Our Adventures In A Landcruiser

We gave ourselves a nice easy start to the morning allow the sun to reach the tent and dry off some of the moisture. Then we headed off down the Long Plain Road towards Yarangobilly Caves and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves presented with some bitumen.  It seemed foreign to have such order to the road with signs and lines and colours. Luckily it was only for a few minutes before we turned off again and into the caves.

We decided to incorporate a number of walks in with the viewing of caves.  We walked out to Glory Arch and paid to go in the South Glory Cave, then circled around again and walked out to Castle Cave for the viewt go in, 

The benefit of having the OzTent is the speed of which it sets up and packs down.  This morning made our lives super easy as we had our coffee and breakfast and packed up the tent in only a few minutes.  I drove us back up the steep Gentle Annie Trail back to the main track where D took over and drove us to the next destination.  She has certainly come a long way in her manual driving skills and i was really proud of how well she drove the Broken Cart Track down to Long Plain Road and in to Cooleman Mountain Camping Area and down to the Blue Waterholes.

We passed through several camping areas which started off empty and got busier as we approached the Waterholes.  We parked up and stretched our legs with a walk down to the caves.  We managed 3 of the river crossings on stepping stones, before the 4th one meant us removing our boots and socks and braving the cold water.  We decided to keep warm and turn around, happy with what we had seen.

We decided to go back to the first camp area which was deserted, happy again to be alone and away from other campers.  We saw plenty of trailer and caravans head on past towards the crowds and we held our breath each time hoping to keep the site to ourselves.  A bit later in the afternoon we got some rain, so we quickly rigged up the awning and side panels and managed to cook our dinner and relax in the dry. Again the OzTent worked perfectly and  came together in a couple of minutes with little effort.

Once the rain passed we explored our camp ground and found lots of firewood left in other fire pits, so i gathered it up and had us a fire near our tent.  It was great to add a little warmth, and i was able to use our new Biji Barbi for the first time.  Very impressed with how easy it is to cook on and i am looking forward to many more meals on it.

Definitely feeling colder tonight.

The first day on our High Country trip had us setting off early from Sydney and getting a good run down to Canberra for an early lunch at our favorite cafe in Bradden called Eighty Twenty. Once we, and the car were all refueled we ducked out the back of Canberra and in to the Brindabella NP looking for our campsite for the night at Flea Creek.  It didn’t take long before we had to air down the tyres, lock the front hubs and engage 4 wheel drive. The track seemed steep in places but harmless enough until we started on Gentle Annie Trail which required some low range action as the track got steep, especially the descent in to camp.  The LandCruiser didn’t skip a beat.  A great start to the trip.

We had the campground entirely to ourselves and after spending a couple of minutes establishing camp we went and explored the beautiful creek. It was such a tranquil place to watch and listen to the water running over the rocks. We were also being investigated by a mob of whiptail or pretty-faced Wallabies. They were fairly shy, but gave me enough time to snap a few photo’s.

We had a simple dinner and then settled in for an early night of reading and relaxing.  It gets dark pretty early now, so it was time for our bodies to get in tune with our circadian rhythm and we were asleep by 8pm. The only thing that disturbed us was a fire pit that someone had failed to extinguish decided to come alight again, nothing a shovel of earth couldn’t solve.

So we had a catch up planned with some Troopy owner friends of ours who we met a few years ago in Tassie. The planned destination was to be half way between Sydney and Melbourne; Originally the Brindabella’s NP was our meeting point, but hot temperatures and potential bush fire conditions steered us towards the coast.

We ambled down to Eden from Sydney in a cool 8 hours, stopping a few times along the way for fuel (human and vehicle).  Coming over the Bulli pass we hit really bad fog which meant low visibility and speeds to match it.  Hazards and wipers ticking away in unison.

Being the school holidays we were unable to stay in any of the National Parks, so we opted for a Caravan Park we stayed in a few years back.  The additional expense was worth it as we had 2 huge sites with lots of lush green grass and a fairly open and quiet end of the campground.  A group of guys from Sydney said hello and we chatted to them about their spear fishing adventures and how they had a jumbo catch in the last day or so.

The second day was overcast and rainy, so we set off in our vehicles to explore the north end of Ben Boyd National Park.  D got to drive and practice her 4WD skills on some nice easy tracks.  The ends of the tracks rewarded us with awesome views of the coastline and ocean, as well as some rocky beach time.  It’s amazing how the rocks have formed and the intricate patterns and colours that are created over millions of years.  We even found a couple of washed up puffer fish.  The evening was spent catching up on various trips and adventures whilst dodging the rain.  Thank goodness for our friends 270 degree awning.

The third day was a complete contrast as we were woken with a warm sun and clear skies.  We made an early trek to Merimbula to take part in the Saturday morning Park Run (free 5km timed run).  I set a new PB for myself and D and I finished with smiles and a feeling of being alive.  We just needed to grab a coffee and hit up the ocean to feel refreshed. Lucky for us the campsite was across the road from the beach in Eden.  We packed up our sun shelter and our bocce set and headed on down for a swim and fun in the sun.  The girls kicked ass in the games of bocce and we left having just enough sun and surf.  Our afternoon was spent enjoying a few nice beers from Bent Spoke, telling more great stories and watching the new arrivals setup their tents that seemed like they would rival the Taj Mahal. (cue the Benny Hill music) We did try and reclaim some good Karma by helping a very late arrival who was trying to put up a tent for the first time in the dark.

Sunday was an easy pack up in the sun and we managed a final beach walk and swim before heading off.  We stopped in to meet a friend from the Canning Stock Route adventures at the Longstocking brewery in Pambula, before we got on the road for the drive back home.  We decided to switch things up and instead of retracing our steps along the coast, we headed over the mountains towards Canberra and back in to Sydney from Goulburn and the Southern Highlands.

We booked some days off work and decided to grab a long weekend away before the schools broke up and every campsite on the east coast became full to the brim.  It turns out that the weather had other ideas and a big band of low pressure dominated from Brisbane to Melbourne along the coast.

A quick bit of weather research showed that north west NSW was looking like it would be pardoned from the rain and storms, so off we head on Friday morning.

It wasn’t long before we met the rain as we came over the Blue Mountains and through Lithgow, but we soon left it behind as we drove into Mudgee for a spot of lunch.

After lunch we set off again, next stop Connabarabran, where we could grab some supplies before the last stretch in to Warrumbungles National Park.  We stayed here back in 2015 and we were impressed by how the rebuilding has come along since the big fires of 2013.

This weekend was the second outing for our new Oztent but only our first time using it with the new Dune mattress. All I can say is, why did I suffer all those years on roll mats and airbeds?  It was a very comfortable nights rest.

Saturday we headed further north into the Pilliga in search of some of the treasures it contained.   After dropping in to the visitors center, we walked the Sculptures in the bush trail and it was great to see what the artists had created in conjunction with the local aboriginal people. I really enjoyed this walk.

 We were going to see the salt caves and the big 5 story look out, but the recent dust storms had reduced the visibility in the area.  So we skipped on to the Sandstone Caves and we were treated to some amazing artwork created by mother nature.  The natural forms as the sandstone was created and then eroded blew us away and we soon understood how a very short walk could take hours.

As the weather back towards Sydney was clearing we decided to start heading back in that direction and check out Lake Windamere.   We had passed it numerous times and always meant to visit.  We found a beautiful spot down at the waters edge and felt like we had the place to ourselves.  I had a swim in the lake and then ate dinner as we watched the sun set and cast beautiful light over the water and hills.  We’ll certainly be back to this magical spot.

This weekend we took our new Landcruiser out to the Blue Mountains so we could go for an overnight hike down in the Grose valley.

D hadn’t been on an overnight hike for a really long time, so we selected what we thought was a nice easy one!!

Turns out that carrying our packs made it a lot harder on the descent in to the valley on the first day and the ascent out on the second. Luckily the views, wildlife and the great weather made it worth it. The campgrounds at Acacia flat were great and seeing a freshwater eel and bright orange yabbies were all firsts.

The many waterfalls were stunning and sheer size of the valley below us as we started seemed inspiring. The cliffs that met us near the end were daunting, yet we managed to finish with smiles all round.

CSR 2018 - Day 24 - Home Run

CSR 2018 - Day 23 - Fun 4WD’ing