A bit of an update is required for Bylong Public hall. 32 24 58 S 150 6 52 E
Even the newish Camps 8 (407) notes coin operated shower.
This is no longer true exactly.
Payment of $10 is required at the general store opposite, and this entitles you to use of free hot shower & 2 free Electric Barbecues. Maximum 2 night stay.
Plenty of room as it's really a small showground.
There's a dump point, but might be a bit awkward for very long rigs emptying tanks (see pic).
Tank water only, and it looks like no convenient taps- but there's one at the dump point.
The old toilet blocks have been allowed to decay, and are unusable, so the newish amenities block is the only thing available- 3 dunnies and one hot shower in the disabled room.
Only 4 other rigs while I was there, mid-week mid-April, so crowding was not an issue- doubt it gets that many rigs on a regular basis. (
The general store opposite sells fuel, LPG, good selection of wines and beers, as well as the usual groceries. It's a pleasant quiet spot for an overnight break.
For those who don't know the area, Bylong is halfway along the Bylong Valley Way - a major short-cut between Kandos/Rylstone and Denman/Muswellwook cutting through 2(3?) national parks and over the great dividing range going from NSW Central West up into the start of the Hunter Valley and New England. Saves you going miles north and then east , or going down to Sydney and up the coast or Putty Road. And now it's tar road all the way!
I remember travelling this way back in the 1980s when it was all dirt, with terrible corrugations, scary narrow hilly bends, and many dustclouds from the semi-trailers cutting cross country. I thought I'd entered the Lost Valley or something on the first trip through! There was at least one dead animal per mile on the 100km stretch of gravel and 50% of them were wombats. Back then I actually lost a spare tyre from a company ute without even noticing it had disappeared. One section of the road went through a one lane railway tunnel from the old Sandy Hollow line and you needed headlights on to make sure nothing was coming the other way. Long sections with falling rocks too. Much, much better road now and seems like fewer big trucks and a lot fewer dead roadside animals these days, but you can also spot big birds of prey and big feral billygoats too.
It's a very pretty valley mostly with cattle stud and horse properties, with wineries on the north end, and not much in the way of civilisation on the whole road apart from Bylong village. Lots of farmer's signs around protesting Food Bowl Not Coal Hole as the coal companies are trying to buy out the area (probably with Government grants/tax break money from taxpayers!) so no-one is sure what the future will bring, but if it's turned into the sort of open cut mine landscape near Muswellbrook it will be a crying shame.
Pay a visit while you still can.
Now tar all the way, but a fair few bits of rough surface and slow bends, particularly on the southern half, but perfectly do-able if you drive to conditions. NOT recommended for night driving though!
N.B. My Camera has thrown a wobbly- ignore dates on pics all are April 20161
I worked on the construction of a railway line near Bylong around 35 years ago and remember the crook roads, the dust and the heat, and swore I'd never come back! But after reading your report I'd like to go back and check it out again. The road sounds good, as does the area. We'll do a trip out there before summer kicks in, and hopefully before those coal companies dig their claws further into the area.
From where the Bylong Valley Way comes out on the Castlereagh Hwy a bit over 50 kms south is the turnoff to the Newnes campground, about a further 34 kms. This road too used to be a nightmare, but now all but the last few kms has been upgraded and sealed to allow easy (and prestige!) access to a large new Emirates resort in the valley down near Newnes. This has now made it much easier to get a caravan to the Newnes campground, and when we went there for a day trip around a month ago to investigate caravan suitability sure enough there were a few vans already there.
So looks like we'll be doing a Bylong & Newnes trip over the coming few months.
Cheers
-- Edited by gumpybsc on Wednesday 4th of May 2016 12:45:34 PM
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