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Van Trip 2007
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Location Date New South Wales 
1346454000 Queensland 1346367600 Victoria 1180825200 Northern Territory 1180479600 South Australia 1179097200 -
Location Date Crows Nest 1346454000 Ourimbah 1341270000 Scone 1341183600 Gunnedah 1183330800 Broken Hill 1177801200 Cobar 1177455600 Dubbo 1177196400 Sandy Hollow
1177110000
Home to Sandy Hollow
Day 1
202 kilometres travelled
Our journey began on 21st April 2007 when we left Ourimbah at 11:00am with a view to travelling up the centre to Darwin. We headed on to the F3 to meet up with our friends, Leo & Maureen O'Meara at the Caltex Service Centre a few kilometres along the freeway.
The plan was that they would accompany us as far as Broken Hill where they would leave us and travel back home via Mildura, and we would continue on to South Australia and head up the centre to Darwin.
After leaving the Service Centre we travelled along the freeway, taking the exit to Cessnock, through the many vineyards to Branxton on the New England Highway, where we stopped for a leisurely lunch at a local coffee shop.
After leaving Branxton we turned on to the Golden Highway just past Singleton and travelled through Jerry's Plains and Denman to Sandy Hollow, our destination for the night.
We always enjoy exploring the little towns we pass through on our travels, and Jerry's Plains is one of many. This rural village situated on fertile green river flats by the Hunter River is full of interesting history. The town's name is believed to relate to Jeremiah Butler, an ex-convict. An article in the Maitland Mercury claimed he died when gangrene set in after his pistol exploded, blowing his thumb off.
The original village was situated a kilometre or two east of today's township, on the banks of
Redmanvale Creek. Charles Harpur, widely considered Australia's first important poet, acted as postmaster in the town for a period in the 1840s, during which time he was writing verse and columns for the Maitland Mercury.
Another interesting town in the area is Denman, which is situated in the Hunter Valley near the Wollemi National Park The main rural industries in the Denman region are wine grape growing, horse breeding and farming. The "Food and Wine Affair" which is held annually on the first Saturday of May is a major tourist attraction.
Our final stop for the day was the Van Park at Sandy Hollow. Where we occupied sites 30 & 31. We voted the park as excellent...very roomy. There was only one other van in the park. The 3 ½ star park is surrounded by vineyards and farmland, It is set in 20 beautiful acres of gardens and natural bush, and features a wide range of accommodation, including air-conditioned cottages, cabins, motel units, powered caravan sites and campsites for motorhomes, or tents. The park is nestled beneath the dramatic hills of Giants Leap, providing a stunning backdrop.
Sandy Hollow is a small country town on the Golden Highway in the heart of the Upper Hunter
Valley, between Denman and Merriwa, 25 minutes from Muswellbrook . It is where bushranger Captain Thunderbolt held up the Denman-Merriwa mail service in the 1860s.
Just west of the town is Ellamara's Collections, which was once a small township but has now been converted into a bush inn. They have helicopter joy rides, tasting and sales of upper Hunter wines, a gallery, a studio, annual art shows, a cottage store, farmstay accommodation, refreshments, barbecue and picnic facilities, a cottage garden, Aboriginal items, antiques, a model plane display, deer, ostriches, cattle, and walks along the nearby creek and through an historic cemetery.
Day 1
202 kilometres travelled
Our journey began on 21st April 2007 when we left Ourimbah at 11:00am with a view to travelling up the centre to Darwin. We headed on to the F3 to meet up with our friends, Leo & Maureen O'Meara at the Caltex Service Centre a few kilometres along the freeway.
The plan was that they would accompany us as far as Broken Hill where they would leave us and travel back home via Mildura, and we would continue on to South Australia and head up the centre to Darwin.
After leaving the Service Centre we travelled along the freeway, taking the exit to Cessnock, through the many vineyards to Branxton on the New England Highway, where we stopped for a leisurely lunch at a local coffee shop.
After leaving Branxton we turned on to the Golden Highway just past Singleton and travelled through Jerry's Plains and Denman to Sandy Hollow, our destination for the night.
We always enjoy exploring the little towns we pass through on our travels, and Jerry's Plains is one of many. This rural village situated on fertile green river flats by the Hunter River is full of interesting history. The town's name is believed to relate to Jeremiah Butler, an ex-convict. An article in the Maitland Mercury claimed he died when gangrene set in after his pistol exploded, blowing his thumb off.
The original village was situated a kilometre or two east of today's township, on the banks of
Redmanvale Creek. Charles Harpur, widely considered Australia's first important poet, acted as postmaster in the town for a period in the 1840s, during which time he was writing verse and columns for the Maitland Mercury.
Another interesting town in the area is Denman, which is situated in the Hunter Valley near the Wollemi National Park The main rural industries in the Denman region are wine grape growing, horse breeding and farming. The "Food and Wine Affair" which is held annually on the first Saturday of May is a major tourist attraction.
Our final stop for the day was the Van Park at Sandy Hollow. Where we occupied sites 30 & 31. We voted the park as excellent...very roomy. There was only one other van in the park. The 3 ½ star park is surrounded by vineyards and farmland, It is set in 20 beautiful acres of gardens and natural bush, and features a wide range of accommodation, including air-conditioned cottages, cabins, motel units, powered caravan sites and campsites for motorhomes, or tents. The park is nestled beneath the dramatic hills of Giants Leap, providing a stunning backdrop.
Sandy Hollow is a small country town on the Golden Highway in the heart of the Upper Hunter
Valley, between Denman and Merriwa, 25 minutes from Muswellbrook . It is where bushranger Captain Thunderbolt held up the Denman-Merriwa mail service in the 1860s.
Just west of the town is Ellamara's Collections, which was once a small township but has now been converted into a bush inn. They have helicopter joy rides, tasting and sales of upper Hunter wines, a gallery, a studio, annual art shows, a cottage store, farmstay accommodation, refreshments, barbecue and picnic facilities, a cottage garden, Aboriginal items, antiques, a model plane display, deer, ostriches, cattle, and walks along the nearby creek and through an historic cemetery.
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