….the camp must go on!

Just to recap, we had just found Waterloo and were laughing at the funny warning signs. Now on with the adventure.
Once C6 had his guts full of throwing stones into the water we all got back into the car and headed back out to the highway. I was silently thinking that if this sort of thing (I guess you could call it progress, the graded and sealed roads), was going to continue, we were never going to be able to test out the capabilities of our new car. Perhaps the road to Walker’s Rock would test the car. Fat chance. This was no longer the bush track it used to be, where, for two cars to pass, each had to pull of the track and negotiate a delicate driving manoeuvre like a couple of stunt drivers. Those were the days. (Jeez, I am getting old). Upon arriving at Walker’s Rocks camping ground we noticed another tent and many cars. We parked a short walk from GZ and proceeded to hunt for the cache. We had thought about camping here but soon changed our minds when we saw a squadron of mossies getting into the attack formation and proceeding to dive bomb us. After a lot of scratching around (pigs dig around less than we did), we came up empty handed. We had to be careful to stay out of sight from the prying eyes of the muggles on the beach fishing and the others driving their REAL 4WD’s up the beach. By now the mossies were to much for a couple of us (no guesses for which 2, but they are both of the female persuasion), and we slunk back to the car and got out of there.

There was one more cache up this way, in the middle of nowhere that we agreed to attempt. Wedge View was the first place where I was able to select 4WD in out Outlander and drive up the steep slope to the flat parking area. This, we agreed, would also make a perfect camping area with the tree’s for shelter and the amazing scenery of the Australian bush. Once out of the car we changed our minds again. No squadrons of mossies, but here they could suck you dry in less than a minute. Huge, I’ve never seen them so big and the March flies could have carried off full sized cattle. The cache was quickly located and duties performed. Then we were out of there. The mossies that got into the car were soon splat marks added to the ones from Walker’s Rock. Mental note: Clean car windows when we get home.

By now it was late afternoon and we still had to find a camping spot. It needed to be somewhere that we wouldn’t be nothing but skeletons from the loss of blood by morning. We all kept a close lookout for a likely place as we travelled back to Elliston. A short tour around Elliston township and up to the back beach and we soon were on our way again. We still hadn’t located a likely spot as we neared Locks Well. By now the Wife had conked out (48hrs of wakefulness with only about 4hrs sleep sort of takes it toll), and so the kids and I thought we would attempt Locks Well.  After driving down the very steep, winding road (Outlanders brakes work well), we arrived in the car park. Leaving the Wife to snore her way to dream land we set out to find GZ. Brother, did we attack this from the wrong angle. A lap around the building and we were nearly back where we started from. Only then did I notice that the railing was missing and there’s the cache. I guess if you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t see it. While I did the usual things H9 and C6 ran down the stairs to the beach and back up again. If only the stairs had been there many moons ago. Can’t recall the number of times I lugged an esky full of fish up those damn sand dunes. Going down was easy, coming back up was the gut buster and you would regularly do a mischief of some sort.

Once back at the car and disturbing the Wife to wakefulness of sorts we headed off to find a camping spot. It wasn’t long after leaving Locks Well that we pulled into a parking bay to see if it would be suitable. No! the Wife didn’t like it. So we crossed the highway to the other side of the road and found the “perfect” camping spot. Far enough from the road so as traffic noise wasn’t a problem, sheltered by natural bush with plenty of clear areas for a camp fire and a grassy area for the tents to be set up on. To read about our first camp out click on the following link: A new car and a camping trip.

The next morning after packing up the camp site we started off back down the Lincoln Highway to Cummings Monument. When we arrived it was blowing a gale and as cold as ice. C6 elected to stay in the car and make sure no-one broke into it and steal off with anything while the rest of us decided that a walk in the chilly air would do us good and wake us up. Besides I needed to iron out a few kinks and bruises from the good nights sleep I had gotten. Collecting a few scratches from the tree at GZ I finally located the cache in a tree about 5 or 6 metres from GZ. We performed the ritual signing, while the Wife took a picture. Don’t be too surprised if you think you have had a few as the picture may appear blurry. This is because the Wife was shivering so much I’m not sure the camera could focus fast enough.

As we drove down the Lincoln Highway we decided that we should have a go at Xan’s Gaze before we attempted Greenland. When we got as far as we could along the road, without going past it, I turned into a paddock entrance. We figured that the GZ was at the top of the hill and all we needed to do was get up there. As far as we were concerned, all the tracks lead to China and the only one that went up the hill, was padlocked with umpteen different padlocks. As we headed back to the highway in disgust, we joked about going through the farmers house yard, which you pass going there and coming back again. It wasn’t until I got home and onto the computer again that I read on one of the logs that “If you ask nicely at nearby farm house, the owner will give you a set of keys. One for each of the different locks on the gate”. DOHH.

It was only a hop, skip and a jump from here to the the next cache down the track in Greenland. Apparently it should have been all green around here, I’m guessing from all the cereal crops that were growing. Unfortunately we have arrived at the end of the growing season and most were yellowing off. Still, it was a pretty place to see. We certainly tested the brakes on the car as we descended down to the parking area and I didn’t get it out of 2WD when we drove back up again. H9 found this as I was still zeroing in on the GZ. It’s like she has a built in GPS that no-one knows about. We didn’t stay too long here as the howling wind and spray from the sea were making it quite uncomfortable. A couple of quick pictures and we got underway again.

I am going to leave it here for this post and continue our weekend fun in the next where we get to see what Emma saw and stay the night at a classy room and board.