Pigeon House Mountain with kids!

With our lap around the country fast approaching, and free time seemingly disappearing from the calendar, we decided a few months ago to lock in a date to hike to the top of Pigeon House Mountain on the south coast.  After all, it is not just the car we need to get ready! We picked our date carefully not to clash with any likely major events... until Kevin Rudd decided to change the election to our day of reckoning.

Initially we were going to plan a camping trip at Yadboro Flat, where we have camped previously.  Yadboro Flat is conveniently located in the upper Clyde River, and is a popular free camp, with plenty of space.  In the end we decided we would simply do a day trip, leaving early on the Saturday morning, and returning home after our hike.

We enjoyed an uneventful trip to the Pigeon House Mountain carpark, where we quickly topped up our water bottles, enjoyed morning tea and then set off to the summit.

The climb to the top is in three main stages.  An initial steep climb followed by a flat section, before the climb becomes steeper again, culminating in a series of steep ladders and steps to the peak.  We were interested to see how Master 8 and Master 6 1/2 would go, not just with the hike, but also the ladders at the peak.

The first bit was easy

Yadboro Flat - September 2012

It had been a long time coming this camping trip.  There was much anticipation among both little people and the big.  The camper (Matilda) had been inspected and declared fit for duty.  The car (Terry) likewise had been cleaned out and packed.  We were ready at last to head off for a whole week without mobile phones, worries or cares, otherwise known as first world problems.

All packed and ready to go!

The ultimate plan was to meet up with friends Nic and Dave from previous adventures at Yadboro flat for a night or two, before heading south with the aim of making Bendethera valley, in Deua NP.  Nic and Dave had joined us on several camping trips, however this time a few changes were afoot.  They were bringing along their new baby, Isobel AND their hired Kimberley Kamper.

The only problem was the weather.  As it is when you’re married to a meteorologist, the weather is always bound to be at best ‘character building’.  The forecast looked atrocious.  30-40mm of rain was predicted for our first night, unpleasant but survivable.  It was the predicted wind gusts of up to 100km/h that was the most concerning.  We had survived strong winds before, but would Matilda hold up to the strain?

Ultimately we figured that if we were to survive all the elements on our trip around in 2014, a little wind (or a lot) couldn’t put us off.  The morning of our departure the weather front had arrived with howling winds and sideways rain lashing our house.  We hesitated, was it worth it, or should we wait another day? It was thoroughly miserable weather for camping, and I offered Jo the chance to stay at home another day.  She simply smiled and suggested we head off, and if it turns really horrible we could always come back.

So we went… wipers on, and headed east.