8 April 2011 - Blackheath Glen Reserve, Megelong Valley, Blue Mountains, NSW

As I start this, it is still quite early, in fact not yet seven o’clock. We have finished dinner, done the dishes and finished the first of our evening coffees. It is dark outside and all the wildlife that spends the night sleeping has already bedded down. I expect the nocturnal crowd are getting ready to investigate our rig tucked in this corner of the reserve.

As we were leaving our camp at Londonderry this morning, the caretakers came over to wish us a safe journey and Wilma presented me with a pair of hand knitted bright pink bed socks. After last night’s low temperatures, I am sure they will be put to good use, however I am sure that they will be the source of great hilarity every time I put them on. Just the thought of Bronwyn in pink bed socks is enough to set me off even now!

After that very sweet and generous gesture, we set off, heading west on the Great Western Highway, up the steep road we had come down just the day before. We called at the Information Centre at Glenbrook and gathered up an armful of brochures and information about the Blue Mountains to compliment that which we already had, then proceeded on to Wentworth Falls.

Views from Echo Point

As we were to find as the day progressed, these settlements perched on the escarpments that are the Blue Mountains are not particularly caravan friendly. We did find a space at the parking area for the falls, but it was not easily accessible. We walked the short distance to the lookout and were greatly impressed with the canyons below us, one sporting a rather nice waterfall. We were fortunate to have lovely weather and unspoiled views as a result.

Wentworth Falls

The famous Three Sisters

We paused for lunch at a park between the falls lookout and the main road, and then proceeded to Katoomba. Chris was here a couple of times in his backpacking days, and was astounded to see how commercial this town had become. It does capitalise on the famous natural beauty of the Blue Mountains to be seen from the edge of the high cliffs at the back of the town. Parking within a kilometre of the Echo Point look out is all metered, and even then most unsuitable for a vehicle towing a caravan. We found a park some distance away, with a two hour time limit but otherwise free and walked to a couple of lookouts, where again we were impressed with the grandeur of the scene below us.

Unlike Bill Bryson who, when he was researching for his book DownUnder, encountered fog instead of the stupendous views of the Three Sisters and the canyons beyond, we have continued to enjoy clear fresh weather all day. Long may it stay!

Still in keeping with the non-accomodation for caravans, we struggled to find a park within cooee of the supermarket, but again managed to find one at a distance from Coles and walked to buy the few bits and pieces we needed.

It is always with relief that we escape such towns with their narrow and / or steep streets and lack of parking, and this was one of those times. We set the Tomtom with the co-ordinates for a camp recommended in the CMCA bible, and came on via Blackheath which is like Katoomba, situated on a narrow ridge. We turned down several steep narrow little corners and drove on down this Megalong Valley, SSW of Blackheath. The bends descending the valley were hairpins, and I was pleased that we only met oncoming traffic we had caught sight of further down, and that none of it was of any great size. There are apparently a couple of places down this road that can be camped at, however we decided the first encountered would suit our purposes. There is a rather grotty toilet here, and a creek for water, but otherwise it would definitely qualify as a wild camp. There are three other parties in with us; all tourists in small vans or tents.

I am using the new extended 12 volt plug for the computer and attempting to charge the iPod so that we can listen to some of the music we recorded before we left New Zealand. The television is of course out, because we are surrounded by high sandstone bluffs and trees.