loaded up the trusty iron horse for a three day camping trip. Headed up over the Qld border from Rathdowney,the storm from the night before was very apparent,big trees laying 
down,crews at work clearing the road. Stopped for a cuppa in a park just outside Woodenbong where i met an old guy who pulled up with his caravan and introduced himself has Ian Robertson,who has been traveling around for the last 15 years,he reminded me of Bert Munroe from the film The fastest little Indian!,we got talking about finding gold and he told me he found a 132 oz nugget 13 years ago that was financing his trip,he then showed me how to do it with divining rods,he placed little nuggets and gems around the park and i found them all, UNBELIEVABLE!! I rode on through Tauberman where Australia's longest wooden bridge is,passed some good camping spots alongside the river on the way up to Mt. Picabeen national park where this a camping spot and a cache to find. It was hot and looked like a storm brewing,a 4wd pulled in,we had been playing follow the leader for the last couple of hours,overtaking each other and catching up when one of us stopped to look at something.they introduced themselves has Ross and Colleen and they made me a cup of tea,they were out traveling from Ballina, nice people who said pop in for a cuppa if i was passing through.I decided to camp here for the night because i would be safe from the storm inside the old shed! set up and then rolled out the thermorest on the grass and lay down and chilled out and watched the storm clouds form.
down,crews at work clearing the road. Stopped for a cuppa in a park just outside Woodenbong where i met an old guy who pulled up with his caravan and introduced himself has Ian Robertson,who has been traveling around for the last 15 years,he reminded me of Bert Munroe from the film The fastest little Indian!,we got talking about finding gold and he told me he found a 132 oz nugget 13 years ago that was financing his trip,he then showed me how to do it with divining rods,he placed little nuggets and gems around the park and i found them all, UNBELIEVABLE!! I rode on through Tauberman where Australia's longest wooden bridge is,passed some good camping spots alongside the river on the way up to Mt. Picabeen national park where this a camping spot and a cache to find. It was hot and looked like a storm brewing,a 4wd pulled in,we had been playing follow the leader for the last couple of hours,overtaking each other and catching up when one of us stopped to look at something.they introduced themselves has Ross and Colleen and they made me a cup of tea,they were out traveling from Ballina, nice people who said pop in for a cuppa if i was passing through.I decided to camp here for the night because i would be safe from the storm inside the old shed! set up and then rolled out the thermorest on the grass and lay down and chilled out and watched the storm clouds form.
It was so hot,i got on the bike to get a bit of air flowing to cool down abit. Great scenery on this Rock Valley rd which led to Canogle which had a great cafe where i bought a delicious homemade cake,yum,yum. Looked over some local tourist maps and the Lions road from Kyogle to Rathdowney caught my eye it went up over the border range with great scenery,it was getting hotter and the roads were melting !!
stopped half way under a huge railway bridge and cooled off in the stream.The water was clear and flowing fast and was great to cool down my toes! Could have stayed a lot longer,but didn't have a camp site yet so saddled up and rode on a great scenic road. Got to Rathdowney where i thought there was a free campsite but it turned out it wasn't bummer!,well i knew of a paid campsite at Bigriggen which wasn't to far away and i could do with a shower! Had a nice chat with a couple touring in there caravan and rode on to Bigriggin,signed in at the reception and went off to chose a site,there were plenty of choices,being new years eve i didn't want to be to close to anyone. Put tent up arranged a seat and poured hip flask into a cold coke
and kicked back and took it easy until the sun went down until i cooked tea,which was a chili with noodles which was HOT!
and kicked back and took it easy until the sun went down until i cooked tea,which was a chili with noodles which was HOT! lit fire and had another J.B. which i had been cooling earlier!
Thelocal possums came and joined me and weren't at all worried with my presence,didn't have an axe so i had to move a big log through the fire as it burnt ,then it happened as i pushed the log it snapped at sent hot ash on my feet F@%* ,it stung so quickly put my feet into some cold 
water i had in my camp sink. Wasn't to bad though,slept well,made a coffee in morning with new mug then made my way home.
