Dungog
Dungog is at one of the two northern terminuses of the Hunter Line (and thus the NSW Trainlink Intercity network) in the Hunter region of New South Wales, with a population of a little over 2,000.
The town also serves as a base for exploring the Central section of Barrington Tops National Park.
Understand
- Visit Dungog tourism website
Get in
By train
π Dungog Station is on the northern fringe of NSW TrainLink's Intercity network on the Hunter Line ( HUN ). There are five trains per day departing from Newcastle Interchange via Maitland at roughly around 3- to 4-hour intervals on weekdays and three on weekends. The timetable is here.
Unfortunately, the nature of the Intercity network means that it's designed to prioritise services to Newcastle in the morning and back to Dungog in the afternoon, and serves as commuter rail (except that this is between two cities). This usually means that services tend to be infrequent, unreliable and long, often inconvenient for most travellers.
Being on the main rail line between Sydney and Brisbane, it is also possible to catch infrequent trains to/from places like Casino, Coffs Harbour, Taree and other points in between. There are usually 3 booked NSW TrainLink trains each way on a weekday.
By car
From Raymond Terrace, an exurb of Newcastle, use Seaham Road to Seaham and then head north onto Clarence Town Road until Dungog. From Maitland, use the same road but it is marked as Paterson Rd through Maitland. The drive takes around 40β50 minutes from both Raymond Terrace and Maitland.
Get around
See
- π Dungog Museum, 105 Dowling St, β +61 2 4992 2094. W 10AMβ2:30PM, Sa 10AMβ2PM. The town museum with its primary focus being (unsurprisingly) local history.
Eat
- π The Barn Dungog, 172 Dowling St, β +61 2 4992 2292. FβTu 8AMβ3PM.
- π The Long Room, 122 Dowling St, β +61 2 4992 1787. MβF 7:30AMβ2:30PM, Sa 7:30AMβ12:30PM.
- π Stella Bistro, 205 Dowling St, β +61 2 4992 3272, bonjour@stellabistro.com.au. Daily noonβ3PM, F Sa 6β9:30PM (in addition to lunch).
- π Dungog Pizza, 254-260 Dowling St, β +61 2 4992 2205. TuβSu 10:30AMβ8:30PM.
Sleep
- π Royal Hotel Dungog, 80 Dowling St, β +61 418 443 398, frontoffice@dungogroyalhotel.com.au. The town's main hotel with a restaurant and bar.
- π Tall Timbers Motel, 167 Dowling St, β +61 2 4992 1547, stay@talltimbersmotel.com.au. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. 250 metres from the train station and very close to the shops and cafes.