Hill End

Monday4/11/2013

Moved on from Mudgee to Hill End Historic Site, was an uneventful but very hilly drive.

We have chosen Glendora Camping Area to camp in as it has far fewer people in it than the one in town.

Our first stop was the information Centre for a map then we drove out to Beaufoy Merlins Lookout 

Then back to town, parked the truck and did the Bald Hill Walking Track

 which takes you up to the Bald Hill Mine

with information boards dotted along the track telling the story of the history of the area and the meanings of the ruins scattered around.

 

Unfortunately the mine only opens on the weekend so we had to be satisfied with peering in thru the gates.

After the walk we drove out to Kissing Point and Spilt Rock then back into town and 

  then out to Bald Hill Lookout which is on the opposite side of the town to Bald Hill Mine and then home.

Tuesday 5/11/2013

This morning we went up and had a look thru the Museum 

and then drove down and parked near the hotel and did the walk around the streets looking at the houses and reading all the information boards.

Back to the van for lunch then it was on to the cemetery for a look and  read of the headstones.

Next was the public fossicking area and Fred tried his hand at panning for gold. Needless to say he is still a poor pensioner.

Mudgee part 3

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Friday 1/11/2013

Had a fabulous day today. First we drove to Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve and did the walk into Castle Rock, it was a nice easy 8km return walk thru open bush to an area of Sandstone Pagoda Formations

They were amazing, looked a lot like I imagine ruins in China might look like and the views from the top were spectacular.

-->From there we drove to the Hands on Rock an area of Aboriginal Art.

The site features examples silhouette painting mostly hands sadly time and exposure are taking a toll and the art work is very faint and hard to decipher.

Then it was onward and upward to The Drip and a late lunch before another walk. 

This time the walk was through a gorge and once again the rocks were spectacular, the track followed the edge of a river getting narrower as we went until we reached and area where the rocks joined together with a large rock overhang with water dripping down hence the name The Drip

It was full of lush ferns and was beautiful and cool, it reminded me a little of the sinkholes in Mt Gambier.

Fred in his wisdom suggested we take our shoes off and walk back thru the water instead of following the track and me in my stupidity agreed, it was fine for Fred he goes barefoot most of the time and has tough feet me on the other hand rarely go barefoot so have soft and tender feet. Needless to say by the time we got back to the truck I had very sore little tootsies.

We saw 2 Redbelly Black snakes while we were walking, first one was on the opposite side of the creek sunning itself but the 2nd one gave us a small scare Fred must have disturbed it as he walked past and it came slithering towards me, I stood stock still and it turned and crawled away from me but it did put the wind up us.

Worked out we walked 12 kms in total today.

Mudgee continued

Thursday 31/10/2013

Had a really nice day out. We drove up to Gulgong and explored the town, spent the morning in the Pioneer Museum, was surprising how much stuff they had didn't look very big from the outside but had little rooms and display sheds tucked in everywhere.

Went and had a picnic lunch in the park I did remember the bread today. 

 Then drove around the streets looking at the old houses, the town is heritage listed and has lots of examples of different architecture from little cottages to large brick mansions.

Next stop was Red Hill and a collection of mining relics and views of the surrounding countryside.

Last but not least we went to the Henry Lawson Centre. I found it really interesting, not so much Fred. He sat to watch a video presentation while I was reading and fell asleep.

Back to Mudgee and a well deserved coffee.

Mudgee

Monday 28/10/2013

Finally packed up and left Maitland and are now in Mudgee. Was a good trip over the range, the new truck handles the van and hills so much better than the Triton.

Had a fright between Sandy Hollow and Merriwa a big fuel tanker ripped the tow mirror off the drivers side of the car, gave us an awful fright. Pulled up and Fred walked back up the road and picked it up, it was in the middle of the road, was a miracle no cars ran over it, the glass was broken and the frame bent

We stopped for lunch at the Battery Reserve which is about 14 kms west of Merriwa and it has a spectacular basalt rock formation estimated to be 35 million years old and is a phenomenon known as columnar jointing.

From there it was a straight run to Mudgee. We are staying at the Mudgee Riverside Caravan Park.

Tuesday 29/10/2013

Went Scenic driving today. Went from Mudgee to Lue and then on to Rylstone a lovely little town where we stopped and had a wander around town looking at the old buildings, there was a chap working in the yard of the Catholic church and he kindly opened the church up so we could have a look inside.

 Had a coffee and scones before continuing on to Wollemi National Park and Dunns Swamp. 

Was a lovely area, we did the Platypus Point, Pagoda Lookout, Kandos Weir and Long Cave.  

The walk was 4.5kms long. Was a mixture of easy amble, steep hill and rock scramble with some amazing rock formations.

Had a late lunch and sparse lunch as I forgot to pack the bread, we then continued on to Glen Alice then Glen Davis to Capertee and back to Mudgee was a beautiful drive with some fantastic scenery and really dramatic rock formations.

Was a lovely day and for a change I did most of the driving.

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Maitland

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Maitland Gaol

First tourist stop in Maitland was the Gaol which I wandered around while Fred was playing bowls as it was only a short walk from the club. It was used up until the 1970's before being decommissioned and then turned into a Historic area and Museum, was very similar to gaols we have visited in other areas but I have to say they had the best self tour audio system I have used and believe me over the years I have used a few

Walka Waterworks

 Next place we visited was the  Walka Recreation and Wildlife Reserve a large area of parks, lake and bushland surrounding the Walka Water Works. The Waterworks building are what is left of what was Newcastle's first waterworks. We had a really nice rambling walk thru the bushland and around the lake. Had a nice picnic lunch in the park then had to pack up in a hurry before we got caught in a deluge from the storm that blew up. Hurried home as we had left the windows and hatches open in the van and also had a load of washing on line. Didn't make it in time so washing was wet but inside the van was dry thankfully.

The rest of the day was cold windy and miserable so spent it in the van.

Morpeth

Morpeth was our next day out. Its a heritage town about 10 minutes from Maitland, there is a really nice heritage walk around the town looking at the old buildings most on the main street have businesses in them. Generally coffee shops and little boutique gift and clothing shops.

 One was called Campbell's Store which was a treasure trove of nooks and crannies a combination of Museum and shops selling a diverse range of goods from cheap and cheerful to extremely expensive. 

My favorite was the Porcelain Doll shop where you could buy the most realistic baby dolls and the food hall where you could taste a wide array of gourmet foods. Had to buy some of course.

Newcastle 

-->Fred had me up bright and eaarly this morning, we caught the train into Newcastle. What a bargain $2.50 each and we could use it all day on buses, trains and ferry's.

When we got to Newcastle we walked around the Foreshore to Nobbys Beach and walked out to the Breakwater, as we walked the sky got very dark and stormy. Just as we got to the point the sky's opened and down teemed the rain, we were a pair of drowned rats by the time we got back, stopped at the Surf Club and had a coffee while we dried off a little.

We then walked up to Fort Scratchley Historic Site and explored, they had a Museum telling the history of the fort and stories of people that were involved in the site over the years. It was built in the early 1800's to defend Newcastle from invasion, it was used by the defence forces until 1972.

The views from here were stunning and as bonus we were able to watch a mother and baby whale playing in the bay.

By the time we were finished the sun was shining and we were dry. 

From the Fort we walked back down to the CBD area and had a nice lunch before walking around looking at the old buildings. Then crossed back over to the foreshore and climbed the Observation Tower 180 steps up and thus 180 back down (insert the sound of creaking knees).

 We then made our way back to the station and the train back to Maitland.

 And thus ended our visit to Maitland

Hunter Valley

From Moree we headed for the Hunter Vally our first nights stop was at a free camp at Wallabadah about 10 kms from Quirindi, its a overnight rest area that is situated beside a park that celebrates the ships of the 1st Fleet and the people that sailed on them

Next morning we hit the road and first stop was Murrundi for Lunch at Paradise Park where we did a bush walk called  the Eye of the Needle, an up hill climb thru a deep narrow crack in the cliff  so tight you can barely turn around then to a lookout over the town and valley.

Back down and lunch and a small rest then on the road again thru Blandford to Burning Mountain Reserve where we did another walk. The Burning mountains is the result of a underground coal seam that has been on fire for about 5500 years. 

We are camped at the reserve with 6 other campers and are quite tired after our big ay of walking

Today we drove to Towarri National Park, its really lovely, walked up to the Washpools at Middlebrook Creek from the camping area, had the place mostly to ourselves only had 2 cars drive in and have a look.

Lit a fire and cooked chicken for dinner in the camp oven, was delicious.

After dark we went out for a look and found a wombat, but we weren't able to get too close as he was frightened and ran back down his hole.

Has been a wonderful day, the sort I love,just poking around in the bush.

Scone was our next stop did nothing exciting just spending the weekend here so I an catch up on the washing and Fred can play bowls.

Monday we were on the move again to Broke and  have decided to base ourselves here for the week as it a really nice free camp spot, its a really nice,a big grassy area with plenty of trees for shade and a creek running past at the back. It is surposed to be a 3 night limit but have chattered to the locals and there is no drama if you want to stay longer. Broke is only tiny a population of 400, so very laid back and easy going.

Went out on day trips most days explored the area around Wollemi mostly looking at old buildings and scenery and wineries another day we went and looked at Aboriginal Art at Biame Cave and more scenic driving and wineries did get some yummy olives and cheese.

Moved into Cessnock on Saturday so Fred could have another game of bowls and more importantly watch the Football as there was no telly at Broke