Day Trip To Grabben Gullen – Crookwell – Wheeo – Grabine

We visited the pub at Grabben Gullen. Had lunch at the Criterion Hotel in Crookwell and then on to Grabine Recreation area via Wheeo and Frogmore. Home by the back roads through Boorowa. We travelled from our home in Cootamundra and it was a decent enough distance for a day trip. All up we did about 500km and almost a few hundred of those were on dirt roads of varying quality. It was a good fun day.

Grave Of John Gilbert

We love our bushranger history and one is buried less than an hour from home. For some reason we had never called in to see the grave but today we finally did.

Johnny Gilbert was a member of the Australian Bushranger Gang which was led by Ben Hall. In various parts of New South Wales Ben Hall’s Bushranger Gang committed a number of robberies and hold-ups. They robbed and roamed as far north as Forbes down to Gundagai and Binalong in New South Wales. Their most famous robbery was the robbery of the Mail Coach at Eugowra in Western New South Wales in 1862.

Born in Hamilton, Ontario Canada in 1842 Johnny travelled to the Victorian Gold Fields with his family in 1852. Frank Gardiner the legendary Australian bushranger heavily influenced Johnny Gilbert when he was 18.

You can visit the grave site of bushranger Johnny Gilbert on the outskirts of Binalong, NSW. At the foot of the hill along Burley Griffin Way. There is a place to stop and park. You can walk from there to the grave.

Bushranger Grave Johnny Gilbert Near Binalong

Grabben Gullen Pub

We called in to the pub at Albion Hotel at Grabben Gullen aka “The Grabby Pub” for a quick beer. It’s quite a nice country pub with a bistro. It was a bit early for lunch so we didn’t get to try anything out.

Criterion Hotel Crookwell For Lunch

We called in to the Criterion Hotel in Crookwell for lunch. The meals were excellent. Amanda had a seafood basket and it was quite large and well cooked. I had my usual hamburger and chips and the burger was pretty good. Not in my top ten pub burgers but still really good. It was quite large and the burger pattie was thick and tasty. We will certainly call in there again.

Lunch At The Criterion Hotel Crookwell NSW

Cemetery At Wheeo NSW

We were travelling through Wheeo when we saw a small cemetery and church so we pulled in and went for a walk. It’s quite a small cemetery and it didn’t take us long to read all of the headstones and pay our respects.

Wheeo Cemetary

On To Grabine

We then headed on to Lake Grabine Recreation Park to scope out future camping areas. It was a very nice drive out there along some hilly, winding dirt roads.

Our Route

Grabben Gullen Crookwell Wheeo Grabine