Hill End - just a quick getaway to test a few things

Early on Saturday, 17th May, I set out for a night at Hill End so I could test out my new plumbing system in the back of the ute. A 60 litre water tank connected via 12mm John Guest pipe and fittings to an automatic water pump, then again in 12mm JG pipe to domestic copper pipe and brass fittings, including a stop cock and a folding laundry tap completed the job. All I had to do was pour in some fresh water and see how she goes.

Saturday afternoon came and I drove into camp after stopping off at Green Valley to cut and bag some firewood. This made me a bit tired so I headed into the rooftop tent for a lie down. I ended up regretting that because whilst the day was sunny and warm, the night was not and my lie down went for a bit longer than planned.

Hill End can turn on some pretty cold weather so when I woke up I was freezing to the point where I could barely stop shivering. I got down, emptied the firewood onto the ground and got the fire lit with the help of the usual dose of kerosene and then proceeded to put on some warm clothes before preparing a snack and settling down by the fire for the next few hours. Just before sitting down, I turned on my electric blanket - a handy accessory during the colder weather.

Snack and drink prepared, I sat by the now quite hot fire and relaxed, knowing that the fire would keep me warm until bed time. By this stage however, it was too late to be bothered testing anything and I just relaxed by the fire, watching some old school wrestling until it was time to turn in.

Bed time came around and at about 22:30 I hit the hay, which by that stage was nice and warm and I slept well all night with the blanket switched to medium - just right for a night down to 4 degrees. Whilst some may think that camping is a time to prove how tough and resilient one is, that is best done when one is young and generally does have things to prove. At my age, I just don't see the point and would rather be comfortable all night. So there.

The following morning, I did sleep in a bit, which is unusual for me, as I do normally like to rise early and get brekky out of the road. When I got up I decided to postpone brekky and break camp - a big black storm cloud was looming and I wanted to pack up a dry camp. And, so it was - I got packed and I was in the truck ready to go as the first drops fell.

I decided that it was time to head home via the Bridle Track and heading down there I discovered that the Hawkins Hill stretch has been graded and smoothed out, which helped my old kidneys out a bit. When I reached Black Gate campground, I stopped at a picnic table and rolled brekky out. Fruit muffins and orange juice did the trick.

After a stop lasting about half an hour it was time to get going again and I headed straight home from there. The next camp will hopefully be a bit longer and if I do happen to have another lie down, I'll be a bit more prepared for the change in temperature.

Oh, and yes, that is a new snorkel on the truck. It will get used very soon.

Written at 19:14 on 25 May 2025 by Brad.