Road Trip: Down by the River

Oh wow, guess I got sidetracked.

So back to that trip away a bit over a fortnight ago (9th May).

Last time I blogged about it, I left you back in Chillagoe. I think it is time we moved on.

So after stopping at the smelter we headed out of town. We were going to look at some other things but decided to head to our next stop instead.

Mr Sparky even stopped long enough for me to take a few snaps of the landscape.

He knew of a good camping spot about 25km our of town.

And that is how we ended up at the Walsh River.

This is a pretty popular camping spot for people heading on their northern trek but we ended up being the only people there.

The whole river to ourselves, how awesome was that!

First things first we went hunting for some wood and got our fire going. Our spot was definitely claimed.

I bet if we went there now we wouldn't find the place anywhere near as deserted. Going by the caravans around town, the northern migration is rolling through.

Considering the minimal wet season it was pretty exciting that the river was still slowly running. It does pretty much come to a standstill as it gets lower.

As our camp was ready we went for a wander up river.

We found some nice, uncomfortable, rocks to perch on and watch the water and chat.

Because the water was so still the reflections were really good. The water was also really clear meaning you could sit and watch the fish. It was a bit like sitting in front of your fish tank.

As the sun was getting lower and lower Mr Sparky decided it was time to go back and get ready to cook some dinner.

Oh my, you should have seen me scrambling over all the rocks. I looked like a flailing brolga.

I, as per usual, got left behind and then sidetracked on the way back. Not that it mattered, we hadn't gone far and it wasn't like we were on a schedule.

I spotted some funny, pink, beauties hanging out in an old dead tree.

Ah, galahs, something I miss so much having grown up with the sound of them.

They were all paired off.

And they were doing a great job of giving each other a wash down.

As the sun got lower, hang on I said that already, as evening crept closer, we decided it was time for a dip. It had been a pretty warm day and that water had been looking very inviting but Mr Sparky in a show of being sunsafe didn't want to get in until the burning heat of the sun had turned down a bit.

The river made for a great bath, in fact it was pretty much bath temperature.

It was so nice floating around and watching the water soften as the sky did.

It cooled a fair bit as the dipped below the horizon but it was by no means cold.

We hung around in our wet clothes after toweling off a bit. Sorry, no skinny dipping here. Neither of us wanted to chance it with the fact that someone else might rock up.

It was so nice just watching the colour leave the sky with the light of a campfire. Sooo, relaxing.

As we toned down the fire a bit Mr Sparky, our camping chef, started cooking our steak and pasta meal. It probably would have been smart to cook while it was still light or to bring some serious lighting with us but then we would have missed out on the not having a clue about what our meal really looked like part. Sometimes that is safer.

We ate, we watched the stars, we enjoyed the silence (well except for the fairly regular passing of trucks). It all sounds very romantic and peaceful really. I'll leave you with all that soppy thinking until the next part of our camping adventure.

Do you 'do' camping?

Are you wanting to sit and watch the sunset and the stars just as much as I am right now?