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.

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...

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.

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.