Cos, Dave and Chris, and Don and Tracey met at Aratula and headed up to Gordon Country where Paul and Keri were already waiting at the Gordon Country office. We were surprised by the number of people there, it looked as though everyone was making the most of the nicer weather to get out camping. The tracks on the “A” side were out of bounds as they were still being repaired from the floods. The play pen was open and so was “B” side but we were warned that the flooding rains had made them “Extreme”.
We headed down and set up camp at the Retreat camping area. The area beside the creek was busy but we found a very pleasant spot up closer to the road.
We soon found our way to the playpen. We even managed to get in a little bit of winch practice.
Chris was having fun with his Dad being co-pilot. Notice the finger pointing from the passenger seat.
After a bit of play we ventured on the “B” side and yep it was pretty bumpy but the traffic was probably the main concern, with narrow and steep tracks with washouts and wombat holes making passing difficult.
Back at camp we soon had a roaring fire going thanks to David’s foresight in loading in 5 bags of wood. And we needed a good fire – the night was quite brisk - to downright cold. But rugged up, we spent a very pleasant evening nattering around the fire.
Next morning Cos set off into the national park to take some photos, while Chris found some very willing subjects at the campground. I hope he will post some up here. While Cos was out, a Kookaburra kept watch over his tent.
After breakfast (the usual Croissants, cheese and ham) Don and Tracey stayed minding the camp (and Don’s sore back) while the others headed back out for another couple hours on the tracks.
After lunch we headed up to have a look at one of the lookouts from the range.
The short walking track to the lookout was quite spectacular.
A great weekend with great company - worth the wait!
