Ophir Reserve Autumn Camping (Part 2)

 Ophir Recreation Reserve Camping Site, Lower Lewis Ponds Road, Ophir NSW 2800 Australia

Following up from Part 1 of this Camp Trip series, we continued our night sitting by the warm fire. When we turned off our head lamps, lanterns and torches, I managed to see the milky way and all the stars. It was breath-taking and I spent hours staring up at them while I listened to my friends share stories.
For supper, we were treated to delicious home made stew full of beef, chorizo, carrots and potatoes. We warmed our bodies with Lindt hot chocolate and heated milk.
For breakfast me and Betty got some hot cross buns, smeared Nutella inside, and stuffed in three marshmallows. We then wrapped the bun in foil and put it into our fire for a couple of minutes. Once toasted we opened the foil and the the Nutella and marshmallows had melted into a yummy gooey mess. It was so amazing I vowed to make these at every camping trip from then on.

We finished the day off by hiking small trails around the Reserve and playing with visiting dogs. With our coffees in hand, we packed our tents and divided up the food.

With such a beautiful backdrop of yellow and orange trees, it was hard to leave this place! But I know I will be back, especially around May when I know the leaves start turning gold. Thanking Hai for his organisation and the contributions everyone made into making this camping trip so fun.

Directions to Ophir - From Orange NSW, start at Icely Road driving towards Lower Lewis Ponds Road. Once reaching the T intersection, turn right on Lower Lewis Ponds Road. Brown sign pointing will say "Ophir".
Follow this road (it will go from tar, gravel and dirt roads), you will pass the Carbone Council gate. The road starts descending, follow the road slowly and you will reach Ophir Recreation Reserve. The beautiful tree and river will be on your right, toilets to your left.

Ophir Reserve Autumn Camping (Part 1)

Ophir Recreation Reserve Camping Site, Lower Lewis Ponds Road, Ophir NSW 2800 Australia

About a year ago, me and Hai visited Ophir Reserve for the first time. We discovered it on my birthday weekend last year with the tree's leaves having just turned yellow and orange.
I could never forget how beautiful that tree was, I wanted to see it again. Lucky for me, my fiance wanted to come back too. So we planned an epic camping trip for us, ten of our friends and our dog Cookie. We made the 3 hour and a half trip down, scaling gravel and dirt roads to get here.
With Hai's Jeep, we crossed the shallow river to get the more remote side. There we set up our tents, chairs and communal area. The first thing the boys did was go collect firewood and chop it up. We then had the brilliant idea of creating a fire pit with two 'vents' so that air can move through and feed the fire.
We spent our day eating ramen noodles, preparing corn cobs and potatoes for dinner, and eating home baked Anzac Cookies. We hiked the surrounding trails, started the fire with flints, caught fish, drank beer and shared our stories.
The camp reserve provided flushing toilets and a running tap on the main side of the river. It cost us a $10 facilities fee per car and it was through an honesty box - a small fee for so much fun. Whilst we were across the river, we could make our way back to the other side by foot, crossing a small concrete dam wall to reach the bathroom. Powerful torches and head lamps helped immensely.
As the sun set, our night continued with some night fishing and fueling our fire. We ate our Korean BBQ dinner - cooking up our yakiniku pork, boiled rice, and preparing our condiments - sesame oil dip, cucumber, garlic, chopped chillis, picked squid, kimchi and red bean paste.
Then we threw our corn cobs and potatoes into the fire, roasting and eating them while staring up at the bright milky way and stars. Later at night, we finished off our meals with hot chocolate and s'mores, roasting marshmallows in our camp fire. I couldn't have had a more perfect night with our friends. It was made even better with Hai by my side, hugging me to ensure I kept warm.

Directions to Ophir - From Orange NSW, start at Icely Road driving towards Lower Lewis Ponds Road. Once reaching the T intersection, turn right on Lower Lewis Ponds Road. Brown sign pointing will say "Ophir".
Follow this road (it will go from tar, gravel and dirt roads), you will pass the Carbone Council gate. The road starts descending, follow the road slowly and you will reach Ophir Recreation Reserve. The beautiful tree and river will be on your right, toilets to your left.

Brithday Roadtrip Part 2: From Hill End to Turon River

Roadtrip from Turon River to Hill End: Photos taken by Me and Hai using Canon 70D DSLR

My Birthday Roadtrip back in May continues from Ophir Camping Ground to the historic town Hill End then to Turon River Camping Ground.

From Ophir we drove to the beautiful Hill End. Hill End was a former gold mining town flourishing in the 1850's with a population of an estimated 8000 people. Once the gold rush was over - the population dropped to 700 people by 1945.

Today, it is home to approximately 166 residents that operate the local pub, hotel, general store, cake and antique store. For a small town, the scenery still packs a punch - especially with the beautiful trees lining the roads and the restored buildings.

The only place open was The Royal Hotel. We walked in finding ourselves in a pub area with three locals sitting around having a beer on a Wednesday at 2pm. They promptly stopped talking and looked over at us - clearly they knew we were not from the area. After an awkward encounter with the bar tender who kindly offered us an instant coffee from the dining room, we decided to drive off. Hill End is beautiful and has historical significance but it is barren in some areas and we felt out of place.

We wrapped up our Hill End visit by driving out to Merln's Lookout in the south-west of town. It overlooked the quiet area and is quite worth the trip.

Turon River was where me and Hai decided to sleep overnight. The view of the cliff face made an impact as we drove in and parked the Jeep down by the river. We made do with sleeping in the Jeep as at the time Hai had a back injury so he couldn't pitch a tent and chop wood for a campfire.

It was stunning to wake up to and was made better when Hai cooked instant ramen noodles for breakfast. There are opportunities to cross the river on the left to reach the other bank. You can then drive (4WD access only) inland to following the Turon River bank. There are a few good camping spots here along the bank - slightly rocky but if you moved some rocks around there is soft ground to sleep on in a tent.

We hit the road again and made our way towards the Roasting Pits and then back down to Lithgow...... stay tuned for more posts on my special Birthday Roadtrip.

Turon River Camp Site


Hill End