Grafton–Day 2

2nd November 2022

Distance: 7 km
Fuel:

At 9am walked to the Post Office to buy some stamps. Was surprised to see it still using the original Post Office building, far too many have been sold off and replaced with a Post Shop in the local shopping mall.

Set off in the car back to See Park but parked on the other side so we could get a better look and walk around the area. Yesterday we were on the side with a steep slope.

Even the colours of the flowers fallen in the pond looked interesting.

Also strolled down to the old Grafton Bridge which is always worth a look it was built in 1932 with a roadway built on top of the railway. Until I actually stopped in Grafton I thought it was the daftest bridge ever built, being very narrow, with steep and badly angled approaches at each end. I never realised there was a railway underneath because you cannot see the line from the road. It also has a pedestrian way each side on the railway level and the road supports have been decorated with modern art.

The new bridge now runs parallel but the old bridge remains in use for road traffic.

After returning to the motel for a very late lunch went for a walk to see all the Op Shops, have a coffee, ice cream and buy more milk in the shopping town.

All in all it was a busy but entertaining day.

Port Macquarie to Grafton

1st November 2022

Distance: 248 Km
Fuel:

The highway has changed a lot since I last drove it maybe 30 years ago. It is a road that I have avoided like the plague preferring to go through New England and the inland routes. Now it bypasses every town on the way so is just like driving on the Hume Highway fast but pretty uninteresting.

Made a stop at a rest area to stretch the legs and have a sandwich.

Arrived in Grafton too early to check in at the motel so went for a walk to the shopping mall which is virtually opposite to stock up with a few odds and ends. By the time the shopping was complete we were able to check in, fortunately have a room on the ground floor coincidentally right where the car was parked. If I stay at motels in future must remember to always ask for a ground floor room when booking, stairs are becoming a bit of an issue. The room was fine but pretty expensive.

After settling in drove to See Park which offers the best view of the Jacarandas in flower. It was just a quick drive round the tree lined streets, will spend more time on it tomorrow.

In the evening discovered a nice looking Indian Restaurant within walking distance of the motel so visited and had a really good meal there.

Wollongong to Port Macquarie

30th & 31st October 2022

Distance: 502 km
Fuel: 42 L

This is just a short trip to revisit the Jacaranda Festival in Grafton and to get out of the house.

Not an exciting start to the journey, have to go through Sydney which is hell at any time. Normally I would avoid the coast road and go inland through Tamworth BUT the floods have made that difficult so for the first time for decades am heading up Highway 1.

The other change also brought about by the flooding I am not taking the camper because mud is no fun so am staying in motels, am already regretting this decision. However it is only for a week so not the end of the world.

Wallsend (Newcastle)

Stayed at the Ibis Budget Motel, very similar to the Tune Hotels in Asia, small rooms – 300mm between the end of the bed and the wall – but perfectly adequate and clean with pleasant staff. Newcastle is so close to the resorts of the central coast, motels generally want an arm and a leg for you to stay but there must be less demand to stay in Wallsend because it was a reasonable price.

It is a few minutes pleasant walk though a park to Wallsend Shopping centre with everything you need.

Port Macquarie

A very uninteresting drive with one stop on the way where we had a sandwich watched by curious birds.

Port Macquarie is a town I last stayed in over 30 years ago, the motel was one near the highway rather than in Port Macquarie itself, it was very quiet and clean but a long way from anything.

Drove into town to get some fuel in the late afternoon.

Temora to Wollongong (Home Again)

8th June 2021

Distance: 416km
Fuel: 41L

It was not going to be an early start but in the event we packed up for the last time on this trip very quickly. Originally I was going to carry some of Katie’s excess baggage as far as Yass then hand it over to her but she got it all in her car and we decided to make Yass just a lunch stop.

We had a leisurely lunch at Yass before going our separate ways, she to Canberra and me to Wollongong.

Trip Statistics

Time Taken: 17 days (plus a couple of days in Canberra)
Total Distance: 4473km
Total Fuel: 464L
Fuel Consumption: 10.4 litres per 100km
Average Fuel Price: $1.42/L
Cost of Accommodation: $514 (that was just for me)

It was a really enjoyable trip, travelling with adult kids is a very novel experience as was travelling in convoy. I was very glad that I bought a new jumper and puffer jacket before I left but I did get used to early nights and mornings because of the cold, the temperature plummeted as soon as the sun went down. The camper was very easy to warm up with my new 400watt heater from Amazon. The night skies in the bush never cease to amaze me, there are just so many stars.

The only fly in the ointment was the need to plan ahead and book camp sites at least a day before, this is something I have never had to do before and while it is not a deal breaker it has got me rethinking my travel arrangements.

Covid has certainly changed people’s travel, the number of caravans on the road has noticeably increased and the number of brand new ‘vans in the parks is also an obvious feature as is the lack of backpackers.

Thanks to Katie and Andrew for accompanying me, it was a great trip and one I had been wanting to do for some years. The next serious trip is to once again attempt the Oodnadatta Track – I have tried three times before but each time it rained just before I arrived and the roads were closed. I have to be honest I have never had any ambition to attempt the more serious journeys like the Gibb River Road, or even the Birdsville Track. but I still enjoy camping and travelling no matter where it is.

The Route

Where we travelled – for some reason the Cameron’s Corner section is wrong (blame Google) because the corner (G), is, for obvious reasons, right in the corner where the NSW, SA and Queensland borders meet.

Dubbo to Temora

7th June 2021

Distance: 325km
Fuel: 33L

This is where we say farewell to Andrew (and the doggie) who has to return to Sydney for his work, We only have one more day left of our trip too.

It is possible to drive from Dubbo to our respective homes in Wollongong and Canberra but it is a long drive so we decided to drive to Temora and go home from there.

This morning was cold though not as cold as yesterday so we all had a late start, Andrew left by 8.30am but Katie and I didn’t get away until after 9am.

It was an easy drive through undulating country, quite different to the Outback.

Arrived in Temora just after 1pm to an almost empty caravan park. It is one of those council run parks where you pick a site and a council worker/caretaker comes round in the late afternoon to collect the money.

Once we set up we wandered over to the Temora Aviation Museum, I have been several times before but it was Katie’s first visit and I think she really enjoyed it. Most of their planes still fly.

It was cold that evening.

But the sunset was spectacular.

Looking at Dubbo

6th June 2021

Distance: 14.3km
Fuel: 33L

It was cold this morning, there was ice on everything, even the table has frozen dew on it. My car was covered in flowering gum nuts so later I made a point of parking a bit further over.

First visit today was to Old Dubbo Gaol.

After this we followed a part of the Heritage walk but to be frank it was one of those with a sign showing a beautiful old building which was replaced in the 1950s by a particularly ugly Coles supermarket. Not that interesting to be frank.

Because this was the last day with Andrew able to travel with us we decided that a nice meal was in order so a booking was made at the Commercial Hotel in the centre of Dubbo. It turned out to be a good choice – the meal was excellent and the staff very friendly. It was washed down with a couple of beers.

Cobar to Dubbo

5th June 2021

Distance: 310km

Woke to quite a thick fog this morning however it was to be another lazy day, slowly got ready to leave and were on the road about 9.15am. There is only one way – through Nyngan then on to Dubbo.

Andrew had some radio issues which turned out to be the aerial plug had come loose, something he was quickly able to rectify.

We stopped at Nevertire for a short break (I always stop there) but it has gone down hill a bit, the pub is still open but the cafe has closed.

It was good to be back in the Central west of NSW.

Arrived at the caravan park at about 1pm to be given two large adjacent sites where we set up camp.

In the evening to two kids went Stargazing while I looked after the dog.

White Cliffs to Cobar

4th June 2021

Distance: 371km
Fuel: 69L

We weren’t in any rush to leave but any rush there was was dissipated by a phone call from the Cobar Caravan Park asking if we could delay our arrival until after 2pm because the current site resident had a medical emergency. No problem at all, it was a three and half hour drive anyway, we had to get fuel in Wilcannia and a stop on the way would easily kill time.

In the event we left White Cliffs about 9.30am and set off on the 100km journey to Wilcannia. Katie was worried about her fuel but thought she could make it – she didn’t want to put any more 91 octane fuel in her tank. I could probably have made it to Cobar with a few litres to spare but we have all learned to fill up when you can.

In the event her low fuel light came on about 30km from Wilcannia and she thinks she must have had about a half to one litre left in the tank when she filled up.

On the road to Cobar the cloud cover increased and by about half way we were getting intermittent showers, hardly enough to wet the roads most of the time but interspersed with a few short but heavy downpours.

Stopped at the roadhouse for coffee and arrived at Cobar Caravan Park at almost exactly 2pm, I think this is the most overpriced caravan park in NSW however were given two adjacent sites which was great – tonnes of room for us but right opposite a truck yard. Once again as we checked in people were being turned away as the park was completely booked out with no sites or cabins available.

After setting up Katie and I went sightseeing and shopping by now the weather had fined up and the sun was peeping through. Just to be on the safe side I booked a site at Temora for Monday night.

Broken Hill to White Cliffs

3rd June 2021

Distance: 296Km

Today will be a leisurely drive, less than 300km to White Cliffs.

We packed up and set off about 9am, Andrew wanted to get coffee and Katie to try to get some gas cylinders for her stove, so I just drove to the start of the Barrier Highway and waited by the side of the road for them to appear. It wasn’t long before Andrew pulled up behind me and a little while later Katie came over the radio telling us she was on her way.

The UHF radios in each car have been great for keeping each other informed on what is happening on the road and even general chat.

There is only one road so it is difficult to get lost, the scenery was wonderful and apart from being briefly stuck behind a motorhome travelling at 70kph it was a good journey.

We turned off the highway onto White Cliffs Road just before entering Wilcannia for the 100km drive to White Cliffs. It is a small opal mining town so it wasn’t hard to find the only caravan park in town.

After setting up there was just time for a drink before we set off for a tour of an Opal Mine. Personally I have no interest in gems, precious stones etc, like coal they are all just rocks to me but the tour itself was very interesting and the miner talked about stones he had found worth up to $500,000 each. Fossicking among the spoil is allowed, I found a bit of valueless Gypsum but that was enough for me.

The tour took a couple of hours so it was nearly sunset by the time we returned to our camp for dinner.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

2nd June 2021

Distance: 242km
Fuel: 24L

About 5am I was awoken by a loud bang from a thunderstorm nearby, within minutes it was raining.

It was still raining when, a few hours later we set off for our planned trip to Menindee Lake. The road was flooded in places as we drove the 100 or so kilometres to Menindee.

Our first stop was the Tourist Information Office where the lady in charge told us there was absolutely nothing to see because all the roads were closed except for a sealed road to Copi Hollow and perhaps a short section of dirt to the lookout over Lake Menindee.

We went for short walk to the local pub to stretch our legs (and the dogs).

In nice weather the Copi Hollow would have been a pleasant place with both boating and swimming

On the other side of the highway was the lookout over Lake Menindee and the open weir shown in most TV coverage.

The Lake was full, such a change from the reports of fish kills just 12 months ago.

We returned to the caravan park early afternoon where we had a late lunch and spent most of the afternoon chatting and planning our trip for the next few days. We also discovered that all the roads from Tibooburra had been closed, we were so lucky with our trip to Camerons Corner.

Late afternoon the kids went to Mundi Mundi to view the sunset while I watched the dog.