XPLORE – Out & About

It is often said that nothing ever stands still – time marches on and waits for no one.

And as the last few hours of 2015 slipped from our grasp perhaps there were many in agreement with the sentiment…

But we can still time, at least for a few hours, and I have always found that a trip into the unique and timeless Aussie Bush is the one way to do it.

We can’t always be crossing this great country of ours, spending time in Australia’s magnificent outback, soaking up all the wonderful burnt orange and red colours under a dark blue sky – but hey, there is always the backyard, so to speak.

One of our favourite escapes from the rat race of city living is to head north of Sydney, crossing the Hawkesbury River and visiting Yengo National Park. The 100-kilometre or so drive to the park’s entrance takes you through the small fruit-growing region of Mangrove Mountain and alongside a road built by convicts during the days of early European settlement in Australia.

So yesterday, as the clock ticked down another year, Janet-Planet, TomO, a mate of his, and of course myself, jumped into “The Landy” and escaped!

The park has much to offer the casual visitor including aboriginal rock engravings.

We always enjoy a short climb to the top of Devil’s Rock to view Mount Yengo in the west; it is a place to simply sit and ponder as the sun slips slowly below a far off horizon.

The park has a number of tracks of an easy standard and mostly suitable for two-wheel drive vehicles with good clearance, so don’t expect any challenging tracks. But sometimes it is just about the destination…

For those wanting to stay overnight, or for a few days, there is Finchley Campground and further along the Howe’s Valley Track, camping is available at Big Yengo. You will need to make arrangements with NSW National Parks to enter this part of the park as it is a gated area and requires payment of a fee to access and camp at Big Yengo.

And if camping isn’t your thing you can spend the day exploring Yengo before heading to Wollombi, a small township not too far from park’s entry point – and don’t forget to quench your thirst at the pub with some Dr Jurd’s Jungle Juice…

So whilst we can’t stop the “clock” from ticking I find that a trip into the Australian Bush is one way that you can stop the hands of time – at least for a short period!

And for sure, we did that yesterday…

Photos: Baz – The Landy

As a footnote: The park adjoins a number of small private properties and there are numerous access tracks that are private access roads – please respect this and avoid travelling on them.