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Thread: New Year Getaway - 4th to 8th January 2021

  1. #21
    Club General Committee Dave's Avatar
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    Back to 8 vehicles. James sold his Jeep.
    Dave


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  2. #22
    Club General Committee Dave's Avatar
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    Hi All,

    The new Covid Outbreak on the Northern Beaches is a bit of a worry. I'm really glad that we hadn't planned a Victoria High Country Trip, Vic border closed from midnight (as is Qld) to anyone from Sydney
    Another SJC member is planning a Vic High Country Trip with some non Jeep mates. If they have to cancel we may end up with a couple more on our trip.

    So I'm glad we are staying within NSW! But if anything goes (more) wrong and Sydney gets locked down, then obviously we would have to cancel.

    Keep the fingers and toes crossed, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I hope to see everyone in Gloucester two weeks tomorrow! Only Raja has said he'll meet me at the Caltex at Wyong.

    Thanks,
    Dave
    Last edited by Dave; 20-12-20 at 05:27 PM.

  3. #23
    Club General Committee Dave's Avatar
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    Hi All,

    And now it's one week tomorrow! I hope that everyone had a great Christmas Day and has something fun (if quiet) planned for New Year.

    I was contacted by National Parks the other day, after I sent them an inquiry about Ben Halls Gap National Park. Apparently it is closed to private vehicles, and the tracks immediately around it are through private property and are gated. We are recommended to use Hunter Rd instead to get from Moonan Flat to Nundle - and that may be a good thing as the forecast is for some rain. Slipperier conditions, and we have three trailers in our group, so a marked dirt road that will be open sounds like a good bet.

    And I Googled it. In 2018, parts still looked like a track, with around 20 'causeways', and with the rain we can expect some water crossings. Apparently some great scenery as well, so I hope we get some fine weather too. Should be very interesting!

    Make sure you pack some wet weather gear, as well as your swimmers for the pool at Nundle (and possibly for checking creek crossings )

    Hope everyone is still looking forward to getting away!

    Any last minute questions, please call me.

    Dave
    Last edited by Dave; 27-12-20 at 04:43 PM.

  4. #24
    Club General Committee Dave's Avatar
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    Hi All,

    The spread of Covid into the greater Sydney area is troubling, especially the "Croydon" cluster. Guess where I live... But no, not a member of an extended family.

    Anyway, there is the possibility that rules around travel may change on short notice so stay tuned. I will post here and email everyone if our plans have to change.

    I hope not! But anything could happen.

    Thanks,
    Dave

  5. #25
    Club General Committee Dave's Avatar
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    Hi All,

    Got an email about the weather email, and I know, I’ve been looking at it all week. Some rain is forecast, most on Monday and Tuesday, so we may well get wet driving over the Barringtons and up to Nundle. That said, they only had 3mm at Barrington in the past 24 hours, so hopefully it is a bit drier inland.

    If we are advised of road closures around the Barringtons, there are alternatives if eg we can’t get to Polblue. I’ll be checking when we get to Gloucester. Just checked the Nat Parks website, some trails closed due to rain, but the main Barrington Tops Forest Road (our route) is open. LiveTraffic NSW reports Barringtons open, Hunter Rd (Moonan Flat to Nundle on Tuesday) open. And our route out of Nundle on Thursday also currently open. Gloucester Nat Parks office is one block from the car park where we will meet, I’ll drop in and check with them.

    Worst comes to worst, we stay on tar on Monday, drive up Thunderbolts Way to Nowendoc and camp there. We’ll change our National Park booking from Barrington Nat Park / Polblue, to Nowendoc Nat Park/ Jackie Barkers Campground. If we need to change anything we can do it with Nat Parks in Gloucester.

    In other news, I just spoke with Nundle Caravan Park. They are still looking forward to seeing us – as long as none of us are showing any Covid symptoms! As was Club policy in 2020, if you are feeling unwell, please let me know and please don’t come along. I don’t think any of us are from the Northern Beaches (still locked down), I’m from Croydon, but have not intersected any of the concerned venues and am not part of the extended family (my temp right now is 36.2 degrees and I feel fine), so the plan is to continue with the trip unless Sydney gets locked down.

    Last but not least, Ali just texted me to say he is starting a new job on Monday, so we are down to 7 Jeeps.

    See you Monday, drive safe! Remember to bring Face Masks! Now mandatory in shopping centres etc and there are shops, a museum, a pub and a wool mill in Nundle!

    Dave
    Last edited by Dave; 02-01-21 at 03:24 PM.

  6. #26
    Club General Committee Dave's Avatar
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    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.
    Last edited by Dave; 09-01-21 at 10:34 AM.

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