Trip: 6 Aug 2023
Trip leaders – Peter and Margaret Mercer – Series IIA SWB
As the trip title suggests, one of the main points of interest, and our destination to be for lunch, was a stop in at the Captains Flat hotel. The pub, which closed for business in 2020 was sold in 2022, renovated by the new owners, and reopened in March this year. It surely is an impressive building with lots of character, and I’m sure we were all keen to enjoy a look around and a nice hot lunch there, but, it didn’t quite end up that way. Two days before the trip, it was announced that the pub was closed indefinitely, so in true Pete fashion, the trip was all swapped around last minute, but still went ahead.
The trip started at Williamsdale, across from the old, now derelict, service station. We left off at 8am and headed down Williamsdale Rd, and it wasn’t long before we were treated to the first stretch of dirt road. Although it hadn’t rained in Canberra much before this, we were greeted with some proper muddy roads down there that day, with plenty of mud pot holes to navigate around, or through!
Surprising to many, Pete’s series 2A can move off at quite a hefty pace (well a least up till about 80kms/hr), and we made good time following the Burra Rd to Michelago. Our first stop was at the Michelago General Store, where we were able to get some coffees and snacks before heading off again. They also do burgers and other types of takeaway here, which is good to know, as apart from the servo back on the highway, there aren’t too many other options around there.
From here we travelled back along Burra Rd for a bit, and made our way down Tinderry Rd, heading up and over Tinderry Mountain. Somewhere around here the muddy roads turned back into the dry dirt roads that we were expecting. The road over the mountain was quite rough and steep in places and winded along over some pretty impressive drop offs to one side. There was still a decent fog hanging around at the start of this road, but once it had cleared we were treated to some nice views.
We descended down into Captains Flat at around 10am and drove past the Captains Flat Hotel. It was looking very neat and tidy, and was a shame to see it closed after only reopened fairly recently. After being bounced around and rattled again for the last hour or so, we treated ourselves to another stop at the local park for quick break. Apparently, the Captains Flat Men’s Shed has coffee and other treats too if anyone is keen for something while passing through. There didn’t seem to be anything else open that day, or probably any other day for that matter.
We hit the dirt again, travelling along Captains Flat Rd to Cooma Rd, then south along the edge of the Deua National Park. At the entrance to the Bendethera Valley, we passed a line-up of 4WDs “airing up” after enjoying some tracks down in the valley. This called for another quick stop, which we did.
By now, we’d been on the road for quite a few hours, and still had a lot further to go, so we made our way along more dirt roads through the forests till we ended up at Numeralla. At this point, a couple of the Series 2s were getting low on fuel, but after sharing some around, it was decided to risk it and push on to Michelago on the back dirt roads. On a side note, it seemed there was a neat little camping area on the Big Badja River heading out from Numeralla on Peak Hill Rd. Free camp according to WIKI camps.
Peak Hill Rd continues as dirt past farmland all the way back to Michelago. At this point some of us stopped in again at the Michelago General Store, and others, particularly the Series 2s, drove straight to the servo, relieved to have made it back to plentiful fuel supplies.
At this point we said our goodbyes and departed to make our own leisurely way back home. We sure fit in a fair bit in one day, having travelled a few hundred kms, and passing through some interesting landscapes and towns.
Participants:
- Peter and Rachael Gurney – Series IIA SWB
- John and Ingrid Foster – Series IIA SWB
- Peter Colvin – Nissan Patrol G60
- Adam, Natalie & kids Stefanski – Series III LWB
- David and Margo Wade – Defender 110
- Ross Pettersson – Prado
- Mary Bergstrom – Pajero
- Ron and Jo Clayton – V8 Landcruiser
Author: Adam Stefanski
Acknowledgements: Thanks Pete. It was another great and memorable drive.
