Lidsdale
Arriving at the Shell Petrol Station at South Bowenfels at 8.45am and being last car to arrive – we are again the trip reporters for the day! Once everyone had bought something for morning tea, a hot coffee with marshmallows, received their maps from our very organised trip leader we headed off about 9.10 on an overcast foggy Saturday morning.
We headed west away from the main road in towards Lake Lyell which was on our right. The whole area was looking fresh and green and t
he lake seemed to be at quite a good level.
Once we got off the sealed roads Jane found us a “play area” to test the shale and drop our tyres to a suitabl
e level for the day. It did not take long for everyone to get the feel and we set off to see what we could discover in the general area in and around the lake and adjoining mountains. Shortly after a few climbs and descents a radio message came through that part of Glenn’s rear bumper was hanging off and had taken with it a light fitting on his D2. Of course everyone had to get out and assist. It was no time before all were back in place and we set off for some more rock climbing and a muddy creek crossing before finding a clearing for morning tea. It was amazing that by this stage in the day Matt’s brand new white sneakers were still clean even though he had investigated every track on offer.
After morning tea we headed in the general direction of Mt. Walker – Matt was getting excited. There was quite a bit of climbing to be done. We ventured down to the creek again and turned into the creek to wade along it for about 200m or so. It was really beautiful with many bull rushes at the edges of the creek and many purple wild flowers. After coming out of the creek along the muddy track and nearly washing the trusty photographer over with a muddy tsunami, we headed back down to the edges of the Cox’s River for lunch. It was a beautiful spot and the sun decided to come out. We could have had a swim if we had our bathers!
After lunch we headed off along the track and came to a very steep shale track that just “had” to be tried. Neil and Adrian attempted this with great caution and lots of advice from all. With the standard road tyres on Neil’s RR and after many attempts, it was decided that this slope was not going to be conquered and he backed down. The surface was very smooth and steep with loose sand on top. By this stage Matthew was busting to have a go at this climb. Up he went and back down he came. It was a great climb and it proved what a difference the tyres can make.
Continuing on towards Mt. Walker our trusty leader failed to proceed on a very rutted section of the track. The RR had become stuck fast on a hi
gh rut. At the same time as we were following up the track Tony’s D2 decided to have ignition problems on this same slope. Every time a bit of effort was required to climb a section the car would turn off. Greg in his D3 tried to go around Tony over an even steeper section to try and assist Tony. Unfortunately he also failed to proceed.
We now had 3 vehicles going nowhere at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Matthew was getting frustrated that perhaps we would not get to Mt. Walker today.
Shovels came out, gloves went on and digging and rock moving commenced with all hands to the task. We managed to build enough height to get Tony’s D2 down onto the flat and get turned around and back down the slope. Greg then was also able to back down and turn around. The only mission now was to get some assistance up higher to Neil who was still hung well on his rut.
The track was now clear enough for Matthew to get through and go up to assist Neil, Jane and Adrian. This was a good time for a cup of tea.
With lots more digging and rock moving, Neil’s vehicle was freed at last but he and Matt had to go further up the slope before they could turn around.
Once the group rejoined it was decided to head back out to Lithgow the way we had come in. It was a pity not to conquer the mountain – but it is there for next time.
Adrian consulted the maps and we took a few alternative tracks on the way back also keeping Tony in the middle of the pack in case his vehicle decided to misbehave again. Greg took the roll of Tail End Charlie for the first time. All went well and we got back to the main road by about 6pm for tyre inflation.
It had been a great adventure day with lots of fun and beautiful landscapes all around. Thanks to Neil and Jane for planning the day and for Adrian for assisting with everything. It was a really fascinating area to explore. We really did not travel very far in the region but found lots of tracks to explore and rivers to cross.
See you all soon somewhere in the great outdoors!