DUNNS SWAMP
3rd August 2008

Trip Report by Graham

Friday 1st August: "The night was black, rain falling down…." well that's how the song goes and that's how it was for Michael, Renee and the girls Brittany and Laura,       when they arrived on the Friday night to set up camp at Dunns Swamp. The girls enjoying the sight of a "wheelie" trying to manoeuvre, and clear the sticky red mud from the wheels of his chair. More excitement occurred in the middle of the night when part of the camper wall became detached (probably in the storm and not sabotaged by Michael - he says), and Laura (a restless sleeper), rolled over and found herself out of the camper and sprawled across the draw bar. Despite some momentary panic by everyone, all Laura (who wasn't hurt) could say to her Mum was "How did I get out here?". Sleeping arrangements were changed for the rest of the camp. You have got to love camping, haven't you?

Saturday 2nd August: For the rest of the crew doing the trip, the meeting point was my place at 0800 hours. Karen and Steph arrived at 0700 hours - someone must have told Karen that the last to arrive had to do the trip report!. Trip Leader, Karl, arrived 3 minutes late and Craig, kayak attached to the roof, a couple of minutes later. After shopping for a gas valve for Karen and Steph we headed off towards Rylstone. What a beautiful day it was too, in downtown Lithgow - no rain, warmed up to plus 2 degrees and a slightly chilly breeze, just enough to make you reach for your fourth coat! It was an uneventful trip, 99% blacktop, temperature soaring to firstly 4 degrees, then 6, 8 and finally at Dunns Swamp a pleasant 10 degrees, clear sky with a slight breeze.
Dunns Swamp - what an uninviting name for such a beautiful area. Its not 4WD drive territory, but a great spot to camp and take in the facilities and surrounding area. Would definitely recommend as a place to visit.
Everyone chose their camping spot and set up their tents. This was followed with a welcome cuppa - Michael and Renee had the kettle boiling. After a bit of a chat, Craig decided to go kayaking and Karen and Steph were going to try their luck at fishing. The rest of us went down to watch the action. Poppa Smerf (Craig) looked       resplendent in his winter outfit (check the photos) and managed to kayak around the lake. Karl threw in a line and looked like he was going to end up in the water, while Steph and Karen also got their line wet but all to no avail. Obviously the fish couldn't handle the sight of Poppa Smurf and had gone into hiding. Karl, however, was adamant that it was the "shonky" gear loaned to him by Karen and Steph that was the reason for him not catching a fish. He was sure if he had brought his "lucky"        fishing gear he would have caught a fish or two.
After lunch half the crew went on a hike to the weir wall while the remainder organised the fire. Happy Hour saw us all round the camp fire with the hikers telling what they saw and the rest of us lying about how hard we had worked while they were away enjoying themselves. We all had a BBQ dinner and were joined by numerous         possums looking for handouts. Michael learned not to leave the camper open as it can be difficult to remove the possums and Lorraine will not be leaving any more packets of biscuits unguarded on the table.
Thank goodness for the girls, Brittany and Laura, as they gave us all an opportunity to be roasting marshmallows over the fire, something we probably would not have done otherwise - after all that's just kids stuff - isn't it?

Sunday 3rd August: A huge frost and a magnificent day - no breeze, just perfect, back to "shorts and thongs" weather. A BBQ breakfast around the campfire followed by packing up the camp. Time for a morning tea cuppa and Craig said his good byes and left the camp. Karen and Steph went to give the fish one last chance to be sociable and Lorraine and I, together with the girls went for a small walk. On our return our Team Leader suggested we should head off and go home via Glen Alice and Glen Davis, stopping at Glen Davis camping area for lunch. We said our goodbyes to Michael, Renee and the girls, who were heading back to Cessnock, and headed towards Glen Davis. A ninety-minute lunch break at the camping area - another great spot to visit, and we reluctantly packed up and headed back to Lithgow where we said farewell to Karen and Steph. I must comment on the excellent behaviour of the young girls, Brittany just blended in and mixed comfortably with everyone, and Laura "the baby", was also outgoing and was no problem - plus she could talk the leg off an iron pot! They were a pleasure to have around. Great kids, Renee and Michael should have been very proud of them.

We covered 300 km from Lithgow to Lithgow and had a great weekend that was enjoyed by all.