New Year Getaway - 4th to 8th January 2021

[Dave]

Well, we made it there and back again, and it was a great trip! Thanks to everyone who came along, we had a wonderful bunch of Jeepers, and even though it was a shorter trip, we still have great fun on the trails and around the campfire on three of the four nights...

Because Monday evening was wet! Nice drive to Gloucester and then up into the Barringtons. Cloudy but we still had spectacular views. We got into Polblue and there were quite a few other people set up. Fortunately it is big, we organised ourselves into a nice area and set up camp. Wayne even got a fire started, but about ten minutes after we settled in, the rain began! And stopped and started again until around midnight. The BOM said we had 47mm that night, and all the campers, tents and awnings got a work out. Fortunately the thunderstorms seemed to roll around us at the top of the mountain, so it wasn't too savage. Just really damp!

And then Tuesday was beautiful, and got pretty hot and sunny. We headed west out of the Barringtons, more awesome views, then up Hunter Rd to Ellerston. The plan was to stay on Hunter Rd all the way to Nundle, but there was a sign saying road closed. So instead we did Thursdays drive two days early, over Crawney Gap. Nice Drive! Scenic, but pretty easy, and we found a great spot by a creek for lunch before arriving in Nundle. Where everything got put up again and it all dried! Dinner at the pub, and then a fab evening around the fire.

Wednesday was 'around Nundle'. Up to Hanging Rock and Sheba Dams, then a short reccie of Barry Rd which becomes Hunter Rd - and we decided that we would head back south that way on Thursday despite the sign (locals said that it had been up for weeks). We had a muddy drive through the state forest, then stopped for a view of Chaffey Dam before returning to town for a look at the mining museum (excellent for $5) and the historic Woollen Mill, before kicking back for a relax and another great pub dinner.

Thursday and we set off down Barry Rd / Hunter Rd back to Ellerston, and it was awesome! Steep, narrow, muddy, some low range climbing and 22 water crossings. That road has everything that a C grade drive could have!
From there to Burning Mountain, but it's a long walk and we didn't go all the way, and down the New England Hwy to Broke where we had a great free camp and another nice evening around the campfire.

Friday was home via Wollombi and lunch at St Albans - both absolutely packed with people, Covid and school hols I guess - before the quick ride across Wisemans Ferry. An easy finish to a really fun few days away.

Thanks to everyone for coming along, I really enjoyed myself, and I'm pretty sure everyone else did too! Looking forward to the next trip in July!!

Dave.