(actually about 5 km south of Nullo Mtn)

Thursday 21 Feb 2019

Walking my bike from the hut back to the road the tires picked up a half dozen goatheads. But also along the sandy road to the entrance of Wollemi National Park another two dozen or so. I know the weed well from back home, so as soon as I would see it I’d stop and check the tires, plus regular checks every 200m or so. Once in Wollemi NP the soil changed and no more puncture vine. Phew, lucky I got them all out right away!

In the park the track started to climb steeply and it was pretty well 5 to 7 kms of pushing until Sandy Camp Hut. The track was also pretty rough and eroded which made it very slow going. After the hut it improved, but I could feel my arms and legs from the heavy workout. However, the scenery was spectacular once I got near the top, at Keith’s Lookout.

Before I got to the hut I saw a glimpse of a lyrebird crossing the road, the first one I’ve seen on this trip. Had smoko at the hut and signed the guestbook, then continued on. Soon after I got to the aboriginal paintings at “The Livery Stable” cave.

Three kms further I came to the 8ft high deer fence and ……… the gate was locked. So much for leaving the owners a phone message two days ago. It’s sort of miserable of them to have this locked gate since some of the fence is rather dilapidated in places. I was able to squeeze through a hole in the fence but unfortunately it was on the wrong side of a very sturdy 4ft fence. So, unhitch BOB, take the bag out of the trailer and lift bike, bag and trailer separately over the fence. All in all a half hour delay.

After that the track became a much better gravel road and the going became much easier. But I was pretty well spent and when I noticed a beautiful clean dam at the side of the road 5 kms south of Nullo Mountain with an open gate beside it I decided to camp there. It’s at 1100m and the temperature had dropped to 17º. I was in low hanging clouds again and it was a bit drizzly too. After a quick washup I made a cup of soup and then had a snooze and warmed up in my tent. Still have to make tea though.

My camping area is riddled with wombat holes, some obviously old but others look newer. Will I finally get to see a real live wombat?

Totals 33k 4:35h 675m+ 305m-

These totals can be somewhat deceiving. I actually was going from 6:30 until 14:30, so really 8 hours including little rests, smoko, walk to cave, and another snack break.