Hunter Valley
First night out was spent in the Hunter Valley at Broke. After
passing by all of the sounds, smells & sights at the various vineyards (Lovedale Long Lunch was on, which we hadn’t realised), we made it
safely to Broke. It was a nice short distance from home and an opportunity to
do what this whole trip will be about …… relaxing, sightseeing/walking
about/exploring and, most importantly, whatever we want to do!
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We settled in
for a nice quiet afternoon & evening, re-learning that we can in fact
survive without a TV, even if only for a short time.
Woke super early to the 8am alarm and, after a walk around
town (ok, just past the general store), exploring the river and crossing the
bridge to the other side of the river, we ambled back, packed up and headed
off.
Dubbo
We set path for Dubbo, deciding to cut out 5 or so cold
nights at Dunns Swamp and Mudgee. Our trusty Wiki Camps app included a couple of
interesting free camps outside Dubbo so we chose the one needing 4wd figuring
it would be quieter.
It sure was, one other couple set-up to
share a whole river bank with.
It was a magic night, with a sunset that this photo does no justice to.
We wondered about
the security of the van if left all day unattended. So in the morning, we packed up and
went to the other camp a few km’s away. Not as scenic, but as with most free camps, there were
terrific people to socialise with, including the couple “Sharee & Col”
with their Rag Doll cat Gypsy. If you
are going to take a cat on tour with you, this would be the one, being super friendly & happy to be on a lead.
This camp was our first fire (made by others) for the trip and ended up with 11 people enjoying the atmosphere. The evening fire really is a great starter for people from all walks of life relaxing together.
Heaps of highlights, with the Meerkats entertaining as always
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and the Siamangs (apes) providing heaps of laughs and displaying their considerable acrobatic skills.
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| although perhaps not altogether thrilled at times!! |
The Otters were also a joy to watch, being very inquisitive and bounding with energy
Dubbo was also an opportunity to catch up with Bill (from John’s neighbourhood when growing up), good to see him and hear that he and his family are enjoying life.
Warrumbungles
We camped in the National Park. What a spectacular location,
even with the devastation of the fires of last year still obvious. The camping
area itself is a tad “sterile” however the proximity to brilliant walks,
combined with the bush sounds (birds, wind, although maybe not the ukulele
“strummer” …. thank goodness he/she moved on!), we chose to stay 3 nights. We
did several of the walks, all were worthwhile.
Pillaga Forest
We had been tossing up about a night at a camp at the “Sculptures in the Scrub” camp site. We met a lovely older couple at Warrumbungles NP camp who loved it, and that cemented our plans. A stop at the Discovery Centre in Baradine (well worth doing, it’s a small but really interesting centre), we headed off. ~35km of dirt road, with 22km of it fairly trying (ranged from 15-25km/hr over corrugations that almost came up to the windscreen …. OK a bit of an exaggeration), through scrubland that was less than inspiring, we wondered if this was going to be a let-down. Arriving at the camp, it was brilliant, albeit very dry.
We started a fire (our first for the trip) and it drew everyone else in the camp ground over. In fact, it drew the only other folks who stayed the night into the campground, and they only arrived after we had started the fire. Goes to prove the immense pulling power of communal fires. It was the older couple from the night before who had decided to return so they could see the sculptures at sunrise. We started happy hour about 5pm and staggered off to make dinner around 8pm (which seems to be late night at the early stages of each trip).
The sculptures and walk, including though the gorge, are so
worth doing. Whatever inspired folks to undertake setting up such great
facilities (BBQ’s, toilet, picnic tables), the amazing sculptures and walking
track, is something we’re grateful for. Pity in a way that so few people seem
to come here, but then again, the peace and quiet at such a lovely location is part
of it’s magic.
There is a story board for each sculpture which provides relevance. So if these photos don't "do it" for you, we'd suggest the detour to see these for yourself is worthwhile as part of a journey of the area.
There is a story board for each sculpture which provides relevance. So if these photos don't "do it" for you, we'd suggest the detour to see these for yourself is worthwhile as part of a journey of the area.
And that's it for this edition, hope you have enjoyed looking at it as much as we have finding and living it.
Cheers,
J&J
