April 17th & 18th, 2011- Goulburn- South Goulburn Caravan Park

Sunday April 17th saw us travel to Goulburn via Trundy Creek and Crookwell. Road had a number of unsealed sections and was very windy and hilly. We took our time and enjoyed the many old towns and buildings we passed. I would be happy to do the drive again without the caravan so we could stop and explore the old buildings a bit more. We took some pictures of the old Post Office in Bindi which is for sale as a private residence. Beautiful!

About 60KM south of Blayney we stopped at the Abercrombie Caves. Well that was an adventure! We had been advised by the Tourist Info in Blayney that they were very nice and no it would not be a problem going into them towing a caravan. Well we ventured off the road for the 2KM drive down to the Caves. The road was sealed but very narrow, steep, and tight S Bends (Switchbacks). Originally we thought the road was one way down with a separate route up however about half way down we met a lady in a Toyota Camry. After much manouvering and holding of breath the lady got by us and we proceed to the bottom as we really had no choice. Thank God we didn't meet another vehicle with a caravan as I think we would still be there (unless the other driver could back up 1KM downhill around S Bends. Needless to say Sandra's nerves were not that good when we entered the ranger office to enquire about the Cave tour. To cut a long story short the rangers agreed to close the road when we were ready to depart. And no Sandra or I didn't even have to cry (although I had Sandra ready to go). I suspect it is no the first time that this has happened. We enjoyed about an hour self guided tour through the caves which are amazing and got quite a few photos. We then enjoyed a snack while awaiting for the ranger to return from town to escort us out. We waited 10 minutes while he travelled to the top and closed the road from any traffic trying to come down. Two other Prados with Camp Trailers decided to take advantage of the road closure and travel up as well. They do have a beautiful campground at the bottom along a river bank for small campers. We made the trip up without incident, thanked the ranger, took a deep breath and continued on our way. Highly recommend the site but would caution against anyone taking a caravan down to the bottom unless arrangements are made to ensure no traffic coming in opposite direction.

We arrived in Goulburn in mid afternoon without any further drama. We had a little difficulty getting to the campsite as the Goulburn Tourist Map is very poor and doesn't show that you can't go through certain roads and one road that they showed didn't even exist. After a couple of minor detours and a few curse words we checked in at Goulburn South Caravan Park. The Caravan park is reasonable at $22/night for powered site but not the nicest one we stayed in. Has full facilities but not that clean and had a number of rather old permanent caravans that didn't add to the overall atmosphere. That being said it was quiet and full facilities. As was already mid afternoon we settled in and had a nice BBQ steak dinner.

Monday morning we got up and headed into Goulburn to do some shopping. Quite a busy place withe many historic buildings but seemed a bit run down and don't think I would want to live there. We returned to caravan and had some lunch before venturing out for some sightseeing. After a number of attempts we finally found ourselves on the 30KM drive out to Bungonia Conservation area. This was an enjoyable drive through continually changing countryside to a beautiful Conservation area. Many camp and day use areas with ample parking. We were able to drive to several areas close to lookouts.

The Lookouts are quite amazing as you would think you were on relatively flat ground but they just drop away for several hundred meters. One of the walkways you actually walk out over the cliff face and can see down through the iron grill that you are standing on. Sandra didn't make it out on this one and even I found it a bit hard on the nerves. We got several pictures but they don't give you a true perspective of the steepness and depth of the gorge. Well worth the visit and would be a good family campsie. Lots of walking trails. On our return to Goulburn we stumbled across the war memorial and lookout which we had in fact tried to find earlier in the day. It is quite impressive with a great view of Goulburn. The tower is lined with old photos from the 1st World War as you climb the stairs to the top. Very moving. We returned from there to our campground for the night. We made decision to move on to Braidwood next day as not overly impressed with Goulburn.