From Cann River we went to Cooma and on the way we crossed into NSW. There were no signs to mark the occasion, just a line on the map screen of the “Satnav” as we passed over the border. The countryside was quite green in this area as it had seen some decent rain over the past couple of weeks. We had a one night stop in Cooma on our way to Paddys River, a free camp spot recommended to us by friends. We drove through farmland before reaching the Snowy Mountains and Kosciuszko National Park with its bush covered mountains.
We had our morning coffee at Old Adaminaby, a place we had visited a few years ago and we were interested to see if the lake had more water in it. Unfortunately it didn’t look much different (now about 28% full compared 18% when we were there in 2007). Lake Eucumbene was formed in 1958 by damming the Eucumbene River to form a reservoir for the Snowy Mountains Electricity and Irrigation scheme. From there the road carried on climbing up to 1500 metres before we began a long winding descent past the Tumut 2 power station
and on to Paddys River where we had a choice of two free camp spots. (photo - wild horses seen along the way) We called in at the first and the friendly folk camping there assured us that this was the better spot and pointed out a nice grassy area by the small river where we could park our van. We took their word and parked by the remains of a tree that had fallen around Christmas time causing some damage to a van parked in our spot. That tree was certainly no threat to us now. A tree falling over isn’t something we had considered when finding a place to park although we were always wary of being under a gum tree that might shed a branch. From the camp we went for a short walk along the river to some small falls before returning for happy hour (a pleasant chat with BYO 
drinks). The next day we went to Paddys River Falls, the other spot where we could have camped. It is also a nice spot. Nobody was camping there but the falls are much bigger and it is possible to stand behind the curtain of water. (see photo) We carried on into Tumbarumba, the nearest town, and sent and received emails, as there was no phone or internet coverage back at camp. After two nights by the river it was time to move on again. We had swapped a book when we were at Tarra Bulga and a sheet on Weddin Mountains National Park had fallen out of it. We thought it looked interesting so this was our next destination. At many of the camps we have stayed at we have been able to swap books, usually for free or for a donation to the Royal Flying Doctor or other cause, so throughout our travels we have been able to refresh our library. The books on offer vary and we have come across some excellent reading material.At the Weddin Mountains we were back to a more arid landscape. Agricultural land surrounds the National Park and the mountains are tree studded craggy outcrops of rocks. This ruggedness saved it from being turned into farmland. During the gold era of 1850’s the mountains were a refuge for a band of outlaws who used the caves for shelter and the rocky gullies made their pursuit by the authorities difficult. It was a short walk from the camp to a cave used by the outlaw Ben Hall. Included in the National Park is Seaton’s farm, a small block of land purchased in 1936 by Jim Seaton. It was only 150 acres so was never going to be economic but Jim and his wife farmed there for 28 years, making use of everything they could find. Jim also worked on the neighbouring farms to supplement his farm income. Times were hard during the depression and Jim and his wife turned every bit of old wire into something useful. Jim hand made 3km of kangaroo proof fence by hand, with posts of local Cyprus saplings, which are rot and vermin proof. The sheds have walls made from flattened corrugated iron so that it stretched further. The house was far from what I was expectin
g as it is a simple 4 room corrugated iron shack. One room had timber flooring
the others just bare dirt; the internal walls were lined with mud. (photos - inside and outside of the house)The many sheds on the farm were also made of recycled iron and a lot of old machinery is sitting in and around the sheds. It is a reminder of how tough life can be and an insight to the courage of two determined people who made it work and amazing to think that they lived there until 1964.
We had an overnight stop at Carcoar Dam, a free camp beside a dam built in 1970 for town water and irrigation. If there had been more water in the dam it would have been a picturesque place to stop. On the hill behind the reservoir were several wind turbines. Before leaving the area we paid a visit to the town of Carcoar, a town of 300 people nestled in a valley beside a small river. Like so many of the country towns we have passed through it had buildings dating back to the beginning of the town in the mid 1800’s; a post office, bank, court house, several churches and pub (or 2). Carcoar also had an old railway station (photo) (no longer used), school convent and several buildings that housed businesses or were residences. It was quite a collection of historical buildings for such as small town.
Our last camp on our trip was at Dunns Swamp in Wollemi National Park. Our friends Tom and Mary stayed here early last year when they were starting out on their trip and recommended it to us (thanks Mary & Tom it is a great spot). Dunns Swamp is not swampy, as the name suggests, but is a backwater formed by trapped waters of Kandos Weir, that was established in the 1920s when the Cudgegong River was dammed to provide water for the Kandos Cement Works (about 25km away). Like all of the National Park camping areas we have been to our campsite was placed a good distance away from the next one and was set amongst the natural vegetation (gum trees). Not far away was a fireplace where we could light a campfire and to stop people clearing the deadfall f
irewood was provided. We were told the river had platypus and turtles but we didn’t manage to spot either of them. We went on a few walks that took us along the waterway and through the bush as well as up to the sandstone rock formations known as pagodas. From on top of these we had great views of the picturesque surroundings. (see photo) At the area known as Long Cave we saw a Lyrebird as well as many other different species of birds. We have been very lucky to see several Lyrebirds as they are very shy and quickly move into the trees and disappear as soon as they spot you coming. Around our campsite there wasn’t much wildlife but that is probably because the place is very popular and the wildlife has moved to somewhere less busy. We were there mid week so there were only a handful of other campers. We did spot a couple of brush tail possums one night while we were tending our campfire. Another evening we went on a walk as dark fell hoping to see some nighttime creatures but found nothing until we got back to our caravan and spotted a couple of pos
sums.
(photos - the last camp and a possum)From Dunns Swamp it was just a few hours and we were back in Sydney and back where we started. While the holiday is over we are satisfied that we completed what we set out to do – circumnavigate the big island. It has been a fantastic 45 weeks, not once did we ask “why are we doing this”. We have seen some fantastic scenery, learnt lots about Australia, met some wonderful people and generally just had a great time. We have thousands of photos to sort through to remind us of our trip.
We now look forward to going home and catching up with family and friends. Our house in Auckland is in need of redecoration so this will give us something to do before we start planning another adventure.
Some statistics –
37,827 kilometres travelled, 26,435 of these towing the van.
315 days on the road
145 different camp sites
143 day stretch without seeing any rain
29 days with precipitation
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