It’s been a well over a couple months since my last post (and camp). Not much has happened in between, the weather has been terrible, I was sick and did I mention the weather!?!
I finally got the opportunity to get away, the plan was – well there wasn’t a plan. The plan was a solo effort over two nights, and bearing that in mind I don’t like to camp remote when going solo this one was going to be missing the ‘adventure’ component.
The day unfortunately started late, it wasn’t until half twelve that I left and sadly the trip didn’t get any better! Travelling along the M4 heading west I heard a few bangs and looking up at my windscreen I noticed a chip. Turns out old mate in front didn’t clean his trailer of debris…
Luckily for me after some to and fro he pulled over and he passed on his details, but guess who forgot the all important phone number?! I’m blaming being pulled over on the side of the motorway, cars and trucks going past at 110kph less than a meter away.
So after driving off and a relatively sedate trip up the mountains, (sedate referring to the wonderful folk who sit between 10 and 15kph under the speed limit in the right lane) I arrived at Blackheath Fish ‘n Chips, ordering the usual six fish cocktails and chips.
I then headed to Mt Victoria to take in the view and enjoy the feed.
This is where things took another turn; while it wasn’t very windy, the moment I turn to grab a tissue a gust of wind kicks up and blows my late lunch away! After some expletives I was able to recover about half of the spill.
With the day starting to slowly get away I stopped at Lithgow and grabbed some firewood, I still wasn’t sure where I’d end up and whether I’d be able to gather any along the way. After departing the servo I decided to dash up to Razorback Rd and cut across to Sofala which which was the most likely place where I could find a camp spot.
The views along Razorback Rd never disappoint!
To my surprise it was standing room only at Sofala, considering it’s been cold, like real cold, this was really surprising. Turns out there are a lot of folk who aren’t fair weather campers!
With the day starting to slip away and temperature dropping I decided to hit ‘old trusty’ – that being Hill End. Thankfully for me, there’s always good quality hard wood along Hill End Rd, turns out I was going to need it!
Thankfully setting up is super quick with the roof top tent and before I knew it I was into the “Double Peach Suntory’s” while putting the firepit together, which I must admit performed pretty well.
Well into the cold night, I hit the hay at 10pm and slept through till 6.30am when nature decided to dully call. Nice and warm under the blankets I was astounded at how cold it was, my shoe bag was iced up and a quick check of the temp made me realise why!
After taking care of business I decided to do the right thing, that being go straight back to the warmth of bed which I didn’t remove myself from until 8am.
With a beautiful day dawning I made the most of a morning coffee basking in the sunshine.
After pondering on world peace and how the current government is fucking Australia, I decided it time to get off my arse and pack.
With no real destination in mind I decided to head down the Bridle Track – a route I’ve well trodden over the past 20 odd years.
A quick stop at Johnsons Hole for lunch before making my way to Bathurst for some dessert at the Village Bakehouse.
With the day again starting to slip away and no camp destination, I decided to pull into the Donnybrook at Lithgow to watch the footy, enjoy a beverage or two and a meal.
Being satisfied with final score, beverages and meal; with no optional camp destination and an even colder night ahead I decided to call it a day and head home concluding another adventure!