On Saturday after a day trip visiting a couple of lovely old towns called Laggan and Gunning, we arrived at The Burrinjuck Waters State Park NSW. This lovely, family friendly campsite is situated on the West bank of the Burrinjuck Dam about a 4 hour drive from Sydney. A great spot for bush walking, fishing and water sports, it is also home to lots of wildlife including Eastern Grey kangaroos. With the Burrinjuck Dam being one of the first major dams built for irrigation in NSW, it leads off to the Murrumbidgee River.

The Burrinjuck Water State Park NSW itself is very clean and neat. Best of all it has new toilet blocks with hot showers as well as camp kitchens! We were disappointed that we were unable to light a fire there as there was a total fire ban in that area, but with barbecues and our own camp stove we were well set up. Managing a swim before sunset and making a slightly improvised version of damper bread by wrapping it in foil and cooking it in a saucepan over a stove, we were happy enough spending another great night under the stars.

Overall we highly recommend camping at The Burrinjuck Water State Park NSW if you want a campsite with all the amenities but still with a spacious “rural” environment, the gorgeous water views over the Burrinjuck Dam itself and something family friendly for the children.

We have found a fabulous new camp site in Wollondilly which is in a beautiful part of NSW. The Wollondilly River Station is set in a valley about 2.5 hours South West of Sydney, and is accessible only by unsealed roads. As you enter the valley you drive along steep, windy roads built into the sides of the hills for about half an hour working your way down until you reach the bottom of the valley which is set in dry bush alongside the Wollondilly River.

Arriving at The Wollondilly River station around 9pm we set up our campsite by the edge of the river in a remote spot. Being such a nice campsite along the river the campers are well spread out making you feel like you really are the only ones there. We were organised with our own cooking equipment and had plenty of supplies as this campsite has no amenities other than a couple of portable loos on the main track.

Making my favourite Chorizo tomato pasta for everyone after setting up the tents for the night, we lit a fire and soon enjoyed some toasted marshmallows under the stars. Graeme and Dan had a tinker on the guitar and we sat back in a relaxed frame of mind glad to have escaped the confinement of Sydney. As I settled into my swag, I fell asleep admiring the millions of stars above us.

Waking up in the morning was an absolute pleasure as we had never heard some many birds in one place. We heard Noisy Friar birds, Galah’s, Parrots, Reed Warblers and Magpie’s to name but a few. It turned out that Brian the owner of The Wollondilly River Station knew someone who had discovered at least 170 species of bird life in that area so far! Before breakfast Graeme and I decided to take the kayaks up the river for a bit of a paddle and saw turtles, Water Dragons and ducks plus discovered many more species of birds. With water levels low the river was not flowing so it was an easy paddle compared to Middle Harbour and the Hawkesbury River!

After a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked over the fire we said goodbye to The Wollondilly River Station.  We then set off for Burrinjuck Dam travelling via Wombeyan Caves and Laggan, stopping off in Laggan to say hi to Graham at The Old Mill. Driving out of the valley past the Wombeyan Caves and up the other side of the valley we admired the spectacular views vowing to make another visit to this part of NSW very soon.

After arriving fairly late on the Friday night we were greeted by our wonderful host Graham, originally from England, who told us warmly that we needed a glass of red straight away. Within minutes we were sitting in comfy armchairs in a restaurant which resembled more of a sitting room, in front of the huge open log fire. Soon warming up we sat with glass in hand chatting and laughing with Graham and his young daughter. After a while Graham asked us if we were hungry and promptly went off to the kitchen to rustle something up. He came back with a sumptuous feast of homemade ham and pea soup for first course, veal and roast potatoes with fresh home grown vegetables for our second, and gave us a choice of 3 enormous home cooked pies for our dessert telling us to help ourselves on the side of the bar. Feeling the stress of the city melt away we were very happy bunnies when we waddled upstairs to bed.

The following day we decided to take a drive to the Abercrombie Caves which were about an hour away. We were not disappointed when we got there. Magnificent in stature and size, we read about the history of the caves and declined a local tour in favour of doing our own. On the way home we were about to run out of fuel and seeing as there was no such luxury of a Shell garage, we hoped and prayed we would make it to the local shop almost back at our home stay. Pulling up outside an old shop with two rusty old pumps out front made me think of something from the 1950’s. With no sign of life in this tiny town, we spotted the “Back at 3pm” sign and a phone number underneath. With no mobile reception out there Graeme found a phone box nearby and called the owner who told us to wait the 30 minutes. They are sure in a different time zone out in the bush!

Back at our home stay we decided to grab our bikes and cycle to the nearest town 10km away and back. On the way back I heard a loud whooshing noise above my head and wondered what on earth it was. I glanced up to see a magpie flying furiously towards my head. With me screaming out loud it was like something out of the classic movie “The Birds!”

As I peddled furiously to catch up with Graeme I saw the same thing happening to him. Laughing he told me it was Spring so the magpies were protecting their nests and often targeted the cyclist around Australia. We made it back to the one and only pub just in time to catch the second half of the rugby watching it with the locals.

That evening back at Graham’s home stay, his restaurant came alive. Families and groups of friends with weekend properties nearby turned up and they all seemed to know Graham like a friendly uncle. He informed us there was no menu or wine list, and his place was only known by word of mouth. Regulars from the city and locals alike usually came back again and again. With the place full of chatting and laughing there was a wonderful atmosphere and it was like some kind of family gathering. Seeing guests helping themselves to cheese and salami set out upon the bar area, as well as bottles of red off the wine rack, we hesitantly held back until Graham told us to “help ourselves”. Then the food arrived. Within seconds there were people queuing up helping themselves indeed to fresh chunks of bread, home made soup and home made prawn risotto…and this was just for starters. The mains followed soon after which included a whole turkey, a huge hunk of beef and rabbit. Not to mention the home grown delicious mushrooms, the fresh vegetables and potatoes. In between courses people would amble over to the large fire place and sit in the armchairs for a casual chat. When dessert came out there was another huge rush to the bar area and Graeme and I made sure we made it to the front of the queue. Helping ourselves to a huge chunk of fruit tart we sat down and enjoyed a pot of coffee which promptly made its way to us. In amongst all of this organised chaos throughout the evening, Graham’s young daughter was cycling around the restaurant on a uni cycle. Pretty impressive if you ask me!

Finishing the weekend with another relaxing day and more of Graham’s delicious food on our last night, we took the scenic route home on his advice.

Just got back from a trip to a part of the Aussie bush near the Brindabella Ranges that you wouldn’t even know was there! We found ourselves on a white water adventure on a remote river that only a local would know about. With no idea of time we were lost in our water world with nature all around us, floating down a hidden creek. Lying on our air mattress’s we bumped over and between rocks and splashed down rapids and mini waterfalls. Enjoying 5km of this bit of magic, we eventually came to a flat water section after a short section of limestone gully with sheer sides. This is where we finished our exhilarating journey as we knew we had a fair way to walk back to the car. Lo and behold we were spotted by some locals fishing who were rather surprised to see a couple of semi naked bedraggled city folk walking towards them. The three blokes had a few missing teeth and we could hear the banjo’s start to play. After declining an offer of a beer (didn’t your mum tell you never to accept anything from strangers?) we trekked back along a dirt track in the blazing hot sun. We only spotted one venomous snake and luckily it was on its back and very dead. I soon learned the meaning of “STOP”!

After our exciting aquatic adventure we decided to travel North to set up camp for the night. Graeme had been to a small country town in this region around 10 years before so we made our way there. He decided to take a short cut, if you call driving along a fire trail on an escarpment with sheer sides as a viable option! Bumping along for a couple of hours we snaked our way up and over the rugged range. Having not seen another car for ages we were rather surprised to come across a young couple stranded by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. With their four-wheel drive bogged to the axles in the only patch of mud for kilometres around, the young man’s testosterone had pushed him to show his girlfriend how well he could drive through mud! The fact that he was a federal policeman was a bit disturbing! We tried every possible trick to help them out, but to no avail. He had contacted his mate back in Canberra to come along already, so we said goodbye and set off to make it to a campsite before dark.

Finally we made it to our destination by dusk, and found a campsite to set up our tent for the night. To our delight there was a barbecue area and seeing as the campsite was just a large field, we were the only ones there. We cooked a feast, drank red wine and marvelled at the millions of stars.

Trying to sleep that night was like something out of a creepy movie. Hearing some loud and sometimes scary noises I was totally on edge, and Graeme had to reassure me several times that they were just foxes and bats as after all we were in the Aussie bush! The morning was even louder as we were woken up by a chorus of Cockatoo’s, Galah’s and Noisy Friar birds. Not to mention the cows, goats and sheep acting as the soloists! It gave me the giggles and made me fall in love the Aussie bush even more.

Situated in Woolwich on the edge of Hunters Hill, this newly renovated hotel was originally built in 1885.  With gorgeous city sky line views from the upstairs wrap around balcony, and a great outdoor terrace area complete with wooden decking downstairs, this place has a great bistro open 7 days a week.

We met at Circular Quay at ferry terminal 5 to catch the 6pm ferry to Woolwich.  This is a delightful trip in itself and takes you West of the city under the bridge stopping at Balmain, Greenwich, Cockatoo Island then finally Woolwich.  This being a completely new experience for Scott made it all the more fun.  It only took around 25 minutes and we were soon at our destination.  As we found a good spot to wait for Graeme to pick us up in the car, we saw a unique sight.  A smartly dressed woman in high heels got off our same boat with a cycle, rolled up one trouser leg, then proceeded to struggle up the small hill whilst peddling in her heels!  I assured Scott this was not a common site around Sydney.  After all we were in Hunters Hill!

On a quiet Monday night we did not need to book a table on the balcony upstairs, so we found a good spot.  We ordered four steaks which were on Monday & Tuesday night special for $12.50, and settled in with a bottle of red.  The steaks were big and juicy and came with a generous helping of mashed potato or chips, plus a side salad.  Scott was very impressed with his bargain steak and actually commented on how much nicer it tasted than the $49 one he had ordered in a prestigious hotel restaurant in The Rocks the night before!  I think that says it all.