A weekend on the Central Tablelands

It was a case of us not really knowing where to stop for the night and whilst we fully intended to check out the area, the exact locations for the overnight stays would remain a mystery right up until a late decision was made. This would be a theme for the whole weekend.

Whilst race car drivers were preparing for the Great Race - the Bathurst 1000 - a mere 100km to the north-west, Dave and I decided to check out a one horse town called Rockley, west of Oberon, and possible visit the pub for a meal to break with the usual arrangement of self-catering.

Night one involved a change of plan and we wound up staying the night at Burraga Dam, quite the scenic spot and only two other groups of campers in a reasonably large ground. I assume there are times when one cannot swing a cat in this place, but on the weekend in question, it was quite peaceful. I arrived at about 20:00hrs and Dave was already set up and was using his new folding fire pit for the first time on a joint camp and it performed fairly well. The days for this camp were mild but the nights still had a nip in the air.

Burraga Dam.

The next morning, brekky was made and eaten before a break of camp and travel to Rockley to check out the one thing that keeps this town afloat - the pub. Brekky for me consisted of cereal and chocolate milk, orange juice and a serve of peaches and that got me through to morning tea. We arrived in Rockley at about 13:00 and hit the pub for a drink before walking the main street to see some of the ancient artifacts and buildings. Everything from abandoned shops, old trucks and firetube boilers were on offer, highlighting a once industrious town where copper and gold were once mined.

An old truck, which would have been well used back in the day.

Along the way, a flat tyre held up progress for about 40 minutes. It is hard to believe that for a bloke that can change a standard car tyre in around five minutes took far longer with this one but there are some differences with a 4x4 ute. The standard jack is a factory bottle jack and the spare tyre is held in place with a mini chain block under the cargo area. 4x4 wheels are also bloody heavy. It was a learning experience and my new Dewalt rattlegun did help a great deal.

Most of the roads out here are just gravel. It's not such a bad thing, but always remember a spare tyre. Just down the road from here, I copped a flat.

After the brief tour we checked out a sports ground where camping was permitted but the welcoming committee, a cranky magpie, changed those plans and we decided to have a late lunch at the pub before heading to find a camping spot for the second night. By the time we arrived at where we wanted to stay, there were fishermen parked right on the sweet spot by the creek so we headed up the road a bit and stayed on the shore of Native Dog Creek and unknowingly camped just across the road from a few other people who seemed to be in the area just for the evening.

Lunch at the Rockley pub, my favourite - fish and chips.

Beaten by the better man on the day - this is only the second time I've finished food before Dave in more than 20 years!

For tea on Saturday night, I went back to basics - canned spaghetti on toast - a quick and easy one followed by a peppermint Bulla ice cream for dessert. A peaceful night's sleep preceded the same offering for brekky on Sunday morning. After packing up a few things and waiting for the morning sun to dry the frost off the tent, that was put away and we headed off for the return trip to Sydney.

Camp on the second night at Native Dog Creek. This is Crown land - free camping with no fire restrictions like the Forestry Commission has slapped on most of its reserved in the last few weeks.

One thing that I did try out on this camp, with some success, was my new lighting system, consisting of three weatherproof bulkhead light fittings, two of which have both manual and automatic control. It all worked a treat, especially when I got up in the middle of both nights for a midnight piss. The automation does two things - it lets me get out of the tent to go about my business without faffing about looking for a torch or fumbling for the light switch and it will also make intruders to our camp site think twice before doing anything stupid. This gear also saves me the effort of needing to bring lights and leads, a feature of most of my camps for the best part of the last 20 years.

Lunch on the way home was fish and chips from the takeaway in Blackheath. Then it was back down the mountains to the concrete jungle.

Written at 20:14 on 20 October 2025 by Brad.