These communities have been impacted by bushfire, drought and lockdown restrictions. Please check the status of roads and places you plan to visit before setting off.
A driving holiday to support towns in Central NSW and the South Coast reminds NRMA CEO Rohan Lund just what family road trips are all about.
Setting off
After six months living like caged tigers, there isn’t even a hint of complaint from the kids about the prospect of a long drive in the car. Our family has its own ‘car hierarchy’ when we go on extended road trips, with the youngest cast to the back seat and constantly negotiating with their older siblings for the chance to sit closer to the front. This time there isn’t any jostling, as everyone is just ready to go somewhere different – and the further the better.
Our new mission – bakeries!
On the drive through the Blue Mountains we stop in Blackheath to try a local bakery. The Bakehouse on Wentworth has erected temporary fencing to handle the queues of road-trippers all with the same idea. Armed with pies and a selection of pastries, our trip has now taken on a deeper meaning – a pilgrimage of sorts – to find great bakeries and discover what each family member likes best.
From savoury to sweet tooth, plain mince to chunky steak, and cream to custard, who would have imagined that eight people could have such different tastes? With the local bakery as our litmus test for life returning to normal, we discover a family-friendly way to savour each town we visit.
As we drive into Orange, I’m struck by a call from our youngest in the back row that I could never have imagined hearing: “Are we there already?”
All over Orange
Orange offers some terrific walks and rides around Mount Canobolas and the Borenore Caves. Wineries like Heifer Station – with its petting zoo and farm – make it easy for family visits. There’s also Hillside Harvest, which is an orchard of apples, peaches, plums, cherries and more that lets you pick your own fruit. Homewares store, Jumbled, manages to kidnap my wife with its fashion, decor and original art.
The kids are drawn to Coronet Milk Bar, which has the greatest lolly collection I’ve ever seen. But it’s Racine Bakery that leaves the greatest impression on me. My wife wisely suggests we can’t live on pies every day, so we do our best to try their scrolls and lemon tarts as well.
The Lachlan Valley Way
NRMA deputy chair Fiona Simson had recommended we drive the Lachlan Valley Way and that proves to be a trip highlight with its stunning yellow canola fields. The small town of Millthorpe is postcard perfect and will be remembered for its lemon meringue pies at the Old Mill Cafe.
Cowra is buzzing when we arrive and there are crowds of people at its Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre, but it still manages to feel serene and unexpectedly extraordinary. The vision to create something so impressive and at such enormous scale deserves its immense popularity. Wandering around the gardens and contemplating the meaning of life leads us to seek even more enlightenment in the cakes at Cowra Hot Bake.
Getting wild
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve in the ACT is a revelation for all the family, with some of the best wildlife viewing possible and great walks to work off the sins of the previous week. Seeing koalas and a platypus are highlights, but grasslands filled with grazing kangaroos come a close second place as we hike our way around the park.
Driving towards the coast and Jerrawangala National Park brings some of our wildlife sightings into stark contrast. The kids are distressed to see so many dead wombats and wallabies along the side of the road, victims of ruined fences and disrupted habitats following the bushfires. The endless hills of charcoaled trees create a surreal landscape and are a terrible reminder of the flames that tore through the park, though most now burst with rich green foliage and in the promise of something magical returning.
Jervis Bay is spectacular and we find ourselves walking for miles along pure white sands. We’re even fortunate to discover some secluded spots all to ourselves.
Homeward bound
To cap off our culinary quest, we’d promised the kids a visit to the donut van at Berry. On seeing it has a queue a block long, I try in vain to convince the car that no donut could be worth such a wait. But our patience is well rewarded and proof (if ever it was needed) that simple things done well, like warm cinnamon donuts, should never be underestimated.
As we head home, possibly somewhat heavier than when we set out, I’m reminded of a simpler life on road trips. It’s one of cream buns and lamingtons; of wildlife, wild flowers and fire-ravaged valleys; of fascinating people with stories to share; and of captive kids in the car with constant banter, bickering, shared jokes and priceless memories.
