Red Cedar Track

Tuesday morning 6.30am and the horse flies are congregating in anticipation of feasting on me outside the window netting.  The day is already hot.

Cooking bacon and eggs I spy out of my peripheral vision a large goanna who is slowly making his way over for breakfast.  I guess nobody can resist the smell of cooking bacon.  Great - I try to assess without my glasses if it is more than a metre long.  

Goanna scare the hell out of me.   I have seen people more territorial about their food than me wrestle with an adult goanna for their hot chicken sandwich.  Frankly I am not up to the challenge.  Certainly not with an audience of a million horse flies that will no doubt demand to be part of the negotiations.   

My Dad makes an appearance out of the van and volunteers himself as the campsite gate keeper until he sees the reptile walk behind our vehicle.  I am still nervous and eat with my breakfast plate teetering on my knees which are bent against my chest with my feet perched on the edge of the chair, in case the goanna makes an appearance from under the car.  

We pack up and make our way to Red Cedar Track.  It is spring and the park is obviously home to many red belly black snakes.  In the mornings they lay on the sunny parts of the road basking in the heat.  We drive slowly to miss them and then look in the mirrors to make sure they are still on the road when we drive past.  I don't want to collect a snake under our vehicle now, only to find it again later.  

We get to Red Cedar Track and it is just barely a trail.  Looks like snake country to both of us.  We put on our heavy shoes and go for a walk.  I am leading ~ wondering if we have taken the correct path and trying to stick to places where I can see what might lie on the ground through the longish grass.  I suspect the Ranger of this park uses his time playing x-box at this time of year and I have a feeling in my gut that we are sure to find a snake along this trail.   

There is an adult red belly in the middle of the track.  When I stamp at it, it does not move at all.  I start to get concerned.  Spring is not a good time of year to piss off a snake.  With more presence of mind, my Dad picks up a stick and throws it near the snake.  The snake slithers off slowly.  I don't want to be the leader anymore.

With my Dad in front, we get to the end of the trail and find two really large Red Cedar Trees.  I expected to see a few more, but apparently they really are rare now.   They are impressively large and must be very old.  I wonder how trees like this experience time.  Even our own relatively extended life spans must seem quite short periods to trees like this.  

The first time my Dad has seen a Red Cedar Tree

Platypus Flat Camping Ground

Technically all creatures in National Parks are protected.  Usually I am more than happy to respect an animals right to quiet enjoyment of their natural environment.  Camping with a plague of Horse flies however is a quick and dirty litmus test for finding out exactly how much patience and respect for all living things you really possess.  This is the situation at Platypus Flat Camping Ground in November.

Having finished our walk and looking to camp earlier than yesterday we drive to the camping ground next to Nymboidia River.  Once set up and feeling accomplished we take off our shoes in anticipation of relaxing by the river and wait for a platypus.   Platypus are usually very shy and quiet creatures.  Even if there is a march fly plague, you still need to be quiet and patient if you want to see one in it's natural environment.

I learned something new about my Dad today.  Apparently he has never had a leech on him before.  Another exciting first for him.  His initial impressions are not very positive and I suspect he could easily live without regret had he completely missed this particular life experience.

So every platypus near our part of the river is obviously avoiding two humans slapping each other and stamping pairs of march flies into the grass, in between watching us strike master yoga poses and hearing us discover another horrifying leech locked onto one of our lessor accessible crevices.  We didn't see a platypus.

Photo by einalam 

http://animalphotos.info/a/2008/01/13/platypus-swims-close-to-camera-nice-view-of-nose/#more-1219

Nimboi-Binderay National Park

Monday morning and the rain has stopped.  There are no leaks in my tent and my Dad did not get too wet in the van.  Bonus.  We laugh about how after handling the rain so well on our first night, we won't have any camping challenges left... MwHaahaahaahahaha...

Upon reaching Grafton we stop to buy fuel where my Dad the navigator forgets to ask for directions at the service station and so we are lost again.  This just serves to confirm one of my existing beliefs ~ that men don't really like to ask for directions.

We cross the Clarence River and stop at the information office.  We finally work out where the old Armidale Road turns off and continue South.  The road is mostly bitumen with some good dirt road patches toward the end.  Neither of us have been through here before.  The route has large amounts of State forest either side of the road.

We drive too far, turn back and finally recognize the entrance to Moonpar Rd into Nimboi-Binderay National Park by the really big National Park information booth off the side of the road.  On the way to Platypus Flat camp site we stop at Norman Jolly Memorial Grove for lunch and walk the Coachwood track.

My Dad and a tallow wood tree looking at each other 

Interestingly Coachwood and Tallow wood often grow in pairs.  They must like each others company for some reason.  I realize now where I get my love and fascination for trees.  It's genetic.

I think my Dad secretly loves trees.   One of the reasons we are here is that there is a walk called Red Cedar Track.  My Dad got excited about seeing Red Cedars when talking about where to travel this holiday.  He has never seen one before.  They are very rare and most were apparently chopped down for furniture making. So the Red Cedars is really why we are here.   We have driven 400 kms to see some Red Cedar Trees.  

Camping in November

This blog is now about me making memories of my Dad and me.

After failing to leave at a reasonable time yesterday, we leave Sunday mid morning.    I highly recommend taking the scenic route away from the M1 and instead head South over the Gold Coast hinterland through Numinbah into Springbrook National Park.  We stop for lunch in the parks day use area and continue on for our first walk at Natural Arches.

Natural Arch - Springbrook National Park

This is the first time my Dad has seen Natural Arch.  He is 68 years old.  I have been here a few times and it is always worth coming.  Each time I come there is more people visiting.  Under the rock is dark and cool.  Apparently glow worms live here.  I have never seen them.

We drive on to Murwillumbah, continue down through Nimbin and into Lismore.  We get lost at Lismore despite me being here a month ago for the Masters Games.  Sign posting for smaller roads in this town is dreadful.

We are wanting Wyrallah Rd but we head out toward Ballina at the direction of two tourists who believe themselves sure of giving us correct information.  That is the last time I am asking directions from a couple of English tourists.  Eventually we turn around and drive back to Lismore where I stop a couple of locals who look a little scared at the prospect of me asking them for directions.  I must look really frustrated by this stage.

So we finally end up on the Wyrallah Road to Woodburn and then back on to the Pacific Highway.  We are trying to outrun the rain, but it catches up with us big time as the sun is setting.  Suddenly remembering that we have forgotten about daylight savings does not make the situation better and we stop at a little caravan park on the road into Illuka just as the owner is closing up the office.

It is pouring rain now but we insist on camping only.  He obviously thinks we are mad.  Our tent and van go up fairly quickly despite me not really knowing what I am doing on my first go with this tent.  It rains and it rains and it rains.  We wonder if we should check the weather reports for the next week but we still make dinner under our canopy.

Too Long; Didn't Read

http://lolcat.com/

I am so dumb about stuff that I had to look up what tl;dr means. Funnily enough this is some of what I found...

1. The inability to accept, understand or pay attention to information when not separated by a header. 
2. The ability to arbitrarily read 400 small posts but not a long one. 
3. A sign of ADD or lack of reading capability. 
4. A very cheap response and an indication of lack of wit. 
5. 90% of the time: A lie. 
6. A desperate attempt at a comeback used by people who just can't think of one. 
7. Usually used by people who've been torn apart verbally but want one last attempt at looking witty. 
8. Total failure at #7. 
7. A sign that, not only is someone too lazy and stupid to read but, clearly, too lazy and stupid to even type out four words indicating such.
9. Collect every "tl,dr" post online, and you'll have a good estimate of the number of lazy idiots on Earth, who currently have Internet access. 
10. Should really be: 
"Too Lazy, Don't Read." 
or, 
".....I got nut'n!" 
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tl;dr