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Lake Wallace, NSW (Gone wrong)

This camp didn't go well for a few reasons but this will be explained as time goes along.

Dave and I arrived in camp at Lake Wallace on the night of Friday, 11th October and set things up in our usual ways. After making tea we sat by the fire which had to be in our fire pits because fires are banned at this ground and we didn't want to leave evidence behind. It probably should be said that we weren't the only ones with fires - I mean, who is going to camp without one in the Central West at this time of the year?

The night went without any drama and after breakfast the next morning we broke camp to do some touring of other camping areas in the region and also to find a spot to camp on the second night. We weren't that successful at finding a good spot that wasn't taken but it did give us the opportunity to have a look around anyway. This weekend is the weekend the Bathurst 1000 motor race is held so there are plenty of people out and about and quite a few campsites had portable televisions and jerry-rigged antennas set up so the campers could watch the race.

The day came and went and as we couldn't find another place to camp we went back to Lake Wallace. The site we had the night before was taken so we headed around the other side to see what was available and we picked up a site near the baseball oval. Camp was set up and we prepared our evening meals before once again sitting by the fire, again in a fire pit, and sipping on a few alcoholic beverages. Bed time was at around 22:30 and things went fairly peacefully until about 02:30 when campers from two neighbouring sites started a brawl over some apparently stolen firewood. I slept through this but Dave was woken by the commotion. After a short time the fight broke up and everyone settled down again. It wouldn't stay peaceful for too long though.

At about 04:00 I was woken by the same people who decided that Round 2 was in order and the voices of around ten people could be heard bellowing at each other. Being partially deaf it was hard for me to hear exactly what the yelling was about and shortly after I woke, Dave also woke up again and would later let me know it was over a dispute about firewood. At the time though, because I had no idea of what the problem was, I had to assume it was a bunch of drunks just walking from camp to camp causing trouble so we both went into defence mode - ready to defend our camp at any cost.

After a good twenty minutes of brawling and shouting, the police arrived to break it all up. Once the police left, things were quiet again and I was able to get up and have the piss I wanted to have at about 04:00. The thing I just don't understand is why people need to:-

1. Enter someone else's camp and interfere with it or steal things. Whilst camping areas don't strictly speaking belong to the campers that occupy it, there is an unwritten rule that people don't encroach on anyone else's camp. It's all about respect for others and camping areas are usually occupied on a first in, first served basis.
2. It's probably just as important not to consume a volume of alcohol that one's body cannot tolerate. We all like a drink but we all have different levels of what our bodies can put up with too and when alcohol winds up fuelling a petty dispute over a few sticks of firewood then it is a clear indication that those people should not have taken the amount they did.

The next morning came, and a quick break of camp led to a return to Sydney to unpack and prepare for the next week back at work. However, this is not where my bad weekend ended. I had wind all weekend and some of the farts absolutely stank to the high heavens. They came thick and fast for the whole weekend, leaving me wondering what I ate to cause the flatulence in the first place. I have never discovered the answer to that question but accompanying that issue was the tender issue of me having a haemorrhoid expanding to the size of a golf ball and I spent about a day and a half wondering whether or not I should go to the local hospital and have it snipped off.

The bad news is that about three hours after arriving home, it decided to do the job itself. It burst, leaving me with a small mess to tidy up and boy did it stink. Not wanting to risk the wound taking too long to heal, I spent the rest of the week taking a daily dose of Metamucil to keep things soft until the wound had started to heal.

All in all, it was probably the worst camp of 2024 all up, with adults behaving like children and leaving the other campers wondering if there was going to be a murder to clean up after and the aforementioned health issue I had, I am just glad this camp didn't go for a third night. There is one thing I'd like to tell everyone with regard to the issues we had through the night and that is this - if you have problems with alcohol then don't drink. The rest of us, who go out bush to enjoy time outdoors just don't need the shit that arises from people who cannot hold their piss. Likewise, those who seem to think that everyone else's camp is public property, also stay away. Your light fingers don't just start trouble but may one day get you injured or killed by an irate victim who would rather deal with the matter themselves instead of making a 000 call.

Written at 19:05 on 19 January 2025 by Brad.
Posted in the Camps section. Comments: 0 ·

Lake Wallace & Hill End, NSW

It was decided that in early October there would be a two night camp out west and on this occasion, it was myself, Dave and his mate Paul, plus Dave and Paul's sons along for the ride. As far as camps go, this was routine despite the larger number of people but quite unique too - with three major Oztent products being used for the accommodation. My RV-5 came along and for a couple of years now has been my go-to tent for its room and ease of set up. That said, these tents are quite heavy to move around, as are the sister series, the Jet Tents, which I also have one of for winter camping. Dave brought along his RV-1 which is the same type of tent but a one man version and Paul brought what I believe is Oztent's latest version, the RX-5, which is basically an RV-5 with a zip open skylight and has the ability to have a tub floor in the front section, providing more insect-free sleeping room. All these were used on both nights.

The first night was at Lake Wallace which is located between Lithgow and Wallerawang at the western foot of the Blue Mountains. Dave and I have stayed at Lake Wallace a few times in the past. There's nothing that special about it but it is free and close to Sydney, so it is a good stepping stone. The pie shop, which is a five minute drive from the ground, is a good opportunity to buy some good wholesome food and support the local economy too.

On the first night, the rain was a bit problematic but fortunately intermittent, which meant that we could pack up a dry camp the following morning before heading to the pie shop for breakfast and then move on to our second camp site at the old gold mining town of Hill End. Hill End has two camping areas, the Village Ground and the larger Glendora Ground. I am happy at either ground though Dave prefers the Village so that is where we stayed the second night. As can be seen in the accompanying photos, the camp was quite large compared to what we usually have in place. The van and ute to the right in the second photo are not part of our camp.



There was plenty of food going too. Dave and Paul wolfed down half a pig's worth of ribs whilst I settled for a couple of serves of home made fried rice. Halfway through the day I did acquire a mild tummy upset but it wasn't severe enough to ruin my appetite. The next morning, we all had a light breakfast and then broke camp for the trip home.

Written at 18:19 on 19 January 2025 by Brad.
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Williwa and Hill End

It was time to explore a place I've never camped at before and to be honest it is a place where I probably would not camp on my own. We are talking about Williwa, located somewhere between Turon Gates and Portland in the NSW Central West.

As is usually customary, Dave from Shintara came along for the trip and we spent the first night at Williwa, which is a free camping area in the Sunny Corner State Forest.

I brought the RV5 with me and Dave brought the slightly smaller but still easy to set up RV1. These were promptly set up on arrival and then effort to gathering firewood for the night was taken care of. We wound up collecting quite a bit and without the restrictions of requiring a fire pit, we were able to set up quite a nice fire, badly needed in this part of the world in the depths of winter.

We then set about cooking tea. We usually just cook for ourselves and this takes care of differing tastes, what kind of oil to use, who does the cooking and who does the washing up, etc. Practicing self sufficiency makes for a peaceful time away and everyone does their fair share of the work.

As night came upon us, we settled in our chairs by the fire and had a discussion about the drive to the next camping spot, at Hill End, which is an old favourite because there is good mobile reception there (on Optus but not Telstra or TPG) so things like 000 calls can be made in an emergency without having to have the satellite phone handy. I've never had to deal with a serious emrgency on camp but the reassurance of knowing it can be done is a good thing.

A good night's sleep followed by a nice hot brekky had me right for the day's activities on Saturday, 8th June. We packed our camps and drove to Hill End via Bathurst and the famous Bridle Track, a gravel track between the outskirts of Bathurst and Hill End. It was actually the first road between the two areas and was open for business before the road between Hill End and neighbouring Sofala was completed.

Due to landslips at a few locations going back through the Track's history, the Bridle Track doesn't always follow the original route carved out but it is very close. At the time of travel, the Track is still in good order.

We arrived at Hill End well in time to set up camp, head to Green Valley Creek to collect firewood and return to camp to build the fire before cooking the evening meals.


Hill End can get bitterly cold during winter and having a nice large fire allows campers to sit away from the fire whilst still collecting its heat without breathing in the smoke. A night by the fire, sipping some top shelf port was followed by another good night's sleep.


This is the main object of camping, not just to explore what exists across this wide brown land but to get away from the routine of work, the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle and communication with 99.9% of the outside world.


For me, camping will always be a reset switch and on many camps there are things to explore and things to learn about the way people lived prior to all the modern conveniences we now have available to us. In the photo below, the Royal Hotel, one of around 28 pubs that once operated in Hill End, is the sole survivor and with its foundation stone laid in 1871, is steeped in history. Today, it has a good bistro which is quite popular and if planning a visit, it pays to be there early so you aren't waiting in a queue.


Sunday came and we had a bit of a sleep in, which was followed by breakfast and then a clean-up and break of camp. Another camp was done and dusted and it was time to head back to the said concrete jungle to plan and prepare for the next camp.

Written at 20:38 on 20 October 2024 by Brad.
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Bindo Creek or Millionth Acre? The choice was easy

We managed to dodge the rain with this one - a short camp but quite productive and enjoyable. Dave and I teamed up to spend a night at the Millionth Acre Campground on Jenolan Caves Road at the turn off to the central western town of Oberon. During winter, Oberon is arguably the coldest place in the Blue Mountains, being around 1,300 metres above sea level and has a reputation for being touched by snow first when snow does hit.

We got fortunate and there didn't end up being rain or snow this weekend and the weather ended up being quite sunny. On Saturday, we were actually still deciding on where to pitch the tents and we shortlisted a place where my car ultimately could not go. An attempt to get down to a place called Bindo Creek the week before proved fruitless due to the rough track and I wasn't about to repeat what happened on the last camp, where a serious bog resulted in some minor underbelly damage, which I still need to get repaired.

The day was getting on a bit and it was time to get the camp set up for the night and then do a hunt for firewood. Outside the border of the Kanangra-Boyd National Park I did find a good supply near the famous Six Foot Track - a 42km hiking track that runs from Katoomba to the Jenolan Caves. I cut up enough to get us through what was ultimately a cold night then headed back to camp.

It was thence time for tea and I cooked up a hamburger with egg and bacon - and believe me, we ate so much that afternoon that I was glad I only cooked one. After the evening meal was done, it was time to sit by the newly lit fire and sip on a few glasses of port. Dave broke open a few craft beers left over from a previous camp at Adaminaby - purchased in nearby Tumut.

As can be seen in the second photo, Dave has purchased a new LED light bar for his camp, mounted on the side door of his canopy, it provides no shortage of much needed light. The trusty outrigger light fittings that I have been using for a year or two also provide enough light and the battery banks in both vehicles are well up to the task of going all night if needed.

The next morning we did have a sleep in and by around 08:30 it was time for brekky and then the task of breaking camp came by. The amount of dew that fell through the night meant that the tents needed drying with towels. The pack ended up being a deliberately slow one. Following this, about ten minutes in the sun meant that everything was dry enough to pack away. We then headed back to Bindo Creek for the afternoon. Dave got his fishing gear out whilst I put the drone in the air and gave the Canon 5D a bit of a workout.



The day trip to Bindo Creek was quite intentional, mainly to assist us with avoiding the need to spend time in traffic that forms on the Great Western Highway at the end of school holiday breaks. We managed to time things reasonably well and by the time we got back to Blackheath, where we purchased tea, the traffic was gone. A 15 minute stop in the rest area at the eastern end of Blackheath to eat our grub was followed by the trip back to Sydney, and there it was, another camp done and dusted.

Written at 20:58 on 6 May 2024 by Brad.
Posted in the Camps section. Comments: 0 ·

Lake Wallace and Dunns Swamp

A two-ground camp has been in the planning for a couple of weeks and last Friday it was time to get it happening. Dave and I once again packed our vehicles and headed west, this time with the plan on staying at a free camping area on Jenolan Caves Road, Hartley for a night, then heading to Dunns Swamp on Saturday. The turn of events, followed by a swift change of plans, meant that the first night would be spent at nearby Lack Wallace, in the shadows of the mighty Mt Piper Power Station and the Old Wallerawang Power Station. Lake Wallace supplies cooling water for both stations, which means it is affected by algal blooms at times. There is a sign at the lake's shoreline stating to what level the algae is concentrated in the water. The lake is used by boaters and anglers looking for trout, european perch or bass.

Above is a photo of the lake, taken on Saturday morning, with the cooling tower from the Old Wallerwang Power Station in the background. This station no longer operates but is in a state of decay and partial demolition.



Here's one of the Lake Wallace camp. My car is looking somewhat scrunched up, but that is just me being too close with the 8-15mm lens I was using at the time.

We didn't race to break camp, as it was only the first night but ended up being out of the Lake Wallace ground by about 10:30. As there was a bakery in nearby Portland, we headed there to try out the fare. I had a curry pie, sausage roll, lemon meringue and apple turnover because I was absolutely starving from the recovery job carried out the night before.



On that subject, as said previously, the first night was supposed to be spent at a small unposted camping area close to the Hartley historical site. On approach to the ground, I took the wrong track and as it was dark I didn't see a fairly deep hole in the track and I got myself bogged. I borrowed one of Dave's MaxTrax to see if this would assist however the car's belly was on an adjacent hump, which ultimately required a flat tow of around 5 metres. Dave's Hilux did the job admirably and that saved the night for both of us. Due to the need to work on freeing my car, our tea, purchased at the Blackheath hamburger shop, was stone cold and we only ate half our meals before disposing of the remainder once finally in camp at the lake.

The humble and evergreen Holden Commodore is a fantastic car, being sold to the Australian public in 6 and 8 cylinder form between 1978 and 2017 and there is bags of room inside. They just don't do the really rough tracks well due to a lack of clearance and ultimately, more care should have been taken. The good news is that there is no damage to the car and all was well with the motoring side of things for the rest of the weekend.

The first photo has been lit up a bit to highlight the nature of the bog. The track was pretty much just river sand and there was no support at all under the wheel. The second photo shows the hole left, taken the next day. The photo does the hole little justice and is deeper than it looks there.



After finishing our meal we headed to what will be a future campsite for us down the track. The place is called Woolshed Flat and lies alongside the Turon River near Capertee. When we arrived, no-one was around so we explored a bit and got the drones out for a quick flight.

Once that was done, we headed for Dunns Swamp to set up camp for the second night. The ground is fine, save for some noisy campers but everyone had observed quiet time by 22:00hrs so all was well. We managed to light a fire, which created the correct atmosphere between tea time and bed time. The camping spaces we hired were extremely small, being more suited to a smaller car and smaller tent but we both made our gear fit in reasonably well. Dave is calling Dunns a 'oncer' but I am going to head back in the early spring and put a kayak on the water and see how big that lake is.



As is sometimes said, the most important meal of the day is brekky. I didn't disappoint either, with a semi-mixed grille on the menu with bacon, eggs, sausages, onions and some hot potato chips. This went down well, needless to say.



We slowly packed our camps and headed into the nearby town of Kandos, a place once known for cement mining and manufacturing, to dispose of our rubbish and get a drink out of our fridges before heading on another explore near Portland. This would be followed by lunch at the Portland milk bar and then a rather slow trip home, due to the number of people on the road that could be classified as idiots.

It goes without saying that the coronavirus lockdowns of a few years ago have meant that a lot of people have forgotten how to drive correctly and their selfish attitudes mean that habits like hogging the overtaking lane and being completely oblivious to the long line of traffic behind them has become far more commonplace. It is also a sad fact that the road toll has increased across all states and territories in the same period - again due to selfishness and inattentiveness. It's time that the highway patrol did something about it. There is no excuse for cruising in an overtaking lane at 20km/h below the posted speed limit.

Apart from that fiasco and getting bogged, it was a great weekend and even now I am thinking about the next camp and where it may be.

Written at 20:51 on 16 April 2024 by Brad.
Posted in the Camps section. Comments: 0 ·