So… thanks to the incompetence of the Berejiklian Government in handling the Delta outbreak in NSW, once again our Grand Tour travel plans were thrown into complete disarray. Instead of heading off in September we were, like everyone else, forced to hunker down and go nowhere until vax rates were high enough to open up again.
As ‘Freedom Day’ arrived we decided to take wait a few weeks and then take the plunge and head away for four nights to somewhere quiet to get used to the van again and see something else instead of our home. We decided on Grenfell, being only three and a half hours drive and nicely out of the way…
The drive out was fairly straight forward although we kept getting an annoying ‘Low’ warning from our van’s braking system that was more than likely a poor/wet connection in the cable. The Grenfell Caravan Park is a cosy little park with 22 van spaces and 3 cabins; nice and grassy with very clean amenities and plenty of room to stretch out with easy access.
After unhitching we ducked back into town for lunch and some groceries to discover that the entire main street is being re-done. Council workers everywhere with barriers and bare dirt road… The town itself was looking a bit post-apocalyptic with not too much life (probably not surprising post lock-down; Thanks again Gladys). Lots of closed shops for a Monday but still seeing signs of life. More about the town in coming days.
We stopped in at the bakery and had a pie, curry for Jo and pepper steak for me. The pies were those beautiful square pies with the golden yellow pastry that’s crisp on the bottom, flaky on top and a rich meaty filling that you only get in country bakeries. A short stop at the local IGA, which was quite large and very comprehensive, then back to the van for a quiet afternoon, wine and dinner.
Our second day in Grenfell started late after a very good and long night’s sleep. The van’s bed is better than our bed at home and it’s hard to get out of in the morning.
Forcing ourselves up, a quick brekkie and we shanks’d it to the other side of town to find a small coffee van that we noticed when we first arrived.
The coffee van guy was a really nice young bloke (named Axel) who fitted out his van himself and had been having a crack for a couple of months… Beautiful coffee and just nice to sit in front and listen to the chat going on. There was a retired air force guy talking to some locals (and the coffee van guy)… and then two Ambo’s turned up for their morning coffee. All the seats were taken so, necessity being the mother of invention, they whipped out the ‘all singing / all dancing’ electric ambulance stretcher/bed and used it as bench seat. Country ingenuity at its best.
After coffee we hoofed it again up the hill past the hospital to look at a sculpture garden, which was well worth the walk. Down an overgrown driveway and into a tree-filled paddock full of rusty, weathered metal sculptures that were welded from old machine parts and bric-a-brac. A lot were on sale and the prices actually seemed quite realistic, from $300 up to $22,000 for the massive eagle and nest…
As we were leaving the sculpture garden a car pulled into the driveway and politely advised us that it was closed despite there being no signs or indication… Only in the country…
We decided that Day 2 was a Pub night. There’s four pubs in Grenfell. We booked in at The Criterion, which was having schnitty night ($12) and we both chose the ‘Mexican’. The cheesy garlic bread was ‘da bomb, the Reschs on tap was cold and the Yellowtail Pinot Grigio was just what Jo wanted.
Now, the concept of the ‘Mexican Schnitty’ is really quite ridiculous to begin with, no matter where you are… It’s just wrong. The Cri’s mexican schnitty is a chicken schnitty topped with salsa, sour cream and avacado. When accompanied by steamed veg and chips’n’gray, it was bloody awesome! About as mexican as a Norwegian bob-sledder… but bloody awesome just the same. So good we were both in bed by 9:00 o’clock after walking home…
Day 3 and hard to get out of bed again… so comfortable. Lay in, avocado on toast, followed by 1½ km walk to the coffee van. Had a good chat with the coffee van guy and dissected his business plan. He knows his job, he remembered what we’d ordered the previous and produced the same result today… Wish him nothing but success!
After another good coffee we hoofed it up the hill to the hospital again and had a good look around the historic O’briens Hill Gold Mine. It’s a really nice area with some goldfields machinery and a couple of the original mine shafts still able to be viewed. The main shaft was very deep and gives a glimpse of how hard life would have been back in the day.
From there we legged it back to the other side of town to look at the silo art. Very impressive and representative of the agricultural sector that is the backbone of Grenfell these days. There’s a nice little viewing area that explains how the mural was done with some partly finished photos as well.
Beside the silos is the historic railway station, which also operates as a museum (but not at this time). Beautiful little building, which also has a free-camping site adjacent as well as the town’s dump point (of interest to anyone with a caravan).
Quick walk back to the van and another lazy afternoon… We decided that tonight was also pub night and tried out The Royal this time. The Royal is a bit earthier than The Criterion. A number of locals were propped up at the bar and there was a lot of “fuk’n this” and “fuk’n that”. At one point the young lady behind the bar asked them to tone the language down (hopefully not on our part)… It was good, however, to hear the ‘real story’ regarding the Alec Baldwin shooting instead of the rubbish being reported by the media…
Jo had salt&pepper squid and I had the sausages with veg, chips & gravy. This was a genuine pub meal with no bells and whistles… Gravy so thick and rich you could set a post in it. Stick to your ribs food at a damn good price. Worth every cent and all washed down with more Resch’s on tap and a Sauv Blanc for Joanne.
Enjoying Grenfell immensely…
Managed to get out bed at at reasonable time today although Sleeping Beauty stayed in for a while longer…
After a quick B&E roll we jumped in the Cruiser and drove out to Ben Hall’s Cave, 30 minutes from Grenfell in the Weddin Ranges. Nice drive along some skinny country road in parts and dirt for the last couple of kilometres.
Ben Hall’s Cave has a campground area and would be accessible in our van. It was well kept and quite pleasant looking but the mozzies there were shockers… You’d being slapping on repellent every 30 minutes, which would get tiresome.
The walk up to Ben Hall’s Cave is a moderate five to ten minute walk along a laid out track that isn’t too taxing. Upon reaching the cave you can see why a variety of bush rangers used it as a hide-out. Easy to defend and a commanding view of the valley below as well as being high and dry in bad weather. The cave is quite large but also very shallow at the back so it would not have been a comfortable spot but certainly dry and defendable.
A short distance from Ben Hall’s Cave is Seaton’s Farm, which is a preserved ‘Depression Era’ farm owned by the… Seaton’s. To say they did it hard is a massive understatement… Everything hand-built or hand-dug including the dam. Seaton scavenged everything he could; from second hand fencing wire to corrugated iron. The house, sheds and chook pen are all made from a patchwork of corrugated iron sheets that he actually hammered flat in order to make each piece just that bit larger.
No electricity and the only concession to technology was the acquisition of a kerosene refrigerator at some point. Every single day must have been a back-breaking slog for these people. Even going into town (to sell eggs, wool, etc.) must have been an epic in itself… I guess we’re stronger than we think if put to the test but pretty sure I’m to soft to live that sort of life.
After Ben Hall’s Cave and Seaton’s Farm it was back into town to enjoy another coffee, and home made lemonade, at the Coffee Van with our Coffee Guy. The lemonade was a real wake-up call just on that really sharp side of sweet with an eye-squinting tang… I tested him with a long black today and he was up to the task. Nice and mellow with just a hint of bitterness.
Coffee Van Guy told us that Grenfell actually has one of, if not the, highest vax rates in NSW (therefore Australia). We found that to be quite surprising but good on ’em… The pubs we’ve been to are quite serious with their COVID rules and checking, which is really quite reassuring. I was expecting a bit of country laxness and that’s not the case so far… I do love going into a country pub though and watching the looks on the locals faces as they size you up on the ‘universal outta town wanker scale’…
We also learnt from Coffee Van Guy (Axel) that his dad used to tour in a backup band with INXS and Cold Chisel after I remarked on the name of his van (Headley Grange) and the music posters he had in it. He’s only 19 and told us that Kirk Pengilly used to babysit him. Amazing the people you meet and their ‘degrees of separation’.
Lunch back at the van and then a quick trip in to see some local art at the Information Center. It was a nice display by two female artists in a variety of mediums: ink, paint, felting and paper. Pictures and sculptural pieces. Nothing grabbed us greatly but it was a good diversion and we had a nice chat with the Information Desk person about the Main Street upgrades and how Grenfell is faring. Not too badly by her account but everyone is sick of the Main Street upgrade.
Decided that tonight is Pub Night again. The Railway does not have a bistro at this time so we’re going to try The Albion tonight; the last of the four pubs in town…
The Albion is under new management and was very quiet when we arrived except for half a dozen codgers propping up the bar. We were given two tickets in the chook raffle after ordering a Resch’s and a Sauv’ Blanc… Missed out on the chook by 1.
Despite being very quiet we stayed for a meal. A beef schnitzel for me and chicken schnitzel for Jo. Despite initially thinking we would have been better off going elsewhere we were pleasantly surprised when the meals arrived. My beef schnitty was brilliant and and Jo thoroughly enjoyed her chicken schnitty commenting that the salad was better than the other pubs… So al-in-all three good honest pub meals in Grenfell plus great coffee at the coffee van.
Our last day rolled around and we had all but decided the night before that we were going to stay an extra day (because we can). We walked over to the Coffee Van for our morning walk and chat with Axel.
Yet another really good coffee and discussion but we said our goodbyes because he has his day off on Saturdays and we wouldn’t be seeing the next day when we left.
Stopped in at the bakery for to grab an afternoon snack for later that day. Neither of us were up for anymore sightseeing so we just went back to van and had a quiet day in.
We ended up spending most of the day rivetted to the TV watching Gladys Berejiklian being slowly dissected at ICAC. What a masterful display of ‘interviewing’ by Scott Robertson as he slowly, methodically and respectfully showed the former NSW premier for the person she is as opposed to the person she wanted the state to believe she was. Better than ‘The Squid Game’…
Overall Verdict
Grenfell, despite appearing to be tired and run down, turned out to be a great spot to get away for our first trip since the delta lockdown. No crowds, good pubs, a number of good things to see and do and mostly good weather.
It’s a town with interesting history and iconic Australian country architecture that’s well worth the visit.
