 In mid-March 23, we headed up to the small town of Gloucester, north of Sydney, and inland from Forster-Tuncurry. We were on a mission to have our Troopy kitted out by Drifta (more on that shortly). This was our very first trip to this spectacular area - so we made sure we visited at least one of the standout areas in the nearby hinterland: Copeland Tops. Just back from our Tasmania trip, we were on a deadline to get the Troopy up to a company called Drifta Camping and 4WD in Gloucester for its internal fit out (keep an eye out for our full review of their work, if that's of interest). Given that the vehicle was going to be in the dock for the whole week, we took a second car so we could get about and see some of the area. This turned out to be a very good decision - even though fuel prices are high, hiring a car locally was going to be even higher! Yikes!  The Troopy on its way up to Gloucester - still pretty much a blank slate at this point, except for the AluCab rooftop conversion and the awning, and the new rear bar by the Cruiser Company. SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS - REVISITED
The birdlife didn't disappoint - there was an encouraging array of small bush birds, rosellas, a kookaburra, the odd raptor and waterbirds. One rosella was particularly keen to demonstrate its acrobatic skills, much to our delight.  We stayed at the Mittagong Caravan Park - the cabin was good but it was much closer to the highway than we realised, and very noisy. Still, it did attract some excellent king parrots, and we're always happy to see them!  AROUND AND NORTH, PAST SYDNEYWe moved on - the next day tackling, with a little trepidation, the ring road around Sydney. We'd not driven this route before. Turns out it was super easy, though you should make sure you have fuel and whatever else you need for a few hours, as, although its a very clear and straightforward run, there are very few places to stop between Pheasants Nest (just a pretty ordinary servo before Sydney) and Kuring-Gai Chase National Park in the north. We were quite agog with this drive and the lakes area that followed, and we made mental notes as to how soon we could return for a proper look around (it's on the list - it's just a very long list for the moment!). We were particularly impressed with the tunnel (about 10km long?) that is effectively to 'turn off' north to Newcastle. AND ON TO GLOUCESTER
Even worse is the fact that this is a significant road - called Bucketts Way - is a 150 km tourist route linking Gloucester to Taree in the north and Raymond Terrace, in the South. It's named after the Bucketts Mountains, the highly visible mountains behind the town of Gloucester. It really is a magnificent backdrop. After a long and unnerving drive, we were glad to pull into our humble yet adequate digs, and amble down to the pub for dinner. We chose the Roundabout Inn, and it was terrific. It was a hot night, and the beer was cold and families were out enjoying themselves...this is why we love visiting country towns! And the fish and chips at the pub!  Gloucester really is a lovely little town, and we were impressed with the variety of shops and cafes on the main drag. There was even a book barn brimming with new and used books just opposite our digs - this was heaven for us, and we had a good trawl in that trove.  We decided to spend our free day - the next day - visiting the nearby National Park. Given that we had had a heavy week of driving, we opted for the closer destination of Copeland Tops. It turned out to be a good decision. Gloucester certainly is on the doorstep of impressive natural beauty. And there's more: after our day out at Copeland, we duly delivered the Troopy to its temporary home at Drifta, and we headed to the coast to explore so much around Forster-Tuncurry, the lakes, and Booti Booti National Park. Stay tuned..
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