From an action packed adventure in Rover Park we headed Northeast to Bald Rock National Park which had been recommended to me by my adventure loving parents when they visited in January. They definitely did not let me down. After travelling for an hour without seeing any other signs of human life we arrived at the campsite. The National Parks in NSW are fantastically well maintained and each site had its own fire well, wood and picnic table. Even with these touches of civilisation we still felt completely in the wild as there was no one else in the entire campsite. This filled me with such a sense of freedom and exhilaration, it was just us and the trusty Magna, no phone reception and no connection with the outside world. We caught a slight case of ‘bush fever’ and started running around screaming and shouting, imitating the traditional Maori Haka dance, delighting in our solitude. Once we had resumed our normal state of being we got down to business and started building the fire and erecting our $10 tent before the darkness fell. After a couple of failed attempts we had a roaring fire and were running around ensuring it was tended to constantly (we now know exactly what wood to burn when and that bark is a no-go area, thank you James!). After a frugal but delicious meal the darkness came swiftly and we both got a bit too scared (to many scary movies back in civilisation) so huddled up in the tent, convincing each other that each noise was just a passing animal, on its nightly commute. Luckily the night passed without visits from evil clowns or vengeful spirits and the next day we were up with the sun and ready for our hike up Bald Rock which is the largest granite rock in the Southern Hemisphere. It was a breathtaking experience, literally, as we hiked up the sheer rock face and walked around on the steeply inclined granite, all the while thinking that one wrong step could send us cascading down into the abyss. We took advantage of our close proximity to the sun and stripped off our clothes for some good old fashioned sun-worshipping and photo opportunities, much to the surprise of the elderly German couple who were sharing the summit with us. You can take the girls away from Byron but you can never take Byron away from the girls!

Sunworshipping at Bald Rock

The next night was spent beside the Bonnoo Bonnoo river and we had a fitful nights sleep as the rain turned torrential and visions of the car floating down the river penetrated our dreams. All the riverside trees had been torn from the ground and lay roots exposed from the last major flood so this was a very real and present danger and we got moving as soon as the sun rose. Next was a supplies pit stop in the quaint town of Glen Ines before heading out into the wilderness again to the Mann River National Park. We found a beautiful secluded spot by the river and hiked to Tommy’s Lookout, high up in the mountains overlooking the valley. What should have been an 8km walk turned into more than double that as I got us extremely lost and we ended up walking through spooky enclosed forest for hours and having to completely re-trace our steps. When we eventually made it is was so worth it though, we climbed onto a rocky outcrop and found ourselves peeking over a vertiginous drop feasting our eyes on the the most incredible mountain with the Mann river snaking through the valley.

Tommy’s Lookout

One morning I woke up with the sun and walked upsteam along the river basin. The sun was still low in the sky providing a weak warmth and I shivered in my sweatshirt. Mist clung to the mountain forests and dark clouds from last nights storm hung threatening in the sky. The water was icy cold and dew sparkled on the pine needles as sat on a flat rock, trying to get the most warmth from the rising sun. At that moment I could have been in Canada, Scotland or Switzerland, this was certainly not your typical Australian scene. Once again I was struck by the amazing diversity of the tiny proportion of this magical country I’d seen so far.

Dinner time – yummmmy!

We lived by the river for almost a week. The river was our life source, it was our only source of water and provided welcome cool relief in the heat of the day. Most of our time was spent lazing around reptilian style on the large flat rocks jutting out from the centre of the river. The roar of rapids just upstream from our new home was constantly with us, soothing us to sleep and penetrating our dreams. Meal times were an adventure we would use to punctuate our day and we were always looking for new ways to cook our basic staples. We lived more simply than ever before yet we were both filled with such inner peace and happiness that the little things provided infinite pleasure. We went for days without seeing another human and as time went on we likened ourselves to natives of the land, reacting with shock and curiosity when other signs of life presented themselves. We had dreams of developing tails and gills and becoming truly at one with the river, a mermaid of childhood fantasy. We could have stayed there forever but began to crave more excitement so headed back to civilisation, bronzed and feral craving some city action. We definitely found it, more to come soon!

Mermaids