Sunday 9/23, Iluka to Kim's Farm

Lunch by the sea, whales, and a shag on a rock

     After a last visit by the dolphins in the river while we had coffee on the terrace we cleaned up the unit and headed out to Coff's Harbor, an hour drive south along the coast. Iluka is a quiet little fishing town with mostly small individual homes. The Bundjalung National Park protects the shoreline from development. Further along the coast small resort communities take advantage of the scenic beachfront, although there aren't any of the high rise buildings that line the US Atlantic coast.

     At Coff's Harbor we got a take out lunch at a fish place and ate on the granite breakwater. Kim and I had grilled swordfish and Diana had whiting tails. Excellent grub!

Lunch on the Breakwall

Get your own rock!

     To walk off lunch we hiked to the top of Mutton Island, one of two islands that protects the artificial harbor filled with trawlers and sailboats. The island is home to thousands of sea birds called shearwaters. They burrow into the soil and raise chicks there. The babies emerge in August and would be a sight to see, but when we were there all we saw were freshly cleared burrows. It's quite a climb to the top of the grass-covered island, and while we were there we saw a humpback whale and her calf a half mile off shore. Good stuff. On the return trip to the car two tousled haired little boys walked by us, the older boy exclaiming excitedly, “That's a noice woke!”

Surrounded by Black Shearwater burrows

Humpback whale slapping her tail

     

     Near the harbor Kim looked towards the rocks and exclaimed, “now there's a real shag on a rock”. Thinking we might see some naughty activity, she pointed out a black cormorant drying his wings. In Oz someone who just sits around doing nothing other that watching TV is said to be like a 'shag on a rock', a shag being a slang term for both a cormorant and a lazy bum.

Demented babies crying

     We stopped at Dorrigo NP on the way home and walked out onto the Skywalk, which extends from the visitor center out over the steep hillside, allowing a look down into the rainforest below. We heard lots of bird calls in the trees, but the most unusual was that of the catbird. Unlike the Yankee variety that meows, these Aussie catbirds sound like cats wailing and fighting, or as the 'twitcher' at the overlook put it, like demented babies crying. Not a proper way for a bird to sound at all. We hiked for half an hour down the trail through the dark understory of the floor of the forest and marveled at the huge buttressed Stinging Trees, looping lianas (vines), and tall tree ferns.

K&D standing at the end of the Skywalk, glad their own demented babies are all grown up

     The rest of the way back to Armidale passed through what has to be some of the most beautiful cattle country in the world.

Beautiful cattle country

          Lamb stew for dinner followed by matchstick poker ended our day.

Saturday 9/22, Iluka

Goanna on the beach

     After a relaxing breakfast on the terrace birdwatching we drove a short way to a beach for a walk. While Kim read and napped, Diana and I walked along a curving stretch of sand that connected two low rocky headlands. Even though the tide was still out I had to roll up my pant legs (since I left my shorts in the LC back at Kim's) because the low dune bordering the beach had eroded and bleached gum trees were scattered like pick up sticks at the top of the beach.

Neat little sand thingies

Must be some kind of sand worms, are we on Dune?

     We saw an osprey pair perched on the top of one of the dead eucalypts, and a number of Rainbow Bea-eaters zooming in and out from the forest, but our best discovery was seeing a monitor lizard eating the rotten carcass of a wallaby or kangaroo on the sand. They are called goannas here in Australia, a corruption of the word iguana, to which they are not related, other than being lizards. In the animated film “Rescuers Down Under” the evil trapper's pet is a goanna called Joanna. She's a Burt family favorite, so much so that the kids named an old mink pelt of my grandmother's Joanna when they were young.

Get your own wallaby!

     After spending a couple hours at the beach we went back to the condo and relaxed with a couple beers. Kim's friend Sue took the ferry across the Mighty Clarence from Yampa and we went out to lunch at a restaurant overlooking the harbor. I had deep-fried whiting and chips. You know, for the most part, I don't like deep-fried food. A nice golden beer batter coating that crackles when you bite into it, that's hard to beat. But most restaurant fare is fried in over-used oil, heavily salted, and with breading that looks like sandy tan skin ... I know, what's not to like?

    

   Gambling is legal in pubs and bars in Australia. The few bars we've entered have digital slot and keno machines, but there can also be a dozen different screens on the walls displaying various sporting activities on which one can place bets electronically. Australian football, car and motorcycle races, horse and dog races. Most startling however are the computer generated horse and dog races, complete with breathless announcers describing the action. Can you believe anyone would bet on a CGI horse?  Kim being the good country girl, it took some convincing on our part that the dogs weren't real.

Kevin sitting with two lovely Sheilas, Kim and Sue

     Later that evening Diana and I took the kayaks out at sunset and explored the nearby mangroves. We saw herons, ibises, pelicans and cormorants, as well as a stunning white-bodied black-headed Royal Spoonbill.

      For dinner I made pan seared yellow fin tuna steaks with steamed carrots and broccoli and brown rice. And for dessert we had 'ice blocks', which are ice cream bars here in Oz, not to be confused with 'block ice', which is what is put in a 'cool box' or 'Eski', not to be confused with an 'ice box', which is a 12 volt or LPG powered appliance many Aussies take camping. For the record, the ice block I had was vanilla ice cream covered with almonds and chocolate, and was delicious.

Friday, 9/21

     I am posting this latest installment of our blog from a campground in the Warrumbungle NP.  As I sit facing the surrounding volcanic plugs and dikes I'm watching kangaroos engaged in fisticuffs and listening to Cockatoos screaming obscenities at each other.  These Aussies are a contentious bunch!

     Now back to the blog...

Kayaking the mighty, shark-infested, Clarence River

     Before breakfast we watched birds from the terrace, White-faced heron, Crested Pigeon, Magpie Lark, Spur-winged Plover, Australian Pelican, Blue-faced Honeyeater, Welcome Swallow, and Rainbow Lorikeet. Then fried eggs, bacon, fried tomato and toast for breakfast.

Blue-faced Honeyeater

      After eating I squeezed myself into one of their kayaks and explored the mangrove swamp near shore, then crossed the shark-infested Clarence River (probably not actually infested, but they were around, not that I saw any) and paddled along the island shore. I saw a few birds, then recrossed the river and popped myself ungracefully but dry from the Kayak.

The brave adventurer heading out into dangerous waters

      While I was gone a pair of Rainbow Lorikeets were admiring themselves in the mirrored windows of our bedroom, allowing Kim and Diana to view their vain posturing.

Rainbow Lorikeets admiring themselves

     For lunch I sauteed prawns in garlic and butter while Kim deep-fried some sweet potatoes. The prawns tasted like little hunks of lobster tail, yummy! We'll be buying more when we get near the ocean again.

A walk through the rain forest

     Kim dropped us off at one end of a rain forest reserve and we took a slow stroll through it, looking for but not finding koalas, but admiring the trees and birds.

The Rain Forest Strangler

See any koalas up there?

Sea slugs and sea eagles

     We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the rocks exposed at low tide along the Pacific Ocean. Kim and Diana found bubble shells, anemones, and sea slugs, as well as spotting a furtive blue ringed octopus, which has a deadly bite. Overhead a white Sea Eagle soared on the offshore breeze.

Low tide

Don't get your feet wet!

This photo taken just before Kevin got drenched by a much bigger wave

     We got back to the condo in time to drink wine and watch the end of sunset. Then Kim fixed us lamb and chard spaghetti. Can't get enough of that lamb. Interestingly, what we call chard, Aussies call spinach. And what we call spinach they call leaf spinach. And don't ask me the differences in pumpkins and squash, it's all mixed up and very confusing. I'm just glad I actually saw the sheep at Kim's farm, or I wouldn't know for sure what Australian lamb is.

Thursday, 9/20

Falls for lunch

    After chook and sheep feeding duties we left the farm to drive to Iluka, on the coast. Along the way we visited Woolombi Falls and had lunch at Ebor falls.

Woolombi Falls 

A little bird called a Superb Fairy Wren

Ebor Falls...We promise not to jump, Kim

          Most of the drive between Armidale and Grafton was on hilly curving roads where almost no one lived. I'm beginning to notice that about Australia. Even though we've been in the relatively populated state of New South Wales, in a country the size of the lower 48 states and with 1/15 of the population, it just isn't very crowded. There aren't any parts of Ohio that are as sparsely populated as the non-coastal areas of NSW.

It's no Iceland, mind you, but the roads and countryside are rather lonesome.

Along the way we passed what Kim estimates may be the ugliest house in the world.

Ugliest house in the world?  You decide.

Cedar Point in NSW

    Once we hit Grafton we were out of the Great Dividing Range and on to flat land, and Kim had to slow down to the posted 80 k/h (about 50 mph). I suppose if you grew up driving the roads in the Great Dividing Range, or West Virginia, at 65 mph around hair pin turns with no shoulder, no guard rails, precipitous drops and the possibility of roos or deer at any point, the drive would have seemed normal, but for us it was a bit of an amusement park ride. Kim had told Jake that she could be home from Iluka in 3 ½ hours if he needed her, or in 3 hours if we weren't along. However, Kim is a good driver and she got us to and from the coast with no problems.

     The primary form of agriculture in the coastal areas near Grafton is sugar cane, and we saw vast fields of the giant grass at different stages of growth.

We've gone batty for flying foxes

     We got to the condo near sunset. It doesn't sit directly on the ocean, but faces the Clarence River about a mile from where it joins the Pacific. We were able to get a glass of wine and sit on the terrace overlooking the water just as the sun set. Soon after, flying foxes flew over us, returning from a day of eating fruit on the uninhabited rainforest island across the river to nest in the mangrove swamp to the east.

Wednesday, 9/19

Meeting Kim's parents and neighbor

     During breakfast we talked about plans for going to Kim's parent's ocean condo in Iluka, a town about four hours away. At first we were reluctant to go, not wanting to impose any further on Kim and her valuable vacation time. But I think she genuinely wanted to show us the Pacific Coast around Iluka so we said yes and made plans to leave on the next day.

     An hour before noon we drove to the little town of Uralla about 15 minutes away. We met Kim's parents Neville and Pat at the old granite and brick McCrossin's mill in town, which now houses a historical museum. Kim's neighbor Jenny is a volunteer at the museum and kindly offered to open it for us an hour before normal hours. Pat is a lot like Kim, very friendly, talkative, and inquisitive. Neville is quieter, but also open, and has a dry sense of humor.

     A typical small regional museum, the mill does have a special emphasis on an old outlaw named Thunderbolt, who's story mirrors many of the bigger than life bad guys of the American West. There was also a small section on WWI and WWII veterans, which brought up the story of Neville's brother, who was captured by the Japanese and killed during the Death March of Sandekan near the end of the war. Neville harbors a deep regret of his brother's death and revulsion of war, even after all these years.

    Jake had already arrived on his motorcycle at the pub/hotel where Pat and Neville treated us all to lunch. Almost every town in Australia has at least one old hotel with similar architecture to the Top Pub, a two story facade in which the second floor porch, often on two or three sides of the hotel, sheltered by a wide overhang of a low pitched corrugated metal roof, itself shades an arcade on the ground floor. Most of the hotels have cast iron railings along the upper terrace. The ground floor will house a wood paneled pub and a separate restaurant, while the second floor usually has rooms for rent. I had barramundi fish and chips and Diana had the Top Burger, which had a filet of beef, Oz bacon, sliced beet, pineapple, spinach, caramelized onions, and a fried egg, all on a Kaiser roll. Both meals were delicious, and probably not typical Aussie pub fair.

Jake, Neville, Pat, Jenny, Kim, Diana

That's  a really big burger, and she ate it all!

Bush walking

     We said goodbye to Kim's parents and Jenny after lunch and drove to the Gwydir River. Kim's family would go there when the boys were younger, Thomas called it Mum's River. Kim had showed us a photograph that Thomas had taken of a platypus swimming in the lazy water meandering through the quiet gum tree woods. Her son had a keen eye for finding a special perspective with his camera. His photos were startling original for a teenaged lad and conveyed his deep love of nature. We walked quietly along the rocks on the bank of the river, observing the special significance of the place.

At Mum's river

     Kim next took us to Mount Yarrowyck, where we took a twenty minute walk to see Aboriginal paintings on a sheltered rock face. We met two guys working on the trail that Kim knew, she knows a lot of people in these parts. We talked for several minutes about the lunacy of a court case where a woman successfully sued the Australian National Park Service for breaking a leg after tripping on a tree root on a forest trail. I guess we've all got similar stories, no matter where we live.

Car carpentry, an assistant, and lamb chops

     We arrived back home a couple hours before sunset. Kim put lamb chops coated in barbeque sauce into the oven, then took Diana into town to get material for curtains for the car. I stayed back and got to work installing the bed in our LC.

     As I was measuring and cutting and screwing pieces together Kim's neighbor Jenny wandered over. I assumed she'd leave when she discovered that I was there alone, but she started asking me about what I was doing, told me about her family, and generally carried on a conversation while I worked. When I sawed off a board she'd hold onto the end to keep it from falling onto the gravel drive. I joked that she was my assistant.

     Kim had told us that Jenny was an old bush woman, that she was a bit tough on the outside and that she didn't hold anything back. She said she took some getting used to. I had been intimidated by her description, but I found her garrulous, with a self-deprecating sense of humor, and pleasant to talk to. She's 75 years old, wears a skirt and lace blouse, never trousers, and is as strong as a jackaroo ( an Aussie cowboy). She has raised sheep although doesn't have any now and let's Kim use her pasture for her herd. She also raised four of her own children, had foster kids and told Diana that she liked but didn't love her husband, but had always wanted to have children. She also collects coins and has a TV, police scanner, and radio going on all the time in her house because as a child she was afraid of the dark and needed and still wants plenty of noisy distraction so she doesn't have to hear and worry about the things that go bump in the dark.

     Jenny has been a great neighbor for Kim. She has watched the boys, helped deliver lambs at three in the morning, and even helped her parents on their farm. Kim says that she and Jenny argue like sisters, but there is a bond between them that is at least as strong as a family.

     By an hour after dark the lamb chops were done and we went inside to eat, Jenny staying for dinner. Umm umm umm, were they delicious, maybe the best chops of any kind I've ever had! We stayed up until after ten, talking, drinking wine, and enjoying the company.

An apology to Basi

     The alpaca is male, his name is not Bessie but Basi, short for Sebastian, and I hope he forgives me.  I went to say a last goodbye before we leave the Chorley farm and he gave me the evil eye.

"Smile when you call me Basi"

"You might be bigger than me Basi, but I'm way better looking," says Bo

"I'll just hide over here being cute," says Possum

Tuesday, 9/18

A tour of Kim's farm

Kim has a week off from her job as a nurse for a hospital transport service, the first time in months that she's had any real vacation time, which is quite fortunate for us. She generously offered to help us get our LC ready for our trip by letting us use her tools and guiding us around her town of Armidale to the proper shops for supplies. 'Generous' should be Kim's middle name. She also has a wonderful sense of humor, is an absolute font of knowledge on all aspects of Australian flora and fauna, and a relentless kidder, taking ribbing as well as she gives it. We've gotten on famously!

Kim fixed us a nice 'brekky' of bacon, similar to Canadian bacon, and eggs from her chickens. After a leisurely cup of coffee she showed us around her property. Her farm sits in an area of NSW called the Tablelands, a fairly dry area at about 3200 feet of elevation west of the Great Dividing Range, which separates the humid lowlands along the Pacific Coast and the drier interior of NSW. As the name suggests, the Tablelands is relatively flat compared to the other areas of NSW we've traveled in so far, but there are small hills and shallow valleys. The occasional rock outcroppings and eucalyptus trees are grayish green and now with the shortage of rainfall the grasses are mostly tan.

Chorley Farm

First we went out and fed the 'chooks' and Possum. When Kim had talked about the 'chook yard' the night before I thought she said chalk yard, and I couldn't figure out what she was talking about, since chook is pronounced more like chuck. Well, the chooks are six lovely Isa Brown chickens that ran up to greet us when we entered their yard and pecked through the leftovers she had dumped on the ground.

The chooks

Then she walked over to a shady part of the chook yard and called out to Possum, an orphan Rock Wallaby about three feet tall that shyly 'walked' up to her and took a piece of bread from her hands. By the way, kangaroos and wallabies move either by hopping, which is quite graceful, or pentapedally, using their four legs and tail which looks like a man using a crutch and seems awkward.

Snack for Possum

There's a large solar electric panel on the roof of the tool shed that produces more power in a year's time than the farm uses, resulting in a profit that will pay off the installation in several years.

Next we took a walk through a small grove of native Australian trees that was planted in memory of her son Thomas. 'Tommo' died of cancer at the age of 15 in 2001, an incomprehensible loss of a much loved magnificent young man possessed of promise and talent.

More shopping

With Kim showing the way we went a variety of stores, buying a new car battery, particle board for a bed for the LC, and fabric for curtains and screens for the windows. And even more importantly, we went to the RTA and finally got our vehicle ownership papers transferred into our name with Kim's assistance . Since we don't have a permanent NSW address we needed a voucher of reference verifying that Kim had known us for at least a year, and that her house would be the address for the car. When asked how long we've known each other it's a recurring joke when we answer 'two years and ten minutes'. A fortuitous ten minutes at the Bennett's two years ago indeed.

Feeding the sheep

Before dinnertime we fed the sheep. It's Beau's favorite time of day. After grabbing some hay and a bucket of feed we walked over to the sheep paddock, Beau running around in circles, barking and dancing in anticipation. The herd of around eight ewes, one ram, and ten lambs is protected by tall, wary, and slightly menacing alpaca, Bess. I think part of Beau's excitement is taunting Bess from outside the fence. Kim said that alpacas can kill dogs, and when Beau slipped under the gate and ran through the field, I was a little worried. Bess started to chase him off and Beau ran back under the gate. I think it's a game that has been played many times before.

     Kim spread the hay on the ground, then told me to pour the oats into the feed tray. The herd rushed over to me, pushing and shoving to get at the grain, bumping me out of the way. It felt like a rugby scrum.

Bess keeps a watchful eye

Get the Yank!

Please sir, may I have some more?

We got back to the house in time for wine and appetizers and a delicious meal of ground lamb tacos and pea soup.

Matchstick poker

Somehow we started talking about card games and I discovered that Jake didn't know how to play poker. He found a deck of cards and a box of matchsticks, which we divided up among Jake, Diana and me. I made out a list of the order of winning hands.

     Jake is a natural. With his taciturn nature and quick mind he soon figured out not only what makes a good poker hand, but also when and how to bluff. A little beginner's luck didn't hurt either. Playing straight, draw and seven card stud Jake had two full houses without the benefit of wild cards. Diana lasted about an hour before she lost all her matchsticks, then Jake and I played on for another hour or so, the balance of sticks shifting back and forth, both of us down to one matchstick at times. We finally ended with a game of showdown to see who would win the grand prize of a Tim Tam cookie. We ended the night showing each other some card tricks, then went to bed.

Monday, 9/17

Caged dogs

As we cleaned up from breakfast a few vehicles drove up to the cafe to stop for a morning coffee. One was a “ute”, which is an Australian pickup truck and is very common Down Under. A ute is similar to a pickup in the front, but has a flat aluminum bed with one to two foot high sides and back that can be lowered and raised. Utes come in all sizes, from small Toyotas and Nissans with a bed six feet long to big utility trucks with dual rear wheels and beds over 16 feet long.

The ute that drove up that morning had a large cage on the back of the bed with four large tough-looking mongrels loaded up inside. They were cross breeds and varied in appearance, including a dirty white short-haired giant that must have had some bull mastiff in him, a couple big cattle dog variants, and a muscular dalmatian cross. Two guys hopped out of the cab and went into the cafe, returning a few minutes later with coffee cups in hand. We were about 30 yards away from their truck and I was a little alarmed when one of the guys opened the cage and let the dalmatian out. But he was so glad to have his freedom that he just loped around the man, hopping up on him, and ran in the yard in front of the cafe. An older lady came out from the cafe and went to the cage and talked to and pet the other dogs, who wriggled in happiness. Whatever these dogs' business was, they weren't vicious man trackers. (I later learned in talking to Jake and Gary that they were most likely used for hunting feral pigs, a real problem in Oz as it is in many parts of the US).

Road kill

Driving through Wollemi NP we saw a stout gray furry body lying at the side of the road. At first I though it was a wallaby or a kangaroo but as we passed and I thought about it, the lack of any long parts such as legs or tail made me shout out, “I think it was a wombat!” I turned the LC around and we drove back. Sure enough, dead wombat.

Wo-Man

Our Australian road atlas has symbols denoting 'Big Things', such as a big banana, a big guitar, etc. much like on the Blue Roads of the US. Soon after passing the wombat we saw the Big Wo-Man. At a lonely roadhouse that had a burnt out interior and roof we were amazed by a big stainless steel sculpture of a naked person, male on the road side, female on the other. The artist had other whimsical creations placed about the property too. I'll have to look him up on the internet.

What a big Wo-Man!

No junk mail here, mate!

The Hunter Valley

After the Appalachian-like Wollemi NP we drove for a couple hours through the Hunter Valley area of NSW. The lower valley has a more open terrain and is dominated by huge open pit coal mining operations and power plants. But the Upper Hunter Valley has expansive horse farms, green alfalfa fields, a few vineyards, and rolling countryside with tree-covered mounts. Very pretty.

Upper Hunter Valley

We stopped for lunch at Burning Mountain, and after eating leftovers hiked the mile and a half up to see the spot where a subterranean coal seam has been burning for 1000 years. As the seam burns the affected area moves up the mountain at about a meter a year. There was no steam or smoke or flames, but the air about the vent shimmered from the intense heat and soil around the active vent was white or brick colored and devoid of life. Blackened tree stumps edged the vent.

Nearing Kim's house we saw a Spiny Echidna ambling across the road. We didn't turn back for a nearer look since we were already running late, but they are the most widespread mammal in Oz so we'll probably see another before our trip is over.

We finally arrive at Kim's

We had originally hope to make it to Kim's house by around 3 or 4, but travel time estimates need to be adjusted with me behind the wheel of the LC. The lanes of Australian roads are a couple feet narrower than American roads, and generally there is no shoulder. In fact the edge of the most of the roads is rather ill defined and unmarked with a white stripe. The LC is a bit wider than most cars and utes, and with the larger wheels and all our possessions in the back I drive about 15 miles an hour slower that the general populace.

We got to Kim's just after sunset. It was great seeing her after the two year gap since we had met when Sam and I were headed out for a training ride at Bennett's house. Her Blue Cattledog-Keltie cross Bo enthusiastically greeted us. It had been raining off and on during our drive and Kim said, “If I'd know you'd be bringing rain with you I would have bought your airline tickets long ago.” The welcome rain partially refilled her 5000 gallon above ground tank, and hopefully will go part of the way to boosting the growth of grass in her sheep paddocks.

Kim's 17 year old son Jake rode up on his motorcycle a few minutes later, just back from his after-school job at a bike shop where as he said he's paid mostly in new parts for his bike. By the way, in Australia a bicycle is called a 'push bike', which seems somehow a little less dignified than 'road' or 'mountain' bike, but oh well. I wonder if that's what Cadel Evans calls his bike.

Kim had fixed us a great meal of lamb stew, green beans, and corn, all from her herd and garden, and the four of us ate together and talked about school calendars, sports, and Jake's amazing kangaroo accident that broke the foot peg from his motorcycle and nearly broke his leg. Makes my altercation with the cat seem rather silly. There are photos of Jake soaring over ramps on his dirt bike on the wall and Kim's computer screen, and medals and trophies of his success at the races, so it's no surprise that the 'roo didn't managed to put Jake and his bike on the ground.

After several glasses of fine Australian red wine and more talk, we went to bed.

Sunday, 9/16

Morning song

     I woke up around 5:30, at early dawn and an hour before sunrise. As in our first campground on the other side of the Blue Mountains we were serenaded by birds, except this time it was a melodious choir of tweets, chirps, warbles, whistles and song. The absence of the noisy Cockatoo helped. In particular was the song of the Australian Magpie, a varied tune that sounded as if it came from an exotic instrument that was a cross between a flute and an oboe played through a long vacuum hose. His melody floated through the gum tree forest, mingling with the voices of the other birds.

Megalong Valley

Hike to Hanging Rock

      One of the iconic spots in Australia for me is Hanging Rock in the Blue Mountains. It's not the same place as that depicted in the movie “Picnic at Hanging Rock”, which is in the state of Victoria. Photos of it often show up when images of the Blue Mountains are Googled. We left our campground and drove to the town of Blackheath where we had a magnificent view of the overlapping orange cliffs towering over the gray green eucalyptus forest in the valley at Govett's Leap.

Govett's Leap

A short drive led us to a fire trail leading to Burramoko Head. We made the three mile hike through a young grey gum woods to the viewpoint overlooking Hanging Rock. As opposed to Echo Point we were the only ones there, although a couple other groups of people showed up later while we picnicked and explored the cliff edge.

Looking down on Hanging Rock

There is a two yard gap between the edge of the cliff and the triangular top of Hanging Rock. I had read that it is considered a bit of a risk to jump the opening, and in observing it from the overlook it did look a bit intimidating. Diana said it was foolish to even consider it, but I said when we get over there and if it isn't scary at all we should cross over.

Hanging Rock

Well, the jump would have definitely been doable, and if Diana hadn't kept saying she hasn't seen her grandchildren yet I think we would have made the leap. Certainly all of the kids would have gone over the gap. But I was satisfied to take my photos and pass. We were impressed however how high up the overlook was where we'd eaten lunch. I sent Diana back up so I could get a photo, and here it is:

There's Diana standing on the edge of the cliff

Can you see her way at the top?

Cliff continues way down there

      I'm glad Kristy isn't here, she'd probably want to climb it!

Should have bought this

We walked back to the LC and I checked out a vehicle that we should have bought for our trip through Australia:

All it needs is a paint job and an roof rack!

We drove for a couple hours headed to a camp site, passing through a rolling landscape of orchards, vineyards, small horse and cattle ranches and roadside pie stands mixed with areas of woods. It reminded me of the Napa Valley. When we entered the Wollemi National Park, which was a forest reserve on the rolling hills, the traffic, such as it was, consisted mostly of motorcycles and trucks.

I kept my eye on the fuel indicator, since according to the map we were a fair distance from civilization and I wasn't sure we had a fair amount of petrol left. The LC, like many Australian 4WDs, has two tanks, 90 liters each. We will be getting around 300 – 350 miles per tank, which gives us a pretty good range if both tanks are full, but we hadn't filled the 2^nd tank when we first bought the car. I wasn't too worried about running out of gas, but was relieved when we approached a small roadhouse with two fuel pumps. I filled both tanks, which cost nearly $200, but now I won't have to worry about running out anymore, since I'll keep the second tank only for emergencies.

We'd planned to stop at a free campsite referenced in our Camping6 book, but with a couple of hours of driving to go and only about an hour of light left we pulled into the Grey Gum Tree Cafe, which was a couple acre property carved out of the forest. They had free camping, picnic tables, and only one other camper, a skinny bearded guy living out of a small minivan pulling a homemade enclosed trailer full of junk. We were glad to be able to get off the road, set up our tent, and cook a quick meal of stir-fried veggies and rice.

Saturday 9/15

Prince Henry Cliff Walk

     We got up and cooked our oatmeal with raisins and dates and met a nice Kiwi/Aussie family with three blonde daughters, 4,2, and 7 months. The four year old was zooming around the campground on a little push scooter with her helmet on, making stops at our breakfast picnic table to chat with us. Reminded us of how we met the Kiwi bikers in North Carolina some 25 years ago when Kelly and Ryan roamed over to their camp site and made friends. And now here we are in Australia looking forward to seeing them in November or December.

Grey Gum Trees at Campground

A Galah, a pink and grey cockatoo, in the campground

      After cleaning up dishes and packing up we drove over to Echo Point, the main tourist spot for viewing the Blue Mountains, but upon discovering that we'd be paying $4/hr to park drove a couple miles to the Prince Henry Cliffside walk, found a street side parking spot, and made a nice hike back to Echo Point.

Cockatoo flying over valley

     Along the walk we saw tree ferns and impressive gum trees with their brown bark pealing back like thin strips of dried muscle from bleached bones.

Tree Ferns

      Once we got to Echo Point, we saw the much photographed Three Sisters formation and observed the circulating crowd of mostly Chinese tourists, smoking and posing for photos in the over-concreted, securely guard-railed, gift shop provided Tourist Mecca. We were glad to make a fairly quick return trip to our LC  and head out.

Camping in Megalong Valley

     Our Camping6 guide promised a good free camp spot down the Megalong Valley below the cliffs. The drive descended through a zone of vines, tree ferns, and gum trees and came out into a brown valley with small cattle and horse ranches, scenic with the towering orange cliffs as backdrop.

Free Camping in Megalong Valley

    The campground was sited next to a small stream in an opening in a gumtree wood. Surprisingly,  a half dozen other campers had found their way to the semi-isolated spot. We were there early enough to cook our dinner of penne and veggies with grated Tasty Cheese before dark.