Newnes and the Wolgan Valley

As we had been to the Capertee Valley three times in the last month we figured it could be time to check out some where new. So last weekend Aleisha and I headed out to Newnes in the Wolgan Valley for some car camping. The camping site was a little more popular than we would have liked but the local wildlife (glow worms, wombats, microbats and Gang-gang Cockatoos) and walks made up for it.

Star Trails - approximately 60 min exposure

Wombat! - After almost 5 years Aleisha finally saw her first wombat, well actually there were half a dozen of them.

The Wolgan Valley

Rainforest gully

Aleisha in front of an old train tunnel. It was ~400m long and apparently curves through almost 180 degrees. It was also inhabited with bats and glow worms.

The In-laws are in town

Last weekend Sylvia and Tony popped into Sydney for a long weekend. As they had seen much of the city before, Aleisha and I decided to take them on a car camping road trip. First stop was the Jenolan caves where Tony spotted a Platypus (I would have placed a large sum of money on there being no Platypus in the area so we were all quite pleasantly surprised). That night we camped at Kanangra-Boyd National park, we were later awoken by torrential rain and a wee stream running under our tent. The next day wasn't much better and our hot lap around Mt Panorama in Bathurst might have been faster on a jetski. Luckily the weather cleared as we arrived in the Capertee Valley and the last day was pretty nice. All and all a great trip, apart from a crappy Toyota Camry that drove like a Holden Commodore.

The Kanangra Walls

Camp and Camry in the Capertee

A spot of bird watching

Back to the Capertee

This weekend Aleisha and I headed back to the Capertee Valley, although this time it was for a spot of car tramping. The camp site was just a couple of km's walk which allowed a few extras to be taken without too much hassle.

Premium Reserve Extras

Unfortunately a large amount of condensation on the camera stopped this star trail shot going for as long as I intended, I guess I will have to go back when its warmer .

Another trip and another attempt to be artistic...

A complete 360 degree panorama of the camp site.

The recent rain added a little more fun to the short walk in.

Canada

Well it is now official eh, we are off to Canada eh early next year. I just got the official letter eh of offer from George Shimizu at the University of Calgary with a project that will be focused on CO2/H2 separation eh. The start date is still under negotiation eh but it looks like it should be aboot (that's about in Canadian) Feb/March eh.