17/04/2025
Credit goes to the original author:
the Easter long weekend 🚗🚛🤬🛻🚓🚑🏍🚒⛽️⏳️
That magical time where the whole country collectively decides to pack every single possession, all 5 kids, the BBQ, the dog, the canoe and Grandma into the 8-seater Land Cruiser nobody actually knows how to drive properly.
DAD :"Let’s leave early and beat the traffic!" Mate, you and 4.2 million other geniuses had the same idea. 50 mins into the trip, you're stuck at Mount Kuring-gai behind a convoy of warriors from BCF, Anaconda and 4wd Supercentre , with every rooftop tent and kayak known to man.
Kids are already at war over the DVD player, singing Let It Go off-key while smashing half-chewed snakes into the carpet. The dog’s drooling, Grandma’s yelling “Why didn’t we just go to the ?” and your sanity is already hanging by a thread.
You’ve travelled a solid 130km in 6.5 hours and finally pull into the Ampol Twin Servos North, where 2,500 other legends have had the same breakdown. You park sideways in the truck bay ‘cause technically, diesel = truck, right?
57 minutes in line at and the kids still have no idea what they want. Doesn’t matter, 11 minutes later the 5-year-old has ice cream in her hair, the 9-year-old’s refusing to wear a seatbelt, and someone’s yelling “YOU’RE A POO POO HEAD!” from the back seat.
You finally roll into Hexham Bridge traffic, the mighty M1 looking more like a slow-motion apocalypse—caravans, boats, 4WDs on fire, and trailers with jetskis held together by bungee cords.
12.8 hours later, you’ve made it a whopping 205 kms and the campsite is full. The spot your mate promised to hold? Long gone. You set up next to a brown snake nest while Karen from across the way screams at Johnny for hitting his sister. You sit by the fire muttering “Serenity now...” and pretending this is the ‘good life’.
A : The Return or do we Wait to after Day on Friday or Sunday 28th
B: Tuesday 22nd, You leave early to beat the traffic. M1 Rookie mistake.
M1 looks like the world’s worst parade. You stop again at Ampol Wyong South, where fuel’s $2.45 a litre, and get Cutoff, by a tradie towing a 3.5 tonne Boat with 1.5 Ton ( GCM 9 Ton ) of Camping gear in the back, behind another lifted Ford Ranger on 33" Tyres 🤔
And just like that, you're crawling back to Sydney with every other suburban battler thinking “next year, we’re staying home and having a BBQ.” with boys & Mates : No More Madness
But hey... there’s a smarter way.
Skip the M1 madness. Take the :
Putty Road to Singleton = Drop into the Grey Gum Cafe to Upper Hunter & Tamworth Region
Or
Via Old Northern Rd, from Dural to Wisemans Ferry
Across Tourist Drive 33, Settlers Arms Inn via Bucketty to Branxton.
Detour left to the Upper Hunter, or right to Port Stephens & Mid North Coast via Maitland - across to Raymond Terrace or Seaham to M1 ? ( Locals ways )
Remember just another Easter Holiday =
Support our local legends in Small :
Wollombi, Laguna, Spencer, St Albans, Wisemans Ferry and more.
Fresh produce from roadside stalls (Bring ya gold coins!)
Cold beers at Settlers Arms, at The Anchor Spencer - Wombat Cafe,
, drop into & see our Convict History at Wisemans Ferry Community back to Hills & West
Avoid the mayhem. Take the scenic route. Support small towns. Make it about the journey – not the chaos.
Happy Easter to our team, supporters, clients and friends🐣
Drive safely and remember:
Double demerits are in force.
