I hear tell there is a way down to Batemans that avoids the Clyde by going through Araluen?
Is this true, and where can I find directions? Google Maps is being unhelpful as well as possibly probably wrong.
I hear tell there is a way down to Batemans that avoids the Clyde by going through Araluen?
Is this true, and where can I find directions? Google Maps is being unhelpful as well as possibly probably wrong.
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m00nee said :
Crap. forgot the pirates, yes there’s pirates. It’s REALLY BAD so do not ever take that road!
Conan of Cooma said :
I once drove from Cobargo to the back of Nimmitabel. Tiger country.
I think most of you missed the point of the complaints about the Nerriga/Tarago road…which is ‘dont use it because then it will become busier’. Indeed, from Nerriga to Nowra its now a road showing what the Clyde should look like. Smooth and high risk areas have dividing wires between the lanes.
However, between Bungendore and Nerriga there are some slightly hairy spots and a river crossing. If that part of it gets fixed up, plus the Turpentine road, then it will be a good competitor to the clyde.
Pork Hunt said :
You must be talking about driving a Tarago to Nerriga in Uganda.
Tarago to Nerriga (NSW) is a doddle. I rode it a few years ago on a 2-speed bicycle with 17″ wheels. There are sections where I wouldn’t recommend 100 km/h, and the river crossing can get a little damp.
Conan of Cooma said :
I travel to Belowra a few times a year. The road down to the valley is passable by 2WD most of the time, but I don’t think I’d recommend it. At the moment, there is a diversion because some of the road fell away, and the diversion is a very rough forest track. It’s a steep drop so it’s slow going. Once you cross the creek at the bottom of the valley, the road is good all the way to the coast.
Agree with others. Not a shortcut because of the twists and turns, the exposure, it being pretty narrow in spots and having to be prepared for locals with massive wheels on their utes driving like we drive on the highway. I’ve done it a couple of times in my little sedan and loved it, but 60kph was definitely my max speed and I went slower for most of the way and pulled over for everyone else on the road (including two massive truck ones!).
But a very beautiful road if you like that kind of driving and are not in a hurry.
farnarkler said :
No, it’d be several hours before the tow truck gets to you…
grunge_hippy said :
Same, I drove back that way on the Monday of the long weekend, through the rain. The road was completely fine and only unsealed in a couple of places. The worst part was the shortcut south of Nowra on Turpentine Rd, but you can avoid that by going through the town. They resealed this road a couple of years ago, and it’s a really nice drive past Tarago and Lake Bathurst and some awesome rock formations in Bungonia. Worth a try, and not much slower than the Clyde either, in fact it was quicker on Monday night as my friend went the other way and got stuck near Braidwood.
Has anyone heard anything about the back road between Bodalla and Numeralla?
The locals down there have advised that it can halve the trip time from Batemans to the Snowies, running through Belowra.
We took the nerriga/tarago road to nowra over Aust day weekend and it was fine. dirt for about 5 minutes and thats it. That was even after the huge storms.
sooks the lot of ya.
We took the araluen rd coming from moruya once, not knowing what to expect but wanting to avoid a dead standstill in traffic one Easter and that was way scarier than the nerriga/tarago rd. We even stopped for lunch at the pub and STILL beat our friends who stayed in the traffic back to Braidwood. (well arrived at the same time…. if we hadn’t stopped for lunch we would have beat them by a country mile)
So if you are looking for a shortcut, then no. If you are looking to avoid massive traffic jams at peak periods, then yes, take the araluen rd.
Pork Hunt said :
Which way are you going? That’s an awesome road right through to Nowra. Even the 3 km of dirt is perfectly graded (might have even been sealed since last time I went through).
I wouldn’t recommend the Majors Creek to Araluen mountain road unless you have reasonable sized kahoona’s. It’s twisty, narrow , rough , and slippery with very little room for error.
Many, many years ago had a liquid lunch whilst working in Braidwood. Had this brain-snap to drive down to Araluen for a top-up. 4 of us, including a very aged gent from Braidwood. Arrived at Araluen to discover the pub was shut. The road from Braidwood, via Majors Creek to Araluen was dirt, and the way down the mountain to Araluen was interesting, to say the least.
On the return up this track, we, being less than sober, decided to roll rocks off the edge of the road, and listen to them crash through the trees to the bottom of the almost vertical cliffs.
We paired off, and I partnered the aged gent, who immediately jumped down from the road and found several boulders to push down the cliff. Having had our fun, this gent asked to be assisted back up to the road. I obliged, and once more on terra firma, this man tapped his legs, giving out a tinny sound. Both were metal prosthetic devices. He’d lost both in the (second world) war. God only knows where he would have ended up had he lost his balance.
But yes, you can go from Braidwood, via Majors Creek, Araluen and Moruya to arrive at Batemans Bay. I suspect the road is now quite useable.
darkmilk said :
Yes but this side of Nerriga, whether towards Braidwood or Tarago, still ain’t great.
IP
squirell said :
No – careful 2wd is fine. Quickest way to it is through Captains Flat, on towards Braidwood, then towards Majors Creek and down the steep but fabulous Mountain Road, which gives you a view all the way down the Araluen Valley. Better going East than West, as you can’t see the view so well coming up the hill.
IP
squirell said :
No, it’s pretty well maintained, I’ve done it in a family sedan but of course if you get wet weather it will pothole pretty quickly. I’d say it’s a 60k road for the dirt and 80k for the bitumen portion
BB 60km isn’t an hour away in one of these: http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/caterham-7-2009-13648507?base=1216&vertical=Car&cr=3&eapi=2&__N=1216%201246%201252%201247%201282%204294966911&num=15&silo=Stock&sort=default
EvanJames said :
And pirates, don’t forget about the pirates
Yes, the road through Araluen will get you from Braidwood to Batemans (via Moruya) but it really is the ‘scenic route’. A lot of it is a spectacular twisty little dirt road cut into the side of the valley along the river, so it takes a couple of hours. Check with someone like rta or a visitor centre before going as for a while it was impassable after a landslide, and depending on how recently it’s rained or been graded would be slow going in an unsuitable (lowered or crappy) car. It is pretty remote – just a few farms and as mentioned mainly dirtbikes and 4wds, IIRC no phone coverage. Apparently it makes a good mountain bike ride too, definitely not a highway.
Pork Hunt, I’ve heard the Sassafras / Turpentine road is better now and has been sealed most of the way. Agree about the terrible state a few years ago when I was there last, took hours of pothole dodging.
Pork Hunt said :
Yep. Bloody shocking, dreadful, do not on any accounts use it! There be dragons. It’s really horrible.
rosscoact said :
Is it 4WD access only?