Girraween National Park

After a lovely and very quiet Christmas at home we ventured north on Boxing Day to go camping for a couple of days.

We were going to have Christmas in the tent this year but then I had the thought that if Santa was going to bring the children some hiking related gifts this year it would be nice if the children had them for the whole trip.  Low and behold Santa did bring the children some goodies which included little hiking packs, binoculars and headlamps from Kathmandu which were all well received on the big day.

We decided to head for Girraween National Park in Queensland which I had seen in a Parks Guide and thought looked really good.  We got off to a rocky start when Possum vomited in the car just 30 minutes from home but thankfully it was a one off thing.

Neither child had been out of New South Wales before and Possum asked if they spoke another language in Queensland.  She was glad to get there and discover it was all 'normal' (until State of Origin time anyway).

We had to book a tent site online which made me nervous.  What if it was too hot?  Not great?  Too close to water with the children?  I needn't have worried.  It was less than $35 for two nights for the four of us and it was a great place to camp.  Plenty of great sites all with a bit of bush between them and not too great a walk to the toilets and hot showers.  I would give this a big thumbs up and recommend it to anyone.  We stayed at the Bald Rock Creek camping area.

After pitching our tent we set off on our first hike.  We did 4 kms in 2 hours which is pretty good going with the children I think.  They LOVED having their own packs (great work Santa!) and I was glad to not have to stop every time one of them wanted a drink.

 

The photo above was taken at the base of the final section of The Pyramid.  The below photo (note the photo bombing child) shows The Pyramid in the distance and we climbed to about were you can see the top of the tree line up the rock on the right hand side.  We didn't go higher as we were mindful of not wearing the children out on the first afternoon and it was very steep and exposed given they only had sneakers on. 

After The Pyramid we walked to The Granite Arch.  A lovely couple offered to take a photo of us which was nice; we don't have many photos with us all in them.  I do think the types of people you run into in National Parks and camping about the place are generally good down to earth types as a rule.  The exception to this is the crazy hikers in thongs on quite an exposed slab of steep granite we ran into earlier in the day...

The granite rocks in this park are nothing short of beautiful.  I know the word 'amazing' can get overused but it really was.

  A shower of rain overnight kept everything lovely and cool and gave both children plenty of rock pools to peer in.  It was a lot of fun.  There was always something to look at and explore.

See Possum out in front?  She is a trail blazer and likes to set the pace.  Our rule is that she has to be able to see us all the time and stay on the track.  I don't want to quash her independence and love of the trail but at times I worry about her being so far in front of us.

On day 2 we did the Bald Rock Creek circuit which was another 4kms but all flat this time which was welcome.  There were plenty of swimming holes and wild flowers and it was lovely after the rain.

There was no shortage of scenery that made me want to snap a quick photo.

 We ended up walking back to this spot which was only about 500 metres from the camp site so we could have an afternoon swim.  It was quiet at this point as we avoided the swimming area near the day use car park that looked very busy the day before.

We are planning another trip back as we only did the walks in The Northern Section and there is plenty left to see.

Warrumbungle National Park

Back in early July we did a VERY  quick visit to the Warrumbungle National Park. A lot of the park was still closed due to the fires that recently devastated the area in January of this year.  We had intended to visit the park at that time but the fires obviously put our plans on hold.  It is a shame we did not see the park as it was but there was a beauty in the recovering landscape that was very inspiring all the same.

Regrowth is evident and in places the green growth frames the burnt areas in a reminder that nature is a cycle. This provided a lot to talk about with both children as we walked about and saw the evidence of the fires everywhere.

Siding Spring Observatory. This is a must see kind of place.  I was not sure what to expect but it was very child friendly with lots of hands on activities that made science fun.

You could stand on the scales to see what you would weigh on other planets.  I think I was about half a tonne on the sun but thankfully earth's gravity is different ;)

Then you could see what 1 litre of milk would weigh on different planets depending on their gravity.  Some were lighter and some you could not lift.  It was great and a wonderful way of demonstrating the concept.

Both children had fun and it was wonderful that there was so much for them to do so I was not having to tell them to not touch everything every two minutes like some places. 

The telescope was well worth the look too.

Whitegum Lookout was an easy walk that is sealed for ease of access.  This was a great walk to see the signs of the bush fire up close so that we could discuss it with the children.

Burbie Canyon was an easy 2 km return walk along a stream.  The children had fun walking (and running) along the track, scrambling and jumping the stream.

The lookout and Burbie Canyon walk were the only two walks open when we went.  I think more of the park is open now.  We will go back and camp one of these days so we can explore more of the tracks and the rock climbing too.

Family Events

My brother got married recently.  It was so much fun seeing all our family together and having fun.  I wish I had taken more photos but things were just busy; my sister did snap a couple of photos for me on the day.  Our wedding anniversary was the day after my brother's wedding; The Mr. and I have been married 7 years and I still thank God every day because I would not trade places with anyone.

Over the Easter long weekend we went to Mt. Kaputar.  We don't go as often as I would like given how much we always enjoy ourselves up there.  The children went rock climbing outdoors for the first time which they enjoyed.  They didn't really climb much as they were just getting used to the feel of the harness and being lowered down again but this is the first step.  How exciting that we have found a place to climb that is safe to take children now that they are that little bit older! 

We hiked a total of 4kms in addition to the climbing; there really is something for everyone up there and the views are amazing.  Possum took the photo of us below on my phone which shows the Mr and I with our packs on.  Both of us need new approach shoes as our Mountain Masters are well past their prime and falling apart; there is always just one more thing on the wish list!

Dorrigo National Park

Awhile ago we went off for a weekend camping and hiking around Dorrigo National Park.  It was too wet for the camping side of things so we ended up finding more suitable accommodation but we decided to set off on the 6km hike regardless.

We got off to a bit of a shaky start when Blue decided he did not want to have his photo taken with Possum while on the Skywalk.  The tears were short lived at this point so we set off into the rain forest below. 

The rain did add an element of discomfort as well as beauty.  By the time we finished the 6km we were all soggy but we had dry clothes to change into so things could have been worse.

Possum hiked the whole 6km without assistance and Blue did most of it under his own steam too.  I am so proud of them because it was not easy.  

The rain bought out the leeches.  100's and 100's of leeches.  I am not exaggerating much either; I have never seen leeches like it and the children did NOT like them at all!  There were more tears (and some screaming) when Blue realised a leech had crawled into his mouth.  Not nice for him at all but thankfully easily removed.

The children are now saying they had fun, but at the time they both said they never wanted to walk in another rain forest EVER again.  Ha ha; hard to blame them after the number of leeches we flicked off, or that fell off eventually.

Having a break behind a waterfall was fun.  We stopped long enough to eat our fruit (and remove more leeches) and then continued.

Before we do another trip like this I need to get the children some suitable long pants.  I had a lot less issues with leeches due to my long pants but I did not think of this before we set out.  Live and learn!

{Fire and Flood} and some baking too

We had intended to spend some time in the Warrumbungle National Park, but the recent fire made us put those plans on hold.  The picture above is a screen capture from the RFS app called Fires Near Me NSW and shows how much of the Warrumbungles have been burnt out, nearly all of it.

If you have an iGadget of any kind and live in NSW or have family in NSW you should get this app.

Then earlier in the week I thought we could go to Dorrigo National Park over the long weekend instead.  It wouldn't be too hot and they have not been affected by fire, we even called to check.  Great!  At that point in time the weather forecast looked good too.

Yesterday we spent the day baking biscuits and bread rolls.  There was dancing while we baked and general merriment.  The children were excited about the trip and kept telling us all the things we might see and do....

...then I saw the update from NSW SES.

Major Flooding rain as cyclone Oswald passes by.

Fire followed by flood...We are staying at home instead.  

At least I have biscuits.

{Australia Day} Warrabah National Park

The kids love hiking in National Parks.  They are old enough now that unless the terrain is rough they manage to walk unaided which is great for me.  There is enough stuff to cart without having to carry children as well!

We went back to Warrabah National Park today to explore a new spot.  It is a nice drive, and quiet too as it is off the beaten track.

All photos from Billy's Hole

We packed a picnic and went for a swim, the kids want to do more of the same tomorrow, but I don't like their chances, we have a large list of jobs to do about the place instead.  This was a nice way to spend Australia Day, relaxing with family.

{eighteen} Sawn rocks

Further to our climbing and camping trip at Mt Kaputar National Park, we also stopped in at Sawn Rocks on the way home.

It was an easy walk of 1.5km return from the carpark so perfect for the children.

Sawn rocks is one of the best examples of the geological formation known as 'organ piping' in Australia.

I suspect the children were more interested in the creek flowing beneath the main feature and I was waiting for one of them to 'accidentally' fall in.

Can you see the matching shapes on the ground that show where the rock formations sat once upon a time?

It was an amazing stop.

{seven} climbing

Further to the camping adventure blogged yesterday, we also went rock climbing while at Mt. Kaputar.

The Mr is a bit of a climbing enthusiast (nut?) but we have not been able to climb often since having children.  Prior to the little folk arriving we had climbed in the Blue Mountains NSW, The Rock NSW, Ebor NSW,  Mt Arapiles VIC and Phra Nang in Thailand. 

The rock at Mt. Kaputar is first class and the guide book states that it is the best in Australia outside Mt. Arapiles.  We agree.  It was amazing quality to climb on.

We did three easy climbs at Mt Lindesay to ease back into things.   Thanks for the Mammaries, Deep Water and Short Shrift with a slightly alternative ending due to having to follow the top rope.

We had a great afternoon while Grandma and Grandpa watched the children back at the campsite.

A photo of me climbing Deep Water.  Not the most flattering of camera angles!