‘The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) currently advise a low pressure system off the coast of NSW has the potential to form an East Coast Low impacting across a footprint area from the Hunter coast in the north to the far NSW South Coast. This low pressure system has the potential to deliver severe weather over a 2-3 day period commencing from Saturday 29 May. The forecast includes heavy rainfall with possibility of minor to moderate riverine flooding, gale force winds, heavy seas and swell conditions.’
Well, that wasn’t the most promising weather forecast for a weekend of camping! In fact there had been rain on the South Coast all week which meant the planned weekend trip to Bendethera had to be changed. The tracks into and out of Bendethera are treacherous when wet, and with enough rain, the river that flows through the area can flood, trapping campers until the water level recedes. The weather wasn’t going to daunt me however. I changed the trip to go through the forests surrounding Batemans Bay and booked a camping ground at Shallow Crossing on the Clyde River. I did need to do a quick recce of some of the tracks in the area to ma
ke sure they would be alright to drive after some rain. Bruce and Robyn Smith joined me on Friday and we drove some of the tracks to work out an interesting route. We also set up our tents at Shallow Crossing on Friday night and had a nice campfire, with no rain at all.
On Saturday morning, Bruce, Robyn and I left our tents set up at Shallow Crossing and drove over the Clyde Mountain to Braidwood. The meeting time was 10.30am and when we arrived at 9.45am, everyone was already in town and most were perched at a long bench table in the bakery. The word went out that as it had started to rain, the meeting point would be in the bakery where everyone could buy some supplies for the weekend and have a nice, hot drink before we set off.
On time, the convoy of nine vehicles headed south out of Braidwood towards Majors Creek. On the way we drove past some very picturesque farming country and the ruins of the old goldfield just outside Majors Creek. The first stop was at Clarkes Lookout on the reasonably steep and dirt road from Majors Creek to Araluen. This lookout affords great views of the Araluen Valley. Well it would except for a large piece of bark hanging down from a large gum tree. Several people tried to hurl sticks at the bark to try and dislodge it but to no avail. All our photos would include this visual obstruction.
Onwards from the lookout the road was very greasy from the rain overnight and we all gingerly worked our way down the hill. Once at the bottom we drove past some pretty stone-fruit orchards, rejoined the bitumen and cruised through Araluen. Past Araluen the road once again turned to dirt and we headed into the Deua National Park on the Araluen-Moruya road. Turning off the road it was a quick descent down to the Deua River at the Dry Creek camping area where we were able to park the cars by the river and have some lunch. Luckily the rain stayed away for lunch, but the level of the river had lifted and it was flowing quickly in places.
After lunch we headed for some real 4WD excitement on a nearby firetrail. I had driven this track with Bruce and Robyn the day before to make sure it was still OK to drive after the recent rain. It didn’t look like much additional rain had fallen in this area so I thought we’d give it a go. The track headed north and was quite easy to begin with, gently climbing up a ridge. Pretty soon we came to a steep section and it was time to shift into low range. I went up first with my ‘chipped’ TD5 Discovery powering up the very steep hill without any incident and very little wheelspin. I was followed by Warren & Julie, Eric and Ivars. All the Series 2 Discoverys made it up incident free. Then a call came over the radio. The Learsons in their Discovery 3 had failed to proceed and they were going to have to reverse. Reverse! On that steep hill! After a short, heart stopping moment, they backed their car up to a log lying on the ground and got set to give it another go. Still no progress. Every time they tried to power up the hill, the DSC light on the dash flashed and the engine started to shut down. John had definitely disengaged the DSC on his car so it was unusual that the light would flash when under heavy acceleration. After a few more attempts, John let down his tyres and gave it another try. Success! their D3 powered up the hill. John kept his foot into it and pretty soon they were at the top. In quick succession, every other member of the convoy crested the hill without any more dramas.
Once we were all at the top of the hill, I decided to make a beeline for the Princes Highway as time was getting away from us. So far the weather had held off and it’d be great if we could make it to the campsite before the rain started. It was an easy dirt road track that followed the ridge-line down to the highway on the south side of Mogo. Just before the highway we all stopped to have a quick afternoon tea and let John put some more air in his tyres.
Once on the highway it was a quick trip north through Batemans Bay before turning left towards Nelligen. After Nelligen we turned right onto the River Road and headed towards Shallow Crossing. The River Road was a picturesque drive, mostly alongside the Clyde River, but it also wound its way through some very attractive farming properties. There was one nice water crossing at Currowan Creek, but it was easy as it is a concrete ford. At about 4.30pm we arrived at Shallow Crossing campground. This is a private campground that we had to pay for, but for $8.00 per person you get a nice, grassy campsite, lots of shelter sheds to get out of the inclement w
eather, plus a nice amenities block with toilets and hot showers.
Bruce & Robyn and myself had already pitched our tents the day before so we got cracking making a campfire. With all the rain, I’d requested everyone bring some firewood from home and everyone did, ensuring we had plenty of fuel for a raging campfire. There was no chance of using any local firewood from the surrounding forests as everything lying on the ground was waterlogged. Luckily the rain held off while people pitched their tents. Tracey wasn’t feeling too well so she and John decided to go back to Batemans Bay and find a warm motel rather than exacerbate her cold.
Once everyone was setup, a very enjoyable happy hour(s) ensued. Some of us backed our vehicles up to, and under the shelter shed so we had access to our food and supplies. Neil and Jane cracked out the sparkling red and white wine and together we all celebrated their recent marriage and told all manner of tall tales around the campfire. During happy hour we had some intermittent periods of rain. Dinner time once again showed off the many and varied approaches to camp cooking. The fire was well used with camp ovens, bar-b-ques, and vegetables in foil placed in the coals. The rain mostly stayed away during dinner, but it did return forcing us back into the shelter shed once again.
As the evening wore on, the rain set in and eventually we all headed back to our tents for a night falling asleep to the sound of rain pitter- pattering on canvas. The rain eventually stopped in the very early hours of Sunday morning. About the time the rain stopped, I was woken by the sound of a horse galloping past my tent. It turns out the local farmer’s horse had been standing in our shelter shed sampling a few of the delicious nibbles left out overnight. For some reason the horse was spooked and took off, galloping past my tent. At first we couldn’t work out why the remnants of the previous evening had been tipped over, but then we looked down to find hoof-prints in the dirt. The rain stopped long enough for everyone to have breakfast and pack up. Yes, the tents were wet, but at least we weren’t being rained on while pulling them down.
John and Tracey rejoined us and while the weather was clear we all headed down for a bit of innocent fun splashing through Shallow Crossing. The Crossing is a concrete ford across the Clyde River. Theoretically it is where the Clyde River transitions from salt water to fresh, but the reality is the water upstream of the Crossing is a little brackish. Both ends of the Crossing have short bitumen sections of road so it is p
erfectly OK to have a bit of fun powering through the Crossing, sending up huge rooster-tails of water. You can’t damage the Crossing and there is no chance of eroding the banks at each end. We lined up all the vehicles to get some photos and video of all the cars driving across. The first pass was good, but the photographers on the trip thought they could get better shots if given another chance. So, all the cars turned around, headed across the Crossing and gave it another go! Lots of fun! Boy-ish indulgences sated, the convoy headed off as the rain started to come down. We headed up to Mogood Lookout for morning tea 
but it is a fairly exposed hilltop and the rain was coming down stronger now and the wind had picked up. Normally the Mogood Lookout affords great views all the way from Pigeon House Mountain in the north, right down the coast to the Deua National Park in the south. Today was not a normal day. All we could see was low cloud and a faint, misty outline of nearby mountains. We quickly gathered for a group photo in the rain, then most people retreated to their cars for a cup of tea.
With the weather settling in, I decided to head for the Princes Highway and the ‘Big Tree’. Uninspiringly called ‘Old Blotchy’ by Forests NSW, his is one of the largest spotted gum trees on the South Coast. It is not signposted so you need to know how to find it. Just off the Princes Highway is a small parking area that we managed to get all nine vehicles into, and then it is a short 50m walk through the bush to find the ‘Big Tree’. People were impressed by its size and an attempt was made to work out how big the base of the tree was by having people hold hands around the base. After a few more photos, we headed back to the cars and with the weather closing in and getting worse, it was decided to end the trip here. Some people headed north on the Princes Highway while others returned to Sydney via Braidwood.
I’d like to thank everyone who came along on the trip. In the face of very inclement weather, to have 9 vehicles on a weekend camping trip was great and showed the tough resolve of Range Rover Club members to get out there and enjoy themselves. I will have to run a trip to Bendethera soon, so keep an eye on the calendar.