Seventeen years long to be precise!
The last time I camped in this particular spot at Ration Point times were different and camping was simple – pack your tent, air mattress, a table or two, chair and an esky. With the notoriety of technology I am guilty of overlooking those once simple things and arrive at camp with an arsenal of gadgetry and enough power to fuel a third world country!
Ahh the good old days…
The year was 2006 and the vehicle Brad (https://vintage-radio.com.au/) and I used to get to the destination was the trusty 80 series Landcruiser:
Unlike 2006 our camp at Ration Point this time round was a single night as Brad had to make his way back to the steak and kidney, and I made my way to Hill End to spend the second night.
Ration Point has changed over the years, the past few floods have shifted gravel into the exact location of our old camp spot making it cumbersome to set up camp, so we had to settle for the spot a few meters to the side; which mind you wasn’t complaint worthy!
And just like in 2006, the nights were cold and the mornings frosty:
Albeit frost July 2023 doesn’t cut it in comparison to the June 2006 version 🙂
The 2023 version of the Turon River has plenty of running water in comparison to the 2006 version which was virtually dry.
Unfortunately for me there isn’t much in the way of photographs of the stay at Ration Point; it’s now time to take a dig at Bathurst Police who kindly took the SD card from my drone at Hill End the following day due to allegedly flying it over a crime scene and have since not returned it as promised.
I had some great aerial footage of the camp site and surrounds that I never got the opportunity to download – if the card manages to find its way to me I will edit this post with some footage and photos; I’m not holding my breath!
Second night was at Hill End, usually referred to as trusty Hill End but I’m still in a state of turmoil about above mentioned loss of SD card that it’s tough to use the term “trusty”. To make matters worse my chainsaw decided it was time to signal lights out and cease to function as a chainsaw, thankfully Brad had shared a bag of quality Bunnings firewood and with some foraging I was able to make a small but warm fire.
Next morning after a decent sleep in I pulled up stumps and made the pilgrimage home via Beaufoy Merlin Lookout and then Upper Turon Rd where I was able to fly my drone with some sense of security.
I never get sick of travelling the Upper Turon Rd, especially on a day as nice as this. Excuse the extremely poor drone skills – I’m still very much an L plater.
As I’ve indicated many a time over, the Turon is an amazing place that one cannot simply touch the sides when exploring. You take a small side track and end up in some amazing places.
And that closes out another camp for the year 2023.