MORE OF THE 'M's' - MUDGEE TO MENDOORAN (4 - 5 MAY 2016)

“Get us out of here”, was the joint cry......from  our livers and kidneys! “Enough is enough”.  Well, it was not quite that bad, but came close. Mudgee had lived up to expectations. The ‘old farts’ still know how to party.  Joking aside, it had been a sensational seven days but it was now time for us to all make our way out of Mudgee, most back to Sydney, but not the Mobile Marshies. We were off to Mendooran.

So it was back onto the Castlereagh Highway for us, still heading north. Initially, the nearby town of Gulgong was in our sights. We had travelled this road before, but had not checked out the town, which is only 30kms from Mudgee. 

Our plans to make this a day trip destination had fallen through, so we decided to take the detour off the highway and see what this old town had to offer for future reference.

We had been warned not to attempt making passage through the main street whilst towing the van, but all seemed OK 

as we approached the intersection at which we had to make a left hand turn.

Then our warning took on new meaning.

The main commercial street of Gulgong is anything but user friendly for those hauling big rigs. This is one very narrow street. Fortunately for us it was still early, and Gulgong was not a hive of commercial activity, but we still had to pull up and allow a number of cars to pass before we scurried on

to the end of the narrow section and out onto a broader avenue.

Now we knew what Hens had meant!  But, nothing ventured, nothing gained. We now also knew that Gulgong will be placed firmly on our day trip list during any return visit to Mudgee (and we know that will happen in the future).

So, with this brief adventure under our belts it was back to the Castlereagh

and the continuation of our relatively short journey for the day. I am always happy to see that our destination is less than 100 kms away....there is just something about two digits only!

Just outside the town of Dunedoo the Castlereagh Highway ends briefly and becomes the Golden Highway for the few kilometres into the town. The Golden traverses the state between Newcastle on the coast and the large country town of Dubbo, and for this short section, in one of those odd quirks of the Australian road system, it and the Castlereagh share the same bitumen....the Golden obviously won out with the powers that be.

Dunedoo.....let us hope that history does not repeat itself. 






For those of you who have followed this blog over the years, you may recall that this was the town near which the ship’s cat disgraced himself in his cage for the first (but annoying, not the last) time. With the passage of time (rather than anything else) Liz and I have forgiven Max this indiscretion (and the very few others, which we later discovered were a result of a certain food which is now very firmly off his menu) and still chuckle at the concept that as Max approached Dunedoo he ’dunnydid’!

But I am very pleased to report that we transited the town on this occasion unsullied by any rank odours courtesy of our little furry back seat passenger.

The Black Panther was a model of toiletry discretion and restraint (we have also since learnt to make sure he has a good gallop before the start of any journey) and as we passed the second of this small town’s two large pubs, we both rejoiced in the knowledge gained in the past three years. Max was undoubtedly pretty chuffed too!

Mendooran was now firmly in our sights. So why Mendooran, I hear you ask. There were two reasons. Firstly, the free camp area here, which we had seen on our last trip, looked most appealing. This impression has since been confirmed by friends who have stayed there.  The second reason lies in the fact that at Mendooran, those travelling on to Coonabarabran, as we were, can take a short cut from this tiny town which avoids the need to transit Gilgandra...a saving of well over 50 kms. And here we were.

Our recollections, as we made our way down the main street, was that the claim that this is an old town was supported by the state of many of the buildings, and this was to prove correct. But we were also to discover, as we had done so many times before, that when one scratches the surface, surprising things can be found.

But our first job was to make it down to the end of the street where the ‘T’ junction takes travellers to the left (on the Castlereagh) or to the right (on the Mendooran-Coonabarabran road)

We were doing neither....it was straight on for us down the entrance road to the grassy expanses of the Mendooran free camp.

We progressed somewhat gingerly at first. This area had received significant rainfall at the same time we were ducking for cover in Mudgee, only in the Mendooran area we were talking in the order of 70-100 mls.  I was understandably concerned about the state of the ground under us here. To my great relief, despite some residual evidence of the downpour,

the surface generally was both firm and dry. We had soon selected our spot and set up camp, just off the main entrance roadway, but well back from the banks of the Castlereagh River which is off to the right of this shot.

Things were relatively quite when we arrived, but by mid afternoon we had plenty of company

and even more by early evening.

This is a very popular spot, one strongly supported by the local community as a means by which some much needed cash is hopefully injected into their economy. It was nothing to see several vans and motor homes arriving together. 

Most would make this an overnight stop only, but several, like us, dropped anchor for a couple of days, or like this chap, for the longer term.

The camp ground here is on a bend in the Castlereagh River, which like so many of its counterparts in this part of the country, is but a shadow (?) no.... trickle...of its usual self.

We chose a site on the upper flat part of the camp grounds. Others, keen to be closer to the water  negotiate the lower roadway (for what reason we have no idea...the banks are covered with thick reed beds which do not allow direct access other than in a few very short stretches)

and settle in along it.

Apart from the broad area from which to make a choice of site, this camping ground is blessed with a reasonably well maintained toilet block,

rudimentary BBQ and outdoor seating facilities, and, best of all, a large rainwater tank from which those visiting are invited to fill their kettles or vans. A notice board provides information about local dining choices, but we later learnt that this is currently the subject of a local scrap between the owners of the pub and those running the bowls and Memorial clubs....more of this later.

Even when things did get really busy, as it did both afternoons,

we found that our choice of site had been a good one...we had our patch to ourselves during most of the day and spent two very pleasant nights here.

And just before I move on from the campsite, I have to share this shot of our immediate neighbours.

So....there’s nothing so special about a paddock of alpacas. True, apart from one......I hope this little quadruped is female!!

In my next we explore our host town and unearth some real surprises.