'On the Road Again' as Willy Nelson would say.
After almost 4-months of Covid-19 lockdown it was time for me to dust off one of my vintage cars. So l decided that my 1931 Model A Ford 2-door Tudor Delux Sedan was to be my choice of vehicle to hit the road again.
After talking to my traveling mate Steve Core last weekend, we decided to plan a road trip during the week to blow the cobwebs away from the Model A Ford that would also include clearing out our own minds.
That is a long time ago & l was starting to suffer withdrawals due to being locked up at home until the Government authorities allowed us to let our hair down to resume some sort of a normal life again. l decided to plan a road trip to the spectacular Southern Highlands of NSW to show Steve the Kangaroo Valley and the lush surrounding areas.
l picked up Steve at his residence in Gymea at 0800 this morning, unfortunately the weather was not on our side. This didn't matter as we both were hot to trot to get out of Sydney for a change of environment. Steve did not know where he was headed today on Ken's Magical Mystical Tour, however l did not let him down.
Once we were all through with the Falls, l then decided to make another sight-seeing adventure to the historic Hampden single-span suspension Bridge, which was only a stone's throw away (20 kms or 12 miles) from where we were.
The fantastic thing about visiting these two scenic attractions is that you can drive there from Sydney in just under 2-hours. (distance from Sydney to the Fitzroy Falls & the Hampden Bridge is approx. 160 kms or 100 miles).
The weather definitely was not improving, on a cold, wet Winter's day a nice HOT pie was looking good. The rain was steady when we arrived into the tiny village of Robertson and made our way to the Pie shop at 1:30pm. By this time l was also a little peckish & ready for some tucker.
Once we filled our tummies with a sensational meat pie & apple pie with cream for dessert, it was now time to head back to Sydney via Macquarie Pass that links the Southern Highland town of Robertson to the coastal town of Albion Park, descending down the Illawarra Escarpment via a very steep, narrow bitumen roadway.
We hand delivered our surprises (fresh apple pie with cream) to our sons once we hit the 'SHIRE'. My son actually shared his treat with his mother & Steve's son devoured his Robertson apple pie on first sight and instantly gave it a big thumbs up.
Cheers
Warbo
After almost 4-months of Covid-19 lockdown it was time for me to dust off one of my vintage cars. So l decided that my 1931 Model A Ford 2-door Tudor Delux Sedan was to be my choice of vehicle to hit the road again.
After talking to my traveling mate Steve Core last weekend, we decided to plan a road trip during the week to blow the cobwebs away from the Model A Ford that would also include clearing out our own minds.
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The best road food stop in the Southern Highlands is the famous Robertson Pie Shop in Robertson Photo: Steve Core |
The last time l had the pleasure to enjoy driving one of my Classic cars was way back on 8th February (almost 4-months ago) when l drove my 1931 Model A Ford 4-door Town Sedan to Blackheath in the Blue Mountains to attend a wedding.
That is a long time ago & l was starting to suffer withdrawals due to being locked up at home until the Government authorities allowed us to let our hair down to resume some sort of a normal life again. l decided to plan a road trip to the spectacular Southern Highlands of NSW to show Steve the Kangaroo Valley and the lush surrounding areas.
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Fitzroy Falls, located in the Morton National Park due to earlier downpours that morning, was running well on our visit Photo: Steve Core |
l picked up Steve at his residence in Gymea at 0800 this morning, unfortunately the weather was not on our side. This didn't matter as we both were hot to trot to get out of Sydney for a change of environment. Steve did not know where he was headed today on Ken's Magical Mystical Tour, however l did not let him down.
Because of all the rain that this area has experienced during the past few days l decided to head to Fitzroy Falls as l knew it would be pumping. We definitely were not disappointed. Upon our arrival at the falls we could hear the water cascading over the 81m (265 ft.) precipice to the Yarrunga Valley below, absolutely exhilarating. Steve was very impressed with his travel guide so far.
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| At the entrance to the Fitzroy Falls Lookout in the Morton National Park Photo: Steve Core |
Once we were all through with the Falls, l then decided to make another sight-seeing adventure to the historic Hampden single-span suspension Bridge, which was only a stone's throw away (20 kms or 12 miles) from where we were.
When we arrived at the heritage listed Hampden Bridge it was great to see the oldest bridge in NSW in person. The bridge was named after Lord Hampden who was the Governor of NSW at the time of 1895.
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Approach to the Hampden suspension Bridge which spans over the Kangaroo River in the Kangaroo Valley Photo: Steve Core |
As you can see by the photographs this bridge brings back themes of knights, castles & colonial England. The bridge was built in Victorian Gothic Style and is complete with battlements on the towers and lead-up abutments, all crafted from locally quarried sandstone.
The fantastic thing about visiting these two scenic attractions is that you can drive there from Sydney in just under 2-hours. (distance from Sydney to the Fitzroy Falls & the Hampden Bridge is approx. 160 kms or 100 miles).
Time was now slipping away, it was already 1:00pm & Steve was ravenous because he did not have any brekko before we departed Gymea earlier in the morning at 8:00am.
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The elevated walkways around the top of Fitzroy Falls, where you're likely to see Wombats, Lyre birds and Platypus Photo: Steve Core |
This was not a problem for the Ken's Magical Tour Guide. Less than (25 kms or 15 miles away) l would satisfy Steve's hunger pains with a stop at the famous Robertson Pie Shop.
The weather definitely was not improving, on a cold, wet Winter's day a nice HOT pie was looking good. The rain was steady when we arrived into the tiny village of Robertson and made our way to the Pie shop at 1:30pm. By this time l was also a little peckish & ready for some tucker.
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Transiting over the majestic Hampden Bridge Photo: Steve Core |
Steve ordered a Chunky Beef meat pie & l ordered a Volcanic Chilli pie with tomato sauce. l mentioned to Steve 'What about dessert?' l suggested that we should order the fresh apple pie with cream, a long-standing favourite of mine. Do your-self a favor, if you are fortunate enough to be in the Robertson area DO NOT & l say again, DO NOT miss this place, you will not be disappointed with any of the items on their menu.
As a matter of fact you would leave home for the chance to get your laughing gear around the fresh apple pie & cream. l also suggested to Steve that l would be ordering an extra apple pie & cream to take home to Cronulla for my son Nathaniel, he thought that was a splendid idea & ordered one for his son, Austin.
Once we filled our tummies with a sensational meat pie & apple pie with cream for dessert, it was now time to head back to Sydney via Macquarie Pass that links the Southern Highland town of Robertson to the coastal town of Albion Park, descending down the Illawarra Escarpment via a very steep, narrow bitumen roadway.
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In steady rain and low cloud on Macquarie Pass, you have to give way to the big trucks hauling their trailers that sometimes require reversing while negotiating their way through the extra sharp switchback corners Photo: Steve Core |
This section of roadway is very steep, & contains many hairpin bends, resulting in buses & trucks needing to reverse on some of the bends. The Pass is quite notorious for accidents due to its nature, & drivers & riders are required to be cautious.
We managed to navigate safely down the Pass into Albion Park. Because both Steve & myself are ex-Trolly Dolly's with Qantas, we could not drive past the HARS Aviation Museum at the Shellharbour Regional Airport in Albion Park to check out the retired Qantas Jumbo B747 Boeing aircraft that is on static display at the Museum. (We both reminisced about the times that we had flown on this particular aircraft many times around the world in another life time for both of us).
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The super fresh Robertson Pie Shop apple pies. Perfect for export back to Sydney as a treat for our sons. Photo: Steve Core |
We hand delivered our surprises (fresh apple pie with cream) to our sons once we hit the 'SHIRE'. My son actually shared his treat with his mother & Steve's son devoured his Robertson apple pie on first sight and instantly gave it a big thumbs up.
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| The route map for our day's driving 320 kms [200 miles] and about 4:40 hours driving time [click to enlarge] |
That my friends is a comprehensive tale about our Magical Mystery Tour today. Hope that you enjoyed our excursion. Stay tuned because l can feel another trip in the pipeline.
Cheers
Warbo
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