Tracey's Travel Tips

Tracey Moffatt’s Travel tips to see A Haunting 

Directions: Travel north from Dubbo on the Castlereagh Highway and see A Haunting on the left before the Armatree Road turn off NSW Australia

Dear Seekers,

I suggest you go alone – don’t take anyone and don’t talk to anyone.
Travel late in the dead of night, pull over off the highway and stand alone and gaze at A Haunting.

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Turn off your phone.

The soundtrack to A Haunting will be all around you - night sounds of crickets, screeching birds and rusted tin banging from the nearby shearing shed.

TRAVEL, FLYING
I flew Rex Airlines directly from SYDNEY to DUBBO. It is an easy 45 min flight though the landing descent is bumpy.
I hired a rental car at Dubbo Airport – then drove north one hour and thirty-five minutes and I was at my A Haunting location on the left side off the Castlereagh Highway just before the Armatree Rd turn off. The house is easy to spot and there is a sign ‘Sunnyside’ which is the name of the property.

Please do not venture inside the gate as it is private property – besides there are snakes in the grass – seriously.

THE TOWN OF ARMATREE: is near A Haunting and it is tiny and there is an award-winning Country pub. You can have lunch and dinner there and stay overnight in the accommodation upstairs, no ensuites just a communal
bathroom down the hallway.

I STAYED: In GILGANDRA while I worked on A Haunting. GILGANDRA is twenty-eight minutes south of A Haunting. The AKROPOLIS MOTEL is fine and they have kitchens in the rooms so I was able to make my morning espresso.
I took my own Chef’s knife and a few pots and pans and salad making things because I like my comforts. There is an IGA supermarket and the Next Grind is a quite good café with home-made tiramisu.

Except the AKROPOLIS MOTEL doesn’t have a pool - I suggest if it is summer hot and you are only staying a few nights then stay in any of the other motels that have a pool.
I really liked the GILGANDRA town pool and also the COONAMBLE town pool which is fifty minutes away to the north. There is a good Art Gallery in COONAMBLE called OUTBACK ARTS, do visit, and you might see ceramic artist SOOTY WELSH.
The pubs in GILGANDRA are good for lunch and dinner. I liked the oldie style RAILWAY HOTEL.

DRIVING TO A HAUNTING: I drove six hours from SYDNEY to GILGANDRA and stopped over night at MUDGEE.
MUDGEE has high end accommodation and good restaurants.
On the way home, I stopped over night at KANDOS which is a super cool little town and my artist friends there have gift shops and they run the museum.

WINTER: It is really cold out west take warm warm things, gloves, hats etc - as if you are traveling to Siberia.

INSECTS: At A Haunting you might find a few buzzing – I suggest take a spray repellent.

DUBBO: I stayed at the COUNTRY APARTMENTS – easy. The QUEST is the fancy Hotel. I adored the DAHAB CAFE for middle eastern breakfast. PRESS for lunch. ALCHEMY and ROYAL INDIA RESTOBAR and THE VIETNAMESE HOUSE for
dinner.

THE WARRUMBUNGLES. This mountain range National Park is visible two hours east from A Haunting is almost the only reason to travel to the Central West of NSW. You must discover them at some time in your life. There are sandstone caves there – no need to say anything more.