Albion Park and the pass
Down off the Highlands
Macquarie Pass brings the Illawarra Highway down from Robertson in about 8 km of hairpins and steep grades, and it's rated unsuitable for large and articulated vehicles. A long run of tight bends downhill heats a car's brakes and their fluid. Pick a lower gear for the descent, which NSW's towing advice recommends to take strain off the brakes.
When the pass is shut
Heavy rain can close Macquarie Pass. Cars then detour by Jamberoo Mountain Road, and trucks go the long way round by Mount Ousley Road and Picton Road. If you rely on the pass to get to work, keep the wipers and tyre tread in good order for the wet weeks.
Highway, then motorway
The highway joins the Princes Highway just north of town and ends at the Princes Motorway interchange at Terry Street, which only takes you on going north and off coming south. The motorway's Albion Park Rail bypass, 9.8 km long, was finished in October 2021.
Farms on three sides
Calderwood lies to the north, Tullimbar to the west, and farmland wraps around the town. If the car spends time on farm tracks or gravel, RACV puts dusty and unsealed roads on its list of reasons to service more often than once a year.
Pink slips and mobile mechanics in Albion Park
A pink slip has to come from an AIS station, or from a mobile AIS provider who comes to you. Each station's sign out the front shows which inspections it's authorised for, so look for it before you pull in with a car that needs a blue slip.
For a battery, a routine service or a car that won't start, a mobile mechanic can often do the job at the house. Say in the note if the car is on a rural block, and where there's a flat, firm spot to work.
Our take
Before a trip up Macquarie Pass with a full load, we'd have the brakes, the brake fluid and the tyres checked. Coming back down, we'd drop a gear early and let the engine do some of the slowing, rather than riding the pedal all the way to the valley floor.