Heading off

Look past the mountains and the sea and a lap of the land can be every bit as fulfilling

Spanning the distance between the tourist-brochure green and gold of the coast and the orange-under-blue of the outback, you'll find rural Australia. These regions are often overlooked in the glossy advertising campaigns and TV shows - unless it's ABC's Landline or the news in times of drought. But if you find yourself being ground down in the rut of urban Australia, a quick trip to the country might be just what the mind, body and soul requires.

With four days up our sleeves and a brand-new Suncamper Sofala to try we grabbed a map of NSW and took off.

Crossing the Blue Mountains

There's two ways to the Central West across the Blue Mountains from Sydney and Highway 1. One is the Great Western Highway that continues on from the M4 Motorway that stretches from Sydney's inner western suburbs to the satellite city of Penrith, at the eastern foot of the Blue Mountains. From there, the GWH is a somewhat uninspiring journey, mostly through suburbia. The many speed limit changes and traffic lights make towing tiresome, but it's this route that provides access to the world-famous Blue Mountains tourist attractions such as the Three Sisters at Echo Point, the Skyway and various gardens and lookouts.

The other route is the curiously-named Bells Line Of Road that stretches from Kurrajong to Lithgow. It's the more convenient route if you're arriving from the Central/North coast regions. Apart from quite steep climbs at both ends (second gear for some) many regard it as the more satisfying drive thanks to the fact it's a ribbon through wilderness for most of its length. However, the road surface is patchier.

Motor-racing Mecca

Our first stop after crossing the Blue Mountains via Bells Line Of Road is Bathurst, one of the more recognisable place names in Australia thanks to the annual Bathurst 1000 car race. We park the camper and pop into the Tourist Information Centre prominently located on the eastern outskirts of town.

Now, being a car-head and having attended the Bathurst 1000 race for nearly half my life, I'm not quite ready for what the nice lady behind the counter says.

"Not everyone comes here for the races, you know," she smiles. Then her smile fades a little. "In fact, most people come to Bathurst on their way to somewhere else. They just cruise on through..."

Like many country towns, Bathurst has plenty of nice old buildings to look at while you stretch your legs. The war memorial and bell tower are located in the centre of the aptly-named War Memorial Park, and there's a monument to the three blokes, Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth, who were the first Europeans to cross the Blue Mountains to the central western districts in 1815. As with many Australian towns, the streets close to the centre of town are angle parking but you should be able to find parallel parking for your rig on a side street.

Just out of town, Mount Panorama is the spiritual home of motor racing in Australia. It's tradition for holidaying car enthusiasts to do a lap of the steep 6.2km circuit as it's a public road when not in use for racing. Even though it's steep, there are no worries with a caravan - as long as you keep to the regulation 60km/h.

Even if you're not a fan of cars and racing, do a lap anyway. Mount Panorama is the highest point in the region and the view from the top is fantastic, especially looking toward the western edge of the Blue Mountains around 40km away. There's plenty of space for a coffee/lunch break in The Mount's McPhillamy Park and chances are you'll witness people having a quiet moment remembering one of Australia's greatest sports heroes, racing driver Peter Brock, at the section of the circuit named for him: Brock's Skyline. Brocky was tragically killed in 2006 while racing in Western Australia.

National Motor Racing Museum Bathurst A comprehensive history of Aussie speed is on show at the National Motor Racing Museum. Located at Murrays Corner on the edge of the Mount Panorama racing circuit, the display of significant competition cars and motorbikes is a revhead's heaven. There's a good-sized shop, too, selling plenty of motoring books, CDs and souvenirs - especially if you're into Holdens and Fords. Open 9am-4.30pm.

Heading off

Look past the mountains and the sea and a lap of the land can be every bit as fulfilling

Spanning the distance between the tourist-brochure green and gold of the coast and the orange-under-blue of the outback, you'll find rural Australia. These regions are often overlooked in the glossy advertising campaigns and TV shows - unless it's ABC's Landline or the news in times of drought. But if you find yourself being ground down in the rut of urban Australia, a quick trip to the country might be just what the mind, body and soul requires.

With four days up our sleeves and a brand-new Suncamper Sofala to try we grabbed a map of NSW and took off.

Crossing the Blue Mountains

There's two ways to the Central West across the Blue Mountains from Sydney and Highway 1. One is the Great Western Highway that continues on from the M4 Motorway that stretches from Sydney's inner western suburbs to the satellite city of Penrith, at the eastern foot of the Blue Mountains. From there, the GWH is a somewhat uninspiring journey, mostly through suburbia. The many speed limit changes and traffic lights make towing tiresome, but it's this route that provides access to the world-famous Blue Mountains tourist attractions such as the Three Sisters at Echo Point, the Skyway and various gardens and lookouts.

The other route is the curiously-named Bells Line Of Road that stretches from Kurrajong to Lithgow. It's the more convenient route if you're arriving from the Central/North coast regions. Apart from quite steep climbs at both ends (second gear for some) many regard it as the more satisfying drive thanks to the fact it's a ribbon through wilderness for most of its length. However, the road surface is patchier.

Motor-racing Mecca

Our first stop after crossing the Blue Mountains via Bells Line Of Road is Bathurst, one of the more recognisable place names in Australia thanks to the annual Bathurst 1000 car race. We park the camper and pop into the Tourist Information Centre prominently located on the eastern outskirts of town.

Now, being a car-head and having attended the Bathurst 1000 race for nearly half my life, I'm not quite ready for what the nice lady behind the counter says.

"Not everyone comes here for the races, you know," she smiles. Then her smile fades a little. "In fact, most people come to Bathurst on their way to somewhere else. They just cruise on through..."

Like many country towns, Bathurst has plenty of nice old buildings to look at while you stretch your legs. The war memorial and bell tower are located in the centre of the aptly-named War Memorial Park, and there's a monument to the three blokes, Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth, who were the first Europeans to cross the Blue Mountains to the central western districts in 1815. As with many Australian towns, the streets close to the centre of town are angle parking but you should be able to find parallel parking for your rig on a side street.

Just out of town, Mount Panorama is the spiritual home of motor racing in Australia. It's tradition for holidaying car enthusiasts to do a lap of the steep 6.2km circuit as it's a public road when not in use for racing. Even though it's steep, there are no worries with a caravan - as long as you keep to the regulation 60km/h.

Even if you're not a fan of cars and racing, do a lap anyway. Mount Panorama is the highest point in the region and the view from the top is fantastic, especially looking toward the western edge of the Blue Mountains around 40km away. There's plenty of space for a coffee/lunch break in The Mount's McPhillamy Park and chances are you'll witness people having a quiet moment remembering one of Australia's greatest sports heroes, racing driver Peter Brock, at the section of the circuit named for him: Brock's Skyline. Brocky was tragically killed in 2006 while racing in Western Australia.

National Motor Racing Museum Bathurst A comprehensive history of Aussie speed is on show at the National Motor Racing Museum. Located at Murrays Corner on the edge of the Mount Panorama racing circuit, the display of significant competition cars and motorbikes is a revhead's heaven. There's a good-sized shop, too, selling plenty of motoring books, CDs and souvenirs - especially if you're into Holdens and Fords. Open 9am-4.30pm.

Sofala & Hill End

On the road again

After waking up to a slate-grey day and having breakfast, we pack up our Suncamper and hit the road toward the tiny town of Sofala. I'm not a farmer and don't know anyone who is, but the splashes of green livening up the drab olive of the tree-studded hills make me smile: our visit was a few weeks after the first decent rain for years. The sun begins breaking through the clouds giving photographer Phil reason to smile, too. But the scars of two centuries of ignorant agricultural practice - huge erosion gullies carving the gently undulating landscape - crease the edges of my happiness. Wattle Flat comes and goes in an instant and soon we're at Sofala.

This quaint little village was established in 1851 with the discovery of gold on the banks of the Turon River.

Along with the town of Hill End 30km away, Sofala was once a prosperous town and by 1888 had a population of around 25,000 lured by the dream of striking it lucky. Sofala has very narrow streets and it's a good idea to park in the Rest Area and walk the 200m into the town centre. Run-down or rustic - take your pick - the town centre is certainly photogenic and it's difficult to imagine the area pumping with people in times past.

There's a tourist info/souvenir shop in town that offers good bacon and egg rolls and coffee, too.

Hill End is almost a ghost town; a fascinating historic site run by NSW National Parks with powered sites for caravans if you care to drive the good-quality gravel road. But we turn right from Sofala, climbing out of the valley toward Kandos. The Turon Technology Museum could be worth a stop next time we're out this way, but after cruising through more rural heartland dotted with rusty iron roofs, wood and wire fences and trees, we turn left at Ilford onto the main Lithgow/Mudgee road. Two kms up the road - after a quick nature call at Ilford's rest area - we hook right toward the towns of Rylstone and Kandos.

The scenery changes almost immediately. Green-topped, grey-tainted honeycomb bluffs dominate the skyline, replacing the undulating olive hills of our morning's drive. We're facing the western side of the Blue Mountains which, geologically speaking, are the lifted edges of the vast crinkled basin that Sydney is built on.

It's this geology that gives Kandos reason to exist: the town manufactures cement, the key ingredient of which is limestone (fossilised coral) deposited millions of years ago when the area was at the bottom of a tropical ocean. Kandos is also well known for its big hot rod car show each January. And its main street is a visual delight, screaming 50s/60s Australiana.

We take the back way from Kandos and Rylstone toward Mudgee, stumbling across the Lue Hotel along the way. The general store, draper and butcher are long-closed, but the pub isn't. Publican Steve - better known as Horse - is famous for his 800g (nearly 2lb!) BBQ rump steaks and there are bargain-priced ($7) traveller's campsites, and cabins, in the pub's backyard. Nearby, Lue Station is a well-known trail bike park.

Meanderring into Mudgee

Lush green pastures line the road most of the way from Lue to Mudgee, around 20 minutes up the road. Mudgee is a bustling town in the area known for its honey and being the old stomping ground of Australian literary great Henry Lawson.

These days, Mudgee is also famous for its wine. So for the remainder of the day, we wander around the three-dozen or so local wineries looking for photo opportunities. The good folk at the Tourist Information Centre (in Market St, west of the clock tower in the main drag) tell us of a two-hour self-guided walk around Mudgee's historic buildings, pubs and coffee shops, and mention Honey Haven and the Mudgee Brewing Co. But armed with a bottle of red from one of the wineries and with the sun dipping fast, we plug in at our caravan park and get comfy for the evening.

Bad for us - but great for the farmers - more grey sky and rain greets us the next day. But by the time we've driven the 30km to Gulgong, it's dried and warmed a little. Gulgong once boasted the largest population outside the Sydney metro area, but now population hovers around 2000 and it's famous for being the 'Town on the $10 Note' ... Well, it was in the days when Aussie money was made of paper and not plastic.

We pull up at Anzac Park and figure it's a good spot for lunch (there's a coin-op BBQ) but decide to drive a lap of town, stumbling upon the Gulgong Pioneers' Museum. What the hell, we'll take a look ... And boy, are we glad we did (see sidebar) but it leaves us out of time to see the Henry Lawson Centre. Oh well, next time.

In a repeat of the previous day's decision, we choose what we think are the lesser-travelled roads for the next leg of our journey between Gulgong and Dubbo via Goolma. The view along this route is dotted with coffee-coloured cows grazing on velvet grass sprouting from chocolate soil. Most of the dams appear brimming and the creeks are running. Adding to the good karma of the day is the fact there is very little traffic - just the occasional truck or ute - and the Suncamper is happy tootling along at 100km/h.

The Gulgong Pioneers Museum Do not miss this place. The Gulgong Historical Society began collecting old goods and artefacts in the 1950s. It was soon decided that a permanent museum would be a good idea - and it's gone from strength-to-strength ever since. It's shop-fronted by the old local newspaper (The Times) building and covers an enormous area including several historic buildings relocated brick-by-brick (or rock-by-rock) from their original sites in the surrounding districts. You'll find everything from dentists' chairs to magazines to police uniforms to fully-operational printing presses to old record players and fire engines, all carefully and professionally displayed. Open 9am-5pm.

Dubbo

I Love Dubbo!

The traffic thickens as we approach Dubbo. We've found our way to the Golden Highway, a main route between the Central West and the Hunter Valley. Its final 30 km into Dubbo is typical two-lane blacktop with peak hour waiting for us like a hungry black spider as we crawl up a strand of its web. No, Dubbo's traffic is not that bad - heck, it's not even peak hour yet - but it's incredible how just a couple of days away from metropolis can change your perspective.

Once again, the Tourist Information Centre is our first port of call. It's a large stand-alone building in parkland at the edge of town. It's in Macquarie St (at the end of the main shopping strip - if you drive under a railway overpass, you're close) and has a large caravan-friendly parking area, plus electric BBQs for lunch.

Soon, we're given a list of local attractions headed by Old Dubbo Gaol and Western Plains Zoo. The Gaol is, surprisingly, surrounded by shops on Macquarie St but once through the huge gates and hemmed in by its high stone walls, it's difficult not to be chilled by the reality of life 'inside'.

The other must-see around Dubbo - especially if you have kids - is the Western Plains Zoo. This is a sister facility to Sydney's sensational Taronga Park Zoo. The open plan of Western Plains - paddocks that you can drive or cycle past, as well as walk - places the animals in a more natural environment. Caravans and motorhomes are no-go, but WPZ has thought of that; unhitched caravans and motorhomes can be safely left in a dedicated parking area. There are several kiosks and picnic areas along the 6km safari route that is the home of animals from everywhere on the planet.

The rich red edge of NSW's 'Accessible Outback' and the highway to Bourke and Broken Hill - and destinations beyond - lies just beyond the big bridge across the Macquarie River at Dubbo. But after three packed days, our adventure is coming to an end - we must return to the reality of life in Sydney, around six hours away. We point the Suncamper down the Mitchell Highway toward Bathurst and start thinking about our next adventure.

Old Dubbo Gaol Historic Site This was a working prison between 1871 and 1966 and reopened as a tourist attraction in the 1970s. All tours are self-guiding - budget two to three hours for a good look, especially if you're travelling with kids. Touring the gaol paints a grim picture of what life behind bars was like in the 19th century for criminals, many of whom were no doubt victims of poor circumstance and judgement rather than their own evil. Eight people were hanged here and the gallows remain in place. It's all a great incentive for kids to do their homework! Open 9am-4.30pm. Western Plains Zoo This open-plains zoo is a specialist large animals park and its layout means there are no cages or bars in the way of your view. Its size also allows kids (or adults!) to ride their bikes through - bikes can be hired - and there are plenty of picnic areas through the park. Tickets are valid for two consecutive days so there's no need to rush seeing everything on one day. Open 9am-5pm.

NRMA Members save at Western Plains Zoo.

Published in Caravan + RV Magazine, Spring 2007. Words Glenn Torrens, photos Phil Cooper and NSW Tourism.