Dubbo region - Ponto Falls and Goulburn River NP

When a baby Hippo was born at Dubbo Zoo we decided to head out for a look.  As we were travelling with friends who were not campers we hotel-ed it in Dubbo town.  After a couple of days wandering the Zoo our friends headed back home and we decided to have a couple of nights on the way back in the tent.

Our first night was at a place called Ponto Falls.  Not far from the town of Wellington, the road in is sealed except for the last couple of k's - but that is good quality dirt.  Once we got there we noticed that a fair number of people had camped there in 2WD sedans...  It is pet friendly and free, with a loo but no showers, water or firewood is provided.

We set up, had a bit of a fish, did a camp oven dinner and really enjoyed the place.

The next morning we set off for Goulburn River NP.

Not a long drive really, and the road in says 4WD.  In the dry it is a pretty good track.  In the wet it would be diabolical.

We set ourselves up at the Spring Gully Campground.

As the loo's were a bit of a walk we decided to set up the portaloo for the overnighter!

Walking down to river from the campsite was a great way to spend the afternoon.  There are some good swimming holes near by and you can launch a kayak upstream...

Bit of a tease with the view - worth the trip in I'd say...

Next morning we needed to get moving toward home.  Breakfast was called for to sustain us for the drive out so we put the BBQ/fire ring to good use!

Outback trip 2 - Day 1 - Yanga National Park

After weeks of planning and even a couple of changed plans we finally had a plan - drive to Lake Eyre and have a look at it with water in it.  The intention was to travel in winter - which can be pretty bitter at home.  The hope was for mild days and not to cold nights.  So we got out the maps, got together with some friends and the plan was hatched.  A couple of days of hard running on the blacktopo to get us to Leigh Creek and then the outback adventure would begin.

What I didn't know was that we were about to see some amazing parts of the country and experince things that you rarely get to see and do.

Day 1 we set of early and travelled along the Hume, Sturt and Mallee Highways until we reached the vicinity of Balranald.  The first stop was to be Yanga National Park - and a free camp at a campsite within the Park, quite near the historical Wilga Woolshed.  Yanga gives you the opportunity to camp fairly close to where the Burke and Wills expidition camped.  And Balranald - just down the road was a fairly important part of their expedition.  An auction was held at Balranald and a fair bit of the gear that had been hauled from Melbourne was sold off.

We would cross the path of Burke and Wills more than once on the trip, along with their rival John McDouall Stuart!

Suffice to say that arriving at the Willows campground after close to 600km on the road was a relief.

As far as campgrounds go this place was a brilliant introduction to the outback.  A campground with fire places (and firewood), well maintained toilets and as much room as you need to set up comfortably was much welcomed.

How is that for a nice lot of room to set up camp.

The vista was amazing - as the sun went down through the mallee and the saltbush it really did feel like we were in the outback - fantastic!

And the view kept changing for us.

I really enjoyed the first night away - but I do enjoy the peace of a good bush camp and this was exactly that.  With dinner cooked on the campfire we went for a walk and checked out the woolshed and with the sun down completely had a bit of a chat around the campfire.

It was time for bed - the day had been tiring, but getting 600 or so kilometres into a 5000 kilometre trip was worth the effort.

Some details...

Access: Some campsites are accessible by 4WD. 2WD would be OK in dry weather or if you want to camp close to the wooldshed.
Toilets: Yes.
Showers: No.
Water: Didn't see any - might be some near the picnic area.
Shop: Not nearby - that said Balranald is not that far away.
Campfires: Yes - subject to firebans. Bring own wood.
Pets: NO - National Park

Cost: FREE.

Newnes - Free - Not pet friendly

Wollemi National Park is home to the recently identified Wollemi Pine, which was discovered by National Parks officer Mr David Noble in 1994.  Not only is the Wollemi Pine one of the rarest trees in the world, with less than 100 mature trees in the wild, it is also one of the oldest, with fossil records indicating this rare tree existed about 90 million years ago.

Wollemi National Park is only a couple of hundred km from Sydney and it is one of those places that should appeal to anyone who loves the outdoor lifestyle.  Although the exact location of the pines has never been made publicly available by National Parks there is plenty of interesting flora and fauna in the park.  For history buffs there is the former township of Newnes and Blackfellow's Hand Rock and for 4WD enthusiasts there are any number of great tracks in the area.

I haven't mentioned lots of other attractions, but a search on a good search engine will point you in the right direction.

Add to all of this the fact that the campsite is free this place is pretty cool.

We set off and it is about a half day drive to get there.  It is a reasonably easy drive in to Newnes in the dry, and it would be accessible by 2WD vehicles, but in the wet it gets slippery.

To camp where we camped you will need to cross the Wolgan River and that requires 4WD.

It is a pretty easy crossing...

And you have arrived in the National Park...

Once across the creek the campsite is magnificent!

There are a fair number of campsites and the ruins of the Shale Oil mining facility are quite close. The Wolgan River runs near the campsite and there is a nice, clean drop loo.

After arriving, setting up and taking some photos we caught up with some friends, and planned the following day - a 4WD trip to the Spanish Steps.

The next day was a bit of an adventure - but the scenery in the area is amazing.  And the track conditions vary from muddy bog holes to quite good dirt tracks.

Being guided down the Spanish Steps is something I won't forget in a hurry...

The photo doesn't really do the steepness justice - nor does it reflect how fast my heart was beating as I descended into the valley.  The Spanish Steps, as they are known, are a sandstone formation that resemble steps down into a valley.  And as the saying goes, what goes up...  So there was also a slightly more challenging ascent.

I should point out that the Land Rover Discovery, lately christened 'The Snail' is not a highly modified 4WD.  It has not been lifted and the tyres I use are all terrain pattern.  I do have a winch on the bull bar, and some other bits and pieces like driving lights, UHF CB radio and camping gear.  All up I was pretty impressed that The Snail was able to get down into the valley and then up the other side along with the others who had the benefit of lockers, lift and highly aggressive tyres.

It was an amazing day, lots of fun in the 4WD's and we headed back to re-establish our camp.

The next day we decided to walk to the glow worm tunnel and have a look at Blackfellows Hand.

It's a fair walk in to the tunnel, but worth it for the views and to see the glow worms.

Being way to hard to photograph I did the next best thing...

Looking out of the tunnel - I used a flash to introduce the wall perspective into the pic.  Flash photography, I think, would not capture the glow worms.  In fact it might even upset them into not glowing so I didn't try.

If you intend visiting the tunnel - and I would encourage a visit - wear good shoes, take a torch and remember to be courteous to other visitors and more importantly respect the glow worms.

And respect the natural beauty of the flora and rock formations - how good is this!?

If you walk to the glow worm tunnel from the Newnes side (it can also be accessed from the Lithgow side) it is worth remembering that the trail is the abandoned Newnes Railway line.  You are walking over and alongside history!

It is worth keeping an eye out for the historical stuff like the rock walls and old sleepers on the track.

After the hike in and out we drove to what is known as Blackfellow's Hand Rock.  This rock formation has a number of aboriginal artworks and is definitely worth a look.

Hand paintings on the rock.  If you do go in for a bit of a look please don't touch the paintings.  Once they are gone, they are gone forever.

Access: Some campsites are accessible by 4WD. 2WD would be OK in dry weather if you want to camp on the 'pub' side of the river.
Toilets: Yes.
Showers: No.
Water: Boil water from the river.
Shop: Limited to the Newnes Hotel - best to check if it is open.
Campfires: Yes - subject to firebans. Bring own wood.
Pets: NO - National Park

Cost: FREE.

Back in business

After a while away doing other stuff I am back in business with some of the camping we have done while we were invisible.  So some pics, some words and some fun along the way...

At Christmas time 2010 we set sail to visit family in northern NSW and had a couple of days in the bush on the way up.

Our site of choice this time, mainly because we didn't have the dog with us, was Warrabah National Park.

Entry to Park

We had a fair sort of tour on the black top to get to the closest main town, Tamworth, which is about 80km away.  Near Manilla we turned on to Namoi River Road and followed that to the picnic area and campground.

Road in to Warrabah NP

It's a nicely set up park with composting toilets and picnic tables in the camping area.  The road in is unsealed but usually in good condition and is an easy drive for a 2WD.

Info sign

The entry sign also has an 'honesty box' set up so you can pay the $5/adult $3/child camping fee.  The signage also shows where you can camp and has the usual interpretive information about the park.

The Namoi was in spectacular flow.  It was a couple of weeks before Christmas in 2010 and there had been some significant rains breaking the droughts and filling up the rivers.

There were a couple of freshwater shrimp to be had in the shallow pools.

There are some 4WD tracks near the campsites

Which are well set up...

They just need someone to set up and enjoy...

We had a couple of very enjoyable days in Warrabah NP.  A little 4WD-ing, lots of eating, sleeping and relaxing.  Even a spot of fishing and swimming.  Do I recommend this one?  Yes and No.  It's a National Park so dogs are not welcome and there is a charge.  I don't like that...  On the up side we seemed to have had the entire park to ourselves.  Didn't catch anything, but enjoyed the couple of days before heading off up the road towards Grafton.

On the way up we decided to take a slightly different way, wanting to see a convict hand cut tunnel.

Impressive huh?

Next week - we returned home and then set off to Paddy's River Dam for a couple of days... Swing back this way for a look.

Blowering Dam - free pet friendly camping

Firstly
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR

Another non camp, but rather a bit of a drive and 4WD towards the end!  We have wanted to have a look at Blowering Dam for a while now, since it is free and pet friendly.

Bago State Forest is the home of Blowering Dam, located on the Tumut River and is a part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.  It was completed in 1968 and holds 1,628,000 megalitres (million litres) when at capacity.  It's water used for irrigation, and in 1978 it was used to set a water speed record!

There are a couple of ways in so we decided to go in via Batlow.  Balow is famous for apples - producing about 10% of the apples we eat in Australia !  From Batlow we continued into the Forest.  The road is a typical, well maintained dirt and gravel logging road.  Some of the views are worth stopping for in the passing bays.

The view from the road in

(Click to enlarge)

After descending into the valley we found Foreshore Road, and  went for a drive along it to have a look at the campsites and the facilities.

One thing is there is plenty of room and no defined sites - its freestyle bush camping.  Find a spot and set yourself up.

Plenty of waterside camping

Or room for a picnic...

Picnic rug and the dog!

And despite it being New Years Eve when we were there, it wasn't all that busy...

 

 

Free lakeside camping

 

There is easier access to the lake from the Snowy Mountains Highway, but it was a bit more crowded!

 

Bit blurry but you get the idea

If you head down this way for some camping there is plenty to do...  We went 4WD exploring along the fire trails and power lines on our way out of the forest to Talbingo.  The Hume and Hovell Walking Track runs through the area, so you could walk part of that.  You can mountain bike or trail bike ride.  There was a camper there with some horses so you could do that too.  I'm not sure how good the fishing is but there were folks fishing, and even waterskiing.

 

 

Someone skiing on the lake

 

And my favorite...

 

Spotting wildlife.

 

Magnificent goanna

OK - some camping stuff...

Access:  Most campsites are 2WD - a few not.

Toilets: Some - long drop.

Showers: No.

Water: No.

Shop: No - drive to Talbingo or Batlow.

Campfires: Yes - subject to firebans.

Pets: Yes - No posted restrictions

Cost: Free.

One thing to note though - when camping in this Forest, generators and trail bikes are permitted.  It won't be silent!

And if you do head in looking for some peace and quiet please stick to formed roads/tracks/trails.  We did and had a blast - continuing around the lake on Foreshore Drive we followed the navigator and instinct to Talbingo.  We wandered off the main track and followed the power line trail.  Great fun - and all without locking into 4WD.

We did explore some campsites on the Talbingo side of the lake but rain prevented us from taking pics, but we did briefly lock into 4WD to get out.

We did a bit of a 'speed run' down the highway to Gundagai for dinner on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.

 

Where we had dinner.

Hard to believe this is about 500m from the Hume Highway

From there we continued back up the Hume Highway to home - a 450km day - fantastic 4WD fun and we found another great free pet friendly camping location.

Wollondilly River Station - pet friendly low cost bush camping

Last year we went to Wollondilly River Station for a couple of nights with some relatives.  We enjoyed the place and decided to head back there this year with some friends of ours from Sydney.

For those in NSW the Wollondilly River is quite close to Wombeyan Caves - inland from Mittagong and about halfway between Sydney and Canberra.  The site is managed by a caretaker and his wife who have a small office and shop with very limited basic supplies available.  Other than that there is a hot shower (that we didn't use) and toilets on site that are a pump flush porta-loo design.

We drove in from Yass, to Goulburn, through Taralga, and onto Wombeyan Caves Road.  This leads to the office where we met the caretaker, had a bit of a chat and were directed to our site, which was across the river from the office.