Go West Young Man to Dubbo Zoo
17 November 2022 / Story: Brian Clayton; Photos: Rob Wilkins, Anda Clayton, Kim Mackechnie, Bill Short
Go West Young Man to Dubbo Zoo – 14-15 November 2022
You needed to be Noah reincarnated to see the animals.
The prospects for the Dubbo trip were not all that bright when we went to bed on Sunday night. Weeks of incessant rain and major flooding out west had put the trip in doubt. Clearly, some modification of the trip would be necessary but investigation on Live Traffic and local council web sites and Facebook pages indicated that it was possible to get to Dubbo.
Checking web pages on Monday morning all seemed OK to make the trip.
We met with Fred and Kim at Lake Burrill and had a pleasant drive down the coast and over Clyde Mountain to Braidwood for our appointed morning break, albeit dodging a few pot holes along the way. Provisions at Braidwood has become our favourite stopping point, the crepes and galettes are to die for.
Suitably refreshed we set off for Crookwell where we were to meet Bob and Linda, Bill and Jan and Rob and Brigid for lunch. The King’s Highway was somewhat rough but the road through Tarago to Goulburn was in poor condition with roadworks and extensive pot holes. Even driving steadily, we still managed to hit one major hole. Passing through Goulburn we found the road to Crookwell not in much better condition, the whole trip taking about half an hour more than planned.
We joined our compatriots at Café Zestt in Crookwell for a terrific light lunch, highly recommended. After lunch it was off to Millthorpe via Blayney. The road is usually a great drive with many long sweeping bends and a few tighter twisty sections. No sooner would you get in the groove and a section of pot holed road would present itself and discretion became the better part of valour, with speed dictated by poor road condition. We had a small creek crossing to negotiate at Tuena but Live Traffic had assured us the Hobby Yards Road to Blayney was open, having been closed earlier by floods. The “road closed” signs and the council truck just short of our destination told a different story. There followed a long detour through Neville and Mandurama, back to Blayney and our destination for the night at Millthorpe.
The first night we had dinner at the only venue open on a Monday night, the local hotel, where the menu was restricted to Pizza. The Pizzas were great, the wine even better and the conversation flowed until we were the last guests. A major topic was the likelihood of getting through to Dubbo next day. Fred’s mate lived locally and cast some doubt but we went to bed hopeful of at least being able to get to Dubbo and worrying about the trip home later.
Next morning dawned fine but cloudy with light showers forecast. Over at the Providores where breakfast awaited, we got into discussion with some of the locals. Fred’s mate said the roads into Dubbo were closed by floods and this was confirmed by the locals getting morning coffee. One local said that the flooding at Kelso had subsided and the local bus had come through that morning. Going back the way we had come was not an option due to flooding at Tuena. All roads to the south and west were closed by flooding. It seemed the only option was a journey through Bathurst and over the mountains.
The roads were generally pot holed and it took 45 minutes to get through Bathurst because half the highway at Kelso was still affected by flooding with the road down to one lane each way. A coffee stop at Hartley revived our spirits then it was off down the mountains to a lunch stop at Wallacia and the final trip home.
All round it was a great disappointment that we could not complete the planned trip, especially for Rob and Brigid who had planned an overnight stay among the animals at the zoo. However, we enjoyed the company and our group experienced a different type of adventure. This is the first time we have had to cancel a trip mid journey but I guess the message is prepare for adventure with the MX5 Club.
