Gloucester to Port Macquarie

I’ve never really been one for solo camping but when the Mrs is stuck at work and all your mates are busy, you might as well make the most of your own free time right? Well that’s what I decided to do last weekend. After looking over my WikiCamps app through the week I had a small route planned out with a few points of interest I wanted to get to. National parks were off limits because I wanted to take my best mate with me! (Maverick the Siberian husky).

Early Saturday morning I hooked the caravan up, chucked the dog in the back seat and we were away! First destination on the list was Gloucester, specifically "The Bucketts scenic walk”. Gloucester is about 1 and a half hours from Newcastle and about the same amount of time for me leaving from Maitland. It’s a great little drive as you get closer to Gloucester, passing through some lovely small towns and farmlands, plus the scenery of near by mountains of the state forests that surround the area is amazing.

The Bucketts Scenic Walk

Located on Bucketts Road just outside of Gloucester “The Bucketts Scenic Walk” is about a 2km return walk and it took me roughly an hour. The walk is set on a local farmers property so make sure you respect that and If you are going to take the dog like I did be sure to chuck them on a lead due to cattle roaming around. After making the gradual ascent through the grassy paddock, I reached a rocky outcrop which forms the ridge-line of the mountain. I then made the climb up and around the rock face to which I was greeted with some awesome views that look out over the valley of Gloucester. The weather on the day was basically perfect so I decided to hang around up top for a while, soak up the views and get a few photos. 

After enjoying the view for long enough I started to make the descent back down. My little mate needed a helping hand down a few of the ledges but we got there in the end. Once back at the bottom of the mountain it was back in the car and onto the next destination. 

Heading east out of Gloucester along Bucketts Way I made my way to Wingham and then started heading North-West along Bulga Road which would take me to the little town of Elands. About 10 kilometers out from Elands the blacktop ended and i was onto the dirt, not a bad thing though! A sign on the side of the road caught my attention, it said "road not suitable for large trailers or caravans". I had come this far and wasn't turning back though. It turned out to be nothing but a couple of skinny one way sections of road that were the reason behind the sign but nothing to worry about. In saying this though i probably would not of headed along this road if my Caravan wasn't an off-road model, plenty of corrugated sections that would rattle a lesser van apart i would imagine.

Not a bad spot for some lunch!

Arriving into Elands there isn't a whole lot around, a post office and a small school were the only things i noticed driving through. The main attraction as to why i was there was to check out Ellenborough Falls. I decided to have a quick road side lunch stop before venturing onto the walking tracks to check out the falls. The joys of having a slide out kitchen on the van i suppose. Now with full stomachs it was onto the Falls!

There is a viewing platform right near the car park that will give you a good view of the falls and down through the valley but do yourself a favour and make sure you check out the other view points and also the base of the falls.

All the walking tracks are well maintained and sign marked so it's not too difficult. You could jump in and have a swim at the base of the falls in the warmer months. No chance of me getting in there in the middle of winter though. I spent around 2 hours exploring the walking tracks and taking some photos around the falls with the dog before heading back to the car to start making my way to camp for the night.

I'd already picked a camp spot i wanted to get to for the night. Swans Crossing campground located in Kerewong State Forest. Kerewong State Forest is roughly an hours drive from Port Macquaire, i had never been there before but being a state forest it worked for me. I could take the dog and plus it's a free camp so win win. I headed east from Elands along Colling Rd, another dry and dusty drive but an enjoyable one. I hit the blacktop for a short period while heading through the town of Comboyne but it wasn't long after that i was once again turning off to hit the dirt. Passing through some farm lands and then the forestry plantations, awesome views all the way to the ocean as well. Once i was deep into the state forest i got my first real challenge with towing the van off-road. With some steep descents, i was working on getting the breaking on the trailer right and letting the low range gears help out. Once i got the settings right it was really a piece of cake though.

About half an hour later i arrived at Swans Crossing Campground. I was a little disappointed upon arrival to see there was a fair few people already setup but that's what you get at a free camp not too far from a largely populated town, and on a weekend. I found myself a spot, setup camp, started the fire, had dinner and a few beers before crashing out later on. With how many people were in the campground i was surprised on how peaceful the place actually was. The morning was super still as the sun rose, bringing some much needed warmth from the cold! I cooked up a quick bacon and eggs breakfast before packing up and once again hitting the road.

I was making a B line for Port Macquarie. I love the Port Macquarie area so i couldn't help but call in and spend the morning walking the dog along the coastal walk and hanging by the waters edge. The weather really turned it on for me with nothing but blue skies so i hung around until mid afternoon before deciding to make the journey down the A1 back home.

Overall the trip was a success, probably a little bit far for an overnight-er but when you've seen most things within your own area it's always good to try somewhere new. The only negative point i could think of would be running out of water half way through my shower in the caravan. I guess i didn't have as much water in the tank as i thought. Ahh well live and learn! Solo camping certainly isn't as fun as compared to when your with your friends or family in my opinion, but if everyone is busy and i have the itch to head bush ill definitely be doing it again!