Easter Caving and Washpools

Good Friday we finally got our stuff together and headed up camping at Timor a farming area not far from Murrurundi, We stayed on a farm property where the landowners let our caving club use the unused shearers quarters for accommodation. Vinnie parked on the hillside near the rusty corrugated iron pit toilet. The outlook was as shown below.



When I turned up our club president was carrying out some repairs on the shearers quarters guttering I offered him some assistance after taking my youngest girl for a ride doubling her on my mountain bike up the dirt roads for a couple of kilometers. I also pulled out the chainsaw and hacked down a large section of pine tree that was hanging near the rear of the shearers quarters.
On the Saturday we went Caving in a cave behind the shearers quarters, it was very convenient and a great cave for beginners.

That night we cooked a Lamb shank stew in the camp oven but made the fatal mistake of adding the potatoes to late, firm potatoes are no good in stew.

Sunday morning the girls woke up to an easter egg hunt. Trudging through the cold damp grass collecting easter eggs, but not being phased only excited.

On the Sunday we commenced work digging out a cave behind the property owners house. It's a cave called Eyrie Cave that the club is digging sections out that have been clogged up with dirt over many years, the club has also dug out large quantities of dirt from the cave over the last 7 or more years, the members are hope to find it opening up into a lager section of passage. There has been a lot of work extracting the dirt from the cave using buckets on ropes passing through a pulley system.

In the afternoon sunday some of the club decided to pack up and head home. Instead of heading home we relocated to a new location that was kind of on the way home. We pulled up at the Washpools near Scone it was a lovely place to stay near a river 300m up the road from the camping area was a picnic area with a path that lead to the washpools. On the Monday we went up for a swim in the washpools before heading home.

Ferndale Park Camping

On the 17th of February we headed to a favorite camping area we hadn't visited since having kids. A privately owned campground at the base of the Chichester Dam, Chichester provides about a third of the lower hunters water supply. ferndalepark is a peaceful scenic campground situated on the river at the base of the Dam. We camped with a friend that I work with who also has two girls, there was lots of bike riding and swimming in the river.

 Ferndale is also good for people who like a few extra creature comforts with powered sites available and a toilet block with hot showers and flushing toilets. Our inflatable boat got a good run it was beneficial camping there in the warmer months as we spent lots of time in the refreshing clean water.

There was a caravan club there when we stayed, busting out the yoga classes early in the morning and all gathering for happy hour drinks in the evening.
Decided I wasn't a fan of the caravan club when they told us my friends dog that wasn't bothering anyone and was laying under the van should be on a lead and asked us seriously if our smouldering fire that consisted of a couple of glowing logs with about a 30m radius clear from anything that could catch on fire was under control.
Ferndale do allow you to take pets which is great for pet owners. They ask you to control your animals. So if your dog behaves like an over opinionated Caravan club organizer you may want to keep it on  a lead.
The camp stew on this trip was a bit of a flavourless failure so I don't have much to say about that.
The walk to the dam wall was worth it there are picnic areas at the base of the dam if your're a fan of a cut lunch and being organized.
There are big pipes that show the way to the dam I'm sure they serve another purpose beside that and giving something for my children

to climb all over.
The dam sounds a deep sounding bugle siren every morning that kind of sounds like the sound that is made when someone dies in the hunger games. The landscape also has that hunger games feel to it with a little less imminent death.

If you do have a phobia of anything that resemble a possibility of discomfort there is also the option of country cottages at ferndale or you could just stay at home? and at this point i'd like to invite you to stop reading this blog.
Walking out on the Dam wall is something you probably should do while you there unless you have vertigo in that case you should stay well clear. I'm sure for the photography enthusiast there would be more opportunities then I can demonstrate with my point an shoot approach but the eerie haze can create a good effect if the light is right on the dam

 I really recommend this spot for so many different reasons and I'm sure we will frequent this place in the coming years and not leave it another 9 year before our next visit.

Bringing in the New Year

Last year we camped during the new year period in a resort style caravan park. The girls loved using the resort style pool and jumping pillow and we enjoyed beers but the pool while watching them. We decided to revisit the park this year with the difference of turning up in Vinnie.

The place we stayed at was Middle Rock it at the end of one mile beach, less than an hour north of Newcastle.

It's a pretty good summer camping area,  if I was to be critical the only downside is the distance it is to the beach, about a 10-15min walk across the dunes, not a walk you want to be doing with kids on a scorching hot day. For the 4wd enthusiasts there is a track running beside the park that takes you to Samurai beach, if visiting this beach you should be aware that clothes are optional so you might come across a bunch of seedy old guy with their wangs out. 

We turned up New Year's Eve, with minimal setup we were straight into the celebratory drinking that continued into 2017. This was a brave move knowing children would be up making demands at 5am.
Having a whole Snapper cooked up for dinner was a good move, it made a rather civilised camp meal.

Staying at the park with friends meant the girls were always entertained and I also joined in with them scooting around the park on razor scooters, it only hurt a little when I stacked it on a speed bump in front of some people that were sure I was too old to be on a razor scooter.
Water bomb fights were also a popular past time at the camp site.

Disaster struck when we were due to leave, I learnt the hard way that running the fridge in Vinnie for several days off the battery system would reduce the charge to zero even compromising the charge on the vehicle battery, Trying to jump start the truck in the dark the night before we were leaving did not end well. I blew a main fuse and couldn't find where it was located the NRMA guy didn't either when he turned up the day we were leaving, he called a tow truck, moments before the tow truck turned up a muffler mechanic that was camping near by said he'd take a look, finding the fuse and showing it would start if the link was bridged. We called off the tow truck as it was back up to hook us up and took a trip to supercheap auto to get a replacement fuse. Vinnie rose from the dead and rattled us home bringing our trip to a close.  

Fathers Weekend at The Pines

On the 21st of October we headed up to The Pines camping area again for what was to be a Fathers and kids camping trip.
The weather forecast was not great, understandably the other Fathers going were not keen on the idea of setting their tents up in the rain or if it was going to rain. The Father's trip turn into the Father Trip.
The girls and I got to the campsite while it was still light so we got fire started and kicked back straight into relaxation mode.
That night it did rain so the other guys made the right call. It was actually quiet pleasant listening to the rain on Vinnies roof. Looking out the window in the morning I saw streams of water running down the hill. I looked at the tents that were pitched in the camp ground and thought they must of had water running through the floor of the tent.
We had our breakfast and by the time we had finished the rain had reduced to drizzle. We went and explored the same places we visited last time we were here the river had much more water than last time because of the rain. There also seemed to be a lot more leeches.



 By lunchtime the rain had pretty much stopped. I brought out the heap of fire wood I had stowed away in vinnies underseat storage. We started the fire to get ready to slow cook a stew all afternoon for dinner.
As we sat around the fire a guy from a near by camp wandered over, he was unable to start his fire due to his fire wood been soaked by the nights rain. I happily made him a cup of tea and he pulled up a chair for the afternoon by our fire.
The guys name was Casey, he told us that he was homeless and currently living at the campsite until he could find a place to move into. He seemed like I nice enough guy but I don't think he let the truth get in the way of the amazing and unfortunate things that had happened in his life. Casey was only a young guy in his early 20s he kept saying his dad was going to come and give him some supplies but did not show up while we were there. I couldn't help feel sorry for him, I gladly share our stew with him and some chicken kebabs that we had for dinner. He was very grateful, we sat around the fire till it got dark, Casey even taught the girls a slight of hand magic that kept them amused for ages.

On the sunday we woke to a beautiful day although we were headed home to a party my wife had been preparing for to say goodbye to our neighbours who were moving. I realized I had enough fire wood in vinnie to last me a week because we were heading home I decided to leave it all with Casey. When driving out we pulled up at Casey's tent I asked if he wanted me to top up his drinking water he accepted the offer he pulled out a 10L container with about a litre of murky river water left in it. We also left him all the food we had left he was very thankful.

Glenbawn Dam

October long weekend we turned up on the Friday night at about 10pm it was closer to 11pm by the time we got in, I never read the confirmation email for our booking so I was unaware of the access code I needed for entry.
Once in the Glenbawn Dam  campground it seemed to cover an large area and we had no idea where we were going .We got vague directions of where our friends who arrive earlier in the day were camping and managed to jag it by crossing paths with them as they decided to go for a stroll to the toilet at 11pm.
Waking up in the morning and gazing out vinnies window from our spot high on a hillside looking down on the dam we had another moment of appreciating the beautiful outlook surrounding us. Then we gorged on pancakes.

I was quick to realize this was a popular location for ski boats and fishing boats. We did have our little inflatable raft.
 There was grassy hillsides to camp on but finding a level patch would be a challenge. The rule of thumb was camp anywhere you want as long as you weren't blocking other peoples access. Other friends of our were camped on the other side of the valley to us, good thing we had that separation though they appeared to be plagued with sickness.
It cost a couple a hundred dollars to stay there for 3 nights. But how good are warm showers right?
We went for a walk around to the other side of the dam from where we were staying, it was a big enough walk for the young ones, I carried Eliza back on my shoulders, she managed to fall sound asleep slumped over my head snoring in my ear all the way back to the camp ground.
There was enough open area to kick a ball around and throw a frisbee, the girls had there bikes but lost interest quickly due to the sloppiness of the area.
No designated fire areas, people would just place rocks in a circle and start their open fire anywhere.

For Dinner was another stew as we cook up each weekend we go away, this time we shared our dinners with our friends who had made a lighter oriental type dish that complemented the stew well. We watched the sunset behind the mountains from our hillside location and managed to get a good night sleep regardless of the thundering bass from campers who were probably 100m away playing all the bogan classics such as ACDC and Cold Chisel through their sound system to all hours of the morning. 

The next day we tried our luck at fishing in the dam but was unsuccessful the more serious fishermen were catching fish in the area, there was a building not to far from where we were camping that accommodated a fishing club.

Mostly we were just happy to swan around in our inflatable raft. Miette my 7YO even mustered up the courage to jump out of the dingy and have a swim in the deep cool water of the dam.

It was a great place to visit but I don't think we'd be heading back in a hurry, there are may other areas we are interested in checking out.

  

The Pines

On the 17th of September we took off on the friday afternoon to a campsite that was fairly isolated from civilization and only one and a half hours from home. The campsite we stayed at this time was called 'The Pines' located in the Olney State forest. We turned up in darkness the girls sound asleep, I managed to get a park on fairly level ground not far from a pit toilet.
Waking up the next day we could see the beauty of the spot, we were nestled amongst towering pine trees and tranquil bush land. I'd bought the bikes for the girls but due to the slope of the campsite they kept riding down the hill and expected me to carry the bikes back up.
Looking around the camping area there seem to be a lot of little areas you could set up your campsite in, some in the bush away from the main camping area. Unlike the National parks you were allowed to burn firewood found in the bush, only problem with this was there seemed to be a 1km radius around the campsite free of any usable firewood, so I was left regretting the fact I packed my chainsaw instead of firewood.  


Bushwalking tracks shot off from the campground in all different directions. One of the paths was edged with a row of bushrock, there were a series of bridges and areas with handrailing and makeshift steps. There is a nice little river running not far from the campsite. A couple of little water falls are also not far away.
We went for a walk through the bush and strolled across other camp sites near by there wasn't abundance of wild life but we saw the odd wallaby and plenty of bird life.


.

After Lunch we took our little blow up raft down to a small man made damn near the campsite the girls had a great time floating around in the afternoon sun.  

The people had taken their dogs to the campsite and some of the people staying there were there to ride their trail bikes, the noise of the motorbikes did disturb the peaceful atmosphere but it wasn't for to long.

We also went walking down the river bed climbing over rocks and jumping over the running water, the girls found hanging vines to swing on and had fun exploring. 

The trip was cut short on Sunday as Miette woke up unwell, Although we headed home early the time we spent at the pines was very enjoyable I'd recommend camping there.

Camping at Copeland was gold!

I had the day of work on Friday the 26th of August, The girls and I hoped in Vinnie on the Thursday night and headed up North we originally planned on staying at Tattersalls camping ground on the Karuah river. Due to the rain earlier in the week the road into Tattersalls was unsuitable for Vinnie I discovered this after getting almost to the camp site. I battled our way through mud holes to get out but unknowingly broke a piece of Vinnie's fibre glass body in the process. *Sniff Sniff*.

A work mate of mine was also joining us on this trip with his 2 young girls. After our failed attempt to get to Tattersalls we made the decision to head up to Barrington unsure where but we decided to figure that out when we got there.

We drove through Stroud, Gloucester and then past Barrington we went over the old bridge past thunderbolts way and eventually pulled into what initially looked like a paddock, as the lights from our vehicles shone around this paddock we noticed a fireplace, a covered picnic table, bins and a tin shack that contained a pit toilet. This suited us perfectly as we were to tired to go any further. 

 In the morning we realized what a great spot this was to stumbleupon.   There were large flat grassy areas for the girls to run around and play on and we were close to a creek the girls had a great time playing in. We had the campground to ourselves, there were no camp fees for staying here.

On Friday Morning I got up the girls had breakfast and I had my morning coffee in my trusty old plunger. When I was washing the plunger after breakfast I noticed coffee caught between the casing and the glass of the plunger, I thought the glass must push out of the casing for cleaning but I was wrong. I pushed my thumb up through the base of the plunger the glass shattering and I cut my thumb up pretty bad on the shards. Luckily there was a medical centre in Gloucester that had me stitched up in a jiffy.
We lazed about all day friday not doing to much at all, just exploring the place a little bit. In the afternoon started a fire and got cracking on the kangaroo stew I had planned.

Roo Stew

Ingredients
500g of Kangaroo Fillets chopped up
2 Cloves of garlic chopped
a brown onion chopped
500g tin of crushed tomatoes
a vegetable soup pack (swede, celery, 2 carrots, potato)Chopped
 Salt and pepper for seasoning

Method
Saute garlic and onions in some butter in the camp oven hanging over the edge of the camp fire. Throw in the meat to brown, then chuck in the other stuff, cover with water and simmer until the meat falls apart Approx 4 hours. There are things to take into consideration when cooking a stew over an open fire you want to experiment to get the right heat level you do this be moving the oven closer or further away from the fire. Stoking the fire or letting it die down is the alternative method of temp control. The main thing you have to look out for is that the stew doesn't boil dry or stick to the bottom.


On the Saturday we took a trip up to visit the old gold mine at Copeland. The national parks run guided tours and host school excursions there. We went for a stroll on the Hidden Treasure walk, it was in rainforest terrain but had suitable walking tracks for the girls to walk on. The girls had a swing on a low hanging vine and played in the icy cold mountain streams. It was an interesting place to visit

Mountain water consumed at the source

 

More friends came to visit on the Saturday, My wife brought an inflatable boat and the kids had a great time paddling around in the creek near the camping area. We had great weather it was a good weekend spent with good people to chill out with. I'd recommend staying at Copeland.