New camping style from here on in

For those of you who have been visiting this site for a while you will have noticed that we have been tent campers.

Recently we bought an Ironman 4x4 Roof Top Tent.

The posts from here on it will be about our camping adventures with the tent.  Its a pretty cool new toy which we have used a couple of times so far, quite successfully.

We are also planning a 'big' test for it shortly.  Our plan is to head out t the Oodnadatta track, and the RTT will be our home for the couple of weeks we are planning for the trip.

If you are interested in RTT's keep an eye out - you might be able to decide whether one is for you or not based on the next few posts.

Burraga Dam

In February we took a break with some realtives and headed inland to find a peaceful campsite somewhere and have a bit of a break.  The first place was a dud so we moved on to the next site on the list which was Burraga Dam.

Nearby the small town of Burraga which has some facilities like fuel and a small shop, which is convenient.

The Burraga Dam is on Thompson's Creek and apparently it is also known as Thompson's Creek Dam.  The Dam was constructed in the late 1800's to supply water to the local Copper mine.  No longer used for the cooper mine the dam is now a recreational dam, offering fishing, camping and is free and pet friendly.

There is not a lot here - there are some clean and tidy long drop loo's and some pretty neat scenery.  Other than that its all about relaxing.

According to the research I did when we got back the Dam is supposed to be stocked with Rainbow Trout.  I did a little fishing when we were there and mnaged to not catch a thing.  Maybe it is just me.  Interestingly the bait went from the yabbie net.  So if nothing else there must be the odd turtle about.

There is plenty of room to set up camp, doesn't matter whether you are part of a group or on your own.

The dog loved the place as there was plenty of room to walk and play...

There are a couple of tracks around the place - not exactly hardcore 4WD but interesting to see the local area.

My favourite pic of the weekend is the Aussie Mud Map.

I've seen a few of these sort of photos and always wondered wether they were real or fake.  This one is the real deal, you can see my wife and dog is the photo.


Anyways - Burraga Dam is a good spot - free, pet friendly bush camping.

Access: It is accessible by 4WD. 2WD would be OK in dry weather.
Toilets: Yes.
Showers: No.
Water: Not sure - we had our own.
Shop: No.  Small shop in nearby township.
Campfires: Yes - subject to firebans. Bring own wood.
Pets: YES.

Cost: FREE.

Post Christmas - The Bridle Track

After the ordinary start to our summer break we made our way home and back to work.  After a couple of weeks back at work we decided that we would do a long weekend and head up to the Bridle Track.

We had done a bit of homework about the history of the track and the area.  One thing I didn't pick up was the fact that you can't drive the track from end to end.  The track is closed about mid-way along at the part known as Monahagns Bluff.  Heavy rains, a land slip and a rock slide has the centre of the track closed.

We drove up to Bathurst and while we would have like to go to Hill End via the track we were more than contented to set up camp on the bank of the river and just have a couple of days of free, pet-friendly camping with few others around.

Heading in the first sign was pretty cool - we knew that we were in for an interesting couple of days.

It didn't take us long to get onto the Track in search of a campsite..

There aren't a lot of places in NSW where you can acually camp this close to the rive, with a dog, for free.  We were on the Bathurst side and decided to walk up to have a look at the rock fall that has the Track closed.

Not being able to drive past here, we decided to walk up and have a look at the 'blockage.' 

And this is what has the Track blocked.  A whopping big rock, some of the road has fallen away and there isn't enough room to safely get a vehicle around, other than maybe a push bike...

Nevertheless it was worth the walk up to the rockfall.  The fiew is amazing and you can also see the way the Track was built.

Check out the stone work supporting this little bridge.

After a bit of a walk on a fairly hot day in summer we retired to the campsite for dinner.

We really enjoyed the visit up there.

Access: It is accessible by 4WD. 2WD would be easy OK in dry weather.
Toilets: No.
Showers: No.
Water: Yes.  From the river - given the turtles and yabbies maybe drinkable.
Shop: No.
Campfires: Yes - subject to firebans. Bring own wood.
Pets: YES.

Cost: FREE.