Newcastle Bound

1/6/2018  Friday  R & R were awake and out of bed about 7:00am to a cool 3*C.  They had slept relatively well considering that the rest area was literally on the corner of a set of crossroads of two highways, the Barrier and the Kidman.  By 9:00am, they were walking downtown to the Cobar information centre, for milk powder from IGA and a photo walk to give the camper canvas time to dry thoroughly.  RA made coffee at 10:00am before they set to packing down the camper.  RL drove down town to check out the op shop and to refuel before heading out to the Fort Bourke Lookout.  It had a viewing platform looking down into the current copper mine and had several water filtration tanks.  Peak, the gold mine was a further 12kms out.  R & R left Cobar about 11:20am heading east on the Barrier Highway for Nyngan about 130kms away.  The rail line ran on the northern side of the road and it indicated Floodways which explained why the countryside was more heavily timbered and included more smaller trees and shrubs than they had seen yesterday.  After entering the Bogan Shire, there was little understory and they noticed goats but only briefly.  The country side became more undulating to 300m and the rail passed under the highway.  To that point there had been no visible sign of farming.  About 5kms west of Hermindale, R & R noticed the first signs of farming behind the wood verge first to the south of the road and then to the north.  Hermindale had just a hotel and service station and beyond that the land was cleared for cropping on both sides but it wasn’t until 25kms west of Nyngan that they saw sheep.  About 10kms from Nyngan, RA noticed a sign for AGL Solar Power Station which was not open for viewing on Fridays.  On the out skirts of Nyngan, there was a large grain handling facility.  The town sat on the Bogan River and there was much ado about the little and big bogan statues.  About 2:15pm, R & R went into the information centre, chatted with T, RA’s cousin, and made arrangement about visiting them the following week.  It was a lovely warm 16*C with a mild breeze as they ate lunch in the car park before taking lots of photos of the river, bogans, Cobb & Co coach, wool wagon and cart.  So it was about 3:00pm, before R & R headed out of Nyngan on the Oxley Highway for Nevertire with the intention of sleeping at Mendooran.  They had thought to head to Dubbo, but T had suggested they might be interested in the Henry Lawson museum at Gulgong and RL had noticed that Gulgong was not far from Mendooran.  Shortly out of Nyngan, there was open sheep station country which was not as wooded and there were at least half a dozen falcons or hawks.  RA noticed a sign just before Nevertire, “Inland Rivers Scenic Way”, which would later explain the agricultural endeavours in the area.  Nevertire had many massive silos to facilitate grain receival.  As they headed north toward Warren, R & R noticed cotton fluff on the side of the road.  Auscott Warren Gin was an incredible sight with its huge building and acres of baled cotton and many, many more acres of land with cotton just baled or about to be baled.  The size and quality of the drains was impressive.  The inland rivers and creeks as seen on the Navigator showed just how easy it would be to tap into water supplies for such a venture.  There was cotton farming for a large portion of the 20kms to Warren and another not far beyond.  A bridge crossed over the Macquarie River at Warren.  In between there was open wheat and sheep farming with some cattle.  Many of the paddocks were ploughed in preparation for rain and others already with a green tinge, were in hope of rain. The Oxley Highway between Warren and Gilgandra ran very closely to the Marthaguy Creek (which was dry) and Collie had a hotel about half way.  To the north at some distance, RA saw a mountainous area which she assumed would be the Warrumbungles.  Gilgandra, sited on the Castlereagh River, was famous for the Coo-ee.  Apparently, 35 men marched from Gilgandra to Sydney in 1915 to attract recruits for WWI service. RL noted a crop just before entering Gilgandra and commented, “Some type of crop!” to which RA questioned, “That’s not rice?”  All that remained of a flour mill at the entrance of town was its chimney.  By then it was getting late and, as R & R turned for the last 50kms to Mendooran, the sun was beginning to set in the rear view mirrors.  The road was heavily wooded with Boyben State Forest to the north and south in many sections interspersed with cattle farming.  R & R both concentrated on the verges to spot kangaroos which may be startled and jump in front of the Ute.  They saw a few but, luckily, they all jumped away rather than in front.  It was almost dark at 5:45pm when the Navigator led them to the Mendooran Rest Area, free camp by the river.  Motivation was high to get everything set up and within 20 minutes they were having coffee and reading maps.  Dinner was ready by 7:15pm and then they were free to read and write.  Their daughter, S, rang to report on her day.  Outside, the sky, with full moon, was clear … and they knew they were in for another cool morning.

2/6/2018  Saturday  Well. R & R knew it was cold as they got out of bed at 7:00am when: they blew steam, the droplets on the inside of the canvas were actually icicles, the chux wipe from the last night’s dishes was stiff, the grass outside was white and crisp, their fingers and toes were frozen and RA’s pen would not write..  The weather for Mendooran indicated 4*C but it must have been below that on the edge of the river and having pulled in after dark they had not realized that they were parked in the shadow of the biggest tree in the park.  They had no choice but to pack it all down and get going.  Mendooran was the first town settled on the Castlereagh River after exploration by John Evans in 1815, then Oxley and later Mitchell. Shortly after 9:00am, R & R were ready to drive out but not before popping into a garage sale that had been advertised on the toilet block notice board.  RL headed out on the Castlereagh Highway towards Gulgong 90kms away.  The road verge was wooded and there were wooded sections in the paddocks of crop and sheep.  There were some paddocks, already green, with cattle, horses and bees.  Undulating became more hilly to 580m.  Dunedoo was a lovely little town in the valley where again they noticed people angle parking backwards just as they had done in Cobar and again they noticed cotton fluff on the side of the road without evidence of seeing it farmed.  Ten kilometres beyond Dunedoo, the highway veered south towards Gulgong and Mudgee, which are part of the Mid Western Council, and continued to run in the valleys between hills. R & R saw a big shed and set of silos at the side of the railway track but it was hard for them to tell if it had been active this last season.  The road then rose again into the hills to about 590m where the farm houses and sheds were much closer and farming seemed more profitable. R & R’s son, S, rang and they chatted while driving.   Gulgong was a delightful stop with its old buildings, many in good condition and still in use.  It had a narrow main street going up a hill and little lanes.  Gold was discovered there in the 1870s and the tourist could visit the Gold Experience between 1-3pm daily and even do a little panning.  R & R went to the information centre, walked up and down some of its quaint streets, popped into an op shop and had coffee about 11:30am before heading for the Henry Lawson Museum.  At $5 per ticket (concession) it was great value and very interesting.  RA found it a little overwhelming because there was so much to take it all at once.  By 1:00pm, R & R were back at the car and having lunch while chatting to their daughter, H.  They drove out of Gulgong and headed for Mudgee 28kms away again on the Castlereagh Highway.  It was very pretty hilly country to 650m and a sign advertised all the different vineyards in the Mudgee Wine Region.  The road crossed over the Cudgegong River and R & R could see overhead and single stand irrigation being used.  The town of Mudgee was quite big and sat in the valley between wooded hills beside the Cudgegong River.  R & R popped into the information centre before doing a little grocery shopping.  RL drove to the camping area at the show grounds about 3:30pm and before long they were set up and having coffee.  It was agreed that showering before dinner would be a good idea so they did just that.  Their daughter, S, rang so RA prepared dinner while they all chatted.  After dinner, RL read and RA wrote her diary.  Kangaroos had been grazing down on the oval since they arrived … RA hoped that it would be a warmer night higher up the hill where the camper was parked.

3/6/2018  Sunday  Indeed, it was a warmer night and it was already 6*C when R & R got out of bed at 7:00am with the sun shining.  After breakfast they made sure all was ready to be packed down and they left for 9:00am Mass downtown Mudgee.  Luckily, they were early as it turned out to be First Holy Communion morning and the huge church was packed to the rafters.  R & R returned to the camper, wound it down and hitched it before stopping downtown near the river for a cup of coffee and to chat with RL’s brother, S.  It was sunny and 17*C.  Mudgee was a lovely town with several large churches in the main street all vying for car space and ringing their bells on Sunday morning.  It had a large shopping centre and a largely pastoral history which continues in the gourmet produce found in the area: honey, cheeses, wine, olives.  As RL drove out of Mudgee toward Ulan (39kms north) the road began to rise with Mt Buckeroo rising 790m.  In parts it was quite hilly with sheep and cattle farming in between the wooded tops of hills.  Again, like the day before, R & R noticed horses and ponies in paddocks and noted that they seemed significant in this area.  RL stopped about 19kms out to look at Frog Rock which was a granite outcrop shaped somewhat like a squatting frog.  The Ulan Rd had a couple of sections where there were road works to develop passing lanes and improve the overall quality of the road.  R & R were truly surprised when driving through Ulan as they had expected it to be just another abandoned settlement.  No.  Ulan is the site of massive coal mining operations with trucks and haul packs moving coal.  There was a huge bulldozer driving up and down over a wall of coal.  The operation developed seriously over the last twenty years and virtually backed on to the Goulburn River National Park.  As RL drove north there was evidence of the variety of wildlife supported in the park: koala sign, dead wombats, kangaroos and echidna.  When R & R went to The Drip, they saw a pair of rosella parrots with different colouring than they had seen before and a pair of lyrebirds ran across their path.  The Drip (which is 10km north of Ulan) was added to the Goulburn NP since it was deemed significant and needed to be protected from outside influences  R & R arrived at the picnic area shortly after noon.  A 1.5km walk from the picnic area took R & R along the river under a towering sand stone cliff to a section where clear spring water dripped from the cliff above down on to the rocks and river below.  It was the most delightful track very close to and under the cliff face and beautifully presented to make it comfortable and enjoyable.  The sight of the ferns and grasses, the delicate damp smell of forest, the cool provided in the shadow of the rock at water level, the bubbling of the water as it rippled over the stones all made for a wonderful experience.  R & R took their time and when they got back to the car park, they had lunch.  About 2:00pm, RL headed 2kms north and then turned off towards the Hands on Rock site.  The track was only about 600m and it was in poor condition but with adequate room to turn the Ute and camper.  The walking track became steep toward the end and the trees were more dry woodland than damp and forested.  The viewing platform provided R & R with a display of hand prints and emu feet images under cave like protection where aboriginal women and children would have sought shelter.  R & R took also photos of the pagoda like rock formations that were in the area.  Just before 3:00pm, they were back on the road and heading for the Cassilis Rest Area on the Golden Highway about 15kms away.  As before there were sections of farming in between wooded and the Durridgere State Forest areas.  R & R arrived at the free camp site shortly after 3:00pm.  Having missed a call from G, RL’s brother, R & R rang him while having coffee before even contemplating choosing a spot to set up the camper.  By 4:00pm they had set up the camper and were chatting to J, RA’s sister.  RL helped RA proof a post draft before dinner.  While RA was preparing dinner C, her brother, rang and while R & R were eating dinner they rang S, their daughter.  It had been a lovely day, full of surprises … and warm.

4/6/2018 Monday R & R had slept well at the Cassilis rest area and woke at 7:00am to a pleasant 5*C and the promise of a fine day. They had not noticed the evening before that the rest area had been severely burnt a year or two before but in the clear morning light, the trees showed their blacken bark and the signs of new green growth.  Ever hopeful and resilient, one black stump, literally under 10cm in height, had several budding stems with a few leaves on each.  After breakfast RA put a blog post up and RL looked into the trailer light fitting which had been problematical and cut a piece of carpet for under the camper table.  R & R had coffee before packing down the camper and heading 40kms east on the Golden Highway for Merriwa about 10:00am.  The road was undulating before becoming quite steep.  The countryside and hills were wooded with large trees and farming sheep, cattle and horses right up to the top.  Where it was steepest, crops were planted in terraced sections to prevent erosion.  Some crops were already green and some of the paddocks that had not been sown were showing a green tinge.  “Well.  They must have had rain here.” RL commented.  R & R arrived in Merriwa at 10:45am and headed for the information centre.  They looked at a bottle collection containing over 5,000 bottles and walked around the Hut museum and its stalls.  The town was abuzz with excitement for the Sheep Festival to be held on the long weekend.  It had been suggested that R & R might enjoy the Battery Rock formation 15kms out on the Denman Road so they did not head for Scone which claims to be the horse capital of Australia or Muswellbrook where cheese and wine are a calling factor for some.  The Battery Rock formation was one of the best exposed, most unusual and most accessible displays of horizontal columnar basalt joining in Australia.  It was well worth the visit even though RL had to wait several times for the road works in the area.  It was noon before R & R were away to Denman 50kms east.  For a while they travelled in the valley alongside the river at about 130m but at other times the road went right up and over hills to 450m before heading back down into the valley.  At Sandy Creek there were a row of carriages standing still on the railway and there were wineries to the south, The Upper Hunter, known for its wine and food produce.  Besides the farms, and there were many of them, that had horses, RA saw several draught horses in one of the paddocks near the road.  At 1:00pm RL drove through Denman over the Hunter River where irrigation was prominent and horses were a focus.  RA smiled as RL was pulled over for breath testing, knowing full well that they were wasting their time.  Dark clouds were looming and RL had to turn his wipers on for a little light mist.  At 1:30pm, about 5kms west of Jerry Plains which was established in 1882, they stopped for lunch on the side of the road and messaged RL’s sister, K.  Near Jerry Plains there was irrigation in the valley between the wooded hills on either side.  In Jerry Plains there was quite a large veterinary clinic and an equine hospital which reinforced the idea that there were a lot of horses in the area.  RL noticed an Angus Stud with bulls grazing in the paddock but what fascinated RA was that each bull had a white ibis companion.  She thought there must be some kind of symbiotic relationship between them.  Perhaps the cattle disturb insects which the birds eat?  RL had also noticed lots of trucks with fluro numbers and utilities with flags on them.  The penny sank when RL drove past coal mining, mountains of coal and the massive holes in the earth created by United Colliery and Wambo Colliery and power lines coming from the Hunter Valley Operations  and Wylie’s Flat power station.  RL veered north off the highway onto Putty Road to go to Singleton.  There R & R eventually found, about 3:15pm, the information centre that they had not seen on the way in because they had come in on a minor road.  They refuelled before heading out about 9kms to the Singleton East Rest Area.  They had been warned that traffic at the junction of the Golden Hwy and The New England Hwy would be busy and to head out soon or wait til later.  They certainly were in for a surprise when they arrive there just as the rain came down.  Luckily, there was a truck pulled up over the road with enough room for RL to do the same.  R & R sat, had coffee and spoke to RL’s sister, R, until the rain stopped.  Fortunately, though the traffic was backed up right over the hill, NSW drivers are extremely polite, so RL was able to cross the traffic and pull in to the rest area with no trouble.  About 5:30pm they had set up and were reading and writing a little before dinner preparations.  They chatted with their daughter, S, for a while before considering their plans for the next day.  The rush hour traffic lasted at least until 6:30pm … but vehicular movement remained constant … fortunately R & R were not generally disturbed by traffic noises in the night.

5/6/2018 Tuesday R & R were aware of the traffic but slept well until disturbed by flashing lights.  They woke.  It was 5:30am, pitch dark, and rush hour traffic was already in full swing.  A mobile coffee van had set up in the rest area and drivers were popping in for a fix.  R & R just went to the loo and popped back into bed. It was comforting listening to and laying low while the traffic went to and fro where ever they were going.  When they got out it was 7:00am and it was still rush hour. It had rained a little during the night and had promised to rain again by 11:00am so, although the flies were a little damp, R & R set about getting the camper down.  Just before they were leaving RA spoke to the girl who made the coffees.  She begins her morning at 3:30am and sells over 100 coffees with toasted cheese sandwiches and/or muffins or banana bread.  The rush hour happens at shift changes for the Singleton Army base and the three coal mines in the area.  At 9:30am R & R pulled out on to the New England Hwy heading for Maitland 33kms to the east.  It was cloudy and damp but not wet and the drive was undulating and quite pretty.  Lochinvar was an industrial area and had a lovely set of old convent and school buildings. By 10:00am, R & R parked outside the Maitland information centre where RL counted 98 coal carriages behind three Pacific National engines.  The information centre had free post cards which they will add postage to for free, so RA wrote on three to the grandchildren.  #mymaitland.  R & R walked downtown, looked at all the lovely old buildings (there were signs on the pavement that ask the tourist to look up), popped into five op shops (they also had other antique type shops) and bought a loaf of bread at Aldi. Both RL and RA were impressed with the giant dog, picking up its own doo, statue. A photo moment!  RL drove away from central Maitland to Morphet where R & R had lunch at 1:00pm at the Hunter River boat ramp and park on Queens Wharf Rd. The drive to Hinton was in the valley, an area that was subject to flooding and required driving over the Patterson River twice.  RL turned east for the eight kilometres to Seaham where a water pipeline ran alongside the road and rose up out of the valley into the hills.  From Seaham it was 14kms to Clarence Town and the road became quite winding into the hills where there was farming in between the wooded hills of the Columbey National Park and Uffington State Forest.  R & R pulled into the Williams River Holiday Park at Clarence Town at 2:15pm.  It was raining heavily as they stood at the door.  The office was unattended but a note on the door instructed caravaners to find a park and come back between 3:00 and 5:00pm.  R & R chose a spot and set up before having a coffee and heading down the main street just to see what there was.  The manager had not returned when R & R went back but an older gentleman came out and suggested that they pay in the morning. Then they walked down to the Williams River park and picnic area below the upper caravan park. As there was no chance of any washing drying, R & R put a wash in and immediately into the dryer in between having a shower. They rang their daughter, H, before dinner and spoke with their other daughter, S, after dinner.  RL read and RA wrote her diary.  It was raining but R & R were warm and dry … prepared to accept whatever the next day brought.