South Coast Fun - Easter 2011

With the unusually long weekend over Easter and ANZAC day this year, it was too good an opportunity to miss. With many other like minded souls, we headed down from the hills to enjoy the coast for a few days. The weekend was not intended to be a 4WD adventure, merely a leisurely drive down through Tarago and Nerriga to our destination on the northern shores of Lake Conjola.

We were staying with good friends, whom despite our best efforts, we catch up with infrequently. Whilst we try to meet around ANZAC day annually, we seem to only make it every third or fourth year. So you could say we were really looking forward to our weekend down at the coast.

With the spare bedroom (Matilda – our Aussie Swag Camper) hooked on behind Terry, we pushed off on after I finished work on Saturday morning. It was a great feeling to hit the road and coming down the hill near Sassafras we glimpsed the Tasman Sea, looking very blue and inviting.

Having done our first four wheel driving in this part of the world, we thought we would take a short cut to the Princess Highway from Main Road 92, so instead of turning right onto Turpentine Road, the GPS suggested a short cut through Wandean Fire Trail... Of course I didn’t have our topographic maps with us, the Maxtrax were sitting next to the long handled shovel in the shed at home and I was just a little tired after night shift the previous evening... What could possibly go wrong?

If we had stayed on Wandean Fire Trail, we would have come out unsurprisingly at Wandean, on the highway. Instead we ended up heading off in the wrong direction. A few moments later it dawned on us that we would have to turn around – no easy feat on narrow forest trails with Matilda hooked on the back.

A nice wide drainage culvert was chosen to do the deed, however after backing and filling to get the nose into the culvert with the trailer straight, I (driving now) felt an uncomfortable slipping of the tyres as we slid sideways to the bottom of the culvert. Attempts to move forward were met with no result. Attempts to move backwards were also met with no result. Stuck!

A dark cloud formed over us as the air turned blue and the little helpers slowly began to realise that they would not be getting lunch in 10 minutes… My mind was trying to work out a way out… letting tyres down was an option. We did have a garden spade and an axe in the car to assist in moving a bit of dirt around. We could wait for someone to pull us out. Nothing was going to be quick and we were all in ‘good clothes’.

Ah – but I had just finished two nights shifts, I was grumpy and by now a little hungry. So with a bit of right foot, and rocking back and forward we finally broke free from the mud and made our way back onto the track where there was much rejoicing! Sorry I didn’t pause to take photos - but we were by now on a mission to get to our destination and get some hungry boys fed!

We drove on another 200metres and turned around comfortably at the junction of two tracks!!! Lesson learnt.

The rest of the weekend was fantastic. Lake Conjola was beautiful and the waters crystal clear. The Little Fisherman was in his element, with whiting, flathead and puffer fish nibbling his bait under his very eyes. Despite our best efforts of putting a little bait on a very large hook to avoid catching any fish, he managed to catch his first fish – a Flounder.

The Little Fisherman patiently waits


Success!

The other little helper loved the warm waters, and frolicking in the shallows. He has little interest in fishing – much preferring to build sandcastles or play with his trucks and diggers. The coast here gives many options from sheltered lake waters to open surf beaches to suit all levels of experience and adrenalin.


The beach was glorious, the food delicious and the beer cold. We enjoyed a great game of Settlers of Catan one evening, which was hotly contested. This is a fantastic game where strategy and luck combine with negotiation skills to ensure that everyone has a reasonable chance at victory. The extension pack allowed six of us to colonise islands and build our empires with much merriment all round.

On ANZAC day we attended a very pleasant Dawn Service at Ulladulla. The Little Helpers both were given the option of attending, and both willingly agreed. They behaved beautifully through the service, and as a treat later we enjoyed some cinnamon toast at a café overlooking the harbour, before hitting the (in)famous Funland for a drive of the Dodgem Cars.

The dodgem cars were a great hit... literally!


The boys enjoy a stroll along Ulladulla Harbour... a minute later they were both in the water up to their necks!

In all it was a great weekend – with great company and we hope to do it all again soon. We must say a big thank you to Bel, Rob and little Hugh for hosting us at your piece of paradise. Thanks also to Nic and Dave for putting the gourmet into catering!

Needless to say we came home via Turpentine Road thankfully without further incident!

Deua National Park - March 2011

With foreboding skies we escaped from the grind for a much anticipated trip into the Bendethera Valley, south of Braidwood. We planned on camping with a group of friends for a couple of relaxing nights in paradise.

The mighty Terracan was packed to capacity with essential supplies for a successful weekend in the bush – bikes, cricket set, totem tennis set, soccer ball and matchbox cars for outside play, with colouring-in books in case of poor weather. We also fitted in a tent, some bedding and some food… little did we realise until after we arrived that we had left the milk at home!

After rendezvousing with our good friends in Braidwood we pointed the vehicles south for our entry to Deua National Park. We let our tyres down while the kids attempted to fill the Shoalhaven River with pebbles. After a nervous look at the sky we crossed our fingers and engaged 4WD for our entry into the park and the trek into the Bendethera Valley.

Successfully across the Shoalhaven River From Deua NP March 2011

Our friend's Hilux takes the plunge From Deua NP March 2011

As we headed into the valley the rain continued to fall which made for a picturesque journey in. Some of the sections in the mist of the clouds were positively eerie, however the track was in good condition and being rocky based, we left little trace of our passage.

The misty trip in From Deua NP March 2011

The descent into the valley From Deua NP March 2011

Unfortunately on our arrival in the valley the Deua River was too high and fast flowing to cross safely. With evening approaching and the little helpers restless, we decided to make camp. Our resultant camp was with the leeches on the junction of the Dampier Mountain Fire Trail and the entrance into the valley. Not the picturesque haven he hoped for, but at least we were able to get out of the valley if we desired. Some other poor party had been stuck in the valley for three days and things were getting desperate – they had run out of beer!

Camp From Deua NP March 2011

With the rain continuing to threaten, we were all thankful for the dinner that was sitting in the thermal pot. Some good foresight by SWMBO resulted in a delicious caserole for minimum effort. The thermal cooker has become one of our most used kitchen items, being used to prepare a delicious creamy porridge in the evening, so that when the hungry little helpers awake, we can rest a few moments longer knowing that breakfast is already cooked.

The other accessory that has become essential in our travels and at home is our travel mug. This mug by Contigo is hard to find, but is spill and leak proof. It also keeps my coffee really hot. As I am the only coffee drinker in my family (apparently it makes me a nicer person), a full plunger is too much coffee to drink in one session. With this cup I can pour one for me now and one for later. I have been told it works well on peppermint tea also!

Aaah.... coffee :) From Deua NP March 2011

The following day our camp expanded with two other families arriving from the west. Another two tried to make it in from Mourya, however were thwarted by the mighty Deua River still flowing far too strongly to cross. We made the best of our time enjoying watching people enter the valley full of bravado only to have second thoughts when they saw the river. Unfortuately with the river so high and fast the Little Fisherman was bound to be disappointed, however a lot of assistance was required in freeing lines and hooks from obstructions and tangles, so as a time killing exercise the fishing was a success.

The Little Fisherman... dejected isn't the word From Deua NP March 2011

The first lads across the river were a group of young fellas from the Thong Strap 4WD club – and to tell the truth we were a bit relieved. With camping equipment consisting of a swag and an esky, these young blokes proved that after a few considering ales, nothing was impossible. Thankfully they all made it across with a lot of right foot and luck, and took their vehicles and doof doof stereos well into the valley.

The young lads make their crossing... just	Lots of right foot and a loud stereo helped From Deua NP March 2011

On Sunday we broke camp and bid adieu to our friends and returned home. The skies had cleared and apparently the river continued to drop, although crossings into the valley remained challenging. We heard on the grapevine that a Hilux was swept off one of the crossings on Sunday afternoon. I guess it goes to confirm the advice that you should plan Bendethera valley for dry weather only.

As usual, more snaps of the weekend can be found

Ravine - Kosciuszko National Park

With the sun shining, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Soundtrack playing and Matilda hooked up, we departed home and headed south for a four day camping trip back in the High (or as it turned out not so high) Country.

We took the scenic route south from Tharwa to Adaminaby via the Boboyan Road. Whilst it is 60km shorter than following the main highway via Cooma, it has quite a bit of slow going sections. I don’t think we saved any time, however the Gudgenby Valley Lookout is well worth a stop and look and we enjoyed the road less travelled.

We stopped for lunch at Adaminaby. The bigger of the two little helpers (The Little Fisherman) correctly identified the giant fish which adorns the small park in the village as a Rainbow Trout. This of course is not from the actual experience of catching a fish, but the addictive iPhone application Flick Fishing.

From Ravine Camp

Giant Trout at Adaminaby

We pushed on as we were keen to meet up with our friends who we had planned to meet at Ravine, on the Yarrangobilly River. Armed with the worthy directions of Craig Lewis and Cathy Savage we soon found our way to the perfect campsite on the banks of the river.


Yarrangobilly River at Ravine

We camped just downstream from the ruins of the Washington Hotel, in a lovely clearing with good access to the river. The bridge over the river has long been washed away, and the river crossing looked rather gnarly with large rocks and holes awaiting the unsuspecting. A couple of lifted Cruisers with much bigger tyres than us made it over during our time there, but we decided it wasn’t worth the risk of damage for the sake of driving over onto Lobs Hole Fire trail.

Instead we sat back - tried our luck fishing and enjoyed the serenity.

From Ravine Camp

The Little Fisherman tries his luck

On our second day we decided to explore a little bit of the area, and ventured back up the hill. The views from Wallace Creek Lookout were very pleasant, although the little people seemed more interested in a line of cicadas on a nearby gum tree.

From Ravine Camp

Wallace Creek Lookout

We then thought Three Mile Dam would be a nice spot for lunch, with the opportunity for The Little Fisherman to wet a line. How wrong we were. The weather at nearly 1500m above sea level is considerably cooler than at the 600m of our camp, and was not entirely unexpected. What was really unexpected the size and ferocity of the March Flies that commenced swarming as soon as we started putting lunch together. The kids were bustled back into the car, lest they be carried away by the monsters. Lunch was made hurriedly with two ‘swotters’ appointed to protect the sandwich makers, before we all beat a retreat to the safety of the cars to enjoy our lunch in some relative peace.

From Ravine Camp

Three Mile Dam

We headed down the hill to what is left of Kiandra and the relics of the heady days of the Gold Rush. It is great to see the old Kiandra Court House being restored, however much of what is left of the town can only be imagined from information plaques around the old town site. We tried our hand at fishing on the Eucambene River, however this time a large Tiger Snake discouraged further efforts and we returned back down the hill, our exploring efforts complete.

From Ravine Camp

Ore Crushing Battery at Kiandra

Sadly our friends had to leave us on day three, but we had two further nights down in the valley. It drizzled off and on, but thankfully due to our elevation, it wasn’t too cold. The little helpers even borrowed a bucket or two from the river to ensure the mud was just the right consistency for good old mud pies. Between the mud, bikes, matchbox cars and a totem tennis kit, we had plenty to keep us amused.

From Ravine Camp

From Ravine Camp

We thoroughly enjoyed our four days away, however were horrified at the news of the Toowomba and Lockyer Valley floods on our return to civilisation and mobile phones. We hope that those of you affected by this tragedy, and all the other flooding from Queensland to Victoria stay safe and well, and are back on your feet before too long.

Some more photos of our adventure can be found here:

Ravine Camp

Kosciuszko National Park December 2010

Yet again following the directions of Craig Lewis and Cathy Savage we ended up packing for a weekend touring the northern Kosciuszko National Park. The weather looked unpredictable - and was, but we had an absolute ball checking out such a magnificient part of the Australian high country.

With good friends Nic and Dave coming along in their Prado, we caught up on Thursday night to make our final preparations for a timely departure on Friday. The rough plan was to head over the Brindabella Mountains and enter the park from the north via Broken Cart Trail.

We enjoyed lunch at Micalong Creek before backtracking slightly to enter the park. We slowly meandered our way south, driving on reasonable tracks that were occasionally rocky and sometimes muddy.

With the soundtrack from The Man From Snowy River playing, there is nothing better than coming over a rise and seeing a wide open plain with brumbies peacefully grazing.


Our first brumbies looking fit and healthy

We continued our trip south through Long Plain, and marvelled at human's ability to construct huge high tension power lines directly through the length of the plain. Whilst practically one can understand the considerations of the engineers who chose the plain as the most economic route for the lines, it seems a little at odd with our huge price we are willing to pay for visual amenity these days in other areas. Of course we consoled ourselves in the fact the lines are transporting electricity generated from the incredible Snowy Hydro-Electic Scheme.

With the day getting long and the little ones getting tired we decided to head for a campsite with a stream big enough to cast a line. After a moment of indecision, Yarrangobilly Village Campground was chosen as the destination. The village has long since gone, with the exception of the old post office, but the camping area was picturesque, if split by the Snowy Mountains Highway.


Yarrangobilly Village Campground

The little ones were happy. With their attempts to catch dinner in the fast flowing Yarrangobilly River not yeilding dinner, sausages were a deemed a suitable substitute, and we settled into a pleasant evening around the campfire.

Dawn was shattered by Tipper and Dog combinations providing road base all the way from Goulburn for the National Parks, even before the little helper alarm clocks decided it was time to be off - so we decided to move on. After breakfast we packed in record time, but that was due to the driving rain more than the traffic, and decided to regroup at Yarrangobilly Caves.

Not knowing what to expect we were very pleasantly surprised by the Yarrangobilly Caves. The Rangers were most helpful and we thoroughly enjoyed our explore of Glory Cave. The little helpers loved their first caving experience (albiet with lights, paths and rails), and we are looking forward to coming back and visiting some of the other caves in the area soon. It was also out of the weather, which was a big plus at that time, although it wasn't exactly dry inside the caves either!


The boys outside the entrance to Glory Cave

We then pushed on to Blue Waterholes for lunch. With a bit more time on our hands we visited Long Plain Hut and Coonibil Hut on the way. The hardships endured by the early graziers is apparent in these huts, and it was great to see them being respected by most visitors. We also visited Coolamine Homestead, a more permanent settlement. I could have spent hours inside the buildings, but the little helpers had more fun stalking the resident kangaroos.


Coolamine Homestead

Blue Waterholes is a part of a similar limestone formation that formed Yarrangobilly Caves, however in this case there are numerous springs and the creek passes into the impressive Clarke's Gorge. Normally the creek is dry upstream of the springs, however it was flowing nicely during our visit. We enjoyed a short explore around here before the thunder signalled an impending downpour and we beat a hasty retreat to the carpark, so we didn't get any better photos of the gorge or springs.


Down by the river, with a nervous eye on the black clouds forming

We set up camp just up the hill from the carpark at Magpie Flat camp ground, sheltered behind a ridge line. NPWS had provided a good amount of firewood at each fireplace, and with a bit of coaxing we soon had a warm fire going... even if it did hail on us! Roast lamb in the Cobb Cooker was delicious and we soon made our ways to bed, with beanies and thermals on!

We awoke at the crack of dawn on Sunday, not to the sound of trucks, but to a chorus of Kookaburras. Outside the tents a kangaroo and her joey were enjoying the mown grass around our campfire. It was an idyllic morning, and after a good pot of coffee and hot breakfast we were ready for anything.

We headed out of the park via Talbingo, and as we dropped into the village, so did the Incredible Hulk, an Erickson Sky Crane.


The Incredible Hulk - slightly smaller than the famous Elvis

The aircraft was on a ferry flight from Melbourne to Sydney when the weather closed in and they landed at Talbingo. The crew kindly showed us (and half the village) over the aircraft and even let our boys sit in the cockpit. The helicopter was a highlight for the little helpers who have drawn the helicopter and built amazingly accurate lego models since getting home.



The boys in the cockpit look out the bubble windows

And then onto Tumut for lunch, and Gundagai for the compulsory stop with the Dog on the Tuckerbox before heading for home.


Dog on the Tuckerbox
(A full history on the poem and history of Bullocky Bill's Dog on the Tuckerbox can be found here.

Special thanks to Nic and Dave for the company, wine and photos. More snaps can be found at my gallery on Australia4wd forum here.

"Matilda" - Our 2005 Aussie Swag Camper

Our camper is a 2005 Aussie Swag - named by our boys "Matilda". We purchased it second hand in April and simply love it.

A camper had been on the wish-list for a long time, however we couldn't really justify the expense. All was to change on one camping trip!

We always knew one of the self-inflating mattresses had a slow leak, however I thought it was just my bad luck to get it every time. A firm mattress at bed time would slowly but surely turn into a thin mat allowing every undulation, rock and blade of grass to be felt. I loved camping, but was coming home with more aches and pains than when I left home.

The better half let slip that she had worked out which one of the self-inflating mattresses leaked, and revealed she could tell by the older style logo on the cover. Needless to say I swiftly swapped mattresses when she wasn't looking. The next morning, I awoke blissfully refreshed - but a little anxious as to what The Bride would say after her night becoming acquainted with the rocks of the Buckenbower State Forest. Instead of berating me about swapping mattresses, or even chastising me at all, she simply looked at me with bleary eyes and said the magic words “Let’s get a camper trailer.”

So along came Matilda – a pre-loved Aussie Swag Camper.

We had decided that a hard-floor camper would best suit our desire to travel around the country in a few years, however were worried about the general lack of storage space in most hard floor campers which seem more suited to couples. The Aussie Swag solved most of our immediate concerns by having a large pantry and fridge stowed on the trailer, freeing up valuable room in the car for more important things like kids colouring in books and the like.

Our first go at setting it up was at Yadboro Flat. It wasn't necessarily pretty (in terms of getting the canvas crease free) - but we found the camper extremely comfortable to base ourselves in. It is heavy – and we had a bit of fun coming home up the Clyde Mountain – but it travelled beautifully behind the Terracan.


We took it to Son of Trials Plus the other day – and whilst the Terracan found the going of the competition a little tough – we did enjoy retreating to the comfort of the camper's bed at the end of the day’s activities.


Of course one of the most important things is to make sure the camper is waterproof. I recently took the two little helpers to Jervis Bay for a couple of nights. Just after getting everything set up, the heavens opened and we received somewhere in the vicinity of 115mm of rain in the next few hours.

The little helpers thought this was great fun, having a road turn into a river, and all dirt turn to a most spectacular sticky mud. Thankfully hot showers were but a few metres away, and after getting them washed, dry and in their pyjamas, we retreated to a dry bed for the evening.


Some of the features we love about the camper:

• 80 Litre fridge – ample storage for a family, including all important ‘paddle pops’
• Comfortable queen size bed
• 2x 105 AH deep cycle batteries – keeps the electrics running nicely
• 120 Watt solar panel – almost keeps up with the fridge and other electrical requirements
• Pantry – huge pantry drawer above the kitchen
• Loads of storage - in front box, under the bed and in the body
• Waterproof canvas
• Enough room on bed to store kids mattresses and bedding

Source: Matilda