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!

A quick trip to the NSW South Coast - Termeil Point Campground

It has been a while since I put anything up on the blog so I have decided to make a bit of an effort to get some of our (and my solo) trips up on here.  In the last while we have been to some great local and even distance touring locations.

I decided that I hadn't been fishing for a while so packed up the 4WD and set off for the South Coast.

A nice little National Park let me do a spot of fishing and gave me the opportunity to take some nice pics...

So with the swag set up under the roll out awning I went off for an unsuccessful attempt at fishing.  (Luckily I had dinner with me in the fridge.

As the sun went down I gave up on the fishing and grabbed the camera.

The sunset over the lake adjacent to the beach was awesome.

A steady hand and the flash lead to this shot of a wattle coming into flower.

And this shot of the waves rolling in just after sunset.

This was one of those little trips to a secluded and little known place that was pretty awesome.  It wasn't packed with 4WD action but there were few other campers, the toilet was clean and tidy.  That said it is not pet friendly, there was no water, showers or firewood.  I was however a relaxing weekend.

Day 8 - Farina to Cameron Corner via Strzelecki Track

Waking up at the Farina Station campground was an experience.  It was cold - about -4C overnight.  the priority was getting the campfire going again and getting warm, getting a hot drink and taking some pics.

Once we had all warmed up, had breakfast and packed up it was a quick transit to Lyndhurst to refuel and then take on the mighty Strzelecki Track.

To be honest I thought that Strzelecki Track would be a rough and tumble 4WD adventure/challenge.  In reality, it had been recently graded and it was more of a high speed dirt road than the track that I had imagined.

But it was open and with the vehicles full of fuel we we pretty excited to be on another of Australia's iconic 4WD tracks.

I guess it is worth a mention that the route of the track is attributed to a chap called Harry Readford.  Harry was a cattle thief.  Wroking on a remote part of a remote cattle station in Queensland Harry, without the station owners knowing, built a set of cattle yards and over a period of time assembled a mob of about 1000 head of cattle.  Realising that trying to sell the cattle in Queensland would be a bit of a problem (everyone would recognise the brand)  Harry decided to drove them to South Australia, but needed to cross through the Channel Country and then the Strzelecki Desert.

Which he did - he traded some of the cattle for rations and sold the rest at a station east of Marree.

A couple of years later the las caught up with Harry - arrested in Sydney and sent to Roma, Queensland for trial.  He was acquitted - the jury was impressed with him opening up the route.  Another great Aussie story of the outback.

Anyway we set off for what was to be an enjoyable and straight forward drive.  We passed the 'top' of the Flinders Ranges and Mount Hopeless.  This mountain was 'overnamed' by Eyre - it is 124m above sea level at its peak!  Burke tried to get to it when he, Wills and King were stranded at Innamincka.

These days most of this things are of historical interest.  The track isn't used for droving anymore - but it is used to transport goods and chattels to the oil and gas fiels in the region.

After a hand full of dry creek crossings we arrived at the turn off to Montecollina Bore where we decided to stop for lunch.  There are some picnic tables and shelters here and the Bore itself is an interesting find in what is now desert country.  What is cool is walking up onto the dunes and looking down at the location.

Afteer having lunch and watching the bird life we decided to head across to Cameron Corner rather than pushing on to Innamincka.  We would work out whether to go to Innamincka or Tibooburra once we had arrived at Cameron Corner.

We headed off and found the 'shortcut' track to Cameron Corner - thanks to the navigator.

I really enjoyed that part of the drive.  Firstly it is through desert country - up and over dunes.  The track itself is well formed so it is a nice easy drive.

On the track across one of the more unusual sights is the Yellow Bus Campsite (at least that is how it is marked on the map.)

There are a handful of stories about the bus - it seems to have been used as a shelter for stockmen at some point and a campground in the past.  I'm told the land owner chaged his/her mind about camping and now there are signs there saying no camping or fires...

A short while later we pulled in to Cameron Corner store.  We decided to camp and have a shower here and then head across to Tibooburra the next day.

I have written about Cameron Corner, the store and it's history elsewhere so I won't do that again.  I will say that it is a great place to camp with a bar, some food and hot showers.  The guys charge a bit extra per person having a shower, but the cash is donated to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Overall a great day on the road with some interesting locations and history.  Sitting in the red dirt camp ground was awsome.  The decision to head across into New South Wales, maybe not what I would have done if I was travelling on my own but it turned out to be a good call.

Day 7 - Oodnadatta to Farina

Overnight we all decided that we would take on the Strzelecki Track, having seen the sign at Lyndhurst indicating that the track was open.

Before we hit the new track we had to get ourselves back down the Oodnadatta Track to Lyndhurst.

So after a fairly quick pack up - including the freshly washed clothes and people, we fuelled up and started to make our way back down the Oodnadatta Track.  There were a few things that I wanted to see on the way back down.  Given the 'speed' we travelled up the track it's no surprise that there were things that we didn't stop to look at.  That said, even though we had a couple of stops on the way back down there is still plenty of things to see.

Our first planned stop was the Algebuckina Bridge.  It's a history lesson, a tale of woe for a chap named Fred and even a free campsite.

Built as a railway bridge crossing the Neals River and the floodplain, it was opened in 1892.  Apparently about 350 men were involved in the construction.  It's the longest bridge in South Australia, and these days there isn't a train in sight on the Old Ghan Line to use it.

But I simply love the story of Fred...  Near the bridge there is a wrecked car, which apparently belonged to Fred.  The legend goes that during the floods of 1974 Fred decided to cross the bridge, so he used railway sleepers to fill the gaps.  He apparently inched his way forward, moving sleepers from the back of the car to the front of the car, then driving a bit further forward...  You get the idea.

All was going well until a train (or a works train) appeared and hit the car.  Fred survived but his car didn't.

Leaving here our next stop was William Creek for lunch and a check over the vehicles.  We decided to stop off at the mound springs near Coward Spings.  It is a relatively easy frive back down to there so we cracked on...

The mound springs are located within the Wabma Kadarbu Mound Springs National Park.  They are, to a point, the reason that the Oodnadatta Track and the Old Ghan line exist.  The provided a permanant water supply for the steam trains running along the Old Ghan and water for the settlers.  They also served the traditional owners well, providing a watered trading route for them to use.

And the stop off there was pretty interesting.  While Blance Cup was not accessible, The Bubbler was and we walked up and watched the water bubble up into the bowl.  In the middle of a what looks to be deseert country this is pretty cool.

An awsosme part of the trip.

From here it was a fairly easy run back to Farina Station where we took advantage of their fantastic campsite.  Large grassy sites and plenty of room to spread out.  The campgrounds have hot showers - just light the donkey boiler.  There is a little hill nearby and the walk up to it is worthwhile as at the top there is a war memorial.

Day 6 - William Ck to Oodnadatta

It was an hectic start for the guys taking the scenic flight over Lake Eyre and less so for me.  I'm not a good flyer, so I decided to have a look over the 4WD, pack up the campsite and be ready for the departure when the guys got their feet back on the ground.

Whenn they got back we said our goodbyes to the folks we had met the night before, fuelled up and set our sights on Oodnadatta.

Ready to head off from the William Ck Hotel, William Creek.

We really enjoyed the night here.  Lots of character in the pub itself, watching the State of Origin Rugby Leauge game was great fun, and our fellow travellers there that night we all chilled, full of great stories about their travels.

We were still considering whether we should go from Oodnadatta to Coober Pedy or whether we should head back down the Oodnadatta Track to Lyndhurst and then up the Strezlecki Track as we left that morning.

The debate was put on hold when we spotted what looked like smoke in the distance and we were discussing what it could be.  Given the shape of the smoke we doubted a grass fire and we had heard nothing on the CB or at William Creek about a fire so we continued.  As we got closer we thought that it more looked like steam than smoke and I said if it was a car that had overheated we should offer them some of the water we had onboard, and see if we could help out.

When we got further up the Track we saw where the smoke was coming from.  A fire had destroyed a camper trailer and a 4WD.  Folks from the station were on site with a water tanker putting the last of the fire out. The camper trailer was completely destroyed and the 4WD wasn't looking to good.  We stopped and offered what we could.

After stopping for a short while we decided that there wasn't anything that we could do to help these guys so we left.  Fortunately they were travelling in convoy so things were, as far as was possible, under control.

Further along we stopped for lunch.

the great thing about outback travel is that you can stop in a fair number of stunning places and have a cuppa, lunch or just a look around.

An awsome lunch stop...

A bit more driving and a stop to gather firewood saw us arrive in Oodnadatta later that afternoon.  It didn't take us long to set up camp, get a fire going and settle in for the night.

The obligatory pic of the Pink Roadhouse.  The Roadhouse staff are a wealth of local knowledge and it is worth stopping in for a chat.  You can make phone calls from the Roadhouse payphone and it stocks a variety of stock up items.

And souveniers.

They have a campground out the back with toilets, showers, fire pits, a camp kitchen and a laundry.  It was a great 'mid-point' stop.

It doesn't take long to walk through the Oodnadatta township, but it is worthwhile with a museum and a few other bits and pieces.

Sitting around the campfire with fellow travellers that night we decided that we would head back to Lyndhurst and head up the Strezlecki Track.  We were planning for a day trip down to Farina Station Campground and then a relatively early departure for the new track.  With that we hit the sack thinking about the big 'turn around.'

Outback Trip 2 - Day 2 and 3 - Renmark and Leigh Creek

Setting out from Balranald we planned on getting ourselves across to Renmark.  The route we had set was for about 300 or so kilometers on highway.  The intention was to stay in a caravan Park, do a minimal set up and then push on to somewhere like Leigh Creek.

And the reason that I add all of this in one little post is that the camera went on the fritz and there are no photos from this part of the holiday.

Suffice to say that the stop in Renmark was fantastic.  The owners of the caravan park on the riverbank treated us extremely well and we got ourselves settled in, cleaned up, the car checked out and everything ready for a really long day.

So after an early night we did set off fairly early to get to Leigh Creek before dark.  The main part of the drive was through grazing country, the along the edge of the Flinders Ranges, and then in to the Caravan Park at Leigh Creek.

Again treated well by the caretaker, who gave us a couple of nice spots under trees and told us to head up to a communal fire at about sunset.  We did and had were able to have a bit of a chat with fellow travellers.  All was looking up for what I believed would be the real part of the trip.  Hitting the dirt road to Oodnadatta, seeing Lake Eyre and experiencing this part of the outback.

So after a not so early night, and realistically a not so early set off the next day we were into it!

Sorry about the lack of photos!

I didn't realise the camera was on the fritz at this stage and kept snapping away oblivious to the problem...

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.

Review - Coleman chair and table

After 'borrowing' some words about winter camping for my blog from the friendly folks at Coleman they asked me if I would like to take a couple of bits of their gear for a camp - see what I thought about it.

I agreed.  Not often one gets to review equipment.

After a bit of 'to-ing and fro-ing' the gear arrived and it was time to head off for a local weekend camp on the banks of the Murumbidgee River to give it a try.  I'll put up a post about the campsite in a while.  In the meantime some words about the gear...

The kit that arrived was a camp chair (which has a snazzy folding table) and a four way camp table set.  Cool.

The chair first - It is a directors style of chair and it folds up flat, rather than the more common 'cylindrical' shape of my other camp chairs.  To be honest the flat fold up suits the way things are packed in the back of my car.  It is easy to carry with fabric handles sewn in to the 'armrest' part of the chair.  It sets up easily and positively.  By that I mean you can feel it lock in to place.  The swing table flips up and has a fair bit of room and a handy cup holder built in.  The cup holder even has a cut out for long stemmed wine glasses.

It's a nice chair, well built sturdy and comfortable.  Personally I would like to see it a couple of inches higher.  But I had no problem with relaxing with a drink watching the camp fire burn.

Would I buy one - YES, yes I would.

The next thing we got to try out was the 4way table.

The four way table is a really cool set up.  Not only is it well built and a sensible size but it has multiple uses.  There are effectively two tables that can be set up individually or joined to make a single table.  Each table can be set up at different heights.  The heights are actually well thought out - the taller set up is a good 'kitchen bench' height.  Lower heights are goof for eating at or even using as a coffee table.  All of the bits and pieces lock in to the underside of the table, including the legs and the piece that allows the two tables to be locked together to make up a big tabletop.

 

 

 

 

I like the table.  It is easy to set up, all of the parts have a home when it is packed away and it is well made.  It packed into the 4WD nicely.

 

Would I buy one of these - YES, yes I would.

 

Thanks to the good folks at www.coleman.com.au for the loan of the gear.  If you are interested in these items they can be ordered online or in camping stores across the country.





Winter camp - the plan

In my previous post I added some winter camping tips to the tips that Coleman have published.  The reason I added go somewhere you can't go in summer is that we have just returned from another outback NSW trip.

I'm not sure what summer along the Oodnadatta Track would be like but I would suggest hot and dry, so the thinking was lets get out there are have a look around while it's winter, while there is water in Lake Eyre and best of all - at a time when we could travel with some friends and there would be other travellers out there as well.

The first thing we did was decide roughly where we wanted to go.  Our mission was to get to The Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta from south along the Oodnadatta Track.  Once at Oodnadatta we would then work out where to next.

Our first thing was to do a bit of homework about travelling through the area, where we would bo and what we should see.  To a lesser extent where we would stay.  Enter the Hema Maps Great Desert Tracks map set.  With the map of the area generally on the floor we decided that it was fairly do-able in two weeks.  The plan was sketched out, just the details and the preperation was required.

Naturally the 4WD got a service - oils, filters changed, spares checked, the third roof bar was installed so a second spare tyre could be seet up on them.  The usual recovery gear was put in - snatch strap, tree trunk protector, D shackles, tyre repair kit, tyre deflator, air compressor and a decent tool kit.

The next mission was to set up our water supply.  In the past we had only ever travelled with about 20 or so litres of drinking water - that is usually adequate for a weekend or when not travelling far from drinkable water.  The map, and other people, told us we were going to a desert and most of the water is from a bore.  After a bit of looking around we settled on a big plastic 85 litre tank whick was installed behind the seats against the cargo barrier.  With the water tank in, the tent on the roof all we had to do was load in the fridge and home made shelf/drawer set up and we were ready to go!

So one cold and frosty morning we hit the road for what was ultimately a long trip south, then west, then north, then... You get the picture!

We saw some amazing parts of the country as we travelled, staying at Yanga National Park just outside of Balranald before travelling on to, Renmark, Leigh Creek, William Creek and Oodnadatta.

We made an interesting decision at Oodnadatta.  Over the next few weekends I'll post the story of this amazing trip, and what happened as we made our way along one of the most historically interesting track.  If you stick with me for a couple of weeks you will find out what happened at Oodnadatta and where we went from there.

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 to Paddy's River Dam

If you have been reading the Blog since it's beginning you will have seen that we like the High Country and we like to camp where there is water.  Sometimes for a swim, sometimes for a bit of a fish.  After the trip up north to visit the rellies we set sail south.  Having a few more days before returning to work we decided to load up some fishing gear and the surf ski and head for Paddy's River Dam for a couple of days.  Spot of fishing, a swim and a bit of a paddle around...

Paddy's River Dam was constructed in 1936 to provide a reliable water source for the power house at Tumbarrumba.  These days it ismainly a recreational dam, stocked with trout. This is bush camping at its best; a couple of pit toilets, a picnic table and some fireplaces.  Better than that, being State Forest, it is pet friendly so you can take a dog, or as was the case when we were there a horse.

The drive in is pretty straight foward.  We were in H4 in the Disco, the earlier rains had washed away some of the surfaces and there were ruts.  There was even a tree across the road!

The tree may well be gone by now - it was a couple of months ago...  In any event we found a track around it and continued on our way.  If you have been in there and know please leave a comment...

The last little bit of road in has a small creek crossing and not too far from the turn off to the campsites was a bit of mud.

A little bit of care needed, or there was a chicken track around it!

It didn't take us long to get in to the campsite and get ourselves set up.

With the campfire lit and dinner in the camp oven there was only one thing left to do on the first day...

Some people call this fishing.  I call it standing in water killing time and relaxing.  Didn't have anything to do with fish on the days we were there.  Still as the saying goes, the worst day fishing...

There are other things to do.  Hume and Hovell trekked through here during their 1824 expedition to Port Phillip.  There is a signposted heratige walking trail from Yass to Albury and Paddy's River Dam is one of the few vehicle accessible campsites along the trail.  There are signs around to show you where to go and most of the local visitor information centres nearby have information about the trail and the expedition.

The scenery in the area is fantastic, the tracks through Bago State Forest are well signposted and we had no problem finding our way around using the GPS, all of the trails were on the maps we were using.

Access: It is accessible by 4WD.  It's easy in the dry, but very ordinary in the wet...
Toilets: Yes - long drop.
Showers: No.
Water: Yes.
Shop: No.
Campfires: Yes - subject to firebans.
Pets: Yes.

Cost: Free.

GPS: S35 42.9759, E148 10.0049