Day 1 of holiday to Eastern Victoria & South Coast NSW - Bylong

Left home this morning at 9.30am for a 4/5 week holiday. We are travelling down inland NSW to Albury & then across the mountains to Eastern Victoria & then back up the NSW South Coast.

A relatively short day (206km) to Bylong and then tomorrow through Bathurst. Had morning tea at Jerrys Plains & then some back roads to Bylong Valley road to Bylong. Staying at the local sports ground.

Coming this way we had no towns & avoids going via Sydney.

Still an interesting trip with lots of rocks for Faye to photograph….

Tomorrow the plan is somewhere around Lyndhurst.

Day 11 - Willow Tree

The 4 days at Barraba were enjoyable and we had a great site in the Van Park…

Left there around 10am & went through to Manilla for morning tea…

Then through to Werris Creek - via Tamworth - with lunch in the local cafe.

Werris Creek is a “rail” town with a majestic railway station and the Australian Railway Monument.

Next stop was Quirindi to view its painted silos…

Next stop was Willow Tree Freedom Camp where we are spending the night & will be home tomorrow. This is our final blog for this short holiday.

We trust you have enjoyed coming along with us. Our next sojourn will be from mid February for a month down the South Coast.

Also need to record that Faye has taken the vast majority of the photos you see…

Day 10 - Barraba

Lots of storms around last night - and they are currently brewing again this afternoon. A slow start to the day & first stop was to the cafe for morning tea.

Then went to Horton Falls - about 45min drive to the west towards Mt Kaputar National Park. We were told that there was no water going over but decided to check out anyway & there was some water due to the storms each evening. 

The first 3 photos taken in town…

Some white goats resting near the bottom pool.

Then back to town to buy lunch to eat just south of town in the upper reaches of Split Rock Dam.

Back to the van then for an afternoon nap!

Leaving here tomorrow to head towards home - not sure where we will camp but home on Wednesday.

Day 9 - Barraba

It rained much of last night but the sun was shining this morning so proceeded with our plan to do a loop drive via Boggabri & Narrabri then back to Barraba.  We started with takeaway coffee….

A mixture  of bitumen & gravel…

The last 2 photos are of  “Gins Leap”. Do a “google” to read it’s history.

Then had lunch at Narrabri & back through some of Mount Kaputar National Park.

The last 4 photos taken at “Ancient Geological Site Glacial Area”.

Arrived back at Barraba around 4pm. Still staying here tomorrow.

Day 8 - Barraba

A stormy night last night but not too much rain. Was fine this morning so after  breakfast we walked the main street and had morning tea at the local cafe. The bakery is closed for all of January!

Lots of art & murals around - these 2 in the main street…

Lots of small mosaics around…

Noticed that there are lots of empty shops but some nice buildings…

The painted silos are just south of the town…

Then went for a drive to the east of town - past the Woodsreef Asbestos Mine which was a huge open cut mine until it closed in 1983. Just past the mine was the Woodsreef Heritage town which has been demolished except for the church. It was once bigger than Barraba & in the very early days gold was discovered there.

Had to have the first photo as it was the Bank of NSW….cannot find when it closed. Barraba has no banks now - only the Post Office.

Ate lunch as we drove east - doing 2 loop roads that we were told about at the Craft & Pottery shop (and Faye did buy a couple of things).

Then back to the van for a rest…lots of storms around again.

Day 7 - Barraba

Had a lovely time at Uralla with Faye’s sister & some of her family. Left there around 10am this morning & the early part of the trip was through Yarrowyck area where Faye grew up…

The bird photo Faye took yesterday evening.

The church building has been added to & is now a home.

Next stop was morning tea just outside Bundarra.

Then turned west to Barraba. Approx 16km of gravel but it was in good condition. We are staying here for 4 nights to check out the area.

The caravan park is only $25 per night. But we had read good reports of a Chinese restaurant across the road in the bowling club….however, it is closed until 6th!  Also the RSL Club’s bistro is closed whilst we are here. 

Lots of storms around & have had some rain this afternoon.

Day 5 - Uralla

Not much to say today. Caught up with Andrew one of Faye’s nephews & Jenny  - Faye’s niece arrived today.

Ken went into town & here are some photos…

Staying here until Friday. 

Day 4 - Uralla

This morning we took Faye’s sister Marie to Armidale to have a look at their parents graves…

Then had morning tea at Maccas & then some Aldi shopping whilst Ken walked…

The last photo is of Central Park.

For lunch we all had a thickshake from “Nev’s” which was near where Nana & Granddad lived & has been in business for decades…

Coming home we came via Yarrowyck where Faye grew up and Marie & Kevin.

The property was called “Oakview” with the original house in the bottom photo & the “new” Oakview house in the top photo. Faye spent most of her child/teenage years in the new.

The “Milson Bridge” was between the houses and is named after their father…

Then back for a restful afternoon.

Last time Ken was playing around with AI & this is some of the results…

That’s enough fun for today…

Day 2 - Uralla

A nice slow start to the day - nowhere to buy coffee in Wallabadah so off to Maccas at Tamworth…

And then onto Bendemeer for lunch alongside the Macdonald river.

Arrived at Faye’s sisters at Uralla around 3pm.

We are staying here for 4 nights so will not do a blog each day. We are leaving here on 2nd January.

Day 1 of a 12 day trip to New England - Wallabadah

This is just a short trip -  first up to have a few days with Faye’s sister & family at Uralla then the plan is to Barraba for a few days & returning home by 7th January.

Left home at 9.30am & morning tea along the Hunter Expressway…

Planned to have lunch at Murrurundi but the only place open was a Gelato shop - so guess what we had for lunch?

Arrived at Wallabadah around 3pm in time for a rest & to listen to the cricket…..

Next to the camp area is the First Fleet Memorial Garden.

Didn’t know before but 10 Williams convicts on the First Fleet. But Faye was happy that no Milsons although she does have a convict background - hers came later!

Tomorrow to Uralla.

Day 48 - Home

Left Bylong around 9am for the 200km dash for home. Had morning tea at Jerrys Plains.

Well thats ends our 48 day holiday to South Australia with some interesting visits in Victoria & NSW.

Over those 48 days we travelled 6537km. Average overnight costs was $21.73 per night. Spent $1,769 in fuel which was 952 litres at average cost of $1.85 per litre (Highest $2.10 - Lowest $1.69). Average consumption was 14.57 litres per 100km.

Thank you for coming along with us - we trust you enjoyed the blog and photos.

Until next time - Bye,

Faye & Ken

Day 47 - Bylong

A very cold night at Macquarie Woods but today has been sunny & warm with some wind.

Left around 10am with morning tea at Sofala. The main highway was very busy but once we passed Bathurst towards Sofala the main traffic was caravans heading to Bathurst - many on the road for the long weekend.

Sofala is a small historic town with a very narrow main street.

Then onto Bylong via Kandos & Rylstone where we bought lunch.

A very picturesque drive through the Bylong Valley.

Lots of caravans here tonight.

Tomorrow - the plan is HOME.

Will do another blog tomorrow night with some stats.

Day 46 - Macquarie Woods in Vittoria State Forest

To start the day - we slept in & then had a look at some more murals followed by morning tea…

We spoke to a few friendly locals & mostly they talked about the 2022 flood. It wasn’t a normal flood in that it came into town as a roaring 2 metre wave & destroyed many houses & damaged most of the others. Ken spoke to 2 men who both lost their houses. They said there were 11 helicopters used to rescue people and some died. It is still a raw topic as many people are still suffering & a lot of work still to be done to lots of houses. The town only recently reopened the park for free campers like us. They are trying to encourage people to visit the town again. Morning tea was outside from a trailer.

Then came to Molong via cross country to Manildra.

The murals above were in Manildra.

Then onto tonights camp in Vittoria State Forest - via Orange.

We have been here before but today it is COLD. The temp was 12 when we arrived.

Tomorrow we are heading closer to home & will stay at Bylong - to avoid coming home via Sydney.

Home on Saturday….so it will be almost 7 weeks since we left.