Days 176 and 177 - Zero days car shuffling

NSW Days 35 and 36 17th and 18th November, 2021

Zero Days

These days are driving days. Mushgang and myself get up and on the road to Tenterfield.

It's a 4 hour drive up and I decide to return to Mushgang's place for the night and head south in the morning.

The following day is a drive south to Wallerawang where my car will be dropped off behind the Commercial Hotel. I check out some of the route which is 10 or 11 days with only one piece of civilisation on day 2 where dinner will be at the Sandy Hollow pub. It looks interesting and a night at the pub cost me $45 for a room and I had bangers and mash for tea. I left a couple of messages but have an e-mail with updated notes for book 9. Now for a trip back north and to visit a friend near Maitland for a couple of days.

Day 175 Scone

 NSW Day 34 (176) Tuesday 16th November, 2021 19.8km

Another stud

3634.4 / 1454 km

Today was a fine day. The plan is to get to the train station then head north to Armidale.

Another couple in a caravan arrived and they offered to give me a lift. I accepted. I could also get the school bus out of Gundy at 7.50am at the shelter in front of the store. I didn't find out how much they charge.

Aberdeen Road

The road to Aberdeen flows through more horse studs and I didn't miss walking that way. Scone is closer and the train is scheduled to stop. I went up to the train station and the information centre only to be informed train tickets are bought at the community centre/ library at the other end of town.

I got a good tour of Scone (pronounced Sc-own) I still eat Scones as in Scons. The train was 5 minutes late and $41 to Armidale. I sit for four hours watching the countryside pass as I head north again.

Road to Aberdeen

Mushgang has agreed to come down and pick me up from Armidale. I don't mind another visit as we had a good time last time. Hope he doesn't pass fresh road kill on the way down.

There is a connecting bus to Tenterfield but Mushgang is keen for a drive in the country and look at some things north.

He picks me up and we head back into the hills where the clouds are covering the countryside. A dinner at the Ebor pub and we settle in for a catch up chinwag.

Thanks once again Mushgang.

Day 174 Gundy

My spot behind the tank.
You can see the dry spot I left.

 NSW Day 33 (175) Monday 15th November, 2021 28.4km

3614.6 / 1479.4 km

After a wet night it was a beautiful morning. The wind still gusts a bit but good walking weather.

Timor church

I'm off just on sun up. The plan is to cover some ground as at Aberdeen I will be heading north to bring the car from Tenterfield. However did a quick check and people tell us it would be better to go to Scone as the train does not automatically stop at Aberdeen. I need to get far enough today so I have a short enough walk to be able to catch the train at 1.30pm or its an overnight stay and then 1.30pm the following day.

Arty farty. I liked the fence the sky
colour and the shape of the hills.

So off I go with a plan to go past Gundy to shorten tomorrow. As the sun comes up the flies come out and this is the second time I pull out the fly net. The little black ones are up and about and I think I will be walking with them from now on.

A much clearer morning after the rain. I did surprise a lady doing watercolour painting on one hill as I walked up behind her. She was trying to capture the colour on a palette. I just hold, and shoot the phone and hope.

Morning light

Walking past bigger horse studs today. I did stop and talk to one group and they pointed to a paddock and said Black Caviar was there. A truck driver stopped and gave me some cheese and chive scrolls from Coles Bakery to tide me through to lunch which I was hoping to be at the Gundy Pub.

another view

The valley road ends and you turn down a major bitumen road. The wind which was blowing and was more of a sidewind became a headwind as I walked into Gundy. It's Tuesday. The pub shuts Monday and Tuesdays. Bugger.

There is a store and they make good coffee and they had a pie in the warmer. The public toilets are at the Recreation ground and it's there I decide to camp for the night. It's 19 kilometres to Scone from Gundy which I could do before lunch then catch the train. $12.50 per person to camp with hot shower and there are power points. I decide to dry out in the sun and relax. I've covered a few kilometres today.

Black Caviar was one of them

On the Gundy Road

Gundy Pub

The Isis river at Gundy

Day 174 Styx River Valley

The sun's up there

 NSW Day 32 (174) Sunday 14th November, 2021 34km

3586.2 / 1495.9 km

The morning came too early. It's funny how I didn't move far and had a relaxing afternoon in the tent but I didn't want to get out of bed.

The road

Eventually I forced myself and I was on the road still before 6.30am. The road travels up over Crawney Pass to the Styx River Valley. I planned to wander as far as I could and the valley was a pleasant place to walk. Not much traffic with only two cars passing me all day.

Up the pass

At the top of the pass I did get phone signal and uploaded some photos whilst having a breakfast. Yesterday I passed over the Pearly Gate Bridge, today I'm following the Styx which is the river that is the boundary between to the underworld in Greek Mythology. Now according to some the souls of the dead are transported along the Styx. The further down the river you were transported the bigger your punishment for life's sins. I will be following the river for two days. Lucky I'm not Greek.

The Styx River valley

The big station down down this way is Timor Station. Pronounced Tie-more, not tee-mor. I got corrected by a gent at a horse stud. Lovely valley though and according to a sign I passed its just been sold.

I don't understand the sign

I looked at the TSR mentioned in the book but there was no water nearby and it looked like the gate hadn't been opened in years . In the end I made it to the Timor Recreation club and Tennis courts and I set up the tent behind the water tank. There were toilets here and you just had to turn on the pressure pump to fill the cistern. Rained again with a storm moving across in the night. But the big rain seems to have gone, with the river whilst still flowing well, dropping slightly every day.

Love the tree. Redgum?

turtle

Free grapefruit and lemon. I sat down and ate
the grapefruit straight away.

afternoon

Timor Tennis Courts

Day 173 Teamsters Rest

 NSW Day 31 (173) Saturday 13th November, 2021 13.8km

3552.2 / 1545.2 km

I was ready to go early but no one opens early. So the Cafe come servo opens 8am and I rocked up for a coffee and some eggs on toast. It's rather chilly and sitting inside keeping warm seems a good idea.

I didn't want to cross this bridge

Only 12 kilometres to a camp spot and I eventually dawdle off. There is a kiosk in the street cooking doughnuts and the smell convinces me to buy 3 and I then finally push on.

The river is up

The road out is not difficult and I make short work of the walk. It does start raining about midday and continues into the night. I spent the afternoon reading and sleeping.

Ominous clouds

DAG Sheep station

The creek beside the camp spot

Not recommended but wet weather I can cook in the tent

Day 172 Nundle Stopover

Wool Press

NSW Day 30 (172) Friday 12th November 2021

Nundle Stopover

It rained heavy last night. I had to get up and move my tent and gear off the verandah as they were just getting wetter.

The Peel River runs behind the park and in the morning light it was well up and flowing fast.

Old truck

On a normal zero day I just relax and look around the town up, however, with the rain I do more relaxing than looking. I did walk across the road for milk for my cereal and later went up to the pub for a burger. But overall it was sitting packing and drying out my washing as best I could.

Peel River

The rain is set to ease tomorrow and I only plan a short stay before afternoon storms arrive again. The antique shop is full and hard to look around but he does have top dollar on everything. There's a working woollen mill but it wasn't open and some other things but not much.

Nundle

There is a memorial to a plane crash "Lutana" that happened in 1948 killing all on board. One of the passengers was Fred Coughlan, Belinda's Father's uncle. He was a jockey travelling from Townsville to Sydney to ride for a trainer there.

When they sort out the trail with the National Parks the trail won't come this way.

Memorial to Lutana plane crash

Memorial Plaque

Day 171 into Nundle

NSW Day 29 Thursday 11th November, 2021 28.6km

3538.4 / 1557.5km

Morning view

Everything is wet. The rain has stopped and I pack up in the mist. I'm hoping for a mad dash to get me into Nundle early afternoon. There are weather warnings everywhere but it's still at the moment.

I like these type of mornings. The first truck passed me before 6. The only cars I expect to see are the forestry workers harvesting the pine.

Plenty of water

I manage a good pace with planned stops at certain points. I'm in the zone when a car pulls up and we have a chat. He is working on a property and has come up to get a part from a shed on another property up here. He is not going into Nundle but offers a lift a couple of kilometres to his turn off. I accept and he takes me far enough that he has saved over an hour of walking. He thinks the rain will come in after lunch and plans to be back down in Gloucester before then. He tells me they had about 60mm of rain and are expecting double that today. We part and I head off.

Mary Ashton, wife of the founder of Ashton's
ircus died at 19

9.30 am I'm hungry and have to stop. It's while I'm having breakfast a car heading out of Nundle goes past but stops up the road and turns round. The driver wanted to see if I was OK. Him and his two mates have a talk then pose for a selfie with me then go on their way. I think they are forestry blokes. Big enough to cart around tree stumps. Never felt like a small old man before standing next to these blokes. Are they called Lumberjacks? I always wanted be a Lumberjack. I'd wear high heels, suspenders and a bra. Just like my dear Mama. (Monty Python)

Town of hanging rock

Back on the road I get the feeling I'm going to make it to town before anything major comes.

At the end of the forestry road is a place called Hanging Rock. I visit the cemetery and read up a little bit. I don't bother going to the lookout. I could just post the Kroombit top lookout photo.... just cloud. But as I go down the range I get a view. I stop at 11am at a turn in for a minutes silence, Lest We Forget.

The weather is slowly building as I inch closer to town. I finally walk into Nundle and as I am looking in my pack for my wallet it starts drizzling. It didn't stop after that all night and into the following morning. So I was pretty chuffed I had made it. The lift in the middle saved me walking in the rain. The rain continued into the afternoon and got heavier as the evening progresses. I was booked into a cabin at the caravan park and I was able to spread my gear out to dry. It looks like heavier rain towards the coast and south of here.

Finally get a view

Day 170 Nundle State Forest

 NSW Day 28 (170) Wednesday 10th November, 2021

3509.8 / 1589.1KM

Heading off down there

The weather forecast was not good. There was 200mm of rain predicted over three days. BOM had a few things wrong in the past but with the country already wet it was a little concerning as to how much I could put up with.

It was 4 days to Nundle where I was planning to resupply. The other option was to divert into Walcha and sit out the bad weather. In the end I tried to go round main roads to shorten the journey to Nundle.

Turn off down to Nundle

I was watching the weather build as I got a lift to an intersection that put me about 60 kilometres out of Nundle. I set off hoping for a lift but I was on a road to Tamworth which is not exactly close to Nundle. In the end I got dressed in my wet weather gear and just hoofed it. I was lucky I seemed to weave between storm centres. Still got fairly wet but I didn't get the full brunt of about 3 thunderstorms. I did have a few bowel loosening moments when lightning and thunder were close. Cows hiding in patches of trees watched me as I plodded past.

The road and the storms

The track turns down the road to Nundle via a state forest. Trucks carting logs were about the only regular traffic I saw and they weren't picking me up. I had walked from about midday and clocked up about 25 kilometres when I started looking for a spot to camp. It needed to be well drained, protected from the wind and in an open patch away from falling tree branches.

More roads

With the rain most of the creeks were running but they were dirty water. I came across a creek running from the forest that was running across grass lined gullies thus was clear so I stopped for water there and filled up the 3litre bladder. It was while I was in the creek the only car went past. Not saying they would have given me a lift but I wasn't on the road to ask.

Someone painted on the tree. I did get
one bar so it was good to know.

So onwards until I saw a track leading off on a rise. I found a spot that met the requirements and set up my tent. I was glad to finally sit out of the showers. I could hear the wind blowing but unless the direction changed I was OK. I dried off best I could and set up. I'm the end I slept in my wet weather gear with minimal stuff out in case I had to move quickly.

There was a lot of rain and thunder but the tent did ok. I was a bit worried about it as even though it's fairly new it has had a few years worth of use on this trip when you think about it. I have gaffer tape on the ground sheet. The tent inner has been chewed by mice and has gaffer tape and fixomul patching holes. The tent fly is still OK with sealing tape still on the joins.

I slept fairly soundly in the end. I have to do over 30 kilometres into Nundle tomorrow with worse weather predicted.