tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62798446338717065892024-02-06T19:58:53.810-08:002 Lost AussiesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-15218070292782494242016-09-17T15:00:00.001-07:002016-10-09T19:40:07.073-07:00We Are Moving We have moved to a new web address and a new Facebook page. We hope that you will come and join our adventures.<br />
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New website - <a href="http://2lostaussies.com/">http://2lostaussies.com</a><br />
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Facebook - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/2-Lost-Aussies-189977841425490">https://www.facebook.com/2-Lost-Aussies-189977841425490</a><br />
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We hope to see you soon Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-86205165452360742032016-09-11T01:54:00.002-07:002016-09-11T01:59:56.922-07:00Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had an amazing adventure, backpacking in Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand. We had 8 flights, 27 tuk tuks, 23 buses, 3 songthaews, 4 cars, 7 trains, 7 taxi's, 5 boats and 1 bamboo raft so come enjoy the rest of our adventures <span style="color: yellow;"><b><a href="http://andysitchyfeet.blogspot.com.au/2016/09/malaysia-cambodia-and-thailand-2016.html" target="_blank">HERE</a></b></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-3003219787492061112016-08-30T23:30:00.002-07:002016-08-30T23:30:36.345-07:00Watangans National Park and Caves BeachFriday afternoon and were packed ready to head north for the weekend. We have stayed clear of the Central Coast, partly due to the population of the area in summer and we try to avoid crowds when possible. But we have a long list of places we would like to see in the area, so we decided its time to head north.<br />
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Our first challenge was the Sydney traffic, although leaving earlier to try avoid this we were unlucky!! and spent a couple of hours crawling the crowded roads of north west Sydney, but once on the Pacific Motorway an hour and half we arrive at Watangans National Park. <br />
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The road into the National Park was easy enough in our van, approx 10km of narrow dirt road. We drove past Balgalow campground which looked full, so we drove another kilometre up the road arriving at Gap Creek campground this also looked full, no parking spots for our van in the car park. We decided to park in the car park for the day area just for the night, as it was too late to go looking else where.<br />
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In the morning we looked around and there were more camping spots further along a track. As we were up early we ventured down to the Gap Creek Falls track. Im sure I had read somewhere this track was easy! I found it slightly challenging, but it was a beautiful walk and well worth it even the vertical track down and back.<br />
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We walked down the short and steep goat track to a point where we were jumping down huge boulders to the bottom. The gully was so surreal, very quiet and peaceful, although the waterfall was only a light trickle it was enough to keep Andy happy as he set up his camera. I continued to climb more rocks to explore what was around the corner. This place is amazing we sat for a while just enjoying the quiet of nature. (and thinking of the walk back up)<br />
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The actual walk up wasn't to bad, its steep but the track is only short so not to painful.<br />
on the track down there also is the loop track which is a short 600mtr loop. We headed back to the van for a quick snack before our drive over to Caves Beach.<br />
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The 40 min drive to the coast was easy and we parked in the car park at the furthest end of the beach, so we enjoyed a beautiful walk along the beach heading for the caves at the southern end. It was low tide so we had easy access to the caves. The cliff faces and the rock formations surrounding the caves are awesome we spent a couple of hours exploring and taking lots of pictures. The area we parked in has picnic facilities and loads of room for relaxing in the sun. After having lunch we drove to Swansea Heads and looked out at the beautiful view of the lake entrance.<br />
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There are a few options for camping in the area but we decided to head back to Gap Creek campgrounds as its free and also allows contained fires. We set up for the night and enjoyed a few beers by the fire. The next day we drove to Monkey face lookout and Gap Creek lookout both breathtaking, over looking the Watagans National park and surrounds, from here we headed over to Boarding House Dam. <br />
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There is a boardwalk track here, we started to follow it past the Dam wall and over a bridge, the place has a relaxed feel to it, moss and ferns scattered everywhere, getting off track and following the river we wished we had worn proper shoes as it was so inviting to climb down to the water edge to explore the huge rocks with what looked like hidden caves and water holes beneath. This area of park has a picnic area, toilets, shelter area.<br />
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Unfortunately time was getting on and we had to head home. We will organize another trip this way soon but you need a lot more time explore this area. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-16983478558942792172016-08-28T01:15:00.000-07:002016-08-28T01:15:45.833-07:00The Historical Ghost Town of Joadja<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The ghost town of Joadja is located in the Southern Highlands of NSW Australia, its has always been and always will be a privately owned town. The town was established in 1870 after a mining company started to mine for oil shale, and in the early 1900 the town slowly became a ghost town and left to decay.<div>
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<br />These days the owner of Joadja opens the gates for guided tours a few selected weekends a year with a morning and afternoon tours at 11am and again at 2pm and tours last about 80 minutes. The tour is conducted with people movers, which is a trailer or two towed behind a 4wd with a commentary and plenty of information along the way and a few chances to get out and explore and get a few photos of this historical town. </div>
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The tour wraps up with a tour of the Joadja Distillery and a chance to taste the beer. There is a cafe for snacks or a meal before or after a tour.<div>
<br />Joadja Tours and Distillery web site <a href="http://www.joadjadistillery.com.au/"><b>Here</b></a></div>
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How to get to Joadja <b><a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Joadja+Heritage+Tours/@-34.4069106,150.2189563,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x6b13bf82e74c419d:0x9173ef853dbab82b!8m2!3d-34.406915!4d150.221145" target="_blank">Here</a></b><br /><br />Coordinates<br /><br />34°24'15.3"S 150°13'40.3"E</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-84709624990673492342016-08-16T15:28:00.000-07:002016-08-16T15:28:32.035-07:00Mermaid Pools TahmoorWe have been out of Australia for past 5 weeks and were itching to get out and explore some of our beautiful Australian bushland. Waking up to a sunny and warm Sunday we decided to stayed close to home and venture over to Tahmoor about an hours drive from Wollongong to check out The Mermaid Pools, as its been on our list for a while. <br />
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Taking our time we arrived mid morning, driving from Picton, once your on Charles Point Rd continue to Pheasants Nest Ford Crossing Bridge turn left into a small dirt road just before the bridge which leads down to the parking area at bottom of river it is easy to find.<br />
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The walking track has no signage but is a well defined track, along the way you see painted rocks or coloured tags to keep you on track so its pretty easy to follow, we continued on the right side and followed the river. The walk starts off quiet flat only jumping a few large rocks, we came to a point the track separates into 2 tracks both eventually meet up, (there is a painted rock with arrows) we decided to take the bottom track which followed the river. It was beautiful very quiet and peaceful. Following the track to the pools is not to hard but lots of large steps and rocks to climb and one or two steep sections making it a lot more fun. At the end of the bottom section you find an old diesel engine from here you head up hill and keep walking along cliff face. Arriving at See- through-pools this is a small waterhole with water cascade and lots of rock pools. There was a track leading down to it but we stayed on track it looked amazing looking down at it. <br />
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Walking a bit further along we came to a sign with directions to Tahmoor Gorge, which is a 10km return walk, we had to back track a little and head down a rocky track which took us to the Mermaid pool. Climbing over huge rocks and down to the edge. As it being winter no one was swimming but a few people picnicking around edge. We sat for a while to admire the surrounds then looked around at the waterfalls and huge cave like rock formations surrounding the pools. <br />
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This is a really pretty place we were lucky there we not many people there but could imagine it would be popular in summer. On the way back we took the high track it was open area and in some sections looked like a fire had gone through recently, lots of silver gum and wattle trees. This return walk was easy there were pieces of yellow steel markings on trees to follow along. The walk was 4km return taking an easy couple of hours, at a casual pace. The mermaid pools is well worth a look a really nice way to spend a few hours or take some lunch and spend the day there.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-57517852868872656162016-06-27T00:14:00.001-07:002016-06-27T01:48:56.328-07:00Blue Mountains - RevisitedWith the weekend approching we decided to do a quick trip to the Blue Mountains to cover a few things we haven't yet seen.<br />
I had the van ready and packed by the time Trish got to my place, and by 630pm we were on our way to Lake Wallace about 8km west of Lithgow. It's a 3 hour trip from my place to the lake, and it was cold. We turned up the heater and looked at the temperature it was 15 degrees outside.<br />
By the time we had reached the bottom the Blue Mountains the temperature was 6 degree, we reached Katoomba and it was snowing in patches and a chilly zero degrees. We were loving the sight of the snow, covering the sides of the road, houses and parked cars, this continued as we drove through the top of Mt Victoria then there wasn't much snow till we reach Lithgow. We pulled into maccas for a hot chocolate, the ground was white with snow and the bins had frozen shut. I looked at Trish and said how stupid are we.<br />
We jumped back into the van for our final stretch to Lake Wallace, a free camp area with hot showers, toilets, a dump point and rubbish bins. The lake was cold but no snow there and only 2 other camper-vans, with plenty of options we picked a spot behind a tree which helped protect us from that icy wind.<br />
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Next morning the lake was cold, a chilly -2.7 degrees, the puddles of water had a thin layer of ice covering them and the mountains towards Lithgow were covered in patches of snow, but the sunrise was magical.<br />
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We got ready and headed back to the Blackheath and into the Megalong Valley. Along the way we were in wonder of the snow which looked stunning on the drive into the Megalong Valley.<br />
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Our first stop was Mermaids Cave a short walk along a dirt track and down a lot of stone steps between two very large rocks, once we reached the bottom we took in the beauty of this place and the small waterfall. We spent a bit of time looking around and snapping a few photos. Before taking on the steps back up to the van. Apparently Mermaids Caves was used in the Mad Max film Beyond Thunderdome.<br />
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On the way out of the Valley we stopped at the side of the road a take a few photos and to make our very own Olaf . (miniature snowman)<br />
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Our next stop was Govetts Leap in Blackheath an absolute stunning view over the Grose Valley encased in the soaring mountains, we made our way down a small muddy track to Horse Shoe Falls the lookouts along the way were amazing the views were stunning. It took us about half an hour to reach the top of the falls but unfortunately the track was shut.<br />
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We saw a small waterfall cascade before the large falls, a beautiful quiet spot, from here the track continues a further 3 km to another lookout.<br />
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Driving to the next stop was Pulpit Rock and Bushrangers Cave in Mt Victoria. We took a short 100 meter walk to Pulpit Rock and took a few photos and took in the amazing view down the Kanimbla Valley. There was patches of snow along the walk and all the puddles on the lookout all had a layer of ice on top.<br />
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We walked 50 meter back up the track and took a turn down a zig zag dirt rocky track which is 400 meters to Bushrangers Cave, this area is used for abseiling and rock climbing.<br />
Trish made a late lunch and we sat and enjoy a great view surrounded by snow.<br />
We packed up and headed back to Lake Wallace for the night, by the time we had reached the lake it was 4:30pm and the temperature had dropped to 1 degree and with it forecast to drop to -4 degrees over night we decided to grab a motel room for the night. Trish got onto Trivago and found a hotel called the Zig Zag hotel in Lithgow, we got a better deal than what was offered on Trivago. The room was very tidy and had everything we needed a hot shower, reverse cycle air conditioner and electric blankets, we were in heaven.<br />
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Next morning it was -3 at 6am and the van was covered in a thin layer of ice, thank god we decided to stay at the hotel. We got ready packed the van and headed off to Blackheath to Pulpit Rock Lookout (different location to previous day) another short bush walk to an amazing view, on one side we could see where we were yesterday at Govetts Leap and Horse Shoe Falls and down the Grose Valley the other way. The walk back up all the steps soon warmed us up. We had lunch and headed into Sydney to catch up with some friends and later head home.<br />
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Here's an earlier post on the Blue Mountains <a href="http://2lostaussies.blogspot.com.au/2015/08/blue-mountains.html" target="_blank">HERE </a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-51509464722728767662016-06-18T05:39:00.000-07:002016-06-18T05:39:28.600-07:00Snowy Mountains <br />
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We had the van packed and by 7pm we were on our way to Lake George, via Jamberoo Mountain which is a stunning picturesque drive, but tonight the weather was against us and the rain and wind had covered this narrow windy steep road with many fallen branches. Making our journey a little longer, but this wouldn't deter us from heading onto our next adventure.<br />
By 10pm we had reached Anderson Rest Area at Lake George. The rest area is a car park facing Lake George with toilets, picnic tables and BBQs, it is also right next to the Federal Highway so there is a little traffic noise, though we managed to have a good night sleep regardless.<br />
Next morning we were up early to watch the sun rise and to watch a mob of kangaroos feed and hop by.<br />
After a hot brew, we packed up and headed for our next stop, Dickson Tourist Information Center in Canberra, they offer free hot showers for travelers which helped warm us up after a very cold night and morning.<br />
Back in the van and through the streets of Canberra looking to find the Monaro Highway to Cooma, a quick bite to eat, top up the fuel tank before turning right as we left Cooma to the Snowy Mountains Highway which soon became a hit with both of us. The scenery blew us away from open farmland to open plains and soaring mountain ranges and deep valleys covered in a thick gum tree forests and the Eucumbene River weaved its way through all of it.<br />
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We took a left turn at The Link Road and took a quick look at Kiandra and some of its historic gold mining machinery.<br />
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On the road again, we left the low plains and headed up a steep narrow mountain to Cabramurra Australia's Highest town at 1488 meter above sea level. The town is small and mainly for workers, we made our way to the lookout and just our luck it was foggy, very foggy and cold with the temperature only being 3 degrees. We snapped a few pic and quickly got back in the van and stopped at the cafe for a hot drink. By the time we had finished our drinks the sky had cleared to blue skies.<br />
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We traveled back down to the Snowy Mountains Highway and onto our next stop <a href="http://www.findacamp.com.au/camp-site.php?camp=339" target="_blank">Yarrangobilly Village</a> our free camp for the night.<br />
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When Trish spotted a warning sign at the side of the road, warning about brumby's. Trish said "hope we see some brumby's " and just around the next bend we saw a herd of them, feeding not far from the road side but close enough to get a photo or two.<br />
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Yarrangobilly Village is in the Kosciuszko National Park its a great little camp ground on the edge of the Yarrangobilly River with BBQs picnic tables and a long drop toilet. And its an historical site with only Cotterill's Cottage still remaining and a steam engine. There is also a few bush walks in the area.<br />
Trish started cooking dinner while I started a wet wood fire which took awhile to get going, with every minute the temperature was dropping. We ate dinner and huddled in front of the fire to keep warm on this very cloudy and dark night.<br />
The van was very cold and took awhile for us to get to sleep. We awoke very early in the morning while it was still dark and notice by torch light it was snowing, but it was to little and light and turned to dew on the ground.<br />
Trish practiced her barista skills while I whinged about how numb my feet were, while watching a mob of kangaroos hop across the grassy plain, and we watched a couple boxing each other.<br />
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Today we back tracking a few kilometers to <a href="http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/Show-caves/Yarrangobilly-Caves" target="_blank">Yarrangobilly Caves</a>, it was a one way dirt road which had turned to a slippy thick mud in sections so the drive in was very slow. But once we reached the caves main area we were blown away with how nice the area was. They have shelter sheds with picnic tables and electric BBQs, Toilet block and picnic tables with wood fire BBQs out in a grassed areas. Trish went to buy tickets and to talk about a few walks in the area, while I watched the kangaroos graze on the open picnic grounds.<br />
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Trish soon returned with a huge smile on her face, I knew then she had a bush walk in mind, and once her mind is set on something we do it. She is good at planning and making the best out of most situations. Out came the plan, first we had to drive to the South Glory Cave car park and walk to the <a href="http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/walking-tracks/yarrangobilly-caves-thermal-pool-walk" target="_blank">Thermal Pool</a> car park a short kilometer walk up hill, walk down the steep hill to the pools, Trish got her swimmers on and had a quick dip in the 27deg pool, while I looked around and got some great pictures of the wild flowers surrounding the area.<br />
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We then walk along the river to where the track joins the South Glory Cave walking track, which has a few steep bits to navigate and a lot of stairs. Once your on the cave track its relatively easy, flat walking to the start of our self guided tour of the <a href="http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/Guided-tours/yarrangobilly-south-glory-cave-self-guided-tour" target="_blank">South Glory Cave</a>, The cave entry was huge, we were excited to get in and look around. The tour cost $13 each and the walk was about 3.5km plus the cave section. Defiantly worth the effort the area and cave were both amazing.<br />
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Once back at the van we drove around the picnic ground and found a quiet picnic shelter and had lunch with a few magpies and a couple of kangaroos. There were a few power point to charge up our electronic gadgets.<br />
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Mid afternoon we were back on the Snowy Mountain Highway and taking a slow scenic drive to Tumut ,with a stop at a lookout and a quick stop at Talbingo a little town along the way.<br />
We reached Tumut about 4pm grabbed a few supplies and headed to the <a href="http://www.riverglade.com.au/" target="_blank">Riverglades Caravan Park</a> on the Banks of the Tumut River. We took site 23 at the end of the van park overlooking the river, very quiet and surrounded by trees shedding their colorful autumn leaves, leaving the ground with a blanket of color. The powered site cost $30 for the night. The park was quiet and has two amenities blocks, a coin operated laundry and is pet friendly. The owners were lovely here, gave us some great tips of local areas and sights in the surrounding area.<br />
We had dinner by the fire pit and chatted until it got too cold so we decided to turn the fan heater on and watch a movie in the van. The van heated up nicely and we had the best sleep, nice and warm.<br />
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Next morning it was zero degrees and a little frosty on the ground and the river was misty, the grass and leaves crunched under our feet as we walked over them from the frost. We sat huddled by the heater sipping our cuppas while Trish was making plans for the day.<br />
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We left Tumut and drove along the Snowy Mountains Highway to Adelong a small historic town which is worth a look itself with its old colonial buildings and the <a href="http://www.goldtrails.com.au/article/adelong-falls-gold-mill-ruins/" target="_blank">Adelong Falls Gold Mine Ruins</a> which were a gem to spend time at. Stunning scenery and an old mine ruins on the banks of the Adelong River. There is a viewing platform, picnic areas with a few walks that crossed the river to see the ruins. We had lunch and took on the circuit walk which took us through all the ruins and on our way back we spotted at a small water fall and some more ruins hidden next to the waterfall, we must of walked 3 to 4 kilometers but it was well worth it, this place was amazing.<br />
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Back on the road again and we headed towards Batlow and then onto Tumbarumba where we had a quick look around and coffee break before heading on to our free camp at Three Mile Dam. The drive there was amazing the scenery is breath taking and worth the effort. there is also a few free camps along the way in this area.<br />
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We made it to Three Mile Dam about 4pm and it was cold with patches of ice on the ground, Trish made dinner and I got the fire blazing. We virtually sat on top of the fire, the temperature was zero degrees and getting colder. <a href="http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/camping-and-accommodation/campgrounds/three-mile-dam-campground" target="_blank">Three Mile Dam</a> is about 1500 meter on the Great Dividing Range, there are a few wood BBQs and picnic tables and two long drop toilets. There isn't to much camp ground and only a few level spots. There may of been more camp spots down the track but a 4wd needed as the track was muddy.<br />
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Next morning the temperature was a chilly -0.4 degrees at 7am, the van windows were frosted up outside and in and above our heads icicles started form from out breathing. We both looked a little surprised but still had a little giggle over it, we then slide the side door open to be greeted by a blanket of frost covering everything and the muddy track we came in on now was hard and all the mud puddles had frozen solid and even the water around the edge of the dam had frozen.<br />
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I scrapped the ice off and dried up the wet roof as the car idled away with the heater blaring to help defrost the car. By 9am we were back on the road and heading back to Tumut the way we came in,<br />
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We didn't get time to take photos or explore the previous day so we decided to take a slow trip back and check out a few spots along the way. Amazing waterfalls and lookouts, the drive through the mountain terrain was awsome, frozen ferns along the road and snow. We spotted another herd of brumby's grazing by the road as we got closer to Tumbarumba.<br />
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Back in Tumut we stocked up again and fueled up and set off again to Wee Jasper, the road started off as tar and soon narrowed and then turned to a good dirt road which also got narrow, steep and as it hung on to the side of a mountain the corners were sharp and dangerous in places. The road got worse the closer we got to Wee Jasper but we made it and drove to <a href="http://www.weejasperreserves.com.au/" target="_blank">Billy Grace Reserve Camping Ground</a> and looked around for a nice camp spot, we settled for a spot by the river and made dinner and a fire and enjoyed a few beers.<br />
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We both slept well, but it was cold the next morning and by 9am we headed up the track to checkout Swinging Bridge Reserve and Micalong Reserve which we both fell in love with.<br />
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Just over the bridge and to the right at the end of the car park we took a walk to a small waterfall, the walk was only about 1 kilometer but a real goat track plus having to climbing up massive rock was making the walk more difficult.<br />
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We decided to have lunch at Swinging Bridge Reserve before heading off to our next destination, Queanbeyan. Trish had booked a room at the Best Western for the night and we went out for a yummy Thai meal, it was nice to get back to a 30 degree room and relax.<br />
We left the hotel at 10am next morning and headed to Deakin in Canberra and to the Royal Cambodian Embassy to apply for our visa, we had to leave our passports and return later in the day to pick them up.<br />
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So we headed to the war memorial and had a walk around, it was hard to come to terms with what these men and women put themselves through or even giving up their lives for a better future for all of us. Lest We Forget !<br />
We had a delicious Vietnamese lunch then we picked up our visas at 2pm and started our 3 hour journey home. Besides the freezing weather this visit, the snowy mountains has so much to offer explore. Our next trip will be early summer and we hope to see more of this amazing place.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-89629547459557268132016-06-07T15:21:00.002-07:002016-06-07T15:21:17.537-07:00Great Ocean Road and Beyond<span style="font-size: large;"><b> Getting to Great Ocean Road </b></span><br />
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Well the day had finally arrived and we were both excited, we have been planning this trip for months and with some last minute major alterations to our original plan, we cancelled our flights, hire car and accommodation and decided to drive our van and do a 10 day road trip instead.<br />
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<i>The Pump House Reserve Gundagi</i></div>
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Leaving in the early evening we headed to Gundagai approx 3.5 hours drive. The coordinates had been put into the navman to a free camp area called the <a href="http://www.visitgundagai.com.au/accommodation/rv-friendly-facilities/" target="_blank">Pump House Reserve</a> on the out skirts of Gundagai. A beautiful large flat grassy area on the banks of a tree lined river no amenities and no camping unless your self contained caravan or campervan and its pet friendly. We arrived about 9:30pm and settled in and had an early night.<br />
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<i>Gundagai Goal</i></div>
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In the morning we headed into town to grab a few supplies, we were on a bit of a time schedule so we didn't have long to look around but we drove past the Old Goal and noticed the gate open so we went to have a look around, apparently you need to go to the Information Center and pay to get keys and audio to look around, whoops! we had a quick look around and left. Then over to the old historic railway and also the two old wooden road and rail bridges. Gundagai has so much more to explore than the dog on the tucker box (which is out of town) we cant wait to get back again and check out more of this beautiful historic town.<br />
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Continuing along the Hume highway our next stopped was Holbrook, were there is a <a href="http://holbrooksubmarinemuseum.com/" target="_blank">Maritime Museum and Submarine</a>. Andy was having a great time here climbing all over the submarine called the Otway, we had a look around at the other displays then headed over to Corowa, where there is a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Corowa-Whisky-and-Chocolate/180748808612062" target="_blank">chocolate and whisky factory</a>, as we had been to Junee's chocolate factory, we both agreed it did not compare to Junee, but we were glad we stopped in for a look.<br />
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<i>Corowa Whisky and Chocolate Factory</i></div>
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<i>Granthams Bent</i></div>
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We stopped for lunch on the way out of town at another free camp called <a href="http://www.findacamp.com.au/camp-site.php?camp=301" target="_blank">Granthams Bent </a>which is on the banks of the Murray river, it was a rough drive in along the road, the area has an open space and was beautiful but a little dusty with no amenities and is pet friendly.<br />
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The day was getting on and we headed over to Glenrowan, famous hangout for Ned Kelly and his gang, Australia's favorite bushranger. The small town consists of a few streets with history and memorabilia everywhere, while still maintaining the old historic look of the town.We stopped at the main center and museum took a few pictures with the over sized Ned Kelly Statue, then drove over to the cemetery at Greta where Ned was buried.<br />
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The sun was starting to set and we had to a find camp for the night, our original plan was to make it to Ballarat but that was hours away so we did a search on Wikicamps and found a beautiful spot by the river in Seymour not far off the Hume highway called Northwood Road Reserve there is long drop toilets and plenty of space you can have fires and is pet friendly. <br />
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Awake early next morning we got organized and headed to Ballarat, the town still lined with historic building and historical sights, a stunningly beautiful place. We stopped at the information center to get a map of the Eureka trail walk. The weather had turned bad with icy winds, so we rugged up and decided to just do a short walk through the tunnels and past the viaduct bridge to the oval. It was freezing, so we had lunch and started driving again to Port Fairy.<br />
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<i>Mt Elephant </i></div>
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We had decided to start the Great Ocean Road from this point (Port Fairy) and drive to Geelong, as we also wanted to head to Phillip Island and didn't want to back track to much or get stuck in the flow of traffic heading the opposite way. The drive down to Port Fairy was very windy but the scenery was amazing, long flat fields and roads. As we drove along we were both blown away at the sight of Mt Elephant an extinct volcano which towered over the flat landscape.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Great Ocean Road</b></span><br />
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Arriving late afternoon we had a look around Port Fairy, a cute fishing village where we could only imagine it would be very popular in peak seasons.<br />
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<i>Killiarny Beach Camping Reserve</i></div>
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We headed to our $20 un-powered camp spot for the night at <a href="http://www.findacamp.com.au/camp-site.php?camp=1221" target="_blank">Killiarny Beach Camping Reserve</a>, which has 50 un-powered and 20 powered sites set around a sporting field and just behind the sand dune making the beach a short walk, it was a perfect spot. Toilets, hot showers and free laundry and BBQ facility's and pet friendly. We found a spot out of the wind and set up for the night with a few beers to relax and reflect on our day. <br />
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The morning came and we were up early to get our first sunrise shots, little cloudy at first but a great way to start the day. We were both excited.<br />
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<i>Tower Hill</i></div>
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Our first detour along the way was <a href="http://www.towerhill.org.au/" target="_blank">Tower Hill</a>, an inactive volcano, we drove into the reserve which is a volcano crater and the wildlife here was everywhere, emus, wallabies and also an abundant of bird life in the wetlands of the crater. The road takes you through the reserve than on top of the volcano, along the crater rim. What an beautiful amazing place and totally unexpected, but well worth a look. From here we drove into Warrnambool were we stopped for a quick stock supply and headed in the direction of Port Campbell.<br />
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Our first stops were the Bay of Island and Bay of Martyrs. Wow this was the beginning of some spectacular views and the limestone cliff faces are indescribable, large rock stacks in the ocean scattering the coastline, truly an awesome experience and just the start of an amazing few days. Driving along the coastline it is well signed with information on what you are viewing and documented history of the areas.<br />
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Next along the road we came across The Grotto, This is a unique vertical sinkhole formation, it could be viewed as a cave or blow hole, a huge hole in the rock formation. The boardwalk down is easy enough with stairs and stops on way down for several viewing platforms. At the base of the stairs offers the best position to view this unique place, at the base are rock pools surrounding the hole formation and a beautiful view of the ocean. There were not to many people around so we took our time to get some great pictures.<br />
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We stopped at a look out further along the road were we could see the cute little coastal village of Port Campbell below us, so we headed down to have a picnic lunch by the wharf and enjoy the sun.<br />
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A little further down the road we pulled into Loch Ard Gorge car park. Oh My God the place was packed, there must of been at least 20 coaches and a full car park. We parked in the main car park and joined the stream of people flocking to Razorback lookout, following the board walk circuit around to view a variety of cliffs, the Island Archway, and Loch Ard Gorge lookout. At this point we were getting frustrated at the mass of people so we decided to leave. As we left the car park we noticed another road further down it also was full. It was now getting close to 4pm and we still had the 12 apostles to see, as we approached this area, it also was packed. Our camp spot was 10 km past this so we decided to call it a day! and decided to get up early to watch the sun rise and beat the crowds the following day.<br />
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<i>Princeton Reserve Camping Area</i></div>
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We headed to Princeton were we found a place called <a href="http://www.findacamp.com.au/camp-site.php?camp=60" target="_blank">Princeton Reserve Camping Area</a>, another unused sports field with both powered and unpowered sites and lots of room.$20 per night for unpowered, Hot water showers, undercover kitchen area and is pet friendly, fires must be in raised fire pits. As we drove in to this area we were both speechless of the amount of Kangaroos all feeding in the center of the field, I'd be guessing 50 at least maybe more. A nice place for a quick stop over.<br />
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We were up early the following morning before the sun came up and headed to the 12 apostles, we parked the van at Gibson Steps carpark and walked 2km to the viewing platform at apostles. The morning was cold but beautiful, We spent a good hour walking around the viewing platforms taking pics and and admiring the view, I can understand why the apostles are so popular.<br />
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<i>Gibson Steps</i></div>
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Walking back to the van (At Gibson Steps) we walked down the steep stairs to the beach below. Lucky the tide had gone down as there wasn't much beach. I could say this place was one of my favorite places we visited this trip, standing at the base of the cliff faces, we felt so small, we walked the beach taking pics of the apostles from a different angle on the beach. Heading back up the steep stairs,we had a quick feed and drove back to Loch Ard Gorge to look around before the crowed arrived.<br />
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We headed to the other carpark further down on our right. From here there are a few walks, all pretty easy, we headed off first to Broken Head past Thunder Cave, and over to another path which led us to a lake and ocean cliffs. Walking back we headed over to Mutton-bird lookout and the cemetery. It was a great morning taking our time and exploring all the coastlines. By the time we were finishing up, the crowds started arriving. This area and the bottom section of the Great Ocean Road is amazing, the coastal edge is hard to describe but defiantly well worth a visit, every viewing platform or lookout has its own unique appeal and you get excited to see what is around the next corner.<br />
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<i>They Have Some Strange Wildlife In Victoria</i><br />
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The Great Ocean Road heads inland for a while from here, windy roads through beautiful landscapes and a beautiful drive. In hindsight now we could of stopped at a few more sights in this area but our next destination was Cape Otway Lighthouse an hours drive. We turned off onto Lighthouse Road and not far along there was a traffic stop, cars just stopped in middle of road and everyone out of the cars looking up at a tree.<br />
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Yes Koalas!!! Andy was excited.. the smile on his face said it all, he was out of the car before I put it in park. As we continued along the road it was a slow journey as we were koala spotting, we did manage to see a couple more along the way. Finally arriving at the Light house carpark, we were a little surprised at the set up here, and the over populated gift shop/tourist trap and a disappointing entry fee. We decided not to go in as the price was way to high for our short visit, if we were making a day of it, it may of been worth the money, but we have seen many lighthouses along the coast of Australia and a $50 entrance fee for both of us wasn't an option. At the end of the car park was a walk which links the Great Ocean Road walk, we headed along this for a short distance until we reached a lookout were we got a glimpse of the light house and the surrounding area.<br />
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Our drive back out I couldn't help but take a detour down a small dirt road, driving along we found a small car park where you can park for the walk in camping areas. There a a few camping grounds here but you need to walk a few kilometers to the camp sites. (you can find this information on the Victoria's National Parks Website). We walked a short distance down a track and got a small glimpse and the amazing southern coastline.<br />
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<i>Kennett River Holiday Park</i></div>
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Apollo Bay was the next major town, we stopped to get supplies and a quick look around, and decided to go to <a href="http://www.kennettriver.com/" target="_blank">Kennett River Holiday Park</a> for the evening. The caravan park their is a well known area for koalas. I went to inquire about the price and availability for camp spots $31 for an unpowered site. Chatting to the lady at reception she had a great knowledge of the area and suggestions for our trip. I asked about the koalas in the park and she advised there were at least 8 that live in the park, and then pointed outside to the tree next to where I had parked and said there is one above your car, I was a little excited to go out and tell Andy. We went and picked a camp spot and wandered around the park looking for koalas, and we were not disappointed we saw about 10. As night set in we set up a fire to warm our bones and enjoyed the evening with a beer or two. Kennetts River caravan park is a beautiful park, friendly care takers, clean amenities, camp kitchen, playground, with all the little added extras supplied like washing powder, detergents, washing up equipment, basic cooking equipment, fridge, oven and coin operated laundry and a few wild koalas and its not pet friendly (safety for the koalas).<br />
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The following morning we took our time and explored the park. Just outside is a general store/cafe and an abundance of Crimson Rosella's, King Parrot's and assortment of ducks. As we were about to leave I glanced up the road and thought I saw a dog crossing the road, but had to look again and noticed it was a koala, we walked as fast as we could to catch up to it without scaring it away. We spent a good half hour watching it demolish a small eucalyptus tree in someones front yard, getting quite close to get some great pictures. Kennett River Caravan Park is a great place and will defiantly stop past here again when we return.<br />
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<i>Carisbrook Waterfall</i></div>
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<i>Our Stone Tower </i></div>
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We back tracked from here and headed to Carisbrook Waterfall. A short easy walk up a steep hill, on the other side of the highway, on the ocean shore we noticed a collection of rock towers had been created, we went to check it out and made a couple of our own to add to the collection. fun way to spend an hour.<br />
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Getting hungry we drove to Lorne, along the winding road which hugged the picturesque views on every bend of the coastline and mountains we also spotted this guy walking by the road .<br />
Lorne was another cute coastal town, the weather had turned nasty again the rain and wind had finally set in (as predicted form the weather forecast). A yummy lunch at a little Asian Noodle Bar and deciding where to camp for the night.<br />
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<i>Split Point Lighthouse</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Have you ever, ever felt like this ? Strange things when your happen when your going around the twist!</i></span></div>
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<i>Bells Beach</i><br />
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We took our time driving for the afternoon stopping at coastal sights along the way such as Split Point where the infamous "going around the twist lighthouse stands" A beautiful lookout with amazing cliff faces, Airley Inlet, Angelsea, and Bells Beach which had huge surf and crazy surfers out in it. The wet weather had set in and it was getting dark so we headed to Geelong for the night, deciding to spoil ourselves and booked into the <a href="http://www.novotelgeelong.com.au/" target="_blank">Novotel foreshore Geelong</a>, and lucky to get the top floor, waterfront room. We went out for a beautiful Indian meal then back to a warm and dry room for the night.<br />
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The following morning was grey but no rain, so we hurried and got organized and walked the foreshore of Geelong. The main attraction for us was all the pole people, the variety of different types which also explained the history of the area. It was a great morning and the rain held off until after our late breakfast, where the skies opened up and we got drenched walking back to our room for checkout time. By this stage we were half way through our trip and debating what to do as there were severe weather warnings for the coast and that was were we we heading.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Phillip Island</span></b><br />
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Andy drew the short straw and had to do the drive through Melbourne, all was going well with the trip until we missed a turn off, lucky we find it funny when we get lost, its all part of the fun, as Andy drove around in circles dodging trams and trying to find the way out of the city. Finally finding the right exit, we were on our way to Phillip Island. As were drove out of Melbourne the sun decided to sneak out of the clouds and as we crossed the bridge onto the island we were amazed at the beauty of this place, lush green field seemed like they were glowing. We made our way to the <a href="https://www.penguins.org.au/" target="_blank">Penguin on Parade</a> and inquired about the price of the tickets for that evening show, then went to find a campsite. Phillip island was a little pricier but we found a nice Caravan Park called <a href="http://www.cowescaravanpark.com.au/" target="_blank">Cowes Caravan Park</a> and got a powered site. The Park seemed to have a lot of permanent vans on-site and a few vacant blocks, some right on the beach (thank god we didn't stay there) we chose one of the powered sites just behind the tree lined sand dunes (later we would be glad about our choice, with the Island getting hit with 100km winds later in the night). The amenities, camp kitchen and laundry were very clean and the ground kept tidy and is pet friendly in the off season, its probably better to check with management.<br />
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We quickly organized dinner had a showers and layered up and went to watch the nightly Penguin Parade. We had front row seats as we sat and waited for them to come to shore for the evening, while enjoying the beautiful sunset. They were so cute as they all huddled together waddling up the beach to there nest in the sand hills. As the numbers dwindled we headed back up along the board walk, it was here where we spent a couple of hours watching them interact with each other, very entertaining we could of watched all night but the complex was packing up for the night.<br />
We headed back to the van park and cranked the heater up to warm the van, chatting about our awesome adventures until we went to sleep.<br />
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<i>The Nobbies</i> </div>
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The next morning it was raining again and very very windy, we drove around the island exploring as much as we could. We headed to The Nobbies,which is the furthest point of the island. Andy looked hesitant to get out of the van, I had to convinced him it will be fun, and it was. The wind was so strong it nearly blew us over a few times and very difficult to hold your photo to take photos but the scenery and watching the wild ocean made up for the uncomfort of the cold weather. Instead of driving back along the main road I took a detour along a dirt track, which took us along the edge of the cliffs, the van was a little shaky with the wind gusting against us, but an amazing view as we stopped at a couple of lookouts along the way.<br />
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The best one was Pyramid Rock were we struggled to walk to the furthest point along the board walk, the winds were over 100km probably a little dangerous but it was great fun and amazingly beautiful scenery, we only wish it wasn't so windy so could of explored more.<br />
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We followed the coast back and stopped at the <a href="http://phillipislandchocolatefactory.com.au/" target="_blank">chocolate factory</a> on way out for a hot chocolate and cake, deciding not to continue on our original plan to Wilson Promontory due to the bad weather, so we decided to head north to avoid the weather.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Heading Home</span></b> <br />
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We decided on the Yarra Valley, and redirected the Navman. The drive up was beautiful winding country roads with small towns and vineyards scattered along the way. We headed to <a href="http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/225691/FS0009-Murrindindi-Scenic-Reserve-walking-tracks.pdf" target="_blank">Murrindindi Scenic Reserve</a> were we had a selection of about 5 camp grounds to choose from, some are walk-in for tents and some for campervans, caravans and camper trailers, and only $7 a car a night. Finding the perfect spot Andy got the fire started, while i cooked up some dinner then relaxed in front of the fire with a couple of beers chatting and staring at the stunning star show.<br />
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There was plenty of wildlife here Andy had a great time with some friendly wallaby's and kookaburras, and a morning choir of black cockatoos, even a couple of sneaky foxes kept appearing out of the bushes. We had camped close to the suspension bridge, so up early we walked over and took some great pics and looked to see what else was around. They were many walking tracks and one of Victorians biggest waterfall Wilhelima with a view from the road near the top camp ground. The walking tracks were wet and muddy so we decided to be lazy and drive instead of walking the river walk.<br />
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From the top car park you can walk down to view the Murrindindi Cascades, we only walked about a kilometer to reach the cascades the track was very steep and slippery from all the rain and mud. We managed to get some great pictures and explored the small area that was easier to get to, and watched in amazement on how easy the lyrebird crossed the river.<br />
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<i>The Thong Tree in Echuca</i></div>
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During our time of traveling together we have often spoke of Echuca and the mighty Murray River with its historic paddle steamers, so we decided to go take a look. We took our time and drove west to the historic town of Echuca/ Moama split by the Murray River with Echuca on the Victorian side and Moama on the New South Wales side.The place was very busy as there was a Rotary club annual meet up in town with over 2000 caravans in town, we drove around looking for a decent van park for the night (poor Andy had driven us across the boarder 5 times in 10 minutes), giving up we settled for a dodgy park on the banks of the Murray River on the New South Wales side. The caravan park is called <a href="http://www.moamariverside.com.au/" target="_blank">Moama River Side Tourist Park</a> was right next to the main highway and railway line, but looking at the positive of this place, we enjoyed a hot shower, did our laundry, The park was tidy and had clean amenaties but they were getting a bit old, and the feeling of being packed in like sardines.<br />
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We decided the following morning to board the early departure on the P.S. Canberra along the Murray River. The trip was very entertaining with the captain explaining the history and development of the town and Murray River, lots of interesting information about the other paddle steamers along the river. We had the front of the streamer to ourselves (we could of sat inside by the warm engine, but NO Andy had to sit outside) as there were only 4 others on board. When arriving back at the Port were so glad we took the early trip as the Port had become quiet hectic with passengers waiting to board our vessel. The paddle steamers run throughout the day and have overnight and weekend journeys available too. Our trip was great, quiet and relaxing floating up river and enjoying the scenery and landscape along the Murray River.<br />
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Afterwards we walked around the historic town and had a late breakfast while deciding which way to head home. decision made lets go via the Snowy Mountains. <br />
We headed East over to Corryong and the rain had caught up with us again, but taking it easy and enjoying the drive. Its amazing how the scenery changes as you drive along one minute we have long straight roads with flat dry land, then we have lush green paddocks, winding up steep gum tree filled mountains, maybe its one of the reasons we spend most of our travels on the road.<br />
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<i>Colac Colac Caravan Park</i><br />
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We drove past Colac <i>C</i>olac on the way into Corryong and the caravan park caught my eye and after looking at other van parks we headed back to <a href="http://www.colaccolaccaravanpark.com.au/" target="_blank">Colac Colac Caravan Park</a>. I was in paradise with a autumn leaves filling the trees and the ground blanketed in a sea of colourful autumn leaves, stunningly beautiful. This place was really good, the amenities were nice and clean, laundry, BBQ areas, camp kitchen, the grounds had lots of shaded areas and grassy areas with fire pits provided and a lovely mountain stream running through the bottom of the property. It just had a really nice feel about the place.<br />
The next morning we took our time and looked around the area, adding this place to our list of "must return". From here we had the whole day to explore and take note of whats around as Snowy Mountains Area. (as it will be another trip we will explore in the warmer weather).<br />
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Driving through the Kosciuszko National Park we were both amazed at the stunning scenery, our first stop was a hydroelectric power station then on to Dead Horse Gap where the wind was gusting pretty wildly and the temperature was a low slightly numbing 8 degrees. Back in the van and we headed to Jindabyne, we spent a little bit of time here and I'm glad to say the temperature was a warmer 15 degrees. We both loved the Snowys area, and will be back to explore and enjoy its magical splender.<br />
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Back on the road again and on the way to Braidwood and a short 3 hour drive we arrived around 8;30pm. Andy got the fire going while I got the van ready and we settled in with a well earned beer or two.<br />
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Next morning we were cold!!! very cold!!!. Andy checked his weather app at 7am and it was 2 degrees. Our feet were numb until Andy got a fire going again to warm our bones. We were amazed that we had traveled along the lower Victorian coast, Yarra Valley and the Snowy Mountains and Braidwood was the coldest yet.<br />
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We made a beautiful pot of beef stew and dumpling for lunch, then we packed up and headed for Sussex Inlet for the night to spend time with family, before heading home and back to reality.Which left us wondering where to next ?<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-25928499161891083592016-04-28T22:40:00.003-07:002016-04-28T22:40:50.420-07:00Canberra, Queanbeyan and Lowden Park<br />
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Friday afternoon we were packed ready to head off. This weekend we are driving down to Canberra, Queanbeyan and Tallaganda State Forest, having a few places of interest to explore and with an open mind to seek out more.</div>
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An easy 3 hour drive from home, along the Hume and Federation Highway, and only having one detour were we missed the turn off to Canberra but ended up exploring a country road which soon connected us to the main highway again. By 9pm we had arrived at Cotter Camping ground and it was packed. Camping trailers and tents everywhere. It was to late to look for another spot so we decided to stay and find a spot. We could of squeezed between two tents but decided to park in the car park area on flat ground and facing the river. The plan was to get a good view when the sun came up, and we sure did.<br />
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Saturday morning the sun was up and it was a good start to a beautiful day. With a nice coffee to get the day started while we chatted to some fellow campers. The ranger came round collecting the fees which were $12 per night/per person. (little bit pricey since we didn't get a camping spot) Taking our time we looked around the area then packed up and headed further along. Not far down the road we came across Cotters Bend a nice quiet location with no one around, amazing river frontage with trees lining the reserve, all the autumn leaves were falling with the slight wind it looked beautiful.</div>
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Further along we came across Cotter Avenue and Dam by now it was lunchtime and this place was getting quiet busy with picnickers. A popular spot for locals with picnic areas and playgrounds walking tracks, lookouts and viewing platforms. We followed the main walking track which combined the viewing platform of the Dam, and what was left of the old trout hatchery and a river crossings with suspension bridge, this was an easy relaxing walk. There are a few other walks in the area which take you to a lookout and Cotter cave. It was a beautiful area well worth a look, and the fact the trees were all losing their leaves made the place look amazing.</div>
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From here we headed further south along Paddy River Rd via the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, an interesting stop, with huge satellite dishes and space history museum. Back on the road towards Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, this place had people lined up out the door of the information centre so we decided to keep driving. The scenic roads along the way are truly amazing, the landscape is dry, the hills roll on with huge rock formations scattered throughout.</div>
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Gibraltar Falls was out next stop, a beautiful picnic area with a great view. Walking down the falls is steep but well maintained with an awesome infinity pool and massive rock platforms above the falls. A definite place to stop and look if your in the area. The evening was getting close so we made our way to a Nature Retreat over near Queanbeyan. A privately owned place where you can camp for the night for $20 per night.</div>
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Next morning we had a bit of a sleep in then headed to Googong Dam foreshore a nice spot with lots of walks, picnic areas and water activities. Heading to the south side via Burra street, is the London Bridge Arch walking track woolshed and homestead. This walk is a must if your in the area, the London bridge arch is a limestone formation, the arch was created by water leaking through the limestone, until the passage increased for the Burra river to pass through it.</div>
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Starting at the woolshed and walking to the arch is approximately 1 km, the view is on both sides of the river and we got very excited when we first saw it, both rushing to get the best picture!! Spending a good hour exploring the area and the river. We continued alone the Burra river and up a hill to the homestead. The homestead itself is fenced off but you get a good idea of the heritage and the life style of our ancestors created back in the 1830s. The small bridge on the way in was the main attraction for us, the huge yellow trees had dropped all their leaves which had created the perfect picture, yellow leaves line the river with the reflection of yellow!! Being hard to describe but it was so beautiful and surreal. We took our time to wander back along the management trail to the van, the total walk was 3.4km and took a couple of hours.<br />
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From here we headed to our nights camping at Tallaganda State Forest. Hidden in the forest is Lowden Forest Park an old logging camp from 1930s . An interesting drive with an almost deserted road driving in, hoping we were on the right road as we found it hard to get information for this site. As we drove deeper into the forest we soon saw signs guiding us to the right place. We made it there before the sun set, had a quick feed and got the fire started to warm us up for the evening.</div>
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The following morning we woke early and headed off for a couple of walks in the park, both were short and easy with lots of opportunity for pictures, ferns, moss, mushrooms and ponds, the natural surrounding were beautiful. Such a peaceful place great way to start the day. Scattered around the park were remains of a water wheel which was used as a generator and is still working, an old traction engine and other old logging equipment. In the park were picnic tables wood BBQs The grounds are suitable for 2wd vecles and more camping spots were scattered further in forest for 4wds. Back at camp we started the fire and cooked up a late breakfast before we had to head home. The weekend ended with another great memory and some amazing places explored.</div>
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Our travel route <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Kiama+NSW+2533/Cotter+Dam,+Australian+Capital+Territory/Queanbeyan+NSW/Googong+Dam+Road,+Googong+NSW/Lowden+Forest+Park,+Farringdon+NSW/@-35.0287917,148.7712245,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m32!4m31!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b136dd1a133b0df:0x5017d681632e3d0!2m2!1d150.8543867!2d-34.6702661!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b17b7642835f591:0x2a00ea6ecc9ad790!2m2!1d148.93066!2d-35.3176248!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b164ee7dad4cdfb:0xa5cba9910d4417ea!2m2!1d149.231241!2d-35.3549176!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b1648f41bbca221:0x907431eaa2a224da!2m2!1d149.2592922!2d-35.4201721!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b166c4e1fdcd4f1:0x909e28df9dadb43e!2m2!1d149.6032333!2d-35.5101599!3e0?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-39246406579722187402016-04-21T02:58:00.001-07:002016-04-21T02:58:42.203-07:00North West Easter GetawayOn the road again, for the Easter long weekend and heading to the North West NSW. We have a couple of places in mind, Gunnedah to hunt for wild Koalas and Lake Keepit to try some fishing, but were happy to wing it and just look around and explore.<br />
Heading off Thursday night, first stop is Lake Wallace which is becoming our favorite overnight stop-over, the lake has plenty of room and a dump point, kids playground, dog friendly, hot showers, flushing toilets and free camping. The lake is an easy 3 hour drive from our home, besides the half hour wait to get into Blaxland McDonald's we didn't even make it to the driveway, so we decided to carry on hungry till we got to Lithgow. By the time we reached Mc Donalds Lithgow we were starving and it was just as busy as Blaxland Maccas. We waited half hour for food, quickly ate and headed up the highway to Lake Wallace. The lake had heaps of camping areas to choose from, we chose to stay away from the main camp area. <br />
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Next morning we awoke to a stunning sunrise, while Trish devoured 3 cups of coffee.... We then showered and set off back towards the highway. I said to Trish (who was the driver) do you know where we are going? Yes, she replied. Then I asked, should we use the navman? Yes, she replied again. And once I had set our course I found out that we were going the wrong way! Thank goodness we had only traveled a few kilometers, once back on course we started our long haul to Gunnedah. Our first stop was Mudgee and with being Good Friday there wasn't much open. We searched for a bakery to buy some buns for lunch, we found a small Asian bakery behind the Shell petrol station on the main street, which sold some beautiful bread roll and a variety of pastries and Asian dishes. Back on the road again and the rain started to fall but as we headed further north it slowly stopped. We took a quick break at Gulgong and had a look around, what a beautiful town lined with historic buildings, we cruised further north to Coolah and had lunch in a local park then set off for the final leg of the journey to Gunnedah.<br />
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Along the way there were field after field of some kind of crop growing, we stopped to look at it and didn't know what it was, and with a quick search on Google we are now aware of the sorghum plantations which grow in this area and also a little history on sorghum and its uses.<br />
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Arriving in Gunnedah we had a list of places to find the local koalas, we drove around and walked through a few popular areas, getting a little disappointed as we had not seen any. Then just as the late afternoon started to set in we found one hiding in a tree in the west end of the show ground. It seemed to be sleeping but at times would look at us so we could get a few pictures. We had found a couple of places on findacamp to stay for the night so we went to have a look. The first place was on the Naomi River on Kelvin Road just over the bridge past Coles and the tourist information center. The area is quiet nice with plenty of gum trees and the ground was dirt, there was no facilities and also had quite a few single guys hanging around, so we decided to move on. The showground also offered camping for $10 per person with facilities which looked good.<br />
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We thought lets try the <a href="http://www.findacamp.com.au/camp-site.php?pc=GUNNEDAH_NSW_2380&dis=25&camp=1564" target="_blank">4 mile Travelling Stock Reserve</a> which is 6km NW on Kamillaroi Highway from Gunnedah and just before the Blue Vale Road its on the right its a small gate with no signs. The entrance is a bit rough in the dry weather I could imagine it will be tough in the wet with a 2WD vehicle. Once past the entrance its dirt tracks which are pretty good, there is heaps of room here and no facilities but right on the river. There was a group of young kids at the other end of the camp site which were no trouble except the noise of the motorbikes.<br />
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We awoke to a beautiful day, and while we enjoy a morning brew while chatting and admiring the view of the river and the cockatoos filling the trees along the river bank, we then saw an old war plane come past flying low and gave us our own private air show, it was pretty awesome! It was time to pack up and head back into Gunnedah, to the tourist information center to get some more info on where were good areas to spot koalas. The lady was very helpful at the information center and very friendly giving us lots of local advise about the area with things to do and see and also surrounding areas.<br />
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We drove around looking for more koalas around town. We pretty much explored the same areas as we did the afternoon before, but no luck. We ventured up to Porcupine Lookout on our search, but after a slow drive up and a walk around still no luck, the heat of the day was getting to us so we decided to call off our hunt and have lunch while enjoying the view over Gunnedah and the surrounding areas. The view from here is amazing the county expands for so long viewing 100km of flat land, On the northern platform you can view the town and Nandewar Ranges, and looking south Breeza and the Pullaming Plains.<br />
We headed over to Keepit Dam and asked if we could have a look around , being the Easter long weekend it was packed with only a few camping spots left, also it was very dry and not much shade.<br />
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We decided not to stay and drove further north to check out Manilla which the tourist information lady suggested and said was beautiful. What a great tip it was too, we pulled up at the River Gum Caravan Park to enquire about vacancies and price. There was a note on the office door. "Please find a spot we will be back later and find you" so we drove around this small beautiful park and looked at a few spots, we spoke to another guest and asked if by the river was part of the park (as there was an open gate connecting them) she replied yes, so we ventured down and set up the van and awning and enjoyed a cool beer in the 30 degree heat while we organized our yabbie traps and fishing rods.<br />
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The last few hours of light we sat watching an array of parrots flying, feed and making a racket. It wasn't to much longer and we were then watching a stunning sunset which help the beer go down better and to cool down the days heat.<br />
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Next morning I went to check the traps while Trish practiced her barista skills. No yabbies, but we did get a great haul of freshwater shrimp, we went and sat by the river with shrimp for bait and tried to catch a fish. But no joy there either. <br />
We packed up the van and headed up for a shower and to pay for our stay, well apparently where we had camped for the night was on council ground and the caravan park couldn’t charge us. We quickly apologized and said we were told this was part of the park, we did pay a shower/amenities fee of $5 each. The caravan park is small with clean amenities, tidy grounds with friendly owners, right on the river and very quiet.<br />
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On the road again with a tourist drive tip from the van park owner. We detoured from Manilla to Moonbi via Davison Lane and Moonbi Gap Road which was a beautiful scenic drive. We reached Moonbi a beautiful little town and very welcoming and decided to have lunch in the park. Trish went to check out the museum while I sat in the park.<br />
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Heading south again we passed through many small country towns until we reached Tamworth, Australia’s country music capital. So we pulled up to check out the golden guitar, and were surprised by the size of Tamworth<br />
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With not much time to spare we headed off to our next destination the <a href="http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/Warrumbungle-National-Park/Visitor-Info" target="_blank">Warrumbungles</a> for the night. By the time we got there it was late in the afternoon, we quickly set up the van and cooked dinner before settling in to enjoy time in front of the campfire. There is a few camp grounds at the Warrumbungles we stayed in the un-powered camp ground area which was great for $6 per person a night it also has gas BBQ, water taps around the campground which needed to be boiled before drinking, there is also an amenities block with flushing toilets and hot showers and a communal area. <br />
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The following morning we were up early and planned a few small walks and lookouts for the day. This area is truly amazing and one we are eager to explore more of in the future, the area is stunning and bouncing back good after the bush fires . We saw heaps of kangaroos, a few emus, an eagle circling the skies and one lone snake, thank goodness there was no more. After a full day in the Warrumbungles we really didn't want to leave, but our weekend away coming to an end. A short drive away is Binnaway and to the <a href="http://www.findacamp.com.au/camp-site.php?camp=610" target="_blank">Pumphouse Reserve</a> which is a free camp area, the locals ask for a donation to help with up keep. There is powered sites which are $2 for 3 hours (coin operated meter), un-powered sites, BBQs and picnic tables, flushing toilets and hot showers, the showers are $2 for 5 minutes no matter what the temperature. There is also a laundry but you need to get the key from the IGA store in the town center which is about 1 km away. There is no dump point that we could see.<br />
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The locals also suggest to use their local shops to stock up on supplies and also try a few local eatery's in town to help out the local economy, <br />
We set up and had dinner and a few beers, I was standing near the van door when there was a noise and rustle in the bush, Trish ran past me knocking me out of the way and jumped in the van ..... I said what are you doing its just a dog! We both laughed, it was pretty funny! it was time to headed off to bed.<br />
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After Trish finished her mandatory morning coffee we were on our way back home taking the long way home and loving the changing scenery.<br />
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Stopping at Mudgee to vist the <a href="http://www.pvgwinery.com/" target="_blank">Pieter Van Gent winery</a> to pick up a few bottles wine and port for our parents. We filled the van with fuel and headed off to Lake Wallace for our final night.<br />
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Next morning after Trish has satisfied her coffee addiction we showered and headed off to explore the <a href="http://www.zigzagrailway.com.au/" target="_blank">Zig Zag Railway.</a><br />
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The railway has suffered major damage in the bushfires a few years back. We managed to find the bottom of the Zig Zag and got some photos of a train and the old work sheds with tonnes of rusted bent steel. High in the distance we could see a few of the stone arch bridges that make up the Zig Zag Railway, I hope they can recover and reopen again soon.<br />
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Driving through the Blue Mountains we took a left turn at Black Heath to check out a campsite along the Megalong Valley Rd, Old Ford Reserve which looks great, situated next to a small stream with a few turtle’s swimming around. We stopped and had some lunch here, we defiantly will bookmark this place for another visit. This area is also on the path of the 6 foot track with much to explore. After a lazy lunch we started our journey home to Wollongong and back to reality!<br />
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Our google map travel route - <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Wollongong+NSW+2500/Lake+Wallace,+Wallerawang+NSW/Gunnedah+NSW/Manilla,+New+South+Wales/Moonbi+NSW/Tamworth+NSW/Warrumbungle,+New+South+Wales/Binnaway,+New+South+Wales/Mendooran+NSW/Lake+Wallace,+Wallerawang+NSW/@-32.5658051,147.785786,7z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m62!4m61!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b1319a51f0b567b:0x5017d681632e720!2m2!1d150.8931239!2d-34.424984!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b0df636db7a9991:0x2a0609b4d1de62e0!2m2!1d150.0794347!2d-33.4160193!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b0a0d1ba5025763:0x40609b49043c030!2m2!1d150.2516925!2d-30.97681!1m5!1m1!1s0x6ba065b129e3802d:0x40609b49043c180!2m2!1d150.7204781!2d-30.7476614!1m5!1m1!1s0x6ba00be395cbdfed:0x40609b49043c1d0!2m2!1d151.0696364!2d-31.0225898!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b0a98b63842d61f:0x50609b490442970!2m2!1d150.9303741!2d-31.091085!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b08fc5ea89ca04d:0x40609b490437630!2m2!1d148.9896295!2d-31.27954!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b096b6e30e2570f:0x40609b490437760!2m2!1d149.3787394!2d-31.5518767!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b08d5a0f012263d:0x40609b490437b40!2m2!1d149.122213!2d-31.823129!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b0df636db7a9991:0x2a0609b4d1de62e0!2m2!1d150.0794347!2d-33.4160193!3e0?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a> <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-42048657202854105702016-04-02T03:59:00.000-07:002016-04-02T03:59:10.014-07:00Cairns, Tablelands and Cape Tribulation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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An early start and we were off to the airport for our week trip to FNQ destination Cairns. Booking this trip for 7 days we soon realized we were going to be busy, so much to do in such a short time. But we were excited to visit this area.<br />
Arriving at Cairns airport on time and with no dramas with Tiger Airways ($75 each way) at 9:30am our adventure had begun.<br />
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We organized through Jucy Campers for a transfer to pick us up from the airport, they organize it through the local taxi company with a standard $20 fee. We just jumped in a cab and jucy had a voucher for taxi when we arrived. We booked the El Cheapo Van and collecting the Toyota Tarago it was defiantly a well used old el cheapo van. From here our first stop was the supermarket for supplies, as we started packing and organizing the car with supplies we noticed a few cockroaches and then a doona full of bed bugs!!! GROSS!!!! So we went back to Jucy and spoke to the guy who exchanged the van, the guys were pretty good and gave us a much better van and allowed us to return the van with an empty petrol tank.<br />
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So we were on our way, up the mountain to the Tablelands. Our first stop was at Henry Ross Lookout and the view over Cairns was breath taking.<br />
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We headed to Kuranda, but we by-passed the main town and headed over to Barron falls, the walk through was beautiful, a tree top boardwalk took us down to Barron Station to see the falls, it was an amazing lookout with a great view of falls. we spent the afternoon driving around looking at the scenery and decided to spend the night at a free camp at <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvzyZ_R49W5Hll-FXIWy8QrJWvCc_Kwxd0aYmwEMiwodVWymAsankvzM31wql_WB8IXRWjIJ5MCch5NiQB3ytBz76djQVST_sVPmnHx68n3sj9reGOg_SIcBOHuBOfEnI3msJ9QSlLG3k/s1600/received_10209123697719386-1.jpg" target="_blank">Kowrowa</a>, about 10km out of town. A nice quiet spot on the river no amenities, bush camping at its best. <br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kuranda</b></span></span><br />
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Our day started early being Andy's birthday I had a special surprise for him later in the day, we were going to ride the Kuranda Scenic Railway down to Freshwater then the Skyrail back up. But first we headed over to Davis Creek National Park we stopped at the first campground and wandering over to the river, the water was crystal clear a beautiful spot, venturing further up the mountain was an amazing waterfall we walked behind the falls and came across an infinity pool, I was so tempted to jump in for a swim but the rain decided to pore down at this point and we made a made dash back to the van. A great place and we will defiantly go back here to explore in the future.<br />
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We drove to Kuranda and spent a couple of hours wandered the streets, an awesome hippy town with market stalls scattered around, it had a great vibe about it and after a yummy Vietnamese lunch we headed down to the railway station.<br />
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All aboard!!! We boarded the old train and off we went slowly working our way down the mountain through the world heritage rainforest in Barron Gorge National Park. The views were magical and the train had commentary to explain the history along the way. The journey took approx 2 hours.<br />
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Getting off at Freshwater there were bus transfers to take us over to the Skyrail Rainforest Cable Car and up we went back up the mountain just meters above the tree line with great views underneath us. The Skyrail has 2 stops along the way were you can get off and look around the National Park, the afternoon went so quickly and we had so much fun. With a few hours left of sun light we headed over to Atherton were we found a room for the night with a great Chinese restaurant next door for Andy's birthday dinner.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Atherton,Yangaburra, Lake Eachem, Milla Milla</span></b></span><br />
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Waking up to a rainy morning we got organized and headed off our first stop was the Curtain Fig just out of Yarraburra the fig is one of the biggest fig trees in tropical north Queensland. And wow what an amazing sight, its a short boardwalk through the forest.<br />
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Next we headed to Yarraburra and made a turn into Lake Eacham, what a beautiful place. The water was crystal clear and we could see the fish and turtles swimming around on the bottom of the lake. Signs around stated no fishing or feeding fish. There are walking tracks along the lake front, picnic area, toilet facilities, camping and accommodation. The lake is a crater lake formed thousands of years ago and surrounded by rainforest, truly a amazing place.<br />
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Over to Milla Milla to the historic town known as the Village in the mist. We had lunch at a local park and headed for the waterfall circuit.<br />
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There are 5 falls around area but due to the rain and muddy conditions we had access to 3 which were amazing, Milla Milla being the most popular, with a local swimming hole. With the rainy weather it wasn't to busy this day, so we got some great pictures of the falls without people swimming.<br />
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The next along was Zallie Falls which after a short walk comes to a viewing platform near top of falls, this lookout is slightly over grown with trees in front, so we walked half way down a steep muddy track for a better look and it was worth it, the waterfall was amazing and we got to view from half way down.<br />
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The following Ellinjaa Falls was also an easy walk down to the falls base, very quiet and peaceful. Driving out of the mountain it had become so misty felt so surreal as were drove without much visibility in front of us. When we were at Milla Milla falls a local tour guide had told us about a river in Yarraburra were platypus are commonly seen and has a breeding program, so we decided to head back that way to check it out. Unfortunately we didn't see any (oh Andy said he did but I scared it away..Mmmmm) but the river had a great walking track and it was a so peaceful and calm. The day had soon passed so we started the drive over to Mount Molloy where they had a free rest area for overnight campers. When arriving we were suprized it was a nice place, little noisy earlier in the evening but soon quieted down later through the night. There is a dump point and flushing toilet with cold water showers and a few picnic tables with a donation box to go towards the up keep of the area.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mossman Gorge</b></span></span><br />
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Mossman Gorge was our first stop this is located south east of the Daintree National Park. Entering through the information centre, a $9 fee to Mossman Gorge which has a bus that takes you further into rainforest, the bus doing a round trips every 15 minutes.<br />
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There are a number of walks when arriving at the Gorge, easy boardwalk's to the rainforest circuit walk which is 2.5 km this was our favorite walk. Starting just after the suspension bridge, the path leads to a lookout, past the river, through scenic rainforest and huge ancient trees, there was so much to see. The water was again so clear and blue with huge bolder like rocks scattered the river. We spend a few hours here exploring the Gorge having a picnic lunch back at the information center where they have a café, gift shop and picnic grounds. The Gorge is well set up and run by the aboriginal local people.<br />
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Next stop Daintree Village, a very small street with only a few shops and a caravan park on the river. They run river cruises from here and also crocodile tours.<br />
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We were thinking of spending the night here but decided to head over the river at the ferry crossing to the Daintree Rainforest. We headed to Cow Bay where we decided to booked a few nights in the Rainforest in a eco tent at Crocodylus Village. An awesome place hiding in the middle of Daintree. A glamping style tent/cabin, with toilet and hot shower and no electricity except lights in the room.<br />
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The village is run on generators, and there is common eating area that also sold food and drinks for guests and visitors. Guests have access to the kitchen to cater for yourself and a laundry . The manager was a lovely a local lady who was very helpful and great explaining local attractions.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Daintree, Cape Tribulation</b></span></span><br />
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Sleeping in the rainforest is one of those things you will always remember, the amount of rain that fell the first night was huge, all night and pretty heavy. Laying there in our tarp style cabin listening to the rain was so cool. The wildlife we saw as we ventured out to explore were green frogs, big spiders, fireflies, cane toads, and all kinds of big bugs. One of the main attractions we wanted to see and hoping to avoid was the local cassowary, it was of those animals that you really want to see in the wild but cautious as they can attack by kicking with both feet at once and those claws are so big.<br />
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Our morning started with a wander through a local walking track, (Jindalba) a boardwalk through the rainforest a free walk and pretty impressive.<br />
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A look down the local beach then over to the Daintree Discovery Centre we arrived early and only had to share the place with a couple of other people. The staff were lovely and full of local knowledge and willing to share information, although we really enjoyed the time wandering through and the canopy tower which was 23 meters high above the rainforest. I felt it was a little over priced considering there is so much free stuff you can do in area that is similar. But saying that I'm not complaining, it was a nice couple of hours wandering through the rainforest, and they had some good displays of snakes, also the audio setup if you wanted to know the information.<br />
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The drive up to Cape Tribulation was also a highlight of the trip, a short trip from our accommodation with lots of stops along the way to look at.<br />
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The furthest point we could drive was a lookout and Cape Tribulation beach. As you walk through the mangrove to beach the heat of the day just hits you so does the magical beauty of the rainforest meeting the lovely beach. Unfortunately the water is a no go area with stingers and crocodile's which was such a shame as the beach was amazing and looked so inviting.<br />
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Working our way back down coast we stopping at a variety of sights, another great boardwalk (Dubuji) which was set in the mangroves ,as we approached the waters I am so sure I saw a crocodile just under the water surface, we spent ages watching and also lots of crabs in the mud, the walk was another free activity, getting hungry we stopped for a feast of hamburgers at the beach front café.<br />
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The Daintree also has its locally owned tea plantation were it produces, fields and field of it, we stopped for a look. The farmer was cutting the tea and gestured we could take a small amount of leaves. we drove back to our accommodation.Our last night at our tent so we relaxed with a few cold beers, dinner and an early night.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Coast road to Trinity beach</b></span></span><br />
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Our day we planned to take our time and drive down to Cairns along the coast road first stop Wonga beach, Port Douglas a cute little holiday town, we stopped for lunch and enjoyed the view along the beach.<br />
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A lookout between Wangatti and Red Cliff, some creative person has stared to build the rock style tower so we stopped and added our own also.<br />
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Palm Cove was a nice spot we wandered the beach jetty. The road was a nice easy drive, with beaches and lookouts along the way.<br />
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We were at Trinity beach before we knew it were we decided to spend the night. Although beautiful as we live close to the coast at home and it was hard not to compare the coastline as they are very similar.<br />
We had dinner in our apartment and later had a spa and finished the night off with a couple of cold beers watching the fire flies across the road.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cairns</span></b></span><br />
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We spent a few hours taking a trip to Cairns Zoo we looked around at all the animals, our main attractions we wanted to see were cassowaries and crocodiles. (as we didn't see any wild ones) A really good set up and a nice lazy walk around. Another great display of snakes and lizards. It was a good way to spend a few hours before having to clean and return our hire car. As we walked to our hotel we stopped for a yummy Thai lunch in Cairns.<br />
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After lunch we checked into the Hilton Hotel which we had purchased months ago on a special for half the price. The room was great with amazing river views we spent the whole afternoon and evening hanging out in the room we were both worn out and wanted to relax. We spent hours watching ribbons of small birds across the sky and millions of bats heading towards the ocean, a truly amazing sight.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-47558819922966249912016-03-21T17:42:00.000-07:002016-03-23T00:56:48.995-07:00Kangaroo Valley and surrounding areaKangaroo Valley is an easy 2 hour drive from Sydney and Canberra. It is near the Morton National Park, one
of the largest parks in N.S.W. There are many
activity's to explore in this area. A variety of bush walks, river based activities, picnic areas, scenic
drives with so many opportunity's to get some great pictures. Also a historical town to wander through with many local stores and cafes.<br />
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Traveling around this area regularly we live a good hour away but its an easy drive and has so much to explore, we often find ourselves heading out for day trips to explore this areas and surrounding sights. Besides the main road of quaint little shops, pub and museum and of cause the historical Hampden Bridge, its great to stroll down to the river to explore the natural surrounds and its wildlife. You can hire kayaks or canoes to paddle down the river, this is an easy couple of hours down the river where the owners of the kayak shop with collect you from down the river and drive you back.<br />
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The walking tracks are endless they vary from short easy strolls to long hard challenging ones. We have walked a few shorter tracks and have many more on our list to explore, (we general google areas of walking tracks before we head off) with the national park surrounding the area we also find some amazing photo opportunity's and generally take a packed lunch and find a nice quiet picnic area to relax.<br />
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There is a free camping spot at Bendeela on the banks of Kangaroo river, a popular picnic and camping area. This area has non powered site, flushing toilets, tap water, open 24 hours with no reservations. Activities include fishing, swimming, non powered boats, bush walking. No fires permitted and no pets. it can be very relaxing at a quiet time of year, but on holidays and long weekends it can get very busy. Bendeela is a beautiful nature reserve, the river runs along the reserve and the wild life is always present. We were lucky to see a wombat wandering down the path last visit, and a couple of large water dragons, plus many native birds. </div>
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The drive in and around this area is beautiful the roads through the national park has many areas to pull over and explore. Its peaceful and quiet. We came across a amazing river crossing where we pulled over and had a swim in the clear fresh water. Beautiful rock formations and amazing lookouts. Its the place to just enjoy the drive and you will always come across something amazing around the next corner that will catch your attention.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-14501872903865418762016-03-20T02:02:00.001-07:002016-03-20T02:02:34.799-07:00Yalwal and Danjera Dam <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQP7k_GtvgukrDmuUeqwt0DZnccIHYkO743MOap3jGGt93bmTxEP295g0Caw20LAz8rdzAJD77uRYwX87Yj6mRQD4SnBYv2-sI_D83fY_udw6gCeRjgLVwflamrDo0GcRHxOmdTOdsUYFc/s1600/20160318_190221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQP7k_GtvgukrDmuUeqwt0DZnccIHYkO743MOap3jGGt93bmTxEP295g0Caw20LAz8rdzAJD77uRYwX87Yj6mRQD4SnBYv2-sI_D83fY_udw6gCeRjgLVwflamrDo0GcRHxOmdTOdsUYFc/s320/20160318_190221.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Heading to Yalwal</i></div>
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Danjera Dam is located in Yalwal which is 30km west of Nowra (Map <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Danjera+Dam/@-34.9307437,150.3543736,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b14708aee8be725:0x2a0609b4d1de6350?hl=en" target="_blank">Here</a>) the road in is dirt and narrow at times 2wd in the dry and 4wd in the very wet. The dam was built over an old gold mining town. Today it is a free camping area with a few different camping areas, the main camping area is very popular right on the dam and we mean popular the place soon fills up on the weekends I'd hate to see it in peak holiday time.<br />
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<i> Danjera Dam</i></div>
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We found the toilet in the main camping area is a flush toilet while other toilets are long drop toilets, there is also rubbish bins in the main camping area.<br />
The area around the dam is great for bush walking, bike riding or hit the dam for a swim, fishing for Bass and canoeing or kayaking.<br />
Yalwal and the dam has some stunning country and worth a visit , but it can get very busy and noisy.<br />
You can get more information by visiting Shoalhaven Visitor Centre.<br />
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<i> The waterfall after the dams spill way.</i></div>
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We left home on Friday night arriving around 8pm in the dark and set up our van and got the fire going and enjoyed the beautiful night with a few beers. Next morning we packed the van and explored the area some more and also decided the main camping area was a bit busy and noisy for us. We stopped at one camp area just after the dam spill way and had a look at the waterfall and decided to grab our fishing rods and cast a few lures for some Bass I managed a small Bass while Trish missed out. We decided to checkout the first camp area which is a few kilometers from the dam itself but it was much quieter there and only had to share with a young family, stacks of birds and the odd goanna.<br />
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<i>The view of Yalwal and Danjera Dam from the top of the hill</i></div>
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We had dinner lit the campfire and enjoyed the evening with a few cold beers. Next morning we spent a bit of time cooking breakfast on the campfire and checking out the nearby creek, before heading home. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-28606262124470313522016-03-20T00:24:00.000-07:002016-03-20T00:24:08.381-07:00Central West part 2. Australia Day Long WeekendAnother long weekend and we packed the van and headed back out west, so many beautiful places on our list to explore. Up early Saturday morning our travel plan for the extended 5 day long weekend :- Our itinerary is the Blue Mountains, Jenolan Caves, Wollemi National Park, Cowra, Grenfel and Junee.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Blue Mountains</b></span></span><br />
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Our first stop was Lennox Bridge it is the oldest stone arch bridge on Australians mainland opening in 1833, it was designed by David Lennox. The bridge is easy to access and has a car park just off road with walking tracks also sign boarded, unfortunately graffiti has covered most of bridge but the walk down and structure of bridge is worth a look. Google Map <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Lennox+Bridge,+Mitchells+Pass,+Blaxland+NSW+2774/@-33.754251,150.6302364,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b1288891a15dadd:0x58fc562310c35d16?hl=en" target="_blank">Here</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxfC1vAds2sYRFVuZkoeBFnI3tGyo6ARFjmkOsVqj00pGHc_Y_qISqk8HBs6ueWVy5qLZxboCGpIqFuIrVVfGrjbmRe9RVVD-vRxMC-4aY-w5fRjw1dZeNzo4pkuSUEERcn-vq43HM3jY/s1600/20160123_083013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxfC1vAds2sYRFVuZkoeBFnI3tGyo6ARFjmkOsVqj00pGHc_Y_qISqk8HBs6ueWVy5qLZxboCGpIqFuIrVVfGrjbmRe9RVVD-vRxMC-4aY-w5fRjw1dZeNzo4pkuSUEERcn-vq43HM3jY/s320/20160123_083013.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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From there we ventured over to Glenbrook National Park a quick stop at the Jelly Bean Pool. As we arrived here early there were not many people around and although the day was heating up I felt it was still to cool for a swim but the water looked beautiful. We headed down the easy stepped track to the water. The water was clear with a small sandy beach, and walking tracks along the waters edge. We could of easily spent a few hours here relaxing but we had other plans for the day.<br />
Google Map <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Red+Hands+Cave/Jellybean+Pool,+Blue+Labyrinth+NSW+2782/@-33.7895052,150.5730619,13z/data=!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b1289da60221063:0xd9bb29fcec4f2211!2m2!1d150.5907339!2d-33.7822535!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b1289adae389321:0x2a017d6844bcbe90!2m2!1d150.6191199!2d-33.781665?hl=en" target="_blank">Here</a> for Jelly Bean Pool and Red Hands Cave <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXS9SF0IYYI07fI3flLGcOzOU5UedaSWSwa_7_o7IFMdcYrdQEOdbT0fn0d_y3hUATt38m2utiY1Jc23YfmgTNvlNinF0P0B-NY0Bm0TVOnxry8tWX4adrU3-O9bKA19aYJxsdJAvpztgW/s1600/20160123_090506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXS9SF0IYYI07fI3flLGcOzOU5UedaSWSwa_7_o7IFMdcYrdQEOdbT0fn0d_y3hUATt38m2utiY1Jc23YfmgTNvlNinF0P0B-NY0Bm0TVOnxry8tWX4adrU3-O9bKA19aYJxsdJAvpztgW/s320/20160123_090506.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Back into car we headed further into National Park to Red Hand Cave, the drive in is approx 13km, arriving at the end of the road is a small car park. The walk is an easy 2km return walk to cave from here, the alternate route is a 6km loop track that starts at camp ground car park. Red Hand Cave showcases the areas best aboriginal art and has been caged in with provisions to take pictures. The cave is a little disappointing due to the cage but understandable due to the amount of graffiti that is now spoiling our beautiful culture and natural surroundings. Imagining the history of the aboriginal community living in this area. Although unknown the art work is suspected to date back 500-1100 years.<br />
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The Park also has many picnic areas throughout. We stopped for early lunch before we drove over to Jenolan Caves for the afternoon to explore a few caves. We paid for one tour which was the Temple of Baal, what an amazing experience.The entrance to the Temple of Baal is a man made tunnel, which reminded us of the start of Maxwell Smart show. The cave is spectacular and also can be used for a wedding venue. The tour takes about an hour and a half with a length of 365 meters and 288 steps, which makes it and easy walk for all ages.<br />
Google Map <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Jenolan+Caves/@-33.8188306,150.0204003,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b12173b750692dd:0x416cbbbf480c6348?hl=en" target="_blank">Here</a> <br />
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The grounds of Jenolan Caves can keep you there for hours, wondering the grounds, walking the Blue Lake Loop via the Grand Arch, Jenolan River walk, Devils coach lookout and a self guided tour of Nettle Cave which is free.<br />
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A great place we could of stayed a few more hours exploring but the day was getting on and we needed to get to our campsite before dark.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lake Wallace. Lithgow and Wollemi National Park</b></span></span><br />
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We spent the night at Lake Wallace approx 10km out of Lithgow, a free camp with hot showers and flushing toilets, play ground, boat ramp, lake view and very quiet. Google Map <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Lake+Wallace,+Wallerawang+NSW+2845/@-33.4165582,150.0711339,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b0df636db7a9991:0x2a0609b4d1de62e0?hl=en" target="_blank">Here</a> More Info <a href="http://caravanontour.com/free-campsites-and-low-cost-camping/new-south-wales/rest-area-and-places-to-pull-over-when-tired/1289-lake-wallace-reserve-camping-area.html" target="_blank">Here</a><br />
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We were excited about the days adventures we headed through town were we stopped to take pictures of the twin railway bridges, just follow the road from Lithgow Tourist Information centre, turn left and follow the road around past the caravan park and the bridges are to your left, before the highway. <br />
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We then headed out of Lithgow along <span class="_Xbe">Old Coach Road</span> to the Glowworm Tunnel it is a disused railway tunnel between Lithgow and Newnes, and it is well known for its resident glow-worms, the 30km road in to the tunnel is rough, but easy enough for 2wd car in dry weather. Driving past a pine plantation the scenery changes into bushland, also glimpses of huge rock formations part of the Stone Gardens National Park. We were suprized to arrive at a huge drive through tunnel about 200 meters in length, it all connects the old train line along the way. It was exciting traveling through the tunnel but it's only wide enough for one car so sound your horn as you drive through slowly. Parking we walked along the track to the tunnel it was very wet but a nice 2 km walk return with lots of plants and what seemed like underwater caves, hidden underneath huge rock structures, also a small bridge with cobble stone stairs. Unfortunately silly me forgot the torch so mobile phones came in handy to guide us into the tunnel. We didn't need to go far in before we saw hundreds of glow worms, pretty amazing as we stood in silence in pitch dark and marveled at the spectacular show. There is a longer walk from other side of the tunnel a 12 km trek which leaves from the old oil shale, (Wolgan Rd) unfortunately you cant drive straight to the other side of the tunnel, so you needed to drive back onto highway and turn on to Wolgan Rd and travel in again 30km. This drive was amazing the huge mountains and the view of the national park and the garden of stones is breathtaking, the roads are narrow and windy but sealed. Google Map <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Glow+Worm+Tunnel/@-33.2465331,150.2226939,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b0d933837c26fb5:0xc9f5e1fe5f259e51?hl=en" target="_blank">Here</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;"><b>Newnes</b></span></span><br />
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At the end of Wolgan Rd are the ruins of the old oil shale factory. The township and shale oil mining complex was established in 1906. The Newnes Oil Shale Mine produced low grade oil. It was set within a beautiful mountain, with beautiful views. A collection of what remains of the factory is scattered around the area. Buildings, furnace, smoke stacks, machinery now all just a piece of history. The factory closed in 1932, today the hotel is all that remains.<br />
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On the right is the river crossing (4wd only) do not let anyone tell you it can be done by car or van! The river sand is very soft, and vans can get stuck!!! (embarrassing) but you can park car and cross river by foot as there are large stepping stones to cross. Follow road along there is also camping on this side of the river. Follow to end car park which takes you to beginning of trail, this is well signed with information and map. It is an easy walk with information and history along the way, we found the building structures amazing the pure size of some of the smoke stacks foundation, buildings, ovens, shales etc.<br />
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We wondered through taking out time and enjoying the moment, you could feel the history in this place a definite place to visit again.<br />
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Newnes campground is at the end of road in Wolgan Rd, its set on the Wolgan river on a grassy flat area, the view of the sandstone mountains and escarpment is amazing. The camp ground is free and has one toilet (long drop) and no other facilities. We found a peaceful space by the river to sit back and rest for a night, building a small campfire. Plenty of walking tracks around also, the neighboring Garden of Stone, Capertee valley and Glen Davis offering plenty to explore.Google Map <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Newnes+NSW+2790/@-33.1909283,150.2246154,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b0c5505826348ff:0x40609b490436910?hl=en" target="_blank">Here</a> More Info <a href="http://www.findacamp.com.au/camp-site.php?pc=NEWNES_NSW_2790&dis=25&camp=511" target="_blank">Here</a><br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Wedding mountain, Seatons farm house, Cowra</b></span></span><br />
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Our afternoon we set of again taking our time travelling over to Weddin Mountains National Park near Grenfield, an old historic town near Cowra. A beautiful easy drive, the drive into the National Park from Grenfield was a 20km straight flat long road, almost deserted, stopping and having some fun with a few local sheep that had escaped their paddocks. Turning into the state forest we drove a short distance to Ben Halls Cave Campground a small area nestled under the mountain. We set up camp and relaxed for the night. The area really reminded me of the Australian bush, hot and dry. The following day we were up early to a paddock full of wild kangaroos and a flock of some kind of baby bird.<br />
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There are a couple of walking tracks scattered around the area but our main focus was on the Ben Halls Cave, so up the hill we ventured. Ben Hall was infamous bushranger and the cave believed to be his hideout and shelter. Walking up the track we stop a few times and looked at the view, but on arriving at sheltered cave at top the view is awesome your can see for hundreds of miles across the landscape surroundings.<br />
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From here we headed over to Seaton's Farm, an abandon farmhouse left intact and now preserved. Wow this was a huge step back in time, the farm house has been closed off but can be viewed by pulling a large wooded lever to open door.<br />
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The yard still has all the machinery, farm tools and equipment scattered around everywhere. There are information boards around to describe the living conditions and working life back in their time and how hard it was living in the great depression back in 1930. An amazing historic site and well worth taking a look if in the area. Google Map <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Weddin+Mountains+National+Park/@-33.8861075,147.9607874,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b1a3e0c27007223:0x43501ca174d6fcfb?hl=en" target="_blank">Here</a><br />
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Driving back into Cowra we stopped at the information centre, they were screening a hologram on the story of the prisoner's of war, and the breakout, as I knew little about this history it was a great way to inform people of the POW story in Cowra.<br />
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Taking a few more hours to explore Cowra we visited the POW memorial park, the Aboriginal artwork under the bridge, which was awesome.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;"><b>Bethungra Dam </b></span></span><br />
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Our nights accommodation was spent in a cow paddock at Bethungra Dam, I could say it was the funniest accommodation night this far, cows and bulls wandering around making all kinds of noises and funny behavior's. We had to get the binoculars out as we watched a cow trying to get out of knee high sludge across the water, although it wasn't in to much danger it was quiet funny watching as it looked as though it was drunk trying to roller skate. The Dam itself is a lovely quiet area used mainly by locals to fish and kayak, it has toilet facilities (long drop), picnic tables and picnic shelters.Google Map <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Lake+Bethungra/@-34.7657361,147.9053977,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b184caed9b89e63:0x2a0609b4d1dfca80?hl=en" target="_blank">Here</a> and More Info <a href="http://www.findacamp.com.au/camp-site.php?pc=JUNEE_NSW_2663&dis=25&camp=1644" target="_blank">Here </a><br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Junee</b></span></span><br />
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The next morning our last day and it was bucketing down with rain, we were up and out on the road really early before the road became to muddy. Quick drive into Junee and we found a cute little café for a coffee and some breakfast sat in to keep out of the rain. We were both needing a hot shower so we approached the local van park and paid $5 each for use of amenities, they even supplied bathmats and the bathrooms were spotless.<br />
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By 9am we were at Junee chocolate and licorice factory, Andy was waiting for this visit, he was like a big kid. We paid $5 to make our own giant Freckle, it was fun, and the best hot chocolate! Over to Monte Cristo's haunted homestead, I was excited to visit this place.. and it was closed! Dam!!! We checked out a few other quick spots in Junee the old railway, museum, then unfortunately we needed to head home via Gundagai to see the dog on the tuckerbox.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-51464679354250544572016-03-01T02:03:00.002-08:002016-03-01T02:03:46.271-08:00Central West Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For our Christmas break we decided to escape from the south coast population explosion and head inland to explore the Central West of N.S.W. Our travel route started in the Illawarra to the Capertee Valley to a small town called Glen Davies , on to Wellington, Dubbo, Parkes, Peak Hill, Orange, Hill End, Lithgow and took the long way home via Wombeyan Caves.<br />
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Travel route - <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Wollongong+NSW/Glen+Davis+NSW/Wellington+NSW/Dubbo+NSW/Parkes,+New+South+Wales/Hill+End,+New+South+Wales/Wombeyan+Caves,+New+South+Wales/@-33.3265618,148.4117255,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m44!4m43!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b131ad136a8c94b:0x4017d681632a8c0!2m2!1d150.8931494!2d-34.4250728!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b0dc028cf4e52d1:0x40609b4904362b0!2m2!1d150.2798282!2d-33.1222572!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b0fa8cd9a7e3dbb:0x50609b490442010!2m2!1d148.9427754!2d-32.5556186!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b0f71b04ca4913b:0x50609b490442530!2m2!1d148.6094976!2d-32.2438146!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b1aa9b21e36c657:0x40609b490437c90!2m2!1d148.1748388!2d-33.1378642!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b0e3e73c3bb1c57:0x40609b4904363d0!2m2!1d149.4144097!2d-33.0355302!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b13de9e31002dbb:0x40609b490436f10!2m2!1d149.971431!2d-34.3051246!3e0?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a>. After Wombeyan Caves we took a crazy narrow dirt road to Moss Vale to Maquarie Pass home. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;"><b>Glen Davies - Capertee Valley</b></span></span><br />
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We took the tourist route to Glen Davies which is an old oil shale town. Which started in 1938 and soon a small town grew until 1952 when it was not viable anymore, it left a very small community of properties. The area was turned into Wollemi National Park were a good tourist industry has started.<br />
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There is a tour conducted on Saturdays of the old factory ruins, but we missed out on the tour. The area is scattered with historical ruins and the landscape is magnificent. Glen Davies has two free camp grounds, one in the town centre and the other by the river (4wd road in the wet).<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;"><b>Wellington</b></span></span><br />
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Arriving later in the afternoon to Wellington, we set up camp at a free rest area approx 7 km out of town, opposite from Caves Rd<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">, (</span>Wellington Caves entrance) no facilities at rest stop but quiet and safe.<br />
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Wellington caves are open every day except Christmas Day and Boxing Day, we purchased a multi-pass for the Cathedral and Gaden Caves, all tours are guided. The Cathedral Cave is the largest and most popular of the caves, the highlights of this tour include the Altar (a 15m tall stalagmite), Thunder Cave, Headache Rock and the Well.<br />
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We then headed over to The Gaden Cave it is the smaller of the two caves but very impressive it contains large amounts of stalactites, cave coral, flow stone and helictites. <br />
The Wellington Caves complex offers accommodation for all budgets, with beautiful picnic areas scattered throughout property. There is also a Japanese garden across from cave entrance, a lovely Zen feel small but nice for a quick wander through before we hit the road again<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Dubbo</b></span></span><br />
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We arrived at Dubbo late afternoon and decided stay at the <a href="http://www.dubbocityholidaypark.com.au/">Dubbo City Holiday Park</a>. The park is well set out very clean and secure , we settled in and enjoyed a few beers and a nice hot shower.<br />
Next morning we started early and went to <a href="https://taronga.org.au/taronga-western-plains-zoo">Dubbo Zoo</a> the entrance price gives you a two day pass to explore the zoo, which gives you plenty of time to see all the animals and keeper shows. We spent hours wandering through the park, being self drive there are lots of parking along the road to stop and watch the animals, bike and buggy hire also available, picnic areas and café. A great day out, plenty of opportunities for some amazing pictures. The variety of monkeys and chimpanzees would have to be the most entertaining animals to watch along with the hippos and turtles. Great day out for any age group.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Peak Hill - Old Gold Mine</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.peakhill.nsw.au/" target="_blank">Peak Hill</a> gold mine was established in 1889 and shut down in 2002 and later turned into a tourist attraction. There are a few walks around the mine from easy to hard with many old mining artifacts on display and the colours of the earth are amazing. An good stop off along the way from Dubbo to Parkes.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Parkes</b></span></span><br />
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A quick stop at Parkes, we found a great over night rest area where we could stop for the night, located on the Newell Highway, 3 kilometers north of Parkes, beside the highway on the northbound side it has some shady trees, picnic tables, toilets, no water, also a popular truck stop so it became a little noisy throughout the night.<br />
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On the way into Parkes from Dubbo is "The Dish" it is the CSIRO's radio astronomy observatories, collectively known as the Australia Telescope National Facility, (ATNF). It supports Australia’s research in radio astronomy and can be used by researchers from institutions all over the world. You can see the dish from the highway as you approach it, with signage well displayed.<br />
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The drive towards the dish was great, with fields of beautiful sunflowers for miles, quiet amazing. The facility had all the usual attractions inside, displays, information, 3D theater with short displays, Café with a great view of the dish. Its a place you could spend hours exploring or a quick look to satisfy your curiosity. Parkes is a cute country town we spent a few hours looking around, a beautiful park, main street with the usual stores. A nice stop over place.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Orange</b></span></span><br />
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An hours drive on from Parkes we arrived in Orange, a beautiful little town of old houses and tree lined streets, we headed to Mount Canobolas state conservation area. Mount Canobolas is an extinct volcano that erupted 13 million years ago, at 139 meters above sea level it is the highest peak between Sydney and Perth. The drive up we stopped at the pinnacle reserve/lookout for some lunch the area was so quiet and relaxing. We then decided to walk up to the lookout. Its a short walk up but intense, maybe the fact it was very hot and midday didn't help but getting to the top was worth it the view was amazing, pretty much a 360 degree of Orange and its surroundings, from here we also had a good view of Mount Canobolas.<br />
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We kept driving up the hill and <span style="font-family: inherit;">spent</span> the afternoon on top of the extinct volcano exploring. We decided to spend the night on top of the volcano, so we found a good spot to watch the sunset and the sun rise. It was Amazing!!<br />
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The following day we headed down to Borenore Karst Conservation Reserve, we explored the Arch Cave an easy walking track, a short walk from the picnic area. The caves were inviting lots of stalactites, stalagmites, a small river running through, the walk stated 30 minute walk, I'm sure we were there over an hour the place was amazing. the reserve had longer walks with more caves to explore, Orange is defiantly on our list to return and explore this beautiful place and its amazing surroundings.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hill End and Sofala</b></span></span><br />
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In 1851 gold was discovered in <a href="http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/bathurst-area/hill-end">Hill End</a> and by 1872 the towns population exploded with gold rush fever. Hill End is surrounded by mountains and gorges, the country side is magnificent and the town is a strong reminder of yesteryear.<br />
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Hill End has two campsites one in town and the other a couple of kilometers from town, we opted for <a href="http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/bathurst-area/hill-end/accommodation/glendora-campground-hill-end">Glendora campground</a> which is run by the National Park and has a honesty box at the gate, there is hot shower for $1. There are plenty of walks around town and around the old mine ruins and well worth a look, the visitors center is a great place to start with heaps to see.<br />
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We traveled a little out of Hill End to <a href="http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/Walking-tracks/Golden-Gully-walking-track" target="_blank">Golden Gully</a> walking track, the walk is short and relativity easy. The gully is a huge erosion of old mines with a huge arch, the colour was amazing and the feel of walking in the footsteps of miners from years ago was amazing.<br />
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We took a quick stop in at <a href="http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/country-nsw/bathurst-area/sofala">Sofala</a> which isn't to far from Hill End, Sofala is like Hill End an old gold mining town full of history and well worth a stop to explore. <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lithgow</b></span></span><br />
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Heading toward Lithgow later in the afternoon we came across an amazing find a free camping area on lake Wallace about 9 km west of Lithgow. it has free hot showers, toilets, picnic areas and kids playground. Arriving new years eve, we set up van with lake view in a quieter end of the park. We enjoyed a quiet night with a couple of beers to relax.<br />
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The following morning we headed up to Hassans Walls Lookout it is the highest lookout in the Blue Mountains 1,100 metres above sea level. The view is amazing over blue mountains and beyond. The rest of the day we explored the local surrounding area and the history of Lithgow. Another place with so much to explore and put back on our list of places to return.<br />
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The drive home</b></span></span><br />
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Driving a long detoured trip home through Wombeyan caves, we were planning to spend the night at the camp ground there, but when arriving to the camp ground it was very crowded and when inquiring about cost found it a little over priced, so we decided to keep driving and find another spot. The drive from caves to Moss Vale was scary, nail biting, windy cliff hanging journey extremely dangerous but darn scenic. We decided to continue home instead of camping for the night.An amazing week out west we cant wait to head back and explore some more.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-48597412557742214832016-01-05T16:36:00.000-08:002016-01-05T16:36:22.459-08:00Gold Coast Hinterlands and Surrounding Areas <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes another Jetstar sale, and another birthday weekend away. We brought tickets to Coolangatta $45 each way, and decided to do our first campervan adventure exploring the Gold Coast hinterland.<br />
After a few trips now I find the website <a href="http://www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au/">www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au</a> the best and easiest way to get the cheapest price on vehicles, $75 a day for a small basic campervan, perfect for what we needed, easy to drive and park. Arriving late at night on the Gold Coast we had booked a cheap room for the night. Another thing we have been discovering these days that Jetstar cheap flights seem to be early morning or later in evening, we are finding the later flights are generally running behind time and running late as per schedule, due to losing time throughout the day, we may need to start taking the early morning deals.<br />
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So our first morning we are up early and off to pick up the van. We were so excited the van was just perfect every thing included cooking utensils, eski, bedding, maps, we were on our way!!!</div>
A quick stop at a supermarket to buy a few meals, and we were on our way.<br />
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Mount Tamborine was our first place of call, an easy drive with lots of signage to find our way. As we headed up the hill the scenery become relaxed, good bye to the hustle of the coast. The trip up the mountain was amusing, warning signs about the steep incline up hill, we thought our little van wasn't going to make it as we crawled up the very steep mountain, reaching the top was awesome, the view of the coast amazing.</div>
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Driving through the beautiful village of Mt Tambourine its a lovely small community. We headed to the National Park a section called the Knoll, a great picnic area where we had some lunch along with a very friendly wild turkey. <br />
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After lunch we headed off for our first bushwalk, Sandy Creek circuit which leads to Cameron Falls, the Queensland rainforest is a lot different to what we are use to, was a real change and I loved exploring and taking in the quiet and peaceful surroundings. The falls at the end of the track were very average but the view of the valley below was amazing. Back at the van we were aware we need to find a place to camp for the night so we drove around and found a few options, then off for another walk to witches falls. </div>
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We had a few hours before the sunset and we headed down the track about 20min into walk we both stopped in our tracks as we heard a loud ruffle in the near by bush, looking at each other with nervous smiles we continued on again until we heard another noise closer to us. I freaked out a little bit, as the place was deserted and my imagination got the better of me!!.. I quickly stated lets turn around!!!My heart was racing as we heard more noises behind us as we hurried out of the bush. Its funny now looking back on this but the walk was a little creepy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepoQMzCDLZDi4jsQtdmwba_w9W88bB9seXZImZLatYUux-LuYOXQJt2c1Rl2l42gLKmdYWhznqHwmPxYLqDJV4j83f5B3uGi8pgsIieFJjIu3ATHuAa-tYMND_xowC5NfPVypS8TuqJ-X/s1600/IMAG5450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepoQMzCDLZDi4jsQtdmwba_w9W88bB9seXZImZLatYUux-LuYOXQJt2c1Rl2l42gLKmdYWhznqHwmPxYLqDJV4j83f5B3uGi8pgsIieFJjIu3ATHuAa-tYMND_xowC5NfPVypS8TuqJ-X/s320/IMAG5450.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We got back to the van and decided on a spot to camp for the night, across the road from an open space to watch our first Queensland sunset over the valley below, a quick feed of chicken stir fry and walked across the road to watch the end of the day set with a cold beer, what a great birthday for me!!! <br />
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The next morning we were up early, laughing at our first night attempt sleeping, yes first lesson in parking a van, make sure the ground is level although only on a slight angle we defiantly noticed it.<br />
We headed off early to Cedar Creek section of National Park, a nice walk down along the Cedar Creek Track really easy and paved, then over to Joalah section to walk the Curtis Creek Track this was beautiful, lots of huge trees, very shaded and peaceful. We had arranged to catch up with a long time friend, so after walk we headed over to Eagle Heights to meet for lunch at the famous ?? pub. <br />
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The early afternoon we spend driving down to Lamington National Park, where our first stop was the Cave Circuit walk. This walk was a little intense walking down a huge number of steep stairs down a mountain, and this only means one thing we need to come back up. We came upon a open cave and beautiful sandstone wall, it was nice, so we kept walking the loop slowing winding back up the hill, we walked a couple of hours and finally made the top a little disappointed and the second half of walk. <br />
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At the top of hill was a camping ground, with showers and amenities, we debated to stay here or keep driving over to Springbrook as there was a lot of walks and sights over that area we wanted to see and do. As we had a few hours Springbrook it was!! We arrived and found a great parking place in a rest area, set up for the night, cooked an amazing meal and sat back with a couple of beers. The drive for the day was great easy and lots of amazing scenery we made a few stops along the way to get some great snaps.<br />
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The following day again up super early after a good night sleep, we headed over to the Natural bridge, were we had the place to ourselves for a couple of hours, I understand why this is such a popular place totally peaceful and tranquil not sure we would of got the same experience if other people were there. After this we had a small problem, our petrol tank was low and the drive into the national park and out plus find a station we were a little concerned?? We decided to find a petrol station and stock up on supplies heading over to Byron Bay via Nimbin route 23. <br />
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This drive is one of the best drives I've driven, the surroundings and beautiful landscapes I felt totally relaxed and just drifted through the day, stopping in a few small towns along the way. A long day driving but amazing. Byron was Byron!! Busy, lots of people, we were aware of the signage everywhere about no parking or camping in all areas. stopping and resting for a while enjoying the scenery,walking around light house and heading to Australians most eastern point. <br />
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We headed out of area heading back up coast. Stopping at a over crowded rest area we cooked a meal and deciding where to stay, as we were leaving the following day we kept driving and headed back to the Gold Coast where we booked a night at the Crown Towers for a night of luxury, it was so nice.<br />
Our time on the Gold Coast was short but sweet, we walked into town for a early lunch, cleaned the van, and dropped back then headed back to airport for trip home. A cheap and fun long weekend.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-38459241041212954832016-01-05T16:02:00.001-08:002016-01-05T16:02:54.096-08:00Coolendel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkTtA3LkoaJxVl5-XNi42lzRmKMe3hDIztSzyWWDauO4-sGBeidZMH0kxAXPa0jn1izmPPXTL-zZ3H4vTr2G31LXHGpnHCicyUb9LVdfRX6o1nsMXsEQF7zix4b7tBB8wN2Q-DOGhuoNi/s1600/IMAG6826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWkTtA3LkoaJxVl5-XNi42lzRmKMe3hDIztSzyWWDauO4-sGBeidZMH0kxAXPa0jn1izmPPXTL-zZ3H4vTr2G31LXHGpnHCicyUb9LVdfRX6o1nsMXsEQF7zix4b7tBB8wN2Q-DOGhuoNi/s320/IMAG6826.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My first visit to Coolendel was almost 40 year's ago now and after many visits I had pushed this little piece of paradise to the side to travel overseas. With the purchase of our new campervan we started to think of a quick weekend away, Coolendel soon came to my mind. <br />
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Coolendel is located about 30 km's west of Nowra and is surronded by Morton State Conservation Area, the road into Coolendel is bitumen then dirt as you get closer to your destination.<br />
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The journey took us about 2 hours but we did make a few stops to checkout the echidna wondering along the roadside, views over the Shoalhaven River and a few old mines and mine shafts which have been fenced off for personal safety.<br />
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Once at Coolendel we paid our fee's and went for a drive around the 50 odd hectare property with almost 3km of river frontage, there are many places to call home whether it be a river view or the large paddock at the back of the property or one of the small hidden spots, there is somewhere for everyone . There are two amenities blocks with hot showers and flushing toilets, a lanudry, gas BBQ area and a large shelter shed.<br />
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Coolendel is a perfect place for families, couples and singles. It's a great place to relax and get back to nature with lots of wildlife during the day and even better at night spotting wombats and kangaroos by torch light. The river is great for swimming, fishing, kayaking or stand up paddle boarding. Riding your bike around or take one of the trails on a bush walk. Coolendel has something for everyone it's a stunning piece of Australia and well worth a visit.<br />
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Coolendel can become very busy on school holidays, I find it better to go autumn or spring or during the week for a quieter time. <br />
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Coolendel web site - <a href="http://www.coolendel.com.au/index.html" target="_blank">Here</a><br />
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Coolendel Google map and directions - <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Coolendel/@-34.8422849,150.4232847,16.42z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x6b1478405e4af911:0x52ffe877c31bf3ce?hl=en" target="_blank">Here</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-17250424241636131972015-11-21T14:40:00.000-08:002015-11-21T14:40:19.954-08:00MerimbulaHaving a change to take an extra long weekend trip, we headed down the Far South Coast for some much needed time out to explore and relax. Leaving early in the morning the drive down the coast is approx 4.5 hours, we had all day to take our time and stop along the way to admire the countryside and coast. First stop was at Narooma where we pulled up by the Marina for a quick bit to eat and check out the ocean and also view Montague Island in the distance. Andy is on a mission to find some seals this weekend, wanting to get some pictures of them in their natural environment.<br />
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I've grown up with lots of holidays/drives down the coast fishing and diving with my family, I always feel once you pass Batemans Bay the countryside changes and a different mindset sets in, a more relaxed and less stressed feeling. As we drove along we stopped to take some great pictures of the lush country side and anything that caught our eye.<br />
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Arriving in Merimbula we had booked a small self contained budget room for $60 a night, staying for 3 nights. We soon off loaded our gear and headed down to the town centre for a look around and do a little grocery shopping for snacks, breakfast and lunches. We also found a cheap little Thai restaurant for dinner which was really good. Staying at Merimbula worked well as its a centre point its half hour from Eden, close to Pambula,Tura Beach, Tathra, Wallagoot Lake and both Bourna, Ben Boyd and Mimosa Rock National Parks.<br />
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The following morning we headed down to the waters edge where we found a board walk along Merimbula Lake this walk was beautiful, walking along the waters edge for a few km return, its amazing how the tide changes the perspective of the lake as it became high tide during the walk. It was beautiful lots of wildlife and bird watching. <br />
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We then headed down to Eden for the afternoon, the view from the Rotary Park lookout was amazing, as soon as we arrived we saw a number of whales splashing about. We stayed here for a while as there were whales everywhere. We stopped down by the harbour for some lunch and strolled through the museum. The small seaside town was busy preparing for their annual whale festival. We drove around town and found the beautiful Aslings Beach miles of white sandy beach and Curolo lake behind it.<br />
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We visited the Ben Boyd National park on the return trip back to Merimbula where we walked the Pinnacle Track, a short easy 1 km loop walk, There are two lookouts along this walking track that make ideal spots to view the Pinnacles formation, an erosion feature that consists of cliffs of soft white sands capped with a layer of red gravel clay. It was deposited during the tertiary geological period – up to 65 million years ago. </div>
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Moving on to Pambula we came across the river opening from the ocean, hidden behind a long winding road, again we were taken in by the beauty of this place, old boat sheds lined the waters edge it was so quiet with just a few people wondering around walking their dogs along the waters edge. <br />
That evening we eat a delicious Italian meal that put us both in a food coma for the remaining of the evening.<br />
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The following day we were up early and headed north to Tura beach and Tathra, this was nice but very touristy. We stopped at the old wharf then down to the park for a coffee, we spent the morning looking around the area then we decided to head back south to Green Cape light house. The drive in was very easy on a un-sealed road for approx 20km, when arriving the wind was blowing, while here again we saw whales, we walked around the light house and surrounding grounds and sat and watches the whales for a while eating lunch. Heading back to Merimbula for our last night we found another really good asian meal before finishing the night back at our room.<br />
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Having such a lovely relaxing time we were a little hesitate of leaving this place, quiet and relaxing with no stress, would of been so easy to just stay a few more days. Heading home we made a few stops along the way, first Wallagoot lake, we had by passed it a few times so we thought we would have a quick look, and im so glad we did. The lake had a aura about it very inviting, we drove to the end of the road where there were a few cars parked. A guy came running out of the bush with a surf bourd which looked bizarre as it seemed we were in the National Park and we only saw a lake. I asked where the surf was and he pointed towards a long haunting track. We ventured along the track for approx 500 mtrs and came to an amazing private beach with a cave like entrance, hard to explain but our cameras were out, smiles on our faces snappy away. This place was amazing and we will definatly be back to explore this area in more detail again. <br />
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Lunch was a stop at Bermagui and again more whales, the whole weekend Andy was hanging to see a seal, but all we saw where whales. We kept driving back into Narooma again and parked down near the other side of marina, there is a popular rock formation there of a large hole in rock that looks like Australia, posing for some pics we were about to leave when we saw a few people looking out on whaft. It was a family of seals. we watched for ages as the baby swam around showing off and splashing about. Andy was a happy!!!<br />
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We seemed to take forever to get home as the drive is so beautiful we kept stopping for scenery shots, along the way, we had such a great trip and looking forward to taking another run down this area.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-48669610673762180652015-10-07T02:40:00.001-07:002015-10-07T02:40:59.680-07:00Bali<br />
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Recently we had an awesome adventure in Bali, click on the link below which will take you to Andy's blog <a href="http://andysitchyfeet.blogspot.com.au/">http://andysitchyfeet.blogspot.com.au/</a> and read about our time in Bali.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-14474618640741950822015-09-05T21:46:00.002-07:002015-09-05T21:46:14.202-07:00Maddens Plains WaterfallWe love having our midweek day off. Time to get out and explore our local area and see whats in our backyard. We headed north to Helensburgh to the Royal National park (Dharawal Nature Reserve) and looked for a place called Maddens plains waterfalls, when driving take the Old Princes Highway south from Helensburgh, turn right onto Darkes Forest Road and continue along for 2.5km to Maddens Falls car park. The car park is located on the southern side of the road opposite the Apple Shack Glenbernie Orchard, 259 Darkes Rd. From the carpark follow the signs for 750m along the walking track to Maddens Falls.<br />
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This walk is easy and takes you straight to the waterfall, starting off walk along service track, then this branches off to the right along a gravel road. Some of the track is raised bourd walk.<br />
The walk is about a 15 min, but we took a few short detours along the way, as the river runs parallel with the track, there are small tracks which lead to river along the way.<br />
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The waterfall is beautiful with a viewing platform to take pictures. There are also lots of surrounding area to get creative for pictures. We again detoured off track to see if we could get a better view of falls but large trees and huge rocks and boulders seem to get in the way of falls. <br />
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The top of the falls has lots of small ponds of water with frogs and tadpoles, which kept Andy amused for a while. When quiet you can hear a lot of bird life, and the Australian native flowers and plants are everywhere along the track.<br />
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This is a beautiful and easy walk, the sign at car park also has a lot of other longer walks within the Dharawal Nature Reserve, also bike tracks which is on our list of things to do. This area was so quiet and going mid week we didn't see anyone at all which was really nice for a change. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-79351621140807926562015-08-30T05:36:00.000-07:002015-08-30T16:35:16.319-07:00Blue MountainsHeading off for a weekend trip to the Blue Mountains. Our interest grew for the Blue Mountains after continuing looking at beautiful pictures other people have posted on instagram. Our list grew of places to see and explore, but after a little research on the area we realized there is so much to see in the area, we had to select a few areas and focus on them. You could easily spend weeks exploring the mountains and its surroundings.<br />
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Being on a budget for this weekend we booked one night accommodation in Katoomba, a basic motel room for $95 (which was cheap for the blue mountains) this included the basic necessity's fridge, microwave, heating and TV. We raided our home fridge and took an esky with food supplies to save money on a few meals. Our room was an easy walk to the 3 sisters and other tourist attractions in this area. The weekend was in late June (winter) so it was freezing cold early mornings and evenings but we were lucky to get beautiful sunny days. We set off early Saturday morning and planned to make it to Bulli tops before 6am to get some sunrise pictures of the Illawarra coastline and escarpment. The day being a little cold, the sunrise was a great start to the weekend and as we drove to the Blue Mountains the early morning fog in the paddocks were also awesome and we got some great pictures. <br />
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We arrived at Wentworth falls around 8:30/9am the car park was empty, with only a few people around.We had a map of the area, with lots of tracks that intertwined together, there were variety of long and short distance tracks. At first glance the map looked really confusing, but we just headed off along the Wentworth falls track and the rest fell into place, we viewed Fletchers and Jaimison lookouts, walked down to Princess rock under-cliff circuit, onto the Short cut track. All tracks were well displayed and easy to walk,although lots of stairs to get the heart rate up. We spend a good 4 hours wondering through lush rain-forest, exploring waterfalls, cliff faces, cliff tracks, lookouts, old ruins. The Wentworth falls area is an amazing area, lots to explore and fascinating landscape and scenery.<br />
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As the morning become midday the tourist buses invaded the place and by 11:30am it was almost impossible to get a picture without another person stepping in front of you or groups of people in the way, the walking tracks become congested and the place had lost its serenity. We headed back to the picnic area where we had some lunch and planned our afternoon.<br />
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The afternoon we headed in the direction of blackheath, and its surrounding area. I had walked the Six Foot track a couple of years ago (from Katoomba to Janolan Caves, 47km) and remembered the "bowtell swing bridge" which was a great fun river crossing bridge, my google maps on my phone had other ideas though and took us for a drive around the country side. We did not find the bridge but had the opportunity to explore a quieter side of the mountains and came across a small reserve called Coachwood Glen.<br />
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It was quiet and isolated at the time we arrived, the track stated it was approx 30min walk, 600mtrs. We spent a good 1.5hours there, taking pictures of the lush rain forest and waterfalls, this place was beautiful and quiet, it felt like we were a world away from anything. But again on our way back to the car, a bus of tourist arrived and the peace and quiet of nature was gone.<br />
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We headed back to our accommodation for the evening and had an early night as our plan was to wake early to catch the sunrise at the three sisters lookout.<br />
Up at 5:30am we headed down the road in the freezing weather. I was surprised how many other people also were there, we found a spot and watched the sun rise over the mountain range, an amazing way to start the day, next we headed into town for breakfast and coffee then over to leura.<br />
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Our navigation wasn't the best this weekend or Andy would say my navigation??) we parked the car about a kilometer away from Cascades walk. but ventured along a small track towards it. The Leura Cascade Fern Bower walk was a nice walk, we strolled along the track and enjoyed the views, the track was an easy walk (4.5km return) although muddy in sections, it was mainly sandstone steps and board walks.<br />
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When arriving at the cascade there was an open cave to view the waterfalls, we sat and just relaxed and took in the beauty of the place, continuing along the track it ended at a lookout overlooking the vast mountain ranges. As our day was coming to an end we drove over to sublime lookout and had a late lunch before our drive back home.The Blue Mountains is a huge area and we will be heading there again to explore more of this amazing area.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-32063791514940369312015-08-25T02:04:00.000-07:002015-08-25T02:04:23.171-07:00Tasmania North Coast and Launcestion Taking a short 4 day break down to Tasmania we were lucky to come across cheap airfares into Launceston for $19 each way. Deciding to book this trip in November when the weather is a little warmer. We booked a hire car for $189 for the 4 days, with Avis car hire.<br />
Our flight arrived early in the morning so we had a full day to explore, heading from Launceston to Burnie for a quick lunch and to visit family, during the drive to Burnie we stopped at a couple of unique little stores for local produce, cheese, chocolate, antiques and a few farming markets.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICZYJr1Yevw7vlN228HawD6_WWvRARfUSk3F3P8XwMEcs6x2wovISTYZ3gKZfdKmM9Z6_Amv8C-n3Aw1egTSvF912XzL3HiVXOCziXQJkFT_PuTVJ_ptWmDf2tO5WAcP3K-2SyQM4ihf8/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICZYJr1Yevw7vlN228HawD6_WWvRARfUSk3F3P8XwMEcs6x2wovISTYZ3gKZfdKmM9Z6_Amv8C-n3Aw1egTSvF912XzL3HiVXOCziXQJkFT_PuTVJ_ptWmDf2tO5WAcP3K-2SyQM4ihf8/s200/009.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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Arriving in Burnie for lunch, we stopped there for a while then we spent the afternoon driving along the north coast to Stanly, which is a small coastal fishing town with the main landmark being "The Nut" which is a huge volcanic plug, with a flat top, set on the ocean front, the height is approx 143mtrs. As we set off we made a few stops along the way first being Table-cape, this beautiful place has an old lighthouse a short walk between a lookout and the light house, driving off the main highway towards Table-cape there are fields of colored Iris and rows of multi coloured flowers which looks amazing. Also along the way we stopped at port Latta Jetty which is approx 2km long heading out bass strait.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcojqlGyCROK3RqpFI9B9_j_xEauRD9yL_NSyYr_fTj7BVVvqfLN4csrw-WV5AcFSA1AaySw9YSeAKsZkhEkE7UEgeYqfm7P-OiX16-8wGxJTKbqPOJZl0mPFRprAIOfF79eiPMTY1ItR2/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcojqlGyCROK3RqpFI9B9_j_xEauRD9yL_NSyYr_fTj7BVVvqfLN4csrw-WV5AcFSA1AaySw9YSeAKsZkhEkE7UEgeYqfm7P-OiX16-8wGxJTKbqPOJZl0mPFRprAIOfF79eiPMTY1ItR2/s200/015.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Arriving at Stanly we spent a few hours looking around, it was really windy the chair lift was closed, it is possible to climb the Nut but it was freezing and windy so we decided to just look around as it was getting late. The town of Stanly is a cute coastal town, lots of small gift shops and cafes to relax.<br />
Heading back to Burnie we spent the night at a waterfront cottage enjoying the local beer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMe4F_PLhwNPmdL_D5YlM7y4E5R1v6HsRsVEy7ll_ircU4TjNLprrZqUsjsabO9vVZh_0Yrc1z2pHT-50uaHGGAziEccWAHuK-USaFOsbTwNDfm3_4sQRGFfK3AIYyWHeF64-c8LIpjDM/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMe4F_PLhwNPmdL_D5YlM7y4E5R1v6HsRsVEy7ll_ircU4TjNLprrZqUsjsabO9vVZh_0Yrc1z2pHT-50uaHGGAziEccWAHuK-USaFOsbTwNDfm3_4sQRGFfK3AIYyWHeF64-c8LIpjDM/s200/021.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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The next day after a late start we headed over to Cradle Mountain with so many walks available (long challenging, and short easy) we decided to walk around Dove Lake, St Claire,(approx 6km) which took about 4 hours, at a nice easy pace stopping along the way for lots of pictures, this walk is easy but a slight hill at end got the heart rate up. We suggest starting from the right hand side, from the carpark. A great walk with a beautiful view of cradle mountain and the surrounding lake. There is an admission fee into park for the day, and a shuttle which takes you down to all the walking tracks. Self drive is also easy as long as parking is available. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGIhlLY0vr3v4FiRy6aFhNH4ke5RD8Z_JRd_9wFH-uoMfg7eAPK-eXH9a7wdPhblNkdswuQIUqfengvZHMT0BKiAWh_3rJBUnICJN8msafjFD34TCVVLgQbAGLCcrex3wrsHi4MngPMKs/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGIhlLY0vr3v4FiRy6aFhNH4ke5RD8Z_JRd_9wFH-uoMfg7eAPK-eXH9a7wdPhblNkdswuQIUqfengvZHMT0BKiAWh_3rJBUnICJN8msafjFD34TCVVLgQbAGLCcrex3wrsHi4MngPMKs/s200/029.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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From here we headed to our accommodation which we had booked prior to leaving home "<a href="http://mountainvalley.com.au/" target="_blank">Mountain Valley Wilderness Lodge</a>" Loongana, which is situated approx 20km from cradle mountain (if you could go in a straight line) but driving took 1h.45 min by road as you drive around all the mountains, at this point you realize how isolated Tasmania can be as there were no petrol stations or food outlets for the whole trip from cradle mountain to Lodge.<br />
Arriving late afternoon at Lodge we checked in and were advised of the activity's that were available. We headed straight down to the river to observe the platypus. Later that night the owners come around to our rooms and tired raw meat to logs outside ready for the Tasmanian Devils and the Spotted Quolls, we had the log fire burning , snacks ready and got comfy in front of the open glass doors/windows to view the nocturnal activity's, around 9pm the action started we saw many spotted quolls and devils on a feeding frenzy.<br />
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Many of the devils unfortunately suffer from the cancer growth that is plaguing them, we watched them feeding for hours, it was an amazing sight watching these creatures in the wild.<br />
The following morning we decided to go view the glow worms in an underground cave on the property, this trip ended up being the highlight of our trip as there were only the two of us and the owner Len, we ventured down into a cavern of an underground cave, we saw a few glow worms and some huge ancient spiders. As we were keen and totally interested in this hidden cave, Len took us further through than he would usually go into cave, crawling through muddy water on our hands and knees we came to an opening of a beautiful cathedral of sandstone, it was awesome. Spending a couple more hours walking around the property learning about the history and hearing stories from Len. This was a beautiful place and we experienced a real connection with nature and its amazing beauty.<br />
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We then headed back to Launceston for the night, we stayed in a Best Western Hotel, which was in a the main center of town, close to most attractions and restaurants, we wandered around that evening exploring the town.<br />
The next morning our final few hours in Launceston we headed over to Cataract Gouge, a beautiful area and an easy walk around the Gorge then taking the chair lift over the gorge, which was an experience worth doing. There were many wild life animals wandering the area also, Peacocks, variety of birds, Tasmanian Pademelon this was another amazing day and the end of our time in Tasmania.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEnNYV8j0rHBpdFX5SZf7fpVyElNX3Xt-wKVTOv2V8MVsK96aGZDFxCiceJL7H5jmgV2MBMuDKy9d3TYvx9d5zA37xudCb8sWWEZi7Da4ksnX049A0Qd1g3nbaThiuiuKU-Kc7CYCKGwv/s1600/076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEnNYV8j0rHBpdFX5SZf7fpVyElNX3Xt-wKVTOv2V8MVsK96aGZDFxCiceJL7H5jmgV2MBMuDKy9d3TYvx9d5zA37xudCb8sWWEZi7Da4ksnX049A0Qd1g3nbaThiuiuKU-Kc7CYCKGwv/s200/076.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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We drove back to the airport were we left the hire car, boarded the plane back to busy Sydney airport.<br />
Looking forward to returning to Tasmania and exploring other areas of this unique land.<br />
<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-78609883783591006012015-08-21T02:50:00.001-07:002015-08-21T03:52:08.413-07:00Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i>The changing colours of the rock</i> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKDerypusttiUPoropMSBhfaJo3mG_JpZ51OeO8oL6eymR3K1Ar8Qj-msSHE1GVmtvdoSKdqYtlaM4LRjPC2ybf_kqPqtHypLhVpxqMfb29_G0Vl0UiKIVL2VXRrAiTGWRpw-x24gXC2On/s1600/Sydney-Ayers+Rock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKDerypusttiUPoropMSBhfaJo3mG_JpZ51OeO8oL6eymR3K1Ar8Qj-msSHE1GVmtvdoSKdqYtlaM4LRjPC2ybf_kqPqtHypLhVpxqMfb29_G0Vl0UiKIVL2VXRrAiTGWRpw-x24gXC2On/s200/Sydney-Ayers+Rock.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Trish and I saw a Jetstar <span class="aqj">Friday</span>
frenzy sale with $99 each, one-way for Uluru (Ayers Rock) we both decided to
book it. Our trip was booked in June for which was a very cool time of the year
to visit the area; temperatures were around 5 degrees at night to around 22
degrees during the day which was sunny with a cool breeze. </div>
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We started researching our accommodation and it was a bit of
a shock, as the prices for accommodation were way out of our budget, the
cheapest option was camping/hostel room but being in the middle of winter (July)
the weather in Uluru can get very cold early mornings, evenings and through the
night. We also searched through travago and many other travel deals were we
finally decided on the <a href="https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/accommodation/desert-gardens-hotel" target="_blank">Dessert Gardens</a> that is run by the Novotel Group. The
lowest price we could find for a room for was $230 per night which included a
buffet breakfast. (Valued at $35per head). ($920 for 4 night), I had a
little blond moment at this time and remembered it was a member of the Accor
advantage group so I called them to ask a price, for the same room we managed
to get a free night which brought it down to $690 for 4 nights and breakfast
included still. With the Accor card we also could purchase buy one get on free
meals at selected restaurant throughout the resort. On arrival at the <a href="https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/accommodation/desert-gardens-hotel" target="_blank">Dessert Gardens</a> we were also upgraded to a deluxe room free of charge. The hotel <a href="https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/accommodation/desert-gardens-hotel" target="_blank">Dessert Gardens </a>was quiet and spacious. We were upgraded to the
deluxe room which was in a quiet location of the property, large room with a
court yard out back, were we could just see the rock through the trees. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The room had all the standard features with
air con, TV, fridge, jug, 2 large beds, bathroom with bath and shower. The room
was very simple and acceptable, but for the price wasn’t anything special. (We
have paid a lot less in other areas for nicer places). Our photos of the room, <a href="https://goo.gl/photos/WVZvDZ4YGWi1FAts9" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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We started looking at the places of interested were we wanted see, and looked
at <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>different kinds of transport around
to do this., we decided to hire a car being our best option, so we had the
freedom to do our own thing, I googled a few car hire company's and came across
an hire car search page called <a href="https://www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au/" target="_blank">vroomvroomvroom</a> and booked a small car for $33.00
a day this costing $99 for 3 days, on arrival to pick up car we spoke to
another traveller who also was picking up a hire car she had not booked prior,
and she stated she payed $150 per day. We also got an upgrade on car, to
a nice Toyota corolla. Also a word of warning there is only one petrol station
in Yulara and with no signage of price when looking at pump the price being
$2.09 per litre with a cost of $60 for half a tank. </div>
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Getting from Ayers Rock Airport to Yulara is fairly easy you
can catch the free bus to your accommodation with a few handy tips that are worth
listening too and don’t forget to buckle up. Or the other option is to hire a
car.</div>
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Yulara is little a small town made up of a town centre
surrounded by accommodation of all budgets and staff housing. In the town
centre you’ll find a post office, ANZ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ATM, IGA grocery shop and a host of cafes and
restaurants. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is also an art
gallery where you can watch and buy aboriginal art, and join in on one of the
cultural talks. There is only one place to buy alcohol and it’s the Out Back Pub.</div>
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Getting around Yulara is easy you can catch the shuttle bus
which does it rounds every 20 minutes, starting at 1030am till 6pm and 630pm
till 1230pm but walking is very easy and the distance isn’t too far.</div>
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We had buffet breakfast included so we filled up there each
day. We also did a few shops at the IGA grocery shop which was good to make
lunch each day and a few snacks and prices were good. Most nights we ate out,
our first night we ate at the Out Back Pub one burger, steak sandwich and chips
cost $35 and four beers cost $30, great food in a great setting. The 2<sup>nd</sup>
night we got take away at Ayers Wok a noodle bar with most meals around $16,
the food was delicious. Our 3<sup>rd</sup> night we ate at the Out Back Pub
again with two burgers, chips $35 and two beers $15. On our last night we ate
at Gecko and ate an Emu, Kangaroo and beef pizza with salad and two soft drinks
$55, The pizza was pretty tasty and better<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>than we were expecting.
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The only place to buy alcohol is the Out Back Pub, as the
whole area is classed as a dry area by the local indigenous people the Anangu.
To buy beer from the pub you need to show your room key and you can only buy 1
six pack of beer per person at a cost of around $30.</div>
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<i>Valley of the winds walk, Kata Tjuta</i></div>
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We did a number of treks while in Uluru – Kata Tjuta
National Park, the park itself has an entrance fee of $25 (3 day pass). Over
first was the Valley Of The Winds at Kata Tjuta (which means many heads) or the
Olgas we trekked to the 2<sup>nd</sup> lookout before turning back, which was
about 6km. A short drive down the road we did Walpa Gorge Walk which is into
another section of Kata Tjuta it was 2.6km return. On the way back we also
stopped at the Kata Tjuta Dune Walk which was 1.2 km return which gave us a
breath taking view of Kata Tjuta from a distance. And to turn around and see
Uluru in the other direction was amazing. We loved Kata Tjuta more than we
enjoyed Uluru.</div>
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We got to the ranger station By 630am and got in line and
boy did the line soon grow, Get there early to get a good place at the front of
the line. A few minutes to 7am (sunrise) we arrived at Mutijulu to get some
photos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><i>Uluru and cave paintings</i></span></div>
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The cultural centre is near Uluru and worth a look, we
headed to Uluru after. We had mixed feeling about climbing Uluru and when we
arrived found it closed due to high winds. We decided to walk around Uluru
which is 10.5km, from the point you climb the rock we went to the right which
follows the close to Uluru till around the halfway point then the track is further
away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the walk we took two sidewalks
the first to a waterhole with a few cave paintings on the Kuniya Walk and the
Mala Walk which took it up to 15km and about two to three hours.</div>
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At sunset we drove to Uluru Car Sunset Park to see the
amazing colour change of the rock, a truly amazing experience to witness. </div>
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We took a look at the Camel camp, which is a short drive
from Yulara. We didn’t ride the camels but we did walk around and meet a few as
well as a few other Australian animals fenced into a small paddock. While feeding
one of the camels it nearly bite my hand, and those camels have some big teeth.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-8636757808844466432015-07-08T02:39:00.002-07:002015-07-08T02:39:30.474-07:00Cave Creek walking track, Hilltop Cave Creek is near Hilltop, which is not far from Mittagong, NSW. Cave Creek Walking Track begins off Wilson Drive just a few km west of Hilltop, heading towards Balmoral. A sign can be seen from Wilson Drive, situated in the Bargo River State Conservation Area. This place is a hidden treasure, an easy short walk approx 2.6 km return and is well worth a look. The trail starts from the picnic area. An undercover BBQ area, toilets, picnic tables and parking all available and easy access.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruR7nQ8-kZfnC6ZOz8OcZAeCVftpOgtIy-ihz1UiPh8mIso-dzDUMuUnTnbTK9E26wS6OzsP7cDMpdy-xVaY9mgY5f85m-cnUuCs2SdlU_UVxhxjkjuYvmz2zzqjd4-lyz5hDzalVPpbU/s1600/2015-07-08+16.53.31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruR7nQ8-kZfnC6ZOz8OcZAeCVftpOgtIy-ihz1UiPh8mIso-dzDUMuUnTnbTK9E26wS6OzsP7cDMpdy-xVaY9mgY5f85m-cnUuCs2SdlU_UVxhxjkjuYvmz2zzqjd4-lyz5hDzalVPpbU/s200/2015-07-08+16.53.31.jpg" width="200" /> </a></div>
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This walk, starts with a slight decline down hill, the track is well defined most of the way with some sections of loose rocks, stairs and old logs in the paths way. The beginning of the walk is typical of the dry Australian bushland with wattle and many native plants along the way.<br />
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The track continues to descend down hill and as you get nearer to the bottom of the track it divides into a<br />
"T" inter section, veering off to the left, you go down some metal stairs this takes you to a cave at the back of the main cave/waterfall, you can hear the waterfall behind the cave. this not that exciting but worth a look.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHM2pYeSJj6_9RLg7DA7OvNuAQ49Cwqh2W149LiWNm37gYBNUrTGVmrDBZcbxArYS7WHP5dVC_Ihfebb8h3Biu12m35XL8Nxg1r2c-iAiOXwCbH72b4QTRc_IVaGxJgn2eT-hdqRFmk2JX/s1600/2015-07-08+16.55.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHM2pYeSJj6_9RLg7DA7OvNuAQ49Cwqh2W149LiWNm37gYBNUrTGVmrDBZcbxArYS7WHP5dVC_Ihfebb8h3Biu12m35XL8Nxg1r2c-iAiOXwCbH72b4QTRc_IVaGxJgn2eT-hdqRFmk2JX/s200/2015-07-08+16.55.55.jpg" width="112" /></a></div>
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Turning back on to the main track and heading further down the path, the environment changes into a beautiful lush rainforest and the temperature also becomes much cooler, following the stairs down, looking on your right is a huge wall, the sandstone wall has many colors and textures it looks amazing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KwC3z3G8tWIJ2wjbKSA03Wt_f_w7Ai7dFkThk1rSLv0YADfwpUA7qFNlevApTyi5AcG4cosUzxJLWA5L3x7pDJ9Pcsjuealp_iFsiPC9hTbwhO1kqEsLjrrI3tnaxaLZuu6EaGYkOHwH/s1600/2015-07-08+16.56.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KwC3z3G8tWIJ2wjbKSA03Wt_f_w7Ai7dFkThk1rSLv0YADfwpUA7qFNlevApTyi5AcG4cosUzxJLWA5L3x7pDJ9Pcsjuealp_iFsiPC9hTbwhO1kqEsLjrrI3tnaxaLZuu6EaGYkOHwH/s200/2015-07-08+16.56.34.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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On the left is a clear river leading to a small bridge, following along brings you to the main waterfall inside the opening to the cave, this place is small but breath taking, great opportunity to get some pictures. The area surrounding the cave entrance is very muddy, wet and slippery lots of logs and loose rocks, take your time and look around to explore this place, this walk is amazing and well worth a look.<br />
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360 degree video of Cave Creek waterfall</div>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/82Rtv590hec" target="_blank">click here</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03466761927701402551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6279844633871706589.post-5617401774677096102015-05-18T01:39:00.000-07:002015-05-18T01:39:41.334-07:00The Old Helensburgh Railway Tunnels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Heading to Helensburgh, exit off the M1 freeway to Helensburgh, turning onto the Old Princes Highway, at the roundabout take first exit onto Parkes Street and follow for approx 3.2 km then on turn right onto Old farm Rd. you can find parking is available at railway carpark close by. If catching the train get to Helensburgh railway station, the Tunnels are a few meters away. <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/M1,+Helensburgh+NSW+2508/23+Old+Farm+Rd,+Helensburgh+NSW/@-34.1983489,150.9661073,17z/am=t/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b12e753c97d5a43:0xd687595775922c5a!2m2!1d150.9670585!2d-34.1915788!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b12dd1f7867608f:0x6ee974b515cd1d57!2m2!1d150.997564!2d-34.182593!3e0?hl=en" target="_blank">(map)</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKE0gKlh_bZxDNDSuRiCInU9rVu4AsMEul8N172J5aYOm91Y3RXqOVfHJIuMMMOASndfxGOsep6uS1uFKWHMSZCvgG_qNZ35scV21ri8etOEAeqid-dFdfAkCkjuCMrIS5v9Jf0TTijJ4M/s1600/2190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKE0gKlh_bZxDNDSuRiCInU9rVu4AsMEul8N172J5aYOm91Y3RXqOVfHJIuMMMOASndfxGOsep6uS1uFKWHMSZCvgG_qNZ35scV21ri8etOEAeqid-dFdfAkCkjuCMrIS5v9Jf0TTijJ4M/s200/2190.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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The original railway route to the south coast closed in 1915 and since has been abandoned.The tunnel is approx 80 meters in length with open gates at both ends. Entering the tunnel was an eerie feeling cold and dark, and due to the previous rain the ground was muddy with large puddles at the entrance. As we walked through the tunnel we noticed the graffiti covering the walls it was unfortunately as it spoilt the atmosphere of the tunnel. Approaching the end there were gates opened and as the sun shone upon them it reminded me of an enchanted garden, over grown vines and weeds, it looked beautiful and very natural. taking our time to take a few more pictures here of the whole entrance area, small garden area, and out side the tunnel walls. this walk did not take long, but worth a look.<br />
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When looking out from tunnel, down road a little is another tunnel called the metropolitan, this is signed and a information board of history about the railway track is also there. An old demolished platform was just recognizable and a cottage on the right of this tunnel. Unfortunately because of heavy rain this tunnel was also flooded and we could not enter, but reading up on this it has glow worms inside and a history of being haunted.<br />
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