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jalalski Profile
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Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: SUTHERLAND, SYDNEY
TOTAL POSTS: 29100
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Off Topic-My Trip to Jenolan Caves


Thought I'd mention to you my trip of yesterday to Jenolan Caves/Blue Mountains emoticon

1st we (me and my brother in law and our families) started at the M4 motorway at 8am (thinking we should be there early so we can see as many caves as possible)

2nd, we had a smooth run going there, except I hated the constant change of the speed limit, it seems we've been through every speed limit in the book (except the 40km/h as there were no schools) I just could not use my cruise control at all.

3rd, the road to Jenolan Caves is a complete one lane disaster that is waiting to happen, with a road so narrow, you can barely fit a car and a bike, yet it is a two-way road emoticon

4th, Finally made it to the caves and saw a couple of them (it was nice).

5th, Decided to head back and it was about 3:45pm (note, it took us nearly 3 hours to get there from Sydney with 2 stops..kids you know) emoticon

Anyway, as soon as we finished that disaster of a road climb-up, we got stuck in traffic and it took us the whole SEVEN hours to get to Sydney 8(

The strange thing was that there was no accident on the way or anything like that, as soon as we hit the M4 again, the cars just disappeared, as if there was nothing emoticon

By the time we got home it was nearly 11:00pm and I was totally written off and so were my kids (including the poor 13 month old, who had to be strapped to his child seat for the whole trip, instead of having a nice sleep at home).

I'm recovering today and decided that I will never be going to that area again in my life and when my kids grow-up, I will strongly advice them against going there.

What a disaster of trip this was!


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28/Mar/2005, 2:58 pm Link to this post Send Private Message MSN Blog
 
basshead Profile
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Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: Panania, Sydney
TOTAL POSTS: 2852
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Re: Off Topic-My Trip to Jenolan Caves


Bummer about the trip home!!! It's a shame that I didn't know beforehand that you were heading west - I would've advised against going home in the afternoon, and recommended you stay overnight somewhere...

Clare & I have been caught in that "long weekend" traffic - apparently it's getting worse and worse - to the point where it's getting as bad on "normal" weekends as it used to be on long weekends (according to our friends that live in the mountains).

Clare & I left Oberon this morning about 9:30am and were home by about lunch-time - the longest/slowest part of our trip was being stuck behind a semi-trailer all the way through Hampton, to the speed camera back on the highway - a few clowns overtook him dangerously, but Clare & I were happy to sit behind him and enjoy the countryside...

I agree with you about the annoyingly inconsitent speed limits up there - 80-60-80-60-80 - it drives me crazy, too!


We know all too well about the slow traffic home, and for the last few times I've wanted to try the "long" way home through Mittagong I think - south, instead of west - it may be longer distance but it might be worth it if it's quicker! Our record (longest) for getting home I think was 5 hours - your 7 hours puts our effort to shame! There are a couple of short-cuts you can take, but they can be tricky for the first time...


Clare & I went and did the Six Foot Track (which starts @ Jenolan Caves Rd) with two other vehicles, for the first time in our X-Trail. We've done it before as passengers, and there is a quite rocky section near the Jenolan Caves Rd end that we struggled to get through - bottomed-out once, but no damage done that I could tell. Lots of creek crossings - again some tricky (steep & rocky) ones, but we managed quite well. Unfortunately I didn't get as much photos or footage as I'd liked, and it might be a while before I get a copy of some footage as it's on a friend's camera...

We also did a trip to Lost City - were going to go all the way to Newnes or the Glow Worm Tunnel but it took us longer than expected just to get to Lost City. Followed the trek notes in the "4WD TReks close to Sydney" book and managed it well. Saw some more serious 4WDs during the trip that were having fun making big splashes in big puddles. One of them told us ours wasn't dirty enough - about half an hour later he spotted me testing the depth of a biiiig puddle - I decided against his recommendation to "give it a go" as it was close to half a metre deep near the middle - and I couldn't reach any further to see if it was shallower on the other side (dense shrubs on the far side prevented me walking around the puddle). We still had a good day, and I still got to play in puddles before we headed home - I would've liked Clare to have got on camera (just after I picked her up to head home) the time that the back wheels slipped into a rut and spun us around 90 degrees emoticon

There's always another time!


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Rich. X-013(c)
'04 S2 ST Auto. Nudge_roofracks_tow_tints_Lightforce_GME_YokoGeoA/T-S_TBS_bashplate_50mm-spacer-lift
Click here to see >300MB of photos and videos All For His Glory.
28/Mar/2005, 7:10 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message MSN Yahoo Blog
 
jalalski Profile
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Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: SUTHERLAND, SYDNEY
TOTAL POSTS: 29100
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Re: Off Topic-My Trip to Jenolan Caves


Thanks Rich, we were very close to just pulling over to the nearest motel and staying overnight, but thankfully we had our radios to pass time while being stuck in traffic, so that kept us going a bit.

I wasn't sure if you were going to Oberon or not, but when I passed the sign on my way to the Caves, the name sure did sound familiar, as you have mentioned that you were going there on Friday (I think).

I thought about giving you a buzz, but there was no reception and I thought, I wont be able to catch-up with you anyway, because we were only staying their for a short while, plus my brother's car is a station wagon, so he can't get too adventurous.

Looks like you guys had fun.

Another time? Hmmm, someone would have to be really convincing for me to head that way again, without staying overnight emoticon

A lesson well learnt on my part emoticon


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28/Mar/2005, 7:54 pm Link to this post Send Private Message MSN Blog
 
basshead Profile
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Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: Panania, Sydney
TOTAL POSTS: 2852
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Re: Off Topic-My Trip to Jenolan Caves


My photos and video clips of our weekend are here:

http://ww2.datazap.net/ftp/basshead/xtrail/2005-03-27_Lost-City/

http://ww2.datazap.net/ftp/basshead/xtrail/2005-03-26_SixFoot-Track/

thumbnails for the 6 foot track are: http://ww2.datazap.net/ftp/basshead/xtrail/2005-03-26_SixFoot-Track/tn/ (sorry no index page yet)

edit: hosting site changed their settings so that directory listing isn't displayed if no index.html is present emoticon Now I'll have to make up an index... Grrrr!


Last edited by basshead, 14/Aug/2008, 11:15 pm


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Rich. X-013(c)
'04 S2 ST Auto. Nudge_roofracks_tow_tints_Lightforce_GME_YokoGeoA/T-S_TBS_bashplate_50mm-spacer-lift
Click here to see >300MB of photos and videos All For His Glory.
28/Mar/2005, 9:22 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message MSN Yahoo Blog
 
mattSTX Profile
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Date Registered: 02-2005
Location: Newcastle
TOTAL POSTS: 49
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Re: Off Topic-My Trip to The Watagans


Hi Guys,

I recently went on an adventure to the Watagan Mountains. Very nice weather, and very easy driving....except for the time I had to be rescued by a Ranger out of a big puddle! Lesson learned...check depth before entering of both water and tyre tracks!

Included are some photos...

Image

Muirs Lookout over Lake Macquarie/Tuggerah Lakes


Image

Muirs Lookout again


Image

My Exy at Muirs Lookout


Image

The Pines Picnic Area


Image

The puddle I got stuck halfway in!

Matt emoticon

Last edited by NPC73, 9/Aug/2005, 10:03 pm


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Matt X-091
PREVIOUS: 2005 ST-X 5speed Manual
NOW: 2010 TL DCi 6 speed Manual
30/Mar/2005, 9:44 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message
 
basshead Profile
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Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: Panania, Sydney
TOTAL POSTS: 2852
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Re: Off Topic-My Trip to Jenolan Caves


Matt - photos don't seem to be working for me?!


---
Rich. X-013(c)
'04 S2 ST Auto. Nudge_roofracks_tow_tints_Lightforce_GME_YokoGeoA/T-S_TBS_bashplate_50mm-spacer-lift
Click here to see >300MB of photos and videos All For His Glory.
31/Mar/2005, 4:35 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message MSN Yahoo Blog
 
petersxtrail Profile
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Date Registered: 02-2004
TOTAL POSTS: 339
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Re: Off Topic-My Trip to Jenolan Caves


Nah its not his pics that are the problem. My site (read server) is down, been out about 4 hours - dont know why - still waiting for response from them 8(
31/Mar/2005, 7:06 pm Link to this post  
 
jalalski Profile
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Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: SUTHERLAND, SYDNEY
TOTAL POSTS: 29100
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Re: Off Topic-My Trip to Jenolan Caves


quote:

petersxtrail wrote:

Nah its not his pics that are the problem. My site (read server) is down, been out about 4 hours - dont know why - still waiting for response from them 8(



It's back in action now, but it's been doing this all day today. I had the same problem in the morning and thought it was something wrong with my server at work.



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31/Mar/2005, 8:21 pm Link to this post Send Private Message MSN Blog
 
DOMBenedict Profile
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Date Registered: 03-2005
TOTAL POSTS: 62
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Re: Off Topic-My Trip to Jenolan Caves


"It took SEVEN HOURS to get back"

There's some serious fun dirt roads heading south of Jenolan Caves to Wombeyan Caves and Mittagong. Wouldn't have taken Seven Hours that way, and you'd have probably got through before dark - unless exercising your driving lights would add to the fun.

It's not for the feint-hearted though - there's some narrow bits that make the road to Jenolan Caves look as wide as the Amazon, and some additional hazards like threats of falling rocks. And you'd be silly to tackle it without a good map or Navman.

A more sedate alternative is to backtrack to Lithgow and try the Bells Line of Road. Usually nowhere near as bad as the Great Western Highway - but can get slow around North Richmond.

Just so I don't seem too smart, I got caught on Sunday night thinking that the Highway would be okay - I'd just come up from Wombeyan Caves and Jenolan. The Highway stopped moving just a little east of Mt Victoria around 5:00 pm, and didn't start moving until east of Faulconbridge. It took a couple of hours to get through, but might have taken a lot more if I hadn't "queue-jumped" a bit by using some backstreets around Katoomba, Wentworth Falls to Lawson etc.,.

I totally agree with your comments re the speed limit signs. The dopes responsible for this practice have clearly thought there is no limit to how many signs per km can be read by a motorist without making him as dangerous as someone trying to read a book or roadmap at the wheel.
31/Mar/2005, 8:41 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message
 
jalalski Profile
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Date Registered: 02-2004
Location: SUTHERLAND, SYDNEY
TOTAL POSTS: 29100
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Re: Off Topic-My Trip to Jenolan Caves


Hi DOMBenedict,

Yep, 7 hours it was emoticon I'll never forget this trip.

The last thing on my mind was to explore any dirt roads up there with the whole family in the car (including the mother in law) and my brother in law following in his '95 Camry station wagon with his family.

Somehow I don't think they would have appreciated this little adventurous detour emoticon

I was so tired that I didn't even think to take the side streets and go another way/queue-jump.

Welcome to the forums.

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31/Mar/2005, 9:12 pm Link to this post Send Private Message MSN Blog
 


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