoot straight across
it's then onto West Boundary Rd where we cross Reedy Creek adjacent to the old railway line and its associated bridge.
There's a short single track that leads up to the railway line where it then continues to follow the line in a northerly direction
The single track can also be joined a little further along where an old crossing of the road occurs.
our route continues along the gravel
past old ruins and well fed sheep
until we meet up with Cascade Rd. This was the site of a freak weather event back in 2010 when a massive storm whipped through the area. The whole road was undermined by flash flooding and was closed for a long time.
Having eventually been repaired it leads to the the access points for the Mannum Waterfalls and Pools
The top carpark has a walking access track (about 5min downhill walk) that leads to a lookout. There is a gully that has Reedy Creek running through it and the downstream pools can be seen at this point
for those more adventurous there is a walking track that leads down to the pools
Looking upstream from the lookout the path of Reedy Creek is quite evident
and depending on the time of year and rainfall, there may be waterfalls present
After taking in the views it's back onto Cascade Rd that leads through to Mannum Rd
we head off down Belvedere Rd shortly afterwards
which runs parallel to the river and passes the Mannum Waters Marina
it's not long before we reach the township of Mannum and it's worth a stop at Mary Anne Reserve where you can view the river in all its might
there's often local pelicans hanging around
with heavy rains across the Murray Darling basin the river was flowing strongly at around 60,000 ML/day.
of course this is nothing compared to the flood levels of years gone by, with 1956 being the biggest of them all at 5.10mt
after taking in the river views it was soon time to head up the hill to our target for the day - Randell St Bakery
this is one of my favourite bakeries in all of SA. It has a nice selection of pastries
and the quality of the food I have always found to be excellent. To keep the status quo of comparisons I chose the standard meat pie.
My score for the pie was:
Pastry - nice and fresh 9/10
Filling - rich and tasty 9/10
Temperature - perfect! 10/10
a visit to this bakery would not be complete without mentioning their superb Kitchener buns. The best I've had anywhere (with fresh cream!) The only downside of the bakery that it is closed on Sundays! (there is another Lovells Bakery that's open 7 days a week further down the road)
Once the bakery delights have (semi) digested it's off down the main street of Mannum
there's often some interesting vessels moored down by the river
If you have plenty of time on your hands you can add to the route with a trip across the river on one of the town's two ferries.
There is an option to explore more of the river once on the other side out along East Front Rd past Younghusband and Bowhill. There is a loop that you can do back via Purnong (all bitumen) of around 80km, and there are some cracking views of the river along the way.
otherwise, our route heads out of town via some back side streets with a stop off at the town lookout. Here you can get a good look at the river both upstream
and back towards the township
From there we begin our journey back west where the main link is Long Gully Rd. It is a good quality gravel road (albeit a little skatey on some corners)
that follows a dry creek bed for a fair bit of its length
Once past the Mannum/Sedan Rd intersection there are long straight stretches where you can keep up a good pace.
Just watch out for the occasional truck!
As we head further west the silos of Apamurra can been seen in the distance out past the canola crops
Our next turn off is down Avolene Rd (Note: some maps have this named Hartmann Rd)
which is a nice change from the fast gravel
although like a number of tracks in this area it can get a little sandy in summer
Soon we pop out on Milendella Rd right opposite a stock of hay bales
it's then a short run up the bitumen until we reach our turn off to Gap Rd. This takes us initially up a slight hill
before we head down into a valley
and at the end of the valley the road cuts through one of the hills
as it follows a small creek
before it reaches a T- junction at Davenport Rd
The next part of the route requires a little discussion and refers to a section called Borthwick Brae Rd. It is found a little over a kilometre from the Gap Rd turnoff and to all intents and purposes looks like a track through a farmer's property. It currently has a flexible fence type gate (in poor condition) at the entrance. (Please make sure that it is returned to its original position and is well secured once passed)
Now, I have travelled on this road for many years and have never had any issues. I have also checked its bona fides on several SA Gov websites, including here:
They indicate it is a public road, however, the exact status of some of these types of roads can be contentious. Sometimes, farmers have agreements with local government bodies whereby they rent the road to allow stock to graze etc. So, I take no responsibility if a farmer takes offence to riders who may wish to follow this road. If riders feel uncomfortable using this section of the route then there is an easy work around that follows Davenport Rd to Palmer and then onto Randal Rd which then re-joins our route.
If continuing on Borthwick Brae Rd, once through the gate the track heads out over the hills with sheep grazing throughout. Once again a nice sedate pace will keep impact to stock down to a minimum.
The track can be a little rocky and slippery in parts after rain
and as the track heads down the other side of the hill past rocky outcrops
a gate is encountered
just before the gate is a nearby pole
that several years ago, did indeed, have a camera attached. I'm guessing that the farmer has had issues in the past with illegal spotlighting etc
once past the gate the track heads downhill once more
before ending at a final double gate. It's important to note that when travelling on these types of roads it's not unusual to come across gates like this that have randomly been locked, so as annoying as it may be, always be prepared to turn around and back track if required. It doesn't necessarily mean the status of the road has changed, rather the farmer has just stuck a lock on the gate!
On this occasion the gate was guarded by a wary kookaburra!
with the gate all secured it was then off down Hardings Rd, under a main power supply source coming in from Robertstown in the Mid North
this road tracks in towards the Mannum - Adelaide pipeline that supplies Adelaide's water from the Murray
the small town of Tungkillo is passed
before we turn off onto Hoads Woolshed Rd
that passes by the said named woolshed!
we then track along a number of nice winding roads, including R Hicks and Number Four roads.
past trees growing out of dams
it's a nice run back along tree lines creeks
before the bitumen is reached at Angas Creek Rd across from 'Frosty Flats'
as we approach Angas Creek Vineyards we take Jackson Hill Rd
that traverses through the vineyards
before Kenton Valley comes into view
it's then just a short run down to the main Torrens Valley Rd at Gumeracha
which sweeps its way down to the Milbrook Reservoir at Chain of Ponds
we continue on along North East Rd, winding past the reservoir until we reach the outskirts of Inglewood. Here we head off down Paracombe Rd past the fruit orchids
before we reach Torrens Hill Rd. Here views down and across the Torrens Gorge can be seen
It's a steep descent down to the river
and the iconic Gorge Rd that was travelled on the early part of our route can be glimpsed down between the trees
the intersection with Gorge Rd at the bottom of the hill is a notorious corner, so take care as we swing back towards the city.
following the Torrens River once more
past Kangaroo Creek Dam again
enjoying the last of the bends
before we reach our starting point near Thorndon Park Reserve
Once again, I hope you enjoyed the ride! (Comments are welcome)
A download for a gpx file of the route can be found below.