NOVEMBER 2009 - A 2-IN-ONE TRIP + AN EXTRA WEEKEND

 We left Sydney on Saturday 7th November 2009 with the 4WD Club, spending one night in Coolah Tops National Park and two nights at the Warrumbungle National Park, where we went on a few walks and generally enjoyed the company of friends and the native animals.

We then travelled to Bald Rock National Park, west of Tenterfield and from there also visited Boonoo Boonoo National Park and other interesting features of the area including Thunderbolt's Cave (one of several in the New England District) Boonoo Boonoo Falls and several very pretty water holes and bush walking areas.  More photos.

Gold Panning at Nundle

On Friday morning we said farewell to our 4WD Club friends and left for Nundle where we joined other members of Northern Districts Lapidary Club.  We spent three days gold panning, fossicking for crystals and visited a lovely private garden up in the mountains.  We also called in to a trout farm to buy fresh trout which was then barbequed for dinner that night.

From here we moved up to Inverell to fossick for sapphires.  We visited two commercial fossicking areas and had some moderate success finding several small sapphires.  Some of the group were going on to another area near Tenterfield, but as we had been there with the other group the week before, we returned home, having been away for two weeks.    More photos


The following weekend we re-packed the camper and truck and went down to Coolendel Nature Reserve, 30k west Nowra to join other members of the Camper Trailers Group.  For this weekend we took The Dinoboy who had a wonderful weekend swimming in the river and observing all the native wildlife.  Before he went home he made a list of the animals he saw and these included kangaroos and joeys, wallabies, wombats, several species of native birds, fish and two large goannas.  Two of the wombats which inhabit the camping area were particularly tame and all the children followed them around during the evenings watching and patting them.  More photos.