After months of preparation and planning we hit the road at 12.20 Thursday May 23rd in perfect weather. A big sigh of relief....we actually made it to the start.
Our day one destination was Oura Beach Reserve, a 15 minute drive east of Wagga Wagga and only 210 km north of Yarrawonga. I picked that spot as my first stop over because I had stayed there a couple of times previously and was pretty certain I would feel safe and comfortable. And I was. After sitting on an easy 88-90 kph and with a short break en-route we arrived just after 4. I parked on a level area beside the river leaving the van hitched, lit a fire and poured a wine. I was pretty happy with myself!
OURA BEACH RESERVE rates fairly highly on my OZ Gran's Free Camp List. I would give it 4.5 out of 5. My van is self-contained so I don't have a need for amenities, but there is a long drop dunny and rubbish bins. It covers a large area that runs along the Murrumbidgee river for a few hundred meters extending back onto flat grassland with shady trees. It's suitable for the largest of vehicles and is very accessible. It has a big sandy beach, picnic tables and full phone and TV reception.
Friday morning we headed back into Wagga as I wanted to get the van weighed. Tarcoola Turf weighbridge is open to the public and for $33 I had the ball weight done, car and van together and separately. The van proved to be a few kg over, a problem that could solved by transferring some heavy items into the Jeep, dumping some water or burning the firewood in the rear tubs. A few days on the road would fix the problem....less water and less wood, so not a huge concern. Good to know, however. I also got to use my CB radio for the first time....a truckie radioed me as I was leaving Tarcoola Turf to tell me my TV aerial was up. Clearly yet to get the pre take-off checks sorted!
We left Wagga around midday after coffee and a spot of shopping, heading north-west on the Olympic Highway to Cowra about 200 km away. There was bugger-all traffic and it was an easy run. We had a break for a late lunch before Young, where we stopped again to get fuel. My FuelMap App showing the cheapest diesel in the area at $141.9 (with Woolworths discounts). From there we followed Google Maps directions to bypass Cowra and go direct to our night two stop-over at Farleigh Reserve beside the Lachlan River. There was only one other camper in so I had my pick of level areas to pull up. It only took a few minutes to settle in, get a fire going and relax for the evening.
FARLEIGH RESERVE is lovely river-side spot which I would rate at 4. It's 10 km west of Cowra, along 1 km of rutted dirt track. The camping area runs for about half a kilometer along the bank of the Lachlan River with farmland behind. It's suitable for all size vehicles though not an overly large area, so it might be difficult to find a spot in peak periods, particularly if there are locals on day visits. It has toilets, rubbish bins, phone and TV reception.
The main tourist attraction in Cowra is the Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre, so prior to leaving on Saturday I decided to pay it a visit. Cowra has a strong link to Japan as it is the burial place for all Australian-based WW11 Japanese war dead. In 1971 Cowra Tourism proposed a Japanese garden for the town and the garden was subsequently designed by Ken Nakajima in the style of the Edo period. James and I spent a good hour strolling through and around the magnificent gardens, lawns, lakes, streams and waterfalls cascading down the slopes of a rocky hillside . It was $13 very well spent.
From Cowra we headed toward Bathurst on the Mid Western Highway. The fuel-burn ramped up a bit as we climbed from an elevation of 300 meters to 950. There was a lot more traffic on the road and from Blayney onward I found the driving quite challenging with lots of steep climbs and descents, sweeping curves and strong winds. I was relieved to arrive at our destination, Lake Wallace Recreation Area, just 10 minutes from Lithgow. It had only been a distance of 161 km but I was buggered!
What a great spot! I drove straight into a open clearing beside the lake and started to unhitch. The plan was to stay a few days so that I could explore the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves. I had never visited either. As I was setting up, a woman from a nearby camp came over, introduced herself as Norma and offered to help. Norma was with a group of six other women who had arrived the day before and were staying another two nights. She invited me to join them for drinks later. I gratefully accepted.
After a late lunch, a good walk and a bit more setting up and sorting of stuff in the van, James and I wandered over. The girls and their dogs were really welcoming and I immediately felt right at home in their company. Around a lovely warm fire we shared dinner and stories. One of the girls, Sue, was even a member of the same women's traveling club as me - Rolling Solo. We talked about our planned future adventures including the annual Roller national gathering to be held at Exmouth WA in October. We were both booked in for it - SITMEX 2019.
Sunday morning was very leisurely. With no need to drive anywhere we tucked up in bed with the stove gas jets turned on to warm up the van from 8 degrees to an acceptable 18 and a fresh brewed coffee. I did a bit of work on the blog, some research on the Jenolan Caves and looked at where might be best to plan our next stopover. After breaky and a van tidy-up James and I went off to explore around the lake.
The rest of Sunday was pretty low-key. Sue and Anni, a couple of my new friends joined me for a run into Lithgow. There was supposed to be a market on but alas, no. We did have a look around though and then drove into Wallerawang, the small town close to Lake Wallace where we picked up pies and coffees for lunch. A snooze in the afternoon and another great evening of conversation with the girls in front of the fire rounded out a really enjoyable day.
It was overcast, freezing, windy and rainy on Monday. I stayed in bed with the usual coffee and electronic devices while my new-found friends packed their camps up and popped in to bid me farewell. They even took a photo of James and me in bed!
With such shitty weather I figured going underground was as good an idea as any. I tossed up whether to leave James in the van or take him with me. I decided on the latter knowing that he would have to spend the better part of three hours alone in the car. I felt he'd prefer that to 6 hours in the van. We headed off the the Jenolan Caves around 11am. As we climbed into the mountains the outside temperature dropped from six degrees to one degree...then bugger me if it didn't start to snow!
Jenolan Caves are a must do! There are multiple one to two hour tours of different caves leaving at various times of the day. I chose the most expensive...the two hour River Cave tour at $55. Rated as the most strenuous tour it covers 1271 meters, includes 1298 large steps and you go up and down two high, virtually vertical ladders. Some of it is also quite dark and narrow with low overhangs that you have to duck under. I loved it though there were times when I was quite out of breath. It was amazing to see something that has existed for 340 million years, virtually in the same state as it it now. Apparently all of the cave tours are very different so if I'm in the area again I will definitely do a couple more.
I was pleased to wake up Tuesday to blue skies, albeit with freezing temperatures and a howling gale. Blue Mountains here we come! I broke a tooth over breaky - bugger, that's going to equate to $$ but it wasn't painful so it can wait till Brisbane. We arrived at Katoomba around midday and man, was the wind blowing up there! And fucking freezing! I took James for a walk to see the Three Sisters. That and the Jenolan Caves have been on my bucket list forever and at last they are ticked off. Yay! Katoomba is quite a quirky and interesting town. Very hilly with lots of really different views of the Blue Mountains everywhere, heaps and heaps of accommodation options and masses of tourists and buses. I drove the scenic route jumping out of the car multiple times to do short walks and take photos. It's really very grand and beautiful. Part way through our drive I dropped into Aldi and grabbed a thermal outer layer and gloves. I had 4 layers on but was still cold. I found thermal underwear too. I would wear that to bed - the last couple of nights I had gone to bed fully clothed. I bought a lamb leg for dinner as well so that I could roast it in the van oven. It would not only be yummy but warm the van and me up.
We got home around 5 and I plugged the laptop into the 300 watt inverter to keep it charged. The inverter was plugged into the cigarette lighter socket in the van, drawing power from the van's deep cycle battery. I had been doing this for days but of course the van's battery was not getting charge from the car (as it does when on tow) nor much from the solar panels as there wasn't much sun and we weren't connected to 240 volt. The outcome was the battery karked it. This resulted in a chirp alarm from the amp meter that went ALL night. Shit! I managed to convince my mind that the constant chirp was just the same as crickets, and with doona over my head slept ok. The chirp was still there when I woke up in the morning but amazingly as the sun gave up a few tiny rays of light it SHUT UP! It was, however, still in need of a good charge.
I had been planning to head north to Cassilis on Wednesday but with a forecast crosswind of 60 kph I canned that idea and decided to stay put. So it wouldn't get charged from the car. Eventually I decided it would be a great idea to book into a local caravan park and have POWER. I called Lake Lyell some 15 km away and booked a site. It took quite a while to pack up camp in roaring wind and intermittent showers, but eventually we arrived at Lake Lyell around 1pm. Then it took me about one hour and a multitude of attempts to get the van in place. There's a lot of learning yet to be had...
LAKE WALLACE rates a 4.5. It's bloody good for free. It covers a HUGE area, has toilets and hot showers (not many), a dump point, bbq , picnic seating and is very scenic. It also has phone and TV reception. There's apparently blue green algae present (not obvious) so you can't do much with all that water.
LAKE LYELL is overpriced. It's very basic. A powered site costs $30 and for that you get power. A small site on tan bark, no water, limited TV and phone reception, rubbish bins a mile away, no lighting etc. etc. It is pretty and the unpowered sites on the lake edge would be the best option....and cheaper. The lake is good for fishing and watersports
OURA BEACH RESERVE rates fairly highly on my OZ Gran's Free Camp List. I would give it 4.5 out of 5. My van is self-contained so I don't have a need for amenities, but there is a long drop dunny and rubbish bins. It covers a large area that runs along the Murrumbidgee river for a few hundred meters extending back onto flat grassland with shady trees. It's suitable for the largest of vehicles and is very accessible. It has a big sandy beach, picnic tables and full phone and TV reception.
Friday morning we headed back into Wagga as I wanted to get the van weighed. Tarcoola Turf weighbridge is open to the public and for $33 I had the ball weight done, car and van together and separately. The van proved to be a few kg over, a problem that could solved by transferring some heavy items into the Jeep, dumping some water or burning the firewood in the rear tubs. A few days on the road would fix the problem....less water and less wood, so not a huge concern. Good to know, however. I also got to use my CB radio for the first time....a truckie radioed me as I was leaving Tarcoola Turf to tell me my TV aerial was up. Clearly yet to get the pre take-off checks sorted!
We left Wagga around midday after coffee and a spot of shopping, heading north-west on the Olympic Highway to Cowra about 200 km away. There was bugger-all traffic and it was an easy run. We had a break for a late lunch before Young, where we stopped again to get fuel. My FuelMap App showing the cheapest diesel in the area at $141.9 (with Woolworths discounts). From there we followed Google Maps directions to bypass Cowra and go direct to our night two stop-over at Farleigh Reserve beside the Lachlan River. There was only one other camper in so I had my pick of level areas to pull up. It only took a few minutes to settle in, get a fire going and relax for the evening.
FARLEIGH RESERVE is lovely river-side spot which I would rate at 4. It's 10 km west of Cowra, along 1 km of rutted dirt track. The camping area runs for about half a kilometer along the bank of the Lachlan River with farmland behind. It's suitable for all size vehicles though not an overly large area, so it might be difficult to find a spot in peak periods, particularly if there are locals on day visits. It has toilets, rubbish bins, phone and TV reception.
The main tourist attraction in Cowra is the Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre, so prior to leaving on Saturday I decided to pay it a visit. Cowra has a strong link to Japan as it is the burial place for all Australian-based WW11 Japanese war dead. In 1971 Cowra Tourism proposed a Japanese garden for the town and the garden was subsequently designed by Ken Nakajima in the style of the Edo period. James and I spent a good hour strolling through and around the magnificent gardens, lawns, lakes, streams and waterfalls cascading down the slopes of a rocky hillside . It was $13 very well spent.
From Cowra we headed toward Bathurst on the Mid Western Highway. The fuel-burn ramped up a bit as we climbed from an elevation of 300 meters to 950. There was a lot more traffic on the road and from Blayney onward I found the driving quite challenging with lots of steep climbs and descents, sweeping curves and strong winds. I was relieved to arrive at our destination, Lake Wallace Recreation Area, just 10 minutes from Lithgow. It had only been a distance of 161 km but I was buggered!
What a great spot! I drove straight into a open clearing beside the lake and started to unhitch. The plan was to stay a few days so that I could explore the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves. I had never visited either. As I was setting up, a woman from a nearby camp came over, introduced herself as Norma and offered to help. Norma was with a group of six other women who had arrived the day before and were staying another two nights. She invited me to join them for drinks later. I gratefully accepted.
After a late lunch, a good walk and a bit more setting up and sorting of stuff in the van, James and I wandered over. The girls and their dogs were really welcoming and I immediately felt right at home in their company. Around a lovely warm fire we shared dinner and stories. One of the girls, Sue, was even a member of the same women's traveling club as me - Rolling Solo. We talked about our planned future adventures including the annual Roller national gathering to be held at Exmouth WA in October. We were both booked in for it - SITMEX 2019.
The rest of Sunday was pretty low-key. Sue and Anni, a couple of my new friends joined me for a run into Lithgow. There was supposed to be a market on but alas, no. We did have a look around though and then drove into Wallerawang, the small town close to Lake Wallace where we picked up pies and coffees for lunch. A snooze in the afternoon and another great evening of conversation with the girls in front of the fire rounded out a really enjoyable day.
It was overcast, freezing, windy and rainy on Monday. I stayed in bed with the usual coffee and electronic devices while my new-found friends packed their camps up and popped in to bid me farewell. They even took a photo of James and me in bed!
With such shitty weather I figured going underground was as good an idea as any. I tossed up whether to leave James in the van or take him with me. I decided on the latter knowing that he would have to spend the better part of three hours alone in the car. I felt he'd prefer that to 6 hours in the van. We headed off the the Jenolan Caves around 11am. As we climbed into the mountains the outside temperature dropped from six degrees to one degree...then bugger me if it didn't start to snow!
Jenolan Caves are a must do! There are multiple one to two hour tours of different caves leaving at various times of the day. I chose the most expensive...the two hour River Cave tour at $55. Rated as the most strenuous tour it covers 1271 meters, includes 1298 large steps and you go up and down two high, virtually vertical ladders. Some of it is also quite dark and narrow with low overhangs that you have to duck under. I loved it though there were times when I was quite out of breath. It was amazing to see something that has existed for 340 million years, virtually in the same state as it it now. Apparently all of the cave tours are very different so if I'm in the area again I will definitely do a couple more.
We got home around 5 and I plugged the laptop into the 300 watt inverter to keep it charged. The inverter was plugged into the cigarette lighter socket in the van, drawing power from the van's deep cycle battery. I had been doing this for days but of course the van's battery was not getting charge from the car (as it does when on tow) nor much from the solar panels as there wasn't much sun and we weren't connected to 240 volt. The outcome was the battery karked it. This resulted in a chirp alarm from the amp meter that went ALL night. Shit! I managed to convince my mind that the constant chirp was just the same as crickets, and with doona over my head slept ok. The chirp was still there when I woke up in the morning but amazingly as the sun gave up a few tiny rays of light it SHUT UP! It was, however, still in need of a good charge.
I had been planning to head north to Cassilis on Wednesday but with a forecast crosswind of 60 kph I canned that idea and decided to stay put. So it wouldn't get charged from the car. Eventually I decided it would be a great idea to book into a local caravan park and have POWER. I called Lake Lyell some 15 km away and booked a site. It took quite a while to pack up camp in roaring wind and intermittent showers, but eventually we arrived at Lake Lyell around 1pm. Then it took me about one hour and a multitude of attempts to get the van in place. There's a lot of learning yet to be had...
LAKE WALLACE rates a 4.5. It's bloody good for free. It covers a HUGE area, has toilets and hot showers (not many), a dump point, bbq , picnic seating and is very scenic. It also has phone and TV reception. There's apparently blue green algae present (not obvious) so you can't do much with all that water.
LAKE LYELL is overpriced. It's very basic. A powered site costs $30 and for that you get power. A small site on tan bark, no water, limited TV and phone reception, rubbish bins a mile away, no lighting etc. etc. It is pretty and the unpowered sites on the lake edge would be the best option....and cheaper. The lake is good for fishing and watersports
