Sleeping on the ground last night wasn’t the worst sleep I’ve ever had but it was the worst on this trip so far. It brought back memories of tent sleeping; sleep ok on my back for a few hours, wake up sore and then shifting from side to side every hour or so dozing uncomfortably till first light.
Despite the poor quality sleep it was good to be able to successfully set up the tarp and bivy on the ground. Now I know I can do it if need be. The challenge will be if the weather is really nasty.
Today’s walk was an inland route to Mount Richmond National Park. Quite a bit of walking along rough vehicle tracks, fence lines, a few bush tracks and alongside pine plantations. A lot of grassy tracks and the sun was out quite a bit too. Expecting there will be some snakes on the track at some stage.
Sure enough, a couple of snakes were sunning themselves on the track to Mount Richmond. They were no problem though and able to be stepped around easily enough.
The picnic area on Mount Richmond was beautiful. While the walk to get there wasn’t amazing the site itself made it worth it. Lovely gums providing plenty of shade and picnic tables on some nice grassy areas. Toilets and tank water, what more could you need? A shelter maybe, but not required today. I must have enjoyed it too much as I didn’t even get a good photo of it.
There were some koalas in the trees in the picnic area, occasionally they would let off a loud boisterous bellowing before settling back to a snooze.
The remainder of today’s walk was along a combination of rough vehicle tracks and walking tracks, through bush and alongside fields. A good place to dump and burn a car it seems, this one still had some police tape on it.
The walk seemed to be stretching along interminably but eventually Tarragal camp was reached. Much to my shame I did not take any photos of the camp as it was a great site. Lots of trees to hang from too! It was in quite a bushy spot but vehicles could be heard on a road a few hundred metres away. Koalas were nearby as their bellowing could be heard at regular intervals. One was very close to camp. The only downside of the camp was that the mozzies were out in force. Insect repellant did little to discourage them. The smoke from a little campfire seemed to be more effective in holding them at bay.
Off to bed at sunset and it was great to be off the ground again tonight. It was a bit warmer, quite still and I slept very well.
Nugget Walks 
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