Nightcap 4x4 Nature Park

A few weeks ago Sue heard about a new 4WD and camping place just over the border in NSW, at Kunghur on the Kyogle Rd. We planned ahead to visit and got directions from the hosts but like all good plans things went awry when Sue arranged for the wrong weekend and Pete had to go to Perth for a caravan show. Then Ron came down with a nasty chest infection so it ended up being Sue, Shane, Jo, John and Jo (friends of Jo and Ron's) and myself and a motley collection of doggies, BenBen, Arthur and Abby. 

I arrived around 5'ish Qld time and found Sue, John and Jo Squared already set up in the camping ground. So after a quick chat I set up the Oztent and the rest of my gear, I think I took way to much for just a weekend but I was going for comfort rather than a speedy setup. Then I grabbed a drink and headed up to chat to everyone. The host Mike dropped by for a chat and not long after that we got the fire going and then the Triton man came by with even more firewood, so we were well and truly set for the weekend. He stayed for a chat and Shane finally rolled in. Didn't really eat dinner just munched on some nibbles and Sue made a nice little pizza. We sat around chatting for quite awhile and after Jo and John and Jo went to bed it was almost like Shane and Sue and I were back on the Canning trip as we sat around the fire chatting. Finally headed off to bed and I found the new stretcher I bought (Oztent Gecko) was very comfortable with the swag layed out on top of it. 

Next day we were up reasonably early and Mike dropped around to see what we wanted to do for the day, however we needed a bit more time to wake up so he headed back to his place and we would meet him there. After a bit of Brekky and some coffee (or International Roast for Shane) we headed off to do a bit of driving. Jo was worried about Ron so she went for a drive into Kyogle to ring him. Because Mike's Sierra was a bit sick he rode with a friend, Ross in his modified Patrol, then there was John and Jo in their Navara Ute, Shane and Sue and Arthur and Abby in Shane's Patrol ute and me in the Paj. The early part was in very good condition and quite easy, there was some pretty spectacular views including the panorama near the hippy farm. 

Then it was on to see the log cabin which is a great little place to camp, right on the shore of a dam. 

Then it was off to view some new rainforest that Mike had found just recently and it was here we had the first problem when a large stick flicked up under the Navara and it required the use of the trolley jack so that John could get under the car and remove the stick. Then Ross misjudged a little bridge and got stuck. After a few tries Shane managed to snatch him out backwards and he made sure he was lined up properly for the next crossing. 

While we were waiting a quick stroll into the forest turned up some wonderful fungi and moss. 

Then we drove through some wonderful rainforest that probably hadn't been visited for the last 50 to 60 years. At one of the creek crossings the Navara became a bit stuck, due to it having fairly worn highway terrain tyres and it's long wheel base didn't help either. I gave John and the Navara gentle snatch out and we continued on. 

Then it was down into the play area where there were some interesting challenges, John had already ruled himself out but I was willing to give it a go until Shane, with mud tyres struggled to get through a section and I realised that the poor Paj with All Terrains was not going to make it. So I retired and watched the fun. Shane finally made it up the other side of the gully with some good application of the right boot. In the meantime Ross had got stuck in a muddy bit and he had to winch himself out before doing a masterful three point turn to get pointed in the righ direction. Then he couldn't quite make it up out of the gully and Shane had to give him a gentle snatch to get up and over the top of the hill. After all the excitement we then had a leisurely drive back to camp for lunch. 

Mike came around a bit later to see if we were up for another drive but the consensus was that a restful afternoon around camp was what we needed. After chatting for awhile the breeze died down enough for me to get the quad copter out for a quick fly. I hadn't flown it for awhile and was quite rusty but there was only one major crash and luckily it survived intact. The dogs seemed intrigued with it and followed it around for awhile. After exhausting a couple of batteries I then got to try out charging the batteries  via an inverter running off the cars's battery and everything worked fine with them charging only marginally slower than they did at home.

Then a quiet hour or so of reading before the camp fire came back to life and we sat around it for a few drinks and a chat. The view of the stars was even better this evening as there was no clouds around and the moon didn't rise until late. After the really tough day :) we all headed off to bed relatively early. Once again we took our time getting up and having Brekky and the consensus was that we would have a lazy morning and pack up and head home. Shane and I headed up the hill behind our camp site for a walk to take a few photos. The climb wasn't too hard and the views were spectacular. The next valley over was still clouded over and a time lapse of that disappearing would have been pretty good but neither of us took a tripod. Mt Warning was also visible with a bit of wispy cloud around the top. 

Then it was a nice easy walk back down the hill and around the dam before heading back to the camp ground.

While Shane and I recovered from the walk by sitting around the camp fire, the others all began to pack up and get ready to head home. As my tent was in a shady spot it wasn't going to dry out for quite awhile, so I decided to test out a set of 120 W portable solar panels that I had bought for my upcoming Easter trip to Lawn Hill national park. I was initially confused as they seemed to be putting out 20 volts but once this was connected to the car and it was under some load this dropped down to approximately 12.7 volts which what it should have been 

Then after everyone but Shane and I had left and we got bored of sitting around the remnants of the camp fire, so we started to pack up. Shane was finished and off quickly but I had to wait for the tent to dry off a bit so I repacked the car while this was happening. I headed off about mid morning back towards Murwillumbah but turned off to have a look at Mt Warning. After winding my way uphill to the parking area and seeing millions of cars, I realised that a lot of people must have headed up to the mountain very early in the morning. Some of the fit ones were already back and leaving. I saw Shane's Patrol in the car park and as I went to have a quick look at a short walk that is there I ran into him on his way back from the short walk. He had stopped in to look at the Clarrie Hall dam on the way. He headed off again and I walked approximately 300 metres to a little platform in the middle of the forest. 

Then it was back to the car to head home. I decided to go the back way through Tomewin to Currumbin Creek road and who should I see but Shane who was going to climb up a bank beside the road to see if he could get a photo of Mt Warning from this side. Then I headed home, unpacked the car and caught up with all my normal weekend chores. 

All up it was a very pleasant and relaxing weekend and it was great to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones. 

Sunday Drive 16/3/14

This mornings weather ended up being very nice for a change so I thought I would head down towards Byron Bay and go exploring. The beach ended up being not so good as the tide was very high, the waves very rough and the wind very strong so I headed inland for a drive. My original plan was to drive over and have a look at Nightcap National Park and then end up around Kunghur on the Kyogle Road and have a look for the Nightcap 4x4 Adventure Park where I will camping this coming weekend with a few people. However a closed road meant I had to take a bit of a detour through Myocum and Goonengerry, so I dropped in to look at the Gooengerry National Park but there wasn't much to see as the roads in the park were all service roads and closed off to traffic, although you could ride horses or puch bikes through.

Then it was back to Minyon and then onto the Minyon Falls day use area for lunch. The falls were completely dry and not much to look at but the view out away from the falls was pretty good.

 

All the maps I had suggested that there were roads going through the towards Kunghur but in realty they were all locked up. 

Then it was a couple of kms until Rummery camp ground which seemed to be a pretty nice spot with lots of grass, toilets and camp fire rings ($10 per night per adult to stay here). 

I started to head towards Nimbin as that seemed the best way around the nat park and back onto the Kyogle Road. I stopped off to have a look at Rocky Lake but couldn't actually see the lake but there was a very nice picnic area here. 

About this time I realised that the pump which pumps diesel from my auxiliary tank into the main tank was not working and that I really needed some fuel. A couple of little towns I went through didn't even have petrol stations so I was getting a bit worried as I couldn't remember seeing a fuel stop in Nimbin before. Turns out there is one and it was open on a Sunday arvo so I happily filled up and continued on towards the Kyogle Road. I headed towards Kunghur and did a little exploring but didn't find the 4x4 park - I'll need to email them to find out where they are. 

Out the other side of Kunghur I turned off to Clarie Hall Dam and stopped in at Crams Farm Reserve. This is a great day use area with nice grassy spots for picnics and boat ramp to put small boats onto the water. The water is pretty low at the moment but it is a very nice spot, unfortunately gates close at 5:30 pm and no camping allowed. 

Then I continued onto the Mt Jerusalem National Park. The first five or so kms into the park was a nice dirt road drive, you could see occasional glimpses of the surrounding mountains through the trees but there wasn't a nice lookout. 

Then a sign announced a drive to the dam wall (of the Clarrie Hall Dam) and the road started to get a bit narrower and much much steeper (downhill). It ended up being pretty narrow and looked like only trail bikes had been through recently. I followed it for another few kms and as it was getting late and the climb up the hill would be fairly challenging, I was just thinking on turning around when I found a largish tree across the road so I wasn't going to be able to continue anyway. I could see the water through the trees and it was only about 30-40 metres below so I wasn't too far away from the end. 

I had to reverse up the narrow track for a few hundred metres until it was wide enough to turn around and then I got to the steep bit. It didn't look nearly that steep coming down, so I selected low range and proceeded to climb up to the top again. The road was narrow and there were quite a few washouts and step-ups but the traction control on the Paj just kept it powering along and I didn't ever get to hear the beeps of death as the ABS heated up. 

After this I retraced my steps back to the main road and continued onto Murwillumbah and then onto the Pacific Highway for an easy cruise home. All up a mixed day of exploring as I found some roads on the map that no longer are accessible but I also found a rather nice 4wd track in the Mt Jerusalem National  Park.