Macquarie pass

sly · Postby **sly** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:25 pm

went for a drive to sydney last night to pick the girlfriend up from the airport and decided to go around the back way. adds about 45-50 mins onto the trip to sydney from canberra but my god.. isn't it worth it! this road honestly is why i love driving and modified cars. one day i am going to go out and video the road and send it to tsuchya and get him to drive it:p

awesome touge run and i would seriously reccommend it to anyone.

Artificial Life · Postby **Artificial Life** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 12:28 pm

That's an excellent bit of road, the surface is really well maintained and in top condition (as of yesterday

)

There is only one overtaking zone between the top and the bottom, it's a 3 lane section with passing permitted in both directions, close to the top. Approaching from the bottom climbing up, there's a warning sign at the 300m mark. There are passing sections on both the top and bottom approaches in 80 and 100 zones respectively.

Above the overtaking zone is very very very tight with several hairpins, and is usually wet, be very careful of commodores that decide the fact at the road is an S bend is irrelevant and straight-line

The lower section is a fantastic mix of S's and tight corners, usually blind. A lot of it currently has no central line markings. Don't overtake on these sections, ever.

Coming from the bottom there is one tight left hander over a slight rise which drops away sharply as you turn. That corner tends to put the rear out, so if you havent' dríven there before, be damn careful!

my 2c.

Jeo · Postby **Jeo** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:34 pm

Had an engagement party to go to in Engadine on saturday night, then came home to canberra this way on sunday.

Dad was amazed that i hadn't been though there before so he strongly encouraged me to go this way.

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 7:33 am

did Maquarie pass yesterday with a few friends

its an awesome road. It was the first time I conciously did that piece of road. I may have done it previously with some club runs but never realised this section was Maquarie pass.

the road is superb smooth as silk & pretty new. Or re asphalted recently.

it was about 7am and we got pretty much a free run apart from the abberation above. :lol:

But we did find out a biker came to grief going the other direction. Police & ambulances racing past the Cafe we were having a coffee at. Waitress who was late to work got stuck n the traffic jam. Hope he's OK.

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:09 pm

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Pass. I live only 5-10 minutes drive from the bottom and regularly partake in the loop that takes in Macquarie Pass, Jamberoo Mountain Pass, Jamberoo and home to Albion Park. Highly recommended! Actually I did this run on Sunday afternoon in my 135i, which had ashamedly gathered a collection of cobwebs on the front wheels! There was a lot of traffic though. Early mornings on weekends is usually the best time to avoid traffic, but watch out for native wildlife at dusk/dawn and motorcyclists who misjudge their corners. There are plenty of floral-decorated crucifixes along the way which commemorate such "temporary Australians".

CoffeeBoss · Postby **CoffeeBoss** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 4:17 pm

As a counterbalance to Bryan in Albion Park, I live 10 mins the otherside of Robertson, at the top of Macquarie Pass.

Such a great road early on a weekend morning - just grab the keys and hit the road for a quick drive to blow out the cobwebs. Since it has been hotmixed it's popularity has increased with the biking fraternity, and who can blame them, it's one of the nicest hill climbs in the state.

two40 · Postby **two40** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 4:54 pm

That is one excellent photo. Did you take it?

CoffeeBoss · Postby **CoffeeBoss** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 5:38 pm

two40 wrote:That is one excellent photo. Did you take it?

Yeah, just a quick snap with my iPhone, and a quick edit with Camerabag

I'm always trying to take photos which carry that sense of driving on a great road. Usually I miss. But this one was a nice fluke.

two40 · Postby **two40** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 7:28 pm

It has excellent composition. The road leads you around the whole photo. It's well balanced and has a fantastic catch as a centre piece. The only thing that lets it down for me is the overly heavy vignette. It's a personal thing and I understand why people use them but subtlety is always best with a vignette. Usually people use them to strengthen a photo and this one my friend does not need it. You have a natural vignette anyway on 3 corners if you look at it. The bottom right stands out unnaturally and lets it down. Cut back 60-70% on it, remove all vignette on bottom right and frame it.

But umm, back on topic. Sorry to geek out on the pic.

BadBong · Postby **BadBong** » Wed Dec 08, 2010 7:58 am

I know that this is an old thread but I'm doing my part to raise everyone's awareness of this road (for those who have known this for years... well, I'm a late bloomer :wink:

)

Decided to take a day off work yesterday for my b'day and went for a drive down south. Drove through the Royal National Park, down the coast to Wollongong and headed towards Kangaroo Valley via the Macquarie Pass and my goodness - this is a serious piece of road!

Imagine a wider, (much) better paved, faster Galston Gorge with chains of low/medium speed twisties (recommended 25-45km/hr but can do them in 60-80kms).

Combine with the fact that there's a constant light midst in the air cause of the steep incline and a view from the top all the way to the coast, it is by far the best piece of road I've dríven in NSW... so much so that I went up and down the mountain 3 times :mrgreen:

I know it's a tad far from Sydney (about 2 hours drive if you take the coastal way or just over an hour if you go the entire way on freeway) but we've GOT TO organise a run down that area soon!

Any takers? :mrgreen:

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Wed Dec 08, 2010 9:47 am

I'll be organising a BreakFast Club run down this way in mid-2011 for those who can stand to wait that long. :lol:

Best tip for Mac Pass? Do it early morning to avoid the traffic. You might need to dodge the odd lyrebird crossing the road, but otherwise you're unlucky to encounter traffic. For example, on Sunday morning on my way to Wakefield Park (~6:10am), I had a free run until I reached a light truck about 2-3 corners before the overtaking lane. Awesome! :mrgreen:

It's also best to save Tourist Road to Bowral for times well away from dawn and dusk. Clobbering a wombat on that road is an experience best avoided. :oops:

CoffeeBoss · Postby **CoffeeBoss** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 8:43 am

and another tip - avoid the pitfalls of stopping at the Robertson Pie Shop, and press on to Robertson township, only a few kays further along the road (heading away from Maq Pass). As you enter the town proper the Cheese Factory is on your left, good coffee, great food (try the Canadian/French breakkie for something different) and of course a great selection of cheese both local and further abroad.

Just past there on the right is Three Creeks Cafe which is also worth a stop for foodies and coffee drinkers alike. The owners have also recently taken over the adjacent lease and are trying out a little bar which is open most evenings, a refreshing addition to Robertson!

At the intersection with Kangaloon Rd (a nice alternative route if you're heading through to Bowral) you'll also find Pizzas In The Mist, which is a good lunch or dinner stopover.

Hammer · Postby **Hammer** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 10:19 am

CoffeeBoss wrote:

I'm liking the photo Matt. Even more impressed that it's taken from a phone.

Great stuff!

Jim007 · Postby **Jim007** » Fri Mar 02, 2012 9:06 pm

I live about 10 minutes from the base of the pass. It has been one of my favourite roads for many years.

transwest · Postby **transwest** » Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:37 pm

CoffeeBoss wrote:and another tip - avoid the pitfalls of stopping at the Robertson Pie Shop, and press on to Robertson township, only a few kays further along the road (heading away from Maq Pass). As you enter the town proper the Cheese Factory is on your left, good coffee, great food (try the Canadian/French breakkie for something different) and of course a great selection of cheese both local and further abroad.

Just past there on the right is Three Creeks Cafe which is also worth a stop for foodies and coffee drinkers alike. The owners have also recently taken over the adjacent lease and are trying out a little bar which is open most evenings, a refreshing addition to Robertson!

At the intersection with Kangaloon Rd (a nice alternative route if you're heading through to Bowral) you'll also find Pizzas In The Mist, which is a good lunch or dinner stopover.

I dont believe stopping at Robertson Pie Shop is a pitfall i and members of a lot of other Auto and M/C clubs in the W/gong and Syd areas have been stopping there and have had excellent service and food long before a lot of other estabilshments were opened in Robbo.