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.

Birthday Roadtrip Part 1: Ophir Reserve Camping Grounds

Ophir Camping Reserve, Lewis Ponds Creek. Photos taken by myself and Hai using Canon 70D DSLR

Some of the amazing things Hai does for me makes me feel really lucky. For my 29th birthday, he took the same annual leave as me so we can escape to regional NSW. We planned a two day trip through Orange to Capertee in his Jeep Wrangler, stopping at Ophir, Turons Gate, Hills End, Sofala and the Glow Worm Tunnel. We packed our clothes, snacks, instant ramen noodles, sleeping bags, torches, iPod and portable phone chargers and left Sydney at 5am.
Although it only took two hours to reach Orange, it felt like a world away. Phone reception was nowhere to be found and soon tar roads turned into dirt roads and houses were replaced with cows, sheep and rolling hills.

And that was amazing. Me and Hai rolled down our windows and listened to Taylor Swift and held hands while we drove. No other cars in sight and no operating shops and contact with the outside world. We stopped to pet miniature horses and admire grazing cows and sleeping sheep. I was already loving the trip before I set my eyes upon our first pit stop - Ophir Reserve.

Ophir Reserve is a peaceful camping site with basic facilities such as toilets and BBQ sites. Camping fees are paid through an Honesty box (you can pay what you believe the fee is for using the facilities). Although we didn't camp here overnight I still admired the majestic tree that stood on the edge of Lewis Ponds Creek and Summers Creek. Ducks and Geese grazed behind us and the river flowed quietly.
Ophir Reserve marks where gold was first discovered in NSW back in 1851. Around the camp grounds are old relics of gold mines and walking trails however it is warned to be careful not to fall into the open mine shafts!
From here, me and Hai went onwards to Capertee and I will share those adventures through a series of future blog posts.
Below is a map of where I estimated the site to be based on my research - site is situated right next to big pool of water along Lower Lewis Ponds Road. It isn't hard to navigate to as there is only one road that leads to Ophir Reserve however do email me if you have any questions.
It is well worth the trip.