Best road to take

AusGabby · Member

Best road to take

Long Weekend · Guru

Having travelled both ways several times I would lean towards Cooma then down Brown Mountain.

The actual descent down the Clyde Mountain to Batemans Bay is 4kms long but then you have another ten or so kilometres of winding and hilly road before crossing the Clyde River. Then south of Narooma to Bega is not the best either - lots of speed restricted bends.

Brown Mountain is almost exactly 10kms down but when you reach the bottom the road is almost level. There is a nice coffee shop in Bemboka called the Drovers Rest to have a coffee to settle your nerves down. From Bega south to Eden the road is excellent with plenty of overtaking lanes.

Brown Mountain can be a bit daunting as it is steep and quite narrow with many very tight bends. But semi trailers use it so caravans can also manage it. By the way, the start/finish of the Brown Mountain is marked by uncoupling/coupling bays - used by B doubles to park the second trailer while they take the first down then come back up/or go down for it.

One suggestion, read the odometer as you commence the descent then count off the kilometres - otherwise it seems to take forever!

Murray

-- Edited by Long Weekend on Sunday 1st of November 2015 10:26:09 AM

Long Weekend · Guru

By the way, which caravan park in Eden are you staying at?

We stayed in a cabin at the Fountain Gate (I think that was the name) once and twice at Aslings Beach - first time on a powered site and the second on an en suite. Another time we stayed in a motel in town.

A park called Garden of Eden has been featured on TV and looks good but we haven't stayed there.

We liked Aslings Beach as my wife likes the sound of the sea to lull her to sleep at night. In front of Aslings Beach there is a concrete footpath running for some two kilometres. Every 50-metres or so there is a mosaic set into the concrete depicting nautical items like shipwrecks, different types of ship and boats and so on. Makes an interesting walk.

All three parks are some distance from town, meaning that you have to drive for milk and bread etc.

The Fisherman's Club in the town serves excellent food and the dining room has a great view over Eden harbour.

Finally, the Whale Museum is definitely worth a visit - takes about an hour for a good look around.

Murray

wendyv · Guru

My choice would be to go down to Batemans Bay.
Once you get down the range, there are lots of pleasant towns to visit, from Batemans Bay, south. (and north, for that matter).
At the top of the range, put your tow vehicle into a low gear - some recommend the gear you would be using to come UP the gradient - and just let the engine slow you. In our old rig, we'd have had the Landrover in low range 4WD and maybe 3rd gear, of 5.
Came down there not long ago in Coaster, towing the Terios. The bus has an engine brake, and that together with using about 3rd gear, made it easy.

As you go south, recommend you go via Bermagui and Tathra - i.e stick to the coast.

Lots of great places to stay. We love Tathra - caravan park right by the beach is great.

Long Weekend · Guru

Agree with you about Tathra Wendyv. Across the road from the caravan park there is a shopping center with a small supermarket, takeaways, and a couple of other shops. A short walk away is the Bowling Club that serves good meals. A long walk or short drive is the town hotel - the dining room has a great view overlooking the ocean. I didn't get to try the golf club as their restaurant was closed the night we went there.

For Bermagui we stayed at the Zane Grey caravan park - right against the town shopping center. Just as you arrive at the town there are stands of trees on both sides of the road that provide a striking entry. The town has an interesting sea water swimming pool down steep steps. We had a couple of meals at the combined bowling/golf clubs although I thought that they were only average. Perhaps it was just the nights we were there.

My son in law reckons that the Pambula Beach caravan park is the best he has been to, although I haven't yet tried it.

Wendyv gives good advice about using the vehicle gears to go down the mountains. That even applies with automatic transmissions - manually change gears as conditions warrant.

Murray

AusGabby · Member

Thanks Murray and Wendy. We have never been to the south coast so are intending staying somewhere central and then taking day trips to see different areas. I didn't word my query very well but we really don't want to stay at Eden - it was just another route to consider. Drizzly rain here at present which makes me want to delay our trip across the range - so hoping for fine weather tomorrow. We will just take it very steady and use low gears to descend and I'll try very hard not to push my imaginary brake which annoys my husband no end.

Long Weekend · Guru

Hi AusGabby,

We are in Canberra so are sharing your rain at the moment.

A couple more places you may like.

If you go via Batemans Bay there is the Nelligen caravan park just before the Clyde River bridge. The river is tidal and if you have a site on the river bank it is possible to almost throw a fishing line in from the rear of your van. Only a couple of take-a-ways in the town but only some five minutes drive from Batemans Bay for shopping. Walk out the gate across the road to the Steam Packet Hotel for a counter meal or drink. (Because it is not on town water showers are coin in the slot for three minutes! Unless you have an en suite.)

We stayed at the Batehaven caravan park once. (Batehaven adjoins Batemans Bay.) Like Tathra it is right on the beach but you have to drive to do shopping or have a meal out. The RSL Club is recommended, while I found the closer Catalina Club (golf) to be a bit expensive.

Going further south we also stayed at the Moruya River Breeze caravan park. Right on the river, just outside the gate is a motel/hotel that serves quite good meals. A short walk across the bridge and you are in the shopping center. We had a dinner at the bowling club one night - excellent. The whole caravan park has very good, thick lawns and the best amenities block and camp kitchen we have ever seen.

Murray

Long Weekend · Guru

Hi AusGabby,

We are in Canberra so are sharing your rain at the moment.

A couple more places you may like.

If you go via Batemans Bay there is the Nelligen caravan park just before the Clyde River bridge. The river is tidal and if you have a site on the river bank it is possible to almost throw a fishing line in from the rear of your van. Only a couple of take-a-ways in the town but only some five minutes drive from Batemans Bay for shopping. Walk out the gate across the road to the Steam Packet Hotel for a counter meal or drink. (Because it is not on town water showers are coin in the slot for three minutes! Unless you have an en suite.)

We stayed at the Batehaven caravan park once. (Batehaven adjoins Batemans Bay.) Like Tathra it is right on the beach but you have to drive to do shopping or have a meal out. The RSL Club is recommended, while I found the closer Catalina Club (golf) to be a bit expensive.

Going further south we also stayed at the Moruya River Breeze caravan park. Right on the river, just outside the gate is a motel/hotel that serves quite good meals. A short walk across the bridge and you are in the shopping center. We had a dinner at the bowling club one night - excellent. The whole caravan park has very good, thick lawns and the best amenities block and camp kitchen we have ever seen.

Murray

Double post - computer went off line and I thought the first post had disappeared.

-- Edited by Long Weekend on Saturday 31st of October 2015 09:14:15 PM

AusGabby · Member

Thanks Murray. We have actually booked the River Breeze in Moruya. Chose Moruya because we are keen amateur photographers and a member of photography forum I'm in takes amazing photos from this area. I'll just try and emulate his results. It's a Top Tourist Park and we have stayed in them in both St. George and Lightning Ridge and I agree their camp kitchens are amazing - even a pizza oven.

erad · Guru

It seems you have already decided on the Clyde mountain. It is steep, but if you use low gear instead of the brakes, you will be fine. It takes forever to finally get to Batemans Bay. I would suggest if you are returning to Canberra area, to use Brown Mountain. The climb is far easier, the road is straighter and of course you have different scenery. Currently, not as many roadworks either...

Long Weekend · Guru

Hi Erad,

What are the road works going on the Clyde?

We are going to Nelligen at the end of the month so wondering if there are any delays we can expect.

Murray

jules47 · The Happy Helper

Hey AusGabby - when I read the title of you post, I was going to answer with - the road away from home!!!!!!

erad · Guru

Long Weekend wrote:
Hi Erad,

What are the road works going on the Clyde?

We are going to Nelligen at the end of the month so wondering if there are any delays we can expect.

Murray

There are a lot of roadworks all along the road from Braidwood to Batemans. Probably not much in the way of extended delays, just nuisance value. We went down/up 2 weeks back and there was a lot of realignment between Nelingen and Batemans Bay, plus work near the top of the Clyde. Nothing to worry about though.

dING · Senior Member

All roads lead to the same place eventually

Long Weekend · Guru

Thanks erad,

The van will be parked at Nelligen so will only have the wagon for our trips into Batemans Bay for groceries and such.

We last went down the Clyde in July, no roadworks were going on then.

Murray

AusGabby · Member

Well we made it safely down the range and not nearly as scary as I had imagined it to be. During the steepest part we put it in low gear and kept to a slow speed. Luckily, for them, we had no cars behind us during that stretch until the very end where there is a passing lane and we could pull over. We didn't strike any roadworks but then it was a Sunday. Hopefully, the next time we wish to cross the range we won't imagine it to be quite so daunting.

We're not heading back to Canberra so will have to leave the Brown Mountain experience to another time. We are now heading slowly up the coast and will arrive back in Central Queensland some time in December.

Long Weekend · Guru

Hi AusGabby,

When we last went down the Clyde in July just as I reached the start down a bus came up behind. So I pulled over and let it past then swung in behind it. That meant that the bus was holding up traffic not me!

But I suppose we have been down the Clyde around twenty times, about half towing our van but sometimes solo just going down to the coast.

Presume you will pass through Wollongong on the way north. Take the Mt Ousley road - while very steep it is almost straight and six (!) lanes wide until the top.

Murray

-- Edited by Long Weekend on Monday 2nd of November 2015 08:40:44 PM

AusGabby · Member

Thanks Murray. We are heading to Wollongong as my husband has a brother who lives there. Another brother lives in Sydney {shudder} and we are still working out how far in we wish to go there.

Long Weekend · Guru

AusGabby

If staying in Wollongong have your brother in law take you to the ocean drive (not sure of the name). Very spectacular. Against the cliff face you can see where the original road was and the section that fell down. Oddly, there is only parking on the southern end, but the couple of times we went we drove north some distance then turned around and came back to park the car. After parking you can walk the whole length - it is not as long as it appears.

Of course, there is a regular train service from Wollongong to Sydney so you don't have to drive.

Murray

Long Weekend · Guru

AusGabby

If staying in Wollongong have your brother in law take you to the ocean drive (not sure of the name). Very spectacular. Against the cliff face you can see where the original road was and the section that fell down. Oddly, there is only parking on the southern end, but the couple of times we went we drove north some distance then turned around and came back to park the car. After parking you can walk the whole length - it is not as long as it appears.

Of course, there is a regular train service from Wollongong to Sydney so you don't have to drive.

Murray

PeterD · Guru

Long Weekend wrote:
If staying in Wollongong have your brother in law take you to the ocean drive (not sure of the name). Very spectacular. Against the cliff face you can see where the original road was and the section that fell down.

I believe what you are referring to is the Sea Cliff Bridge. You find it on the northern end of the Grand Pacific Drive. The second links gives you a lot of places you may like to visit, Gabby ask your brother in law about them.

-- Edited by PeterD on Tuesday 3rd of November 2015 08:38:35 PM