Watagan Wanderings – don't forget to check the oil!

The sun was almost shining as we bade farewell to the Cousins and thought about commencing our southerly journey home.  We were planning three more nights under canvas before returning, and were still undecided as to our destination.  Upper Colo Reserve and the Watagan Mountains were our options, but we were in no hurry to make up our mind... so we went to the beach!


Such country kids... jeans and boots at the beach!

But lovin' it

After an ice cream at Bar Beach Kiosk, we thought we would give the Watagan Mountains a go, as they were close to our track south, and there is a myriad of camping sites on offer.  We had heard the Watagans are a mecca for 4wd challenges, trail bike riders and the like, we were a little hesitant as to what we would find given our ability to choose campsites near doof-doof stereos. 

We were pleasantly surprised with some of the views on the way up onto the Mountains through the Watagan National Park.  We paused for lunch at Monkey Face lookout, before a short drive along Watagan Mountains Road to our intended camp at The Pines.

At Monkey Face Lookout... where we enjoyed lunch

There is a collection of campsites clustered around the site of a former forestry mill.  Whilst there is plenty of evidence to suggest it gets packed out on weekends, (broken glass and bottle tops) we almost had the place to ourselves.  Amazing to think that we were just over an hour from the heart of two of Australia's largest cities and could be camping in near isolation during school holidays.


The Pines... and we tried out the never-before-been-used flyscreens too.

The boys busied themselves making bike tracks around the camp, creating cities for their matchbox cars and creating a Totem Tennis championship, but the highlight was a simple swing that hung from a branch near our camp. It provided hours of entertainment for our boys, so I must extend a big thank you to whomever it was that set it up.


Mr Four and a Half on the swing

The small creek running near our camp had some beautiful little waterfalls from sandstone ledges before joining another creek at a beautiful swimming hole, thoughtfully created many years ago.  We explored many of the walking tracks on foot, more than enough to keep little legs busy!
 


The path leads where?  Lets find out...

A beautiful swimming hole near The Pines

We also enjoyed a pleasant walk at Boarding House Dam, just down the road.  We had no idea how beautiful the Watagans would be, but it was simply stunning.

Just downstream from Boarding House Dam

On the loop walk at Boarding House Dam

It was my custom every few days to run a check over Terry.  A mechanic I am not, but I figure it is good practice to check the basic fluids, tyres and the like every few days.  It was here doing a simple cursory check of Terry that I thought the engine oil was a bit low.  I was about to put it down to the slope on which we were parked, giving a false low reading, however I noticed a oil smear near the oil filter that made my heart sink.  The oil filter was quite loose, and I had no idea how much oil had been lost.

On the plus side, the oil was still reading on the dip stick, and we still had oil pressure, so it was decided that the following morning we would head down the hill to Coronbourg to replenish the missing oil.

Thankfully we made it down the hill without incident, and Terry appreciated a litre of the good stuff, bringing the level back to the middle of the dip stick. Any other day I might have got a bit upset at my mechanic, but as the last oil change was done by yours truly, I just put it down to experience, and the old rule that you often get what you pay for!

On our last night Jo and I sat around the campfire sharing our thoughts and what we had acheived over the past couple of weeks.  We had not just survived, but thrived in our cold and wet holiday.  We had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, inspite of the odd moment where we were stuck down near Dingo Dell, or when we were freezing in the snow at Boyd River.  Just as we were thinking we had seen it all, a flash of lightening reminded us that perhaps we should not be so cocky.  We battened down the hatches and made a hasty retreat to our camper, laughing in spite of ourselves as mother nature threw down a torrential downpour on us.  Ah, she has a sense of humour that one!
And so our camping holiday drew to a close at the Watagans.  We had survived torrential rain, hail, snow and the occasional burst of sunshine.  We had managed to eat fresh vegies every night, even on our sixth night before resupply.  Temporary repairs had been made to the odd push bike.  Fish caught and released (ok only one). In all we came away refreshed and rejuvenated having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

The kids had a lot of favourite moments.  The caves, the zoo, the catching up with friends and cousins, watching Daddy winch Terry and Matilda up the hill, catching fish... it was simply all good - or was it simply spending two weeks with Mum and Dad, I'm not sure.

Jo and  I really enjoyed the time not just as a family – which is rare enough in our modern hectic lives, but as a couple.  We particularly enjoyed evenings after the little helpers were in bed, sitting around a camp fire with a glass of red.  We shared dreams, solved problems and relaxed, appreciating each other and committing to doing this again as soon as we could... after all, isn't that what camping is all about?

A link to all our pictures from the full holiday can be found here: