Gerroa September 2010

This is our first trip in our caravan we purchased in August 2010.  After buying a few extra essentials for the van we were ready to give this new adventure a run.  On Sept 17^th 2010 a Friday I took the first drive and would have to say not having driven with a caravan in tow I was a bit nervous.  We went along the M7 onto the Hume Highway all going well, turning off the Hume onto Picton Road then onto Mt Ousley this was a steep descent so the nerves were a bit rattled again but all was smooth going.  We swapped drivers at Oak Flats and Gil took over for the remainder of the journey.  We had already booked into a site at the Seven Mile Beach Caravan Park on the beach side, this particular Caravan Park has a river side and a beach side with a road in between, there is a walkway under the road so crossing over is not a problem.  The caravan park is secured, very good facilities and clean with a games room, camp kitchen, heated pool, very close to the beach, it is a great possy.

As this was our first try at caravanning we took a little longer to set up but all in all we were quite proud of ourselves, dinner was already done on the shuttle chef so there was no hassle in cooking anything.

On Saturday we went down to the beach to see what it was like and there was a surf school in action around 70 people learning to use a  surfboard or body surf.   We decided to do a quick drive down to Shoalhaven Heads and have a quick look around but did not stay away for long and then back to Gerroa.  In the afternoon we strolled around the park then along the beach and on a walkway over the Crooked River along the river shoreline, it was very pretty.  We will have to come back and spend more time in this pretty place of Gerroa.

Newnes NSW April 2010

Newnes   24^th and 25^th April 2010

We have always wanted to a do a camp at Newnes in the Wolgan Valley NSW so many travelers we have met say it is one of those places not to miss and after reading as much information on the shale oil mining in this area (1906-1932) we decided to take our tent with another family group for two days in April 2010.  

Unfortunately the weather looked menacing but we were hoping it would not be too bad.

To get to Newnes,  turn off the Mudgee Road at Lidsdale and continue past Angus Place where the view of the escarpments is spectacular, another 24 kms to the floor of the valley and camping area.  

The Newnes Hotel is the only original building remaining and this acts as a kiosk and has some old artefacts.

Caravan sites are opposite the Newnes Hotel and the camping area is in the Little Capertee Creek Valley a little further on from the Newnes Hotel and this is surrounded by the amazing landscape of the Wollomi National Park. 

It is free camping around 80 camp sites but only two toilets (non flushing) and quite a distance apart.  Water and firewood is not provided – you must bring your own. 

There were some caravans also in this area and this is a very popular spot during school holidays a couple more toilets would have been ideal.

The weather was a bit showery but we still managed to do some bushwalking and walk around the ruins of the shale oil mining and we found this to be absolutely wonderful. 

To get to the ruins and more camping areas it is necessary to cross the Wolgan River at the Ford not far from the hotel there are stepping stones that make this easier but not after torrential rain as the river rises very quickly.

Although a little damp we enjoyed our stay immensely if you love the bush this is a must to visit.

Dunns Swamp

Dunns Swamp is approx 50kms east of Rylstone.

  Dunns Swamp if formed by the trapped water of Kandos Weir, which was established in the 1920’s when the Cudgegong River was dammed to provide water for the Kandos Cement works.

This is a National Park therefore Camping fees 
are $3 per adult and $2 per child under 16 and no dogs allowed.

Dunns Swamp is great for camping, picnicking, canoeing, 
swimming and bushwalking and the spectacular rock formed 
pagodas allow great views into the Wollemi. 

There is a network of walking tracks around the waterway and some have wheelchair accessible. 

We were looking to camp for the weekend and were very surprised to see the number of campers already set up we found a spot, put up our tent and then went off exploring. 

The walking tracks are great, lots of places to go, the Pagoda Lookout is really good easy to climb up to the top of the Pagodas and get a beautiful view.

A weekend is not long enough to explore the area you need at least four full days and a canoe to explore the water way.

Animals to be seen in this area Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Possums, Long-Necked Tortise, Wombats and Greater Gliders and is rich in birdlife.

There are no showers or drinking water, the toilets are composting toilets and are clean, barbeques are limited therefore it is best to take in your own portable barbeque, drinking water and you must take in your own firewood (timber is not to be collected from the forest floor), rubbish to be taken out with you when you leave.