Camping at Olney HQ Campground

We headed up to Newcastle to have the electrics in the camper and dc to dc charger looked at. On the way back we decided to head into olney state Forest and camp at the HQ campground.

We have passed this campground a few times before and it has mostly been busy or full. This time round it was pretty quiet probably due to it still being pretty cold at night.

We didn't get up to much other than walk the dogs through the bush and then chill sitting around the camp fire as it got later. We tested out the electrics again but still seem to be having issues so will probably need to get them relooked at.

Red Mill Road 4wd Tracks

This weekend we all decided to take the trucks for a spin after the weeks worth of rain. We decided to explore the tracks along Red Mill Road that connects yarramalong to Wyong through Ourimbah State Forest.

The main roads were unsurfaced, Rocky in places and somewhat slipperary post all the rain fall. The tougher tracks turned off the main tracks into much narrower, steep and muddy 4wd and bike trails.

As the road rejoined Middle ridge road, we took the dogs out for a quick walk through the bush.

On the way back we stopped for refreshments at the Wyong milk factory and chilled by Wyong creek

The dogs also enjoyed a refreshment from the muddy creek :)

Winter sunset over North Sydney

Despite the winter months bringing in the cooler weather, which surprisingly feels colder than the UK at night, the sun continues shine constantly

And by night time we get some some pretty awesome sundowns. Below is a shot taken over North Sydney on the train line home.

Cunjurong Point Beach House

On the Queen's birthday public holiday, we headed down to the south coast near Jervis Bay to stay at Queenie and John's holiday home for the long weekend

The house is about 200m walk from the beach located in a small beach town called conjuring. There is not much around in terms of amenities and was remote enough to have local wildlife (kangaroos) chilling in your garden.

There was a whole family of 5 just hanging out near the firepit and grazing most mornings.

And out the front, the kangaroos came.out of hr woodlands onto the driveway being the car

Most of the day was spent chilling, eating and playing pool

Visiting the local and only shop withing 40 minutes of where the house is sitiated

And of course exploring the local beach nearby. Both at dawn/dusk

And in the middle of the day.

Queenie as usual took ownership of the cooking :)

And the boys took ownership of the fire and beers 

On the final day on the way home, we checked out some of the pristine white beaches of Jervis bay. It appeared that only hyams Beach was in tact after the storms, some of the others had alot of debris from from the recent flooding

Next time we are down, we will certainly make a day on the vast beaches down here. The water looked crystal clear and was surprising warm considering the time of year.

The Basin Camping, Olney State Forest

Just before winter peak winter hits, we thought we would make the most of a sunny weekend and head to The Basin Campground which is about 1 hour 30 north west of us situated in the valley between Olney State Forest and the Watagan Mountains.

As we arrived we quickly discovered that most of the best and flat spots were taken. There we were thinking nobody would come camping down here in the winter and cold.

We eventually found a flat enough spot to set up for the night and we headed out exploring the nearby walking trails

The trails meandered through thick bush and vegetation passing some huge trees, pretty cool rock formations and various swimming holes, which I couldn't get down o due to my Achilles repair

Below is one of the obscure rock formations

Katie climbing down from one of the rocky outcrops

And as usual, as the night drew in, we started the fire. Katie and Heath decided to demonstrate their musical their musical talents by playing the ukulele and flute.

Old Ford Reserve Camping, Megalong Valley

Nearing towards the end of autumn and entering the winter months, we decided to do a weekend in the blue mountains before the cold really sets in. The weekend was forecasted to be sunny with a high of 22 and low of 6 at night.

The drive down to Old Ford Reserve was pretty easy. The roads were surfaced with only a few hairpin bends to navigate with the camper. Going down into the valley was the easy part, we were just worried about going back up the hills pulling 2 ton behind. Needless to say, going back up was no issues either! :)

The campground was pretty empty, in fact there were 3 groups including us in total. A few day visitors came along later in the day to go down to the river otherwise we had the campground to ourselves. 

We pitched camp pretty much overlooking the Ford below so we were able to easily access it with dogs

And Queenie could easily access it to practice her balancing skills :)

Most of the day was spent relaxing, chatting, eating and drinking cold ones :)

And of course all of this took place around a campfire to keep us warm.

It was overall a cool spot to camp. It probably wouldn't be ideal for tents due to the uneven ground but it was a nice quiet spot for all. We also encountered native possums at night as they ventured down from the trees. Both rocky and Skyler were intrigued by the sighting :)

Queenie & John's Wedding

Queenie and John held their wedding ceremony in Wooloware, which is just down the road from our old place in Miranda.

We have known Queenie since 2006ish from the UK and was reunited with her when she relocated to Australia in 2011 becoming our house mate in both gymea and Miranda .

We were introduced to John probably I'm 2012/2013 through one of the drupal community meetups in Sydney who was the introduced to Queenie

A few years later.....

The ceremony was great with speeches shortly after from the parents.

We also caught up with Quincy (Queenie's sister), whom we have me a few times prior

It's amazing how much they look alike .....

The day went well but they had the misfortune of not having sun all day, I'm fact for the best part of the day it rained, rained and rained. Fortunately the outdoor gazebo worked well for all. For the short period that the sun beamed down, the kids were able to take a swing at the pinatas.

Camping @ Chichester State Forest

Before entering Chichester State Forest we travelled through windy, unsurfaced roads, a few "river crossings" before we came to a place called "Boot Hill" which is essentially a large wire fence with one tree in the middle of nowhere. Hanging from the fence and trees were hundreds if not thousands of shoes, trainers, thongs, shirts etc. Im not sure if there is a story behind them all or what the significance of it was, but it was worthy of a photograph.

After continuing along the windy roads, we finally entered the State Forest which had a large number of camp spots to choose from. We decided to go away from the crowds and travelled up the small hill above Old Camp and stayed at Dobbie Rim Campground.

Dobbie Rim Campground was walking distance from the river and various swimming holes called "Ladies Well" So we headed on down there with the dogs.

We first came to a large rocky / boulder type area where some people jump off into the pools below.

The pools were pristine clean and no doubt refreshing in the warm weather.

Jasper (Katies dog) can get enough of pools and water and probably made the most of the time there in the water alongside Katie

We decided to follow the river and headed further down the stream to uncover even more swimming holes. We decided that there was probably too much to see here in just a weekend so we will be definitely making more regular visits to explore.

Due to my achilles tendon "on the mend" I was not able to get down to everything. Some parts are very rocky and quite steep. Skyler and I chilled and waited at the top.

Rocky seems to have "ADD" - he cannot sit still and can never chill when he is out on a walk.

Marc decided to soak up some sun on the other side of the river on one of the rocks. It is a great spot to bring the BBQ and a few beers, we will definitely be back soon.

Mckell Bushland Reserve, Brooklyn

This weekend Katie fully moved into the spare room. So now the household consists of 3 dogs and a parrot :)

Given the warm weather, we decided to take the dogs out and we explored Brooklyn which is still on the central coast but mostly consists of national parks where dogs are not permitted.

We discovered mckell conservation reserve which permits dogs on a leash. It was a pretty awesome walk along the hawkesbury river front and boat ramps with some nice views over the river.

At the top of the reserve were a number of BBQ and picnic areas which next time we most certainly will bring some food and stay for longer.

On the way back to the foreshore, we took the bush tracks as opposed to the stairs. We walked over various rocky faces before descending back to the foreshore.

Overall it was a pretty cool area and we will definitely return. Literally just down the road maybe 15 minute drive :)