AstinaGT Forums - Australia Day Cruise

As I've said in the main Australia-wide thread I'm for doing this from Canberra over the Saturday and the Sunday.

Two reasons for this;

1: It'll be double demerits so doing a lot of kms in one day means there's more chance of pushing the limits to "get there" or "get home" on time. Traffic also plays a part.

2: It means we'll be awake and "fresh" on the Sunday for the cruise/meet portion - no 5am start which is a good thing.

The Plan:
This is very early stage planning but I'm trying to throw the ideas up so we can get on-board and get the interest up. Better off getting planning done now before Christmas and new years complicates working stuff out.

Departing Canberrra:
The Kamberra Winery Car-Park at the Exhibition Park end is a good large area for us to hang out as a meet point. The nearby Shell and Ampol service stations mean that fuel can be topped up and cold drinks bought before we leave.

The Route:
As straight and as quick up the highway as we can. With Goulburn, Marulan, Pheasants Nest et al as possible comfort/break stops stops I propose we use the M7 Toll road to completely avoid as much of Sydney as possible. It would be easy enough for people to stop-off in Sydney overnight if they prefer and join Syndey folk heading for Newcastle in the morning.

I'd probably suggest a stop again for comfort/fuel at the Caltex twin servos at Wyong. This should be easily within our fuel range and by then it'll be a good chance to well and truely get out of the car before a short hop to our final destination.

Newcastle:
I think we should all suss out our own desired types/costs of Accomodation in the Newcastle area and share them here, but when we get to Newcastle I think it'd be good to get some photos of the wearly travellers on the foreshore area and generally chill out after the drive. Perhaps Newcastle locals will meet up with us?

I'd like to see us relaxing by 4-5pm, which means we'll need to cover the ~450km Basic Route over a 5-6 hours journey. So I propose a departure from Canberra at 10am.

That's all for now; just ideas but would like to hear thoughts and suggestions.

The return trip would be much the same, a steady run straight through to home stopping for dinner along the way. I'd be trying to find us a place to eat that's not Maccas etc probably off-highway (pub/bistro type of place)...

A.