Who are you?!

We are used to encountering lots of interesting wildlife when out and about, so tend to consider what is in our own backyard as more commonplace.

However, Vaughan found a very nifty blue caterpillar resting on one of our fence panels - and we certainly hadn't seen one before!

It took quite a while to identify because if one googles "blue caterpillar" the majority of hits are for Absalom the "who are you?" caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland!  Bet you didn't know that?!

I happened to have a copy of The Butterflies of Australia on loan from our local library and was able to cross-reference that against various internet photos and information.  I am fairly confident that our Absalom will transform into this, which was a bit surprising as I was expecting at least some blue on the adult!

A smashing time!

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end - and so they did!

It was fairly late in the day when we decided to try one last Pokolbin Forest track.  We had already cleared one smaller tree, when our way was blocked by this much larger one.

Nick, ably assisted by Vaughan, winched most of the tree aside.  When the track was mostly clear, Nick decided he could use the bullbar to push through the last bit.  Sadly the (very thick) branch slid over the bull bar and across the bonnet - then smacked into the windscreen, causing significant damage to the driver's side!

Of course, the damage could have been much worse.  The branch could have smacked right through and injured Nick as well!  Even so, the mood was fairly subdued as we headed home, just as a huge storm hit ...

Definitely not the best ending but up until that point, our first visit to the Pokolbin State Forest had been a wonderful adventure! 

Leaping Lizards

There was great excitement when Vaughan spotted (and caught) a Cunningham's Skink just prior to lunch.

Vaughan very carefully extracted the lizard from a rock crevice - and put it back just as gently when we had finished admiring him/her!

We hadn't seen one in the wild previously, so the find was quite special.

Although we are used to seeing Bearded Dragons as we head North on some of our longer trips, we weren't expecting to see one close to home so there was more excitement after lunch when I spotted a dragon basking by the road.  It was doing it's best not to be noticed but we are not easily fooled!

It was definitely a day for lizards - and lizard-lovers!  Much later in the afternoon, Vaughan and Nick found several geckoes among the huge boulders where I sat overlooking the valley (playing at being Queen of the World).  Again, we often see geckoes further north and finding them (almost) locally was a lovely surprise!

Poking around Pokolbin

Over the years, we've spent a lot of time in "the forest" which we occasionally refer to as "the Watagans".  In actual fact "the forest" is compromised of several adjoining areas:  Olney State Forest, Watagan State Forest, Watagan National Park and Heaton State Forest.  There are no distinct boundaries, although the National Park area is sign-posted to ensure visitors are aware of the usual rules regarding domestic animals etc.

The Pokolbin State Forest is not much further afield than "the Watagans", however we had never visited and were glad that our geocaching adventures led us there in early February.  It is a far less developed area than our usual forest without established facilities.

We were pleased to set up our trusty picnic table at a rustic lookout, overlooking much of the Hunter Valley.  The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed clear views in all directions.

Later in the day we bushwalked along a ridgeline to reach some huge boulders where we sat looking over another part of the Hunter Valley, with wedge-tailed eagles soaring overhead.  Hard life, eh?!

We spotted a few potential camping spots while driving about and it may be we enjoy a longer visit in the not-too-distant future.

Easy way out?!

In the lead-up to Elmer's purchase in September 2010, Nick had carefully researched 4WD recovery options. Prior to setting off on our Yowah Christmas/New Year adventure that year, we bought various quality items including a high-lift jack and snatch strap.

Even back then, we both were very impressed by demonstrations of the Maxtrax Vehicle Extraction system. The tracks were too dear for our budget at the time, so we put them lower down on the wishlist.

Of course, after shelling out $330 for our recent off-road recovery (receipted as Stockton Beach salvage!) we now see the MaxTrax price-tag as more reasonable - and purchasing a set has a higher wishlist priority!

Perch for a picnic!

Perched on a hill in the Watagans National Park

We purchased our vintage (1960s) "industrial style" folding picnic table just before Christmas.

A modern (but flimsy) aluminium version wasn't much dearer but we rather liked the eBay description for ours:

"Table and seats are still strong after years of use. Folding mechanism is good. Rust on the metal and some nicks and areas of missing veneer on the edges."

Yep, it has character! It's strength is without question as it weighs half a tonne and we can perch (more or less) comfortably without any fear of the whole contraption collapsing under us! These considerations are very important!

Given the table's age and condition, we are not too worried about it bumping over rougher tracks (on the boot side of the cargo-barrier). We have enjoyed a few civilised picnics so far, at places were there are no other facilities - and will look forward to more yet to come!

Stuck on Stockton!

Although we had talked about a beach-driving adventure on a few occasions, it was a long time before we got around to going. When we did go, the adventure became much bigger than anyone had bargained/budgeted for!

We collected Erin from work en route to Stockton Beach (about 60km North of home). We stopped along the way to purchase a $30 annual beach driving permit - because it seemed better value than a 3-day pass for $10.

Once we got onto the beach it felt quite odd to be driving on so much open-ness. We were all giggling at the fact that the sand squeaked under Elmer's tyres. We were barely 20 mins into the adventure and just starting to relax a little when Elmer became quite substantially bogged, fairly close to the water. Erin, Vaughan and I worked with our plastic picnic plates to scrape away some of the sand while Nick walked back to a young guy, who interrupted his fishing to help - and promptly got stuck too.

Another car stopped to offer assistance but given the fate of the first assistant's vehicle, we were wary of causing anyone else to become bogged. The best option seemed to be to call the recovery vehicle number listed on the info sheet that came with the beach driving permit. Cost of recovery vehicle? $330.00 up front before they leave the depot! Good thing we economised on purchasing the permit, eh?!

The recovery guy said he would be 50 minutes but took a little longer than that.

We were feeling edgy as we waited because the water was getting higher.  As usual we were well provisioned so I made some sandwiches but couldn't eat mine. 

All felt quite relieved when "Ken" turned up. He pulled Nick a fair way back but seemed in danger of hitting the other stuck car, so un-hooked Nick and "snatched" the white ute first - then "snatched" Nick/Elmer the rest of the way.  There was considerable relieved banter once Elmer was out again. We chatted a bit with Ken, the recovery driver. In a perverse way it was reassuring to hear that he (driving the same model Landcruiser as Elmer) gets bogged also. He had a 40m snatch strap though, which is twice the length of what we and others carry - specially to keep himself further away from the trouble area when hauling others out.

Although Ken encouraged us to stay on the beach and have the fun we had planned for, we decided we'd had quite enough adventure for one day and headed back off the sand. Vaughan was quite vocal in his disappointment that we hadn't gone cardboard sledding down the dunes but I expect we will go back another day (when our nerves and budget have recovered somewhat)!