It's not over!

Vaughan's first packing job was interlocking the strips from the camping mats.  As the morning got warmer, he was happy to help with other missions, further away from the fire!

After breakfast, Nick and I worked steadily.  We had started packing the night before but even so there was quite a lot to do.  At least the cold prompted constant movement!  As a result of our consistent efforts, we were fully packed and ready for departure at around 10am.  As much as we had enjoyed our Warrumbungle wanders, a decision had been made earlier in the week to detour via Dubbo Zoo on the return journey, so we still felt there was more holiday to come!

C - O - L - D ! ! !

Our camping neighbour still wore shorts and t-shirt!

Vaughan's latest expression was used a lot while away (and with feeling).  O-d-d is a wonderful response for a whole range of situations!

The world was a bit o-d-d when we surfaced on our second morning - and definitely c-o-l-d!!  There was ice on the ground, the trailer, our bike seats, Vaughan's bike helmet - just everywhere.  We were highly amused by our dragon breath and chortled at all the icy evidence we found.  The metal bottle had been left out overnight with several centimetres of milk remaining, which had frozen solid during the night!  Even funnier was my teapot half-full of leftover tea slushie!!

At that stage we hadn't located our thermometer but later learned the temperature had been -3 degrees!

Fun at the Sun!

The Solar System Drive "Sun" is located at Siding Spring Observatory.  As we arrived later in the afternoon, we visited the telescope first (because the doors are locked at 4:00pm sharp).

Vaughan was super-impressed by the "massive telescope" and has mentioned it a number of times since returning home.

Given the faded signage at the entrance to the visitor centre and Explanatory, I wasn't sure what to expect but paid the family price of $13.50 and we ventured into the astronomy exhibit area.

We were pleasantly surprised by the high calibre of the activities and the three of us had lots of fun! 

Spaced Out!

"Strap on your seatbelts and launch into Coonabarabran, The Astronomy Capital of Australia. Experience a scaled model of our Solar System that's 38 million times smaller than outer space!"

We went for a drive after lunch - through the solar system!

Read here for details.


On our various trips along the Golden Highway, we have often admired Pluto (at Merriwa) and had stopped at some of the other planets on our way out to the Warrumbungles.  There were four planets located only a short drive from our campsite, so we set off in search of Earth (!), Venus, Mercury - and called in on Mars later in the afternoon, after spending some time at the Sun!

School's in - but out!

There was lots to look at in the Visitor Centre!

Vaughan and I have been "doing school" at home since mid-February.  This arrangement was formalised in May, so our lessons are now overseen by Sydney Distance Education Primary School.

We met Vaughan's teacher in July, who OK-ed us for camping and other adventures when Nick's work allows. Our Warrumbungle National Park trip was the first time we had tested the endorsement though and I wasn't entirely sure how everything should work.  Vaughan and I did our usual school activities the first morning (sitting by the fire with kangaroos grazing nearby and various birds flitting past or scavenging near us).

We packed up at recess and then we all spent quite an extended period exploring the many static displays at the Warrumbungle Visitor Centre.

Cold Comfort!

Although our bed was wonderfully warm overnight, comfort levels were at an all-time low (hah!) due to our air mattress deflating - several times!

It is worth noting that Vaughan's bed was fine as he hadn't stood on it, only ours!

We knew it had been cold outside - Nick had turned on one of our fan heaters during the night - but even so, we certainly didn't expect to see a thin layer of ice on Elmer and the gazebo!  Lighting the fire was our first mission of the day (while marveling at one of our neighbours clad only in shorts and a t-shirt) - and then we read the nearby signage for Camp Blackman, to get our bearings.

Layer upon layer!

I was determined not to be cold!

Once I had the floor done, Nick brought in our beds so that I could make them also.

You might be able to see in the pic below that Vaughan's bed has a (green) fleece cover over the air mattress, which then slides into the cover that joins it to bed legs.

The fleece cover works well to cut some of the cold from the plastic mattress but I still haven't made one for our larger bed - so improvise a little differently.  I took a piece of fleece and lay that over the bed, followed by a mattress protector, woolen blanket and wool underblanket.  (Yes, it's very much like the Princess and the Pea fairytale)! 



We expected cold nights!

The silver layer you can see in the smaller pic above was marketed as a non-powered alternative to an electric blanket.

It is the same material as an emergency blanket, with a thin foam backing.  I am not convinced it entirely lives up to it's spiel but included it just in case!

Our bed's final layers were good-quality flannelette sheets and two king-sized woolen doonas. Vaughan's bed had the inner mattress cover, a quilted fabric layer, mattress protector and length of rubber-backed curtain material under his bottom sheet.  He had two wool blankets, a doubled polar fleece blanket and sleeping bag on top - and his usual stuffed toy collection for added warmth!

Another first was hot water bottles, specially purchased for the trip.  I re-used their water each night and was super-impressed with how cosy our beds were!

Warrumbungling

Our last camping trip was to Lightning Ridge

Our departure from home had been far more leisurely than our usual set-off times - but given we had been so daunted by the packing, we were pleased to be on the road at all, regardless of the later start!

It had been a lovely day for traveling and we took time to enjoy seeing some different countryside before finally arriving at our campground in the early evening.  Vaughan was given the important task of fire lighting, while Nick and I worked to set up camp.  I had vague thoughts of cooking as well but soon gave up on that idea and we snacked on leftover BirthdayBelle cheese instead!



This was the first time we thought to put mats inside!

We have camped previously in winter, so had a few plans to make our Warrumbungle experience more comfortable.  While Nick worked outside, setting up our beds, I laid foam camping mats in our sleeping area - and put a layer of industrial felt over the top.

Although we are used to camping in the forest without power, we choose a powered site for convenience this trip - but heaters alone don't have a lot of impact against the cold in a mesh-top tent, hence the need for insulation (and lots of it)!