Quick mid-week trip to the NSW high country

[duncanm]

I took the opportunity to do a quick mid-week trip with 2 of the kids over the last few days.

Nothing too serious - but a bit of dirt back roads and high country sightseeing.

Our first night was at Wee Jasper -- an easy 4.5 hours from Sydney after a quick pack on Monday morning.

We haven't been there before, but it seems like a pretty nice spot. $10 / adult, kids free. Reasonable facilities with drop toilets, and cold or hot shower at some of the four locations along the river. I can see it being very busy in summer and popular with the fishing folk. Early in the morning we spotted a few fish jumping in the river below our camp site.

 

[duncanm]

Then, it was south through Bondo SF, a couple of metres on Brindabella Rd, then into Micalong SF heading for Long Plain Rd.

I'd read up about the entry onto Long Plain - '4wd only' yada yada -- and figured if it got too hairy, we'd reverse our steps and go the long way around through Tumut and the Snowy Mountains Hwy.

It turns out the road in (Barnetts, Bramina, Boundary, Broken Cart) was a doddle. Nothing worse than some rocky parts and a small stretch of ruts that'd leave you high and dry if you were absent-minded enough to drive into them. It may be something else when wet.

Here's some typical track conditions.

 

[duncanm]

Turn off to Broken Cart Track.

then a stop for morning tea once in the open forest.

 

[duncanm]

First view of Long Plain. The power lines follow the plain (and the road follows the lines) pretty much all the way to the Snowy Mountains Highway - about 25km

 

[duncanm]

Our first close view of brumbies heading into the Coolamine homestead and Blue Waterholes..

Coolamine homestead was our next stop for a poke around. The NPWS and volunteers have done a great job of restoration and preservation.

I found the newspapers dating back to 1885 plastering the walls for insulation more interesting than the kids did.

The most entertaining one was the cartoon from 1937 asking why if unemployment had gone down and the surplus was overflowing, the Federal government still needed to take the same level of taxes for unemployment relief. "Tubby: - Ah -- we want it for a rainy day my friend"

 

[duncanm]

Blue Waterholes was a nice compact place to stay -- this turned out to be our coldest night out. The tarp-as-shelter was marginal for me and the daughter (the son slept in the dome tent), as a heavy fog/cloud drifted through the site and we had condensation inside and out.

Quite a few inquisitive magpies wanted to check out our morning campfire

 

[duncanm]

The next day we meandered our way out to the Snowy Hwy and refueled in Talbingo. Not much happening there; what a sleepy place!

We checked out Jounama Creek for lunch, then drove onto one of the campsites on Blowering Dam for the night.

The flock of Emus was a bit of a surprise to see here.

 

[duncanm]

From there, it was back to a different site in Wee Jasper the next morning via coffee, hot chocolate and scones in Tumut.

and then hop back to Sydney the morning after - home by lunch.

 

[duncanm]

This trip was also my first opportunity to try out my folding tuckerbox in anger.

Worked pretty well -- it just needs some minor tweaks on the support leg. It made setup and stow-away of the cooking gear much quicker, plus provided everything at arms reach when I was using the stove. Made packing up for the night (to keep the wildlife out of the food) a breeze.

 

[Scooby2]

Great pics & trip report Duncanm. Looks like a good time was had by all. Great kitchen mod!

Best regards,

 

[jf1sf5]

Nice to see an Outback in the outback !

Cool camping pics too !

 

[Rally]

Well, it is nice to see it out there, but the high country is a lot different- and a long way from, the outback. Not that the high country is very high by Swiss standards.

 

[duncanm]

no - not too high, or remote for that matter in parts we were in.

Here's my stock 'outback in the outback' shot from another trip out west (NSW).

 

[jf1sf5]

Ooops, sorry for the bad geography ! Thought that "outback" was used for australian wild country side.

 

[duncanm]

ha -- no worries, its more of a local argument over vernacular.

'outback' is more traditionally thought of as anything West of Bourke, NSW. As in "back of Bourke"

One thing to know if you ever visit -- we have many terms which don't have their ordinary meanings in standard English.

 

[havachat]

Nice trip and good report Duncanm. It is not surprising how far and where you can go in a Subaru ! Others just think you need a big 4x4 to do it in.

 

[havachat]

Ooops, sorry for the bad geography ! Thought that "outback" was used for australian wild country side.

We also have the "bush" just to add to the confusion !

 

[Rally]

Ooops, sorry for the bad geography ! Thought that "outback" was used for australian wild country side.

There is no actual boundary for the outback. I think it's just a case of seeing how isolated it is and then you say it is the outback. Other areas are known as the country or regional areas or the bush. There are though specific areas,a lthough even these have no boundaries either. They are the Illawarra, the Shoalhaven, The Piliga, The Pilbara, The Mallee, Liverpool Plains and so on, although some of these areas are also in the outback. Probably sounds a bit confusing.

 

[Kevin]

Great pics & trip report Duncanm. Looks like a good time was had by all. Great kitchen mod!

Best regards,

I agree - thanks for the report!

 

[temmah]

Nice post. All up how many days did it take?