We set off from Albury on Monday 11 May in cold rain, pushing to the north as quickly as possible. We had intended to first head east over the mountains to the coast but the weather pattern was not in our favour, so northward we went on long, straight, flat roads dodging showers as well as we could. First camp was 400kms later, at the Lake Cargelligo Weir – a nice bush camping area on the Lachlan River with plenty of trees, firewood, a dunny, and little else. Importantly we were ahead of the rain and enjoyed a mild night. No pics taken by me – Jeff?
Next day we pushed further north to the Macquarie Marshes area with a cold wind at our backs. It’s an isolated place in the middle of the state, on the edge of the Outback. Here we ran out of daylight and with no campsite appearing we simply pulled off the road into the bush and found a cleared flat spot. The wind dropped, we had everything we needed including unlimited firewood. Another fine night. No pics again but I did eventually find my camera.
We stopped at this Observation Platform, a little strange since the Macquarie Marsh is dry this year – possibly this decade – Australia is like that.
Apparently in a wet year this whole area is flooded and water birds and other wildlife can be viewed from this platform. As it was, Jeff and I were the only wildlife around when an elderly couple turned up to do a bit of viewing. They seemed to appreciate our presence.
On we went, heading more easterly to the Warrumbungles, a spectacular National Park where there was a lot of volcanic activity about 12 million years ago last Wednesday. We camped at a nice spot with kangaroos supplied but a persistent cold wind. Fortunately there was plenty of firewood.
Next day (Thursday?) we started to head south-east, wanting to get to the south coast where finer weather was expected. Once again running out of daylight we arrived at Sofala, an old gold mining town. It was cold enough for us to ask about accommodation at the pub, but no rooms were available. We camped at a picnic area at the entry to the town. Bloody cold it was - and no fire - so we had an early night and a frosty start to the next day. It took ages to dry the tents and get feeling back into my feet.
We were well away from the flat stuff now but still on the western side of the Great Dividing Range. Lovely bendy roads with up and down bits all contributed to keeping reality at bay. Once again we ran out of light and resorted to camping at a roadside stop popular with ‘grey nomads’, near Braidwood. There was a crazy dog-lady there, arguing with her three terrified dogs. We managed to avoid her.
Next day, and we headed further south-east over the Divide and down to the sea. The weather was perfect – sunny with light winds. And here was the gem of the trip, a public yet well-kept-secret camping area on a headland overlooking two fine beaches. To get there you have to go through a gate on a sandy road that is marked ‘Private Road’. There are no signs indicating the camping area anywhere. We had the place to ourselves, happily paid the $10 fee and settled in. There was a good heap of sawn firewood supplied …
and this beautiful wallaby dropped in for a chat …
We slept to the gentle roar of the surf and woke to another superb day. A few metres from where we camped was a path down to the beach. The only footprints on that beach were ours …
More later ...
