Hi Charm. I have done that trip a few times in the last twelve months and it was fine. On one occasion I did Newcastle to Dunedoo then on to Gilgandra and out west and on the other occasion I came back via Dubbo on to Dunedoo and then through to Denman and on to Hexham.
The road is the best way to cross the Great Divide in my opinion. The hills are not steep and the road is good. When you get closer to Maitland there are a few trucks but the road is multi lane so there is no issue.
Totally agree with DMaxer; Golden Hgw is best route, has great free camps along the way, beautiful scenery no steep hills it comes through the Blue Mountains to the New England Hgw at their lowest point.
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Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan
Sent from my imperial66 typewriter using carrier pigeon, message sticks and smoke signals.
It is a great drive but try and time it so that you are not reaching the junction with the New England Hwy just south of Singleton in peak hour in the afternoon. Road works will cause you long delays.
Back in 1971 the road west out of Newcastle had lots of unseal road, 2 of the major climbs half way up were sealed so you could get traction in the wet.
Cassilus was a detour around it, then to Dunnedoo was 2 tyre marks though the paddocks for 30 milles or more but we did it with 185 up hauling our loads out west. From Dubbo on there was a sealed Highway.
With your modern car towing your luxury caravan it be a Sunday drive. Maybe.
We live in Lake Macquarie and use the Golden Hwy all the time its a pretty good road to tow a van, not too many bends and only a few short climbs nothing too challenging. You can sometimes get coal trucks around the open cut mining area but thats only for a few kms. We always stop at the small park in Merriwa on the western side of town (Dubbo side), there are public toilets and a couple of tables, if you want a longer break its a good place to park your rig and take a short stroll into the bakery in town to grab a coffee or something to eat. As mentioned in another post there may be a build up at the Wittingham intersection onto the New England Hwy due to the roadworks and the time of day you get there - I usually try and avoid afternoon or morning peak hours as there can be a lot of miners on the road. Unless you specifically want to go into Maitland you will avoid the traffic if you stay on the Hunter Expressway until the Hexham or Wallsend/Newcastle off ramps or stay on it until the end for either Lake Macquarie or the M1 off ramp to Sydney.
BB
-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Tuesday 9th of May 2023 08:06:06 PM
-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Tuesday 9th of May 2023 08:16:29 PM
