Day 10: 2010 Kimberley Karavan Test Trek
Warrumbungles NP – Tabulam
A big day of driving today. We left our peaceful campsite in Warrumbungles NP – I would recommend staying here for anyone interested in a bush camping experience in the Warrumbungles NP. It was ‘Camp Gunneemooroo’ – if you head north on the Coonamble-Toorawenah Road there is a turn off on the eastern side of the road.It is well signposted and it takes about 7km in from the turn off. This gets you into the South-Western corner of the NP (Check it out on the DECCW website. It was a rough drive in and out as the road in the NP section is poorly maintained.
We travelled north again on Coonamble-Toorawenah Road then headed east through Warrumbungles NP. The drive through is pretty spectacular with some amazing mountains and scenery. Would have like to spend more time exploring but we had to keep on moving because we had so far to go. I will return with my family when the children are old enough to enjoy a long bush walk and see the space observatories.
By the time we reached the scenic town of Coonabarabran, both Chris and Bart were itching for their daily coffee fix. We found a great bakery for on-the-road eating and jumped back in the wagons for the drive to Tamworth via Gunnedah. We stopped in Tamworth for the obligatory ‘photo with the Big Golden Guitar’ then headed off for Armidale. Tamworth was much bigger than I expected and I didn’t expect the scenic mountain backdrop – definitely somewhere I would like to return to.
We stopped in Armidale to meet Phil from Energetique . This is a highly innovative Australian company that builds electric vehicles and battery systems. It was interesting to have a look at the equipment – especially the batteries. They use Lithium-Polymer batteries that have some great benefits – light weight, fully dischargeable and they last ten years! Imagine these in a Kamper trailer or Karavan! Wow.
As the sun was getting lower in the sky we pressed on to Glen Innes for an early dinner at a very modern café called ‘the tasting room’. Food and service were good – I would recommend a visit. This was our second choice – Bart insisted we eat at a ‘Cornish’ inspired Café that he’d eaten at many years ago. But, alas, it seems to have disappeared… If you know of it’s existence or demise etc. please email me so I can put Bart’s mind at rest about it!
With darkness almost upon us, it was off to our final destination to make camp for the night. Bart owns part of a farm on the banks of the Clarence River at Pretty Gully (north of Tabulam, NSW). We arrived well after dark and I had the most ‘challenging’ 4WD experience of my life so far! Access to the farm is down a really steep, twisting, rugged clay and grass track. This track is tricky enough during the day, but coming down it at night is a totally different experience! It didn’t help that the grass on the track was overgrown – it was taller than the Prado in most places!
But down we went without incident. The most amazing part was watching Bart navigate the track with a Kamper in tow. It really showed me why electronic disc brakes are so handy. He could drive down this super steep track without the Kamper trying to push him off. If the brakes were biting too much he simply backed them off – if they bite and the tyres skid you have a lot less control over the trailer. As needed, Bart could apply the brakes to the trailer separately without using the vehicle brake pedal.
It was also good to watch how the trailer handled all the ups/downs of water bars and tight turns. Bart’s Kamper is fitted with a drawbar extension which helps improve this maneuverability. Bart could turn quite sharply without the Kamper hitting his vehicle and not once did I see him get hung up on rocks or the water bars. Check out the footage on the Kimberley Kampers YouTube channel.
We set up camp for the night in his farm shed and eagerly awaited dawn to see if the rugged journey in would be worth it….
Making good time before sundown on the way to Tenterfield
Day 10 The big guitar
Glen Innes for Dinner