GLOUCESTER, COPELAND TOPS NP, WOKO NP - 22 TO 25 JANUARY 2023

 

GLOUCESTER Gloucester Holiday Park at $37 per night for a powered site. 22 JANUARY The rain was heavy on our journey to Gloucester. We witness a powerful car collision. One car waited then turned right in front of an oncoming car. All a bit surreal. At Gloucester, we had coffee and then settled into the Gloucester Holiday Park. The sites were big with shade on some of them. When the rain eased off in the afternoon, I had a bike ride around the camp, the town recreation area and down a road to view the start of a scenic walk. It was a fun ride. We spent the afternoon relaxing. 23 JANUARY A light drizzle to start the day. We decided to stay another night. The disadvantage with a campervan like ours is that you have to pack it all away when going out for the day. Local stuff isn’t bad as we either walk or ride our bikes. It takes about 20 minutes maximum to get the van ready to be on the road. We drove to Copeland Tops National Park for ‘Hidden Treasure’ track. It was a pleasant drive through the town of Barrington and along the turn off to the hike. Along the turnoff, there were a number of homes/farms nestled in the trees, on the hillside or beside the creek. The carpark was empty except for two other hikers who knew heaps about the area, birds and various plants. The hike was through dry rainforest. The track was up and down as well as being wide and narrow. Along the way we passed running and dry creeks, massive trees, ground and tree ferns, old gold mines and bits and pieces of the gold rush days. There were many birds flittering from tree to tree. We heard them and caught fleeting glances.   Back to Gloucester for coffee and lunch at the ‘Roadies Café’. Good food. At camp, resting and the drizzle has started again. 24 JANUARY A cloudy morning with some drizzle. After a while, we drove to Woko National Park for the High Cliffs hike. The drive was very pretty along a valley dotted with farms, cattle and mountainous views. There were a number of cattle grids to cross and a few bridges. The river was wide in parts and looked able to be kayaked short distances. The camp area at the national park was above the river with some sandy/pebbly beaches. Definitely a place worth camping.   The hike was up, up and up. The vegetation was very thick, and the humidity was high. Loose rocks and tree roots were needed to be watched. The top was a little cooler as it was dry rainforest. The cliff face had sprays of water flowing down the rock face. The journey down was easier being a wide grassy path. Overall, a good hike though it would be more enjoyable in cooler weather. PS The downhill grassy size looked good for ascending on an e-bike. The downhill would have been heaps of fun. Back at the van, dark clouds with thunder rolled over the hills. We decide to go but we didn’t outrun the rain. It bucketed down as we left. Back at camp, we ate a light lunch, rehydrated and relaxed.  A big thunderstorm with heavy rain in the late afternoon. 25 JANUARY We woke to thick fog and cool temperature. Neither lasted very long. After breakfast, we drove to Lostock Dam.