Day 33 - Nature Fix

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Morton National Park (Bundanoon)  14km

Our ability to make spontaneous decisions has room for improvement.  But our cumbersome decision making flow chart and a niggling headache (that I have been carrying around for a couple of days) eventually lead us to decide its time for a day to ourselves.  A day during which we would walk just as much as we rode, where the quiet, the awesome views, the wildlife, the sounds of water running, the light through the leaves, would be our Nature Fix.


No discredit to the quaint town of Bundanoon with its picturesque railway station (it could feature in an Agatha Christe crime novel), its multitude of inviting looking cafes and its claim to fame as being Australia's first 'bottled water free' town.  But we found the most joy in exploring a corner of the Morton National Park that can be accessed only 1km out of Bundanoon's town centre. 

Given we were too exhausted upon arrival yesterday, after a longer than anticipated stage, to do any of the recommended walks, we saved it all for today.  And it was absolutely stunning - there are lookouts galore, some with promising names like Sunrise Point, Grand Canyon View, Echo Point and they did't disappoint. 

Grand Canyon Lookout 

If greenery and waterfalls are more your thing, we suggest the walk to Fairy Bower Falls. And with the massive amount of rain this place has had (900mm in the last 3 weeks), walking through Fern Tree Gully challenged us with some slippery trail hopping, including the temptation to dip your big toe into one of the many crystal clear rockpools. Louise's wildlife spotting highlight of the entire trip so far came in the shape of a male Lyrebird crossing the trail just a few meters in front of us.  A spotting that was denied to the people in their noisy 4WD who came in just behind us.  And made us consider that perhaps those roosters who woke us up this morning weren't roosters at all.



My headache was gone after lunch and so we eaded out back into the park for more. We visited a section of the park that was severely damaged by the 2020 fires.  It is a paradox, to walk amidst charred tree stumps while the ground is currently saturated by the recent rain, fertilising regrowth. 

With this much outside time, in perfect weather conditions, we are feeling positive that even though we are being a little cheeky, wild camping in the NP.   As Kerstin's Dad used to say "a little bit cheeky is ok".  Throughout the day we scouted for a good wild camping spot, dry enough but out of sight.  It's funny, in your head you paint all kinds of worst case scenarios, like the NP ranger arresting you on the spot while pointing to the NO CAMPING sign, it's silly, I know. I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen..?  Turns out, the worst thing that's happens is the troop of little kids bearing torches in a rather haphazard manner who decide that instead of using the campground toilet, they will use the one in the picnic ground instead, rather close to our camping spot.  So while we toast (last sip of the delicious Muscat from Baileys of Glenrowan) to our wild camping bravery inside the tent, we listen to kids screaming in the toilet after spotting a spider in the torch light. 

Wild camping monster?


Comments

  1. BrendaMarch 13, 2022 at 7:23 AM

    sounds spectacular, I too have seen a lyrebird. Jackie and jason are staying over, Lucy Rohan and I did do just that, night walk with the spotlight. I think their family may not be quiet enough to see a lyre bird either. So special

    ReplyDelete
  2. FrancieMarch 13, 2022 at 4:06 PM

    Glad that the headache is gone. Happy to hear also that you have taken some time to just be, to absorb the lovely surrounds. Joe and I heading off to Marysville on Tuesday just to do that, to sit and be still for three days. Doesn't matter that rain is predicted, all the more reason to curl up with a book and (when appropriate - five-o-wine time!!) have a glass at our side. Did you take a pic of the railway station?

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