Turon River Escapade – 9th to 11th June 2007

Written by Dean Hagan.    Pictures by Bryce Messner.

Saturday 9 June 2007

Reece and I departed Sydney at 6.30am, the night before I packed the car in pouring rain, it was the most rain the state has had in a very long time and the weekend was predicted to be much the same. A container ship off the coast of Newcastle had been beached and the wind was howling, why are you going camping in this weather for my wife asked, I gave no answer but thought to myself the other side of the Blue Mountains can’t be this wet. Anyway swags, tarps and wet weather gear packed we were off with the Disco’s heater blasting away.

We arrived at Mt Lambie, the meeting point for the weekend get together, remarkable it was only just sprinkling rain as we drove into the service station. We introduced ourselves to Steve and his two kids, the others we knew from previous outings. The youngest on the trip was two year old Joseph his first camp outing with his Dad and Pop, he had a ball and kept us all entertained. The convoy weaved its way along tracks that crisscrossed the Turon River.

Suddenly Bryce screams across the CB, “a huge tree just fell across the road in front of me, absolutely awesome”! We proceeded to clear the roadway. At lunch we came across other campers that were having trouble with their Disco S1 & Range Rover ascending a slippery hill, Clive & Bryce gave assistance. After lunch we ran into them again, they were having trouble starting the Discovery & Clive and Neil suggested a wire might have come adrift from their fuel pump. Later that day they camped up river from us and came down to thank the boys for their help; it appeared the problem was a loose wire as Clive had suggested.

We found our campsite beside the Turon River, splendid in the now sparkling sunlight breaking through the now disappearing clouds. It was just on 2.00pm as we set up camp for the day, taking over a park table with an awning (just in case) and a near by fireplace. The campfire was calling but the wood was damp and slow burning but eventually the fire kicked in and gave out a nice warm heat.

Again no rain but a couple of moments of sleet. It was at dinner time that Neil and Clive realised they had left their food in the fridge at home. Amazingly Bryce had mobile phone reception and a call was put through to Clive’s son Chad to meet us at Sofala the next day complete with cream buns for all and their food for the weekend. That night Ian arrived about 6.00pm joining us after a late exit from Sydney, he came through a river crossing that lapped over the bonnet of his Rangie, he was pretty happy to make camp that night.

Sunday 10 June 2007

Morning came and the sun was shining through the patches of scattered clouds & fog, a cold frost lay in wait until the rays of the sun melted them away.

We broke camp and crossed the same river Ian had crossed the night before but thankfully it had receded at least a foot, there were no casualties after we had all crossed the river safely.

We crossed safely many times over the Turon weaving back & forth having a ball at every crossing. There were many slippery clay sections that made it very interesting indeed.

We met Chad at Sofala and he greeted us with cream buns as promised. A quick tour around Sofala & a beer at the pub, we then moved onto our lunch spot alongside the Turon River. At this point Chad decided to stay overnight with us, his company always welcome. By now the temperature had risen significantly enough to remove our jackets.

Then a bonnet was unlatched and the lads huddled around Steve’s 5 litre Rangie for a thorough examination.

The convoy continued into Hill End and followed the Bridle Track which had recently been graded, down across the causeway and finally into one of the many Reserves. The Bridle Track in some parts was covered in sheets of water so it was slow going but the scenery was spectacular especially seeing the river flowing and the green countryside.

The convoy edged its way down to the campground having to negotiate slippery clay entry points and rocky bottomed creek crossings to challenge us more. Neil became caught up on a rock in the middle of the crossing, and had to be snatched out by Chad in his Rangie.

The water must have only been millimeters below the doors on the County, as luckily no water entered the cabin. It was fun to watch Neil climbing out of the driver’s window to the recovery point and then back in the same window again to drive off, meanwhile young Joseph was in his seat taking it all in while Poppy was on the river bank taking the photos (onya Pop). We met a lone 4x4 full of people returning the way we had just come in, the vehicle had no winch and no back up support should it become unstuck crossing the river, not a great scenario.

Camp was on the edge of the Turon River, just magnificent; the weather was fine but starting to cool down as the evening approached, again we enjoyed a great campfire with lots of laughter.

Monday 11 June 2007

A slow start as we were covered in thick fog which didn’t lift until quite late to let in magnificent sun & off with the coats. We now had to reverse our way in to exit. The Turon had dropped 6” from the day before and on reaching the Bridle Track we drove to a lookout that towered hundreds of metres above the river. We could see where we had camped the night before as well as other campers further down the river.

Reece decided being Dad’s passenger was too boring so over the course of the weekend he’d been co-pilot in Bryce’s, Chad’s and Andrew’s vehicles and all I heard on the way home was Bryce said this and Chad did that and Andrew played his stereo loud. On the way home Reece and I got stuck in the end of weekend Blue Mountain traffic jam it was just woeful.

For those who had your name down for the trip and weren’t able to attend you missed out on a great trip, while it was pouring in Sydney we had great weather. The company was terrific including the kids both big and small.

Thanks to Bryce as always for leading a great trip, now for next year.

PS
Steve had some trouble with his Range Rovers rear diff leaking & went back to Clive’s house for some repairs. It seemed that a job done before leaving had not been done properly so Clive & Neal jumped in and within an hour or two Steve was on his way home better than when he started, great job Clive & Neal.