Words: Matthew Shields

The Murray River would have to be one of the most well-known and varied stretches of waterway in Australia and thankfully for us motorcyclists there are roads that follow its twists and turns from the Alpine township of Corryong in Victoria through to the mouth of the river 2500km west in South Australia.

If you want to experience the best of what it has to offer for motorcyclists the most logical starting point would be the sister towns either side of the Murray river at Albury and Wodonga. A seven-hour stretch from Sydney and just over three hours from Melbourne on the Hume Highway the spectacular Hume Weir marks the entrance point to this ride.

Image: Greg Smith (iKapture).

Not to be confused with the 663km Murray Valley Highway – designated as B400 – which runs from the Murray River bridge in Robinvale to Coryong, the Murray River Road – designated C542 – was in fact the old eastern end of the Murray Valley Highway from Albury until it was realigned through Tallangatta in the south during the 1980s.

The first 53km of the run from Hume Weir to Granya is a picturesque, meandering, well-surfaced route that usually won’t challenge riders of any calibre. At Granya you can continue along the C546 which hugs the Murray River through to Corryong and it’s here that the gateway to the Alpine region and roads like the Alpine and Barry Ways is enjoyably accessed.

At Granya the Murray River Road keeps heading east, but do yourself a favour head up the Granya Rd. Running alongside the Mount Granya State Park a 15km stretch of meandering tarmac winds up over the range down to the Murray Valley Highway at Bullioh. The road is beautifully surfaced, dappled in light by surrounding tree canopies and is one of the best stretches of road you will find in the region.

Image: Matthew Shields.

Corners vary from indicated 25km/h hairpins to wider 65km/h bends and with mostly logging trucks and local traffic using it you need to have your wits about you. However, being a short run to either end you can stop and do the road over a few times before heading off on the rest of your journey. In fact, it’s so good you’ll be hard pressed not doing it more than once!

Back to Granya and east towards Towong where the Murray River Rd meets the Murray Valley Highway, the remaining stretch of road is a succession of sweepers, straights and has a bunch of tighter corners thrown in. Walwa is one of the larger towns to stop at along the way and also comes just after the first road crossing east of Albury to get you back on the New South Wales side of the Murray at Jingellic.

After Walwa the road opens up on the run out to Towong and from here there are a bunch of different routes – road, dirt and trail – that will take you through some of the Great Dividing Range’s great regions. As it’s a 150km-ish run from Albury – so long as you only do the Granya Rd once! – it’s an ideal place to fuel up and set course for some more great riding.