Day 8 Friday June 13^th 2014 Stockton to Coopernook

With Sydney behind us we can take our time now. It is a cool overcast morning. The vegetation is changing melaleuca and grass trees amongst the eucalypts. We pull into the little hamlet of Karuah for fuel. Woody decides to wash the windscreen and hasn’t considered the Jeep’s rain sensing wipers. It makes for great entertainment.

A quick stop at Taree for supplies, ah the mighty Manning River. I love these big rivers. Roadside sign: Pimpley Squash.

Only a few kilometres on we turn off to the Coopernook Pub, it offers free camping in the back yard for the price of a beer. The pub overlooks the Lansdowne river and the remains of a large iron bridge. We have a beer but decide to move on to check out the Coopernook Forest Campground. Woody who has a fear of dirt roads is just about hyperventilating as we drive the 3kms to the park. Suddenly the trees part and there before us is a wide-open mowed grass area with shade trees and enough space for about thirty camps. There is even a lemon tree covered in fruit. There are about a dozen campers of all shapes and sizes. This is the first clean air spot we’ve had this trip and it smells so good.

We have a whole afternoon to enjoy the peace of the bush, sunlight filtering through the tall gums and smoke hanging in the air from the many campfires. A pair of kookaburras own the park and watch our every movement. The only downside is the old codger in fluoro nearby who keeps turning on his generator so that he can watch afternoon television.

We cook a casserole on the pullout BBQ burner. A full moon rises over the treetops and it is a perfectly calm evening, almost warm.

Travelling Kms: 179Kms