We decided to do this trip in a day and make it a long day. So we left home at 7am to meet up with Chris and Linda at Blaxland at 8am. We pulled into Blaxland right on 8am grabbed a quick breakfast and were on the road by 8.20am heading through the hills towards Bathurst. We decided that a quick lap of “THE” Mountain was necessary and around we went soaking it all in.
After fuel and comfort stops we made our way to the start of the Bridle Track. I have to thank Troy for his help in offering maps cause without these we would have been fairly lost. The roads have changed a bit from the written book instructions but we only took one wrong turn and then corrected it and we were back on the right road.
We stopped to take a quick photo of the track sign and headed into the unknown. The track was easy going just VERY NARROW in parts. The scenery was spectacular all the way along the Turon river at times we were next to the river and then we were high above it looking over the mountain tops.
We stopped for a coffee at one of the reservation areas. There are plenty of places to camp all along the river that are free 2 have toilets and picnic tables and all the rest are mostly right beside the river with flat grassy places in and under and around the trees.
We pulled into Hill End just before 1pm and headed into the Hotel/Pub for Lunch. We sat out the back in the sun after moving the table a few times to get the optimum spot without too much fresh animal dung smell. We enjoyed a few cool drinks and had a very average lunch. The birds were wonderful to sit and listen to and watch playing in the trees.
We then took a walk through the main street admiring the plaques and photos and soaking in the history of the area. I was surprising to see how busy the Village Camping area was it must be a nice place as there were heaps of Caravans enjoying the area.
We decided that the road home was calling so we pointed in the direction of Sofala and hit the road. The road out to Bathurst has been freshly bitumened which was a nice surprise to the end of the day where we expected dirt. It was an easy trip home and a great day trip that we will be doing again though next time we will be packing lunch and enjoying it by the river.
Us2martins visiting Hill End.
