Day 5 - Kangaroo Valley to Araluen

I woke up to the usual sound of rain on my tent and was feeling a bit sore from yesterdays efforts through the Range trail so was tempted to have an easy day and just lay around camp and read a book. Before too long the sun was breaking through the clouds temporarily and that was all the motorvation i needed to pack up camp and get back on the road.
I made the short trip down the tarmac to Nowra, where i stocked up on supplies. I had 2 options in terms of my direction for today. Down the Princes highway to the South Coast or south west to Nerriga and Braidwood and through the forest to Moruya. I opted with the latter as the idea of playing with highway traffic didn't appeal.
The road to Nerriga is about as boring as any road could be and once i'd moved inland a bit the rain was bucketing down again and i was cursing my decision to come this way. The coast road may have been busy but i'm guessing it would still be scenic, anyway, it was too late to turn back now so i motored on. I stopped in at Tiajinari Falls (think that's what it was called) and took a few photos then back to the worlds most boring road.

Just when i was ready to pour petrol over myself and end it all the road turned to dirt which lifted my spirits markedly despite the road being slippery red clay.
I stopped at the Braidwood bakery and had a pie and a coffee and asked for directions at the information centre. The lady at the counter tried very hard to convince my not to take the road through Araluen as it is narrow, winding and  in very bad condition. She looked at me a bit strange when i told her that , that was exactly what i was looking for
Arluen road was a blast! around 55 km of dirt twisties as you go over the top of the range through some beautiful country. Very nice!
About 2/3 of the way through there are 3 campgrounds in the national park, all 3 of them were vacant so i picked a nice grassy spot that had a bit of firewood around. Just now i realised that i had lost some gear somewhere between here and Braidwood. My bungee net had come unhooked and my thongs had come adrift along with some food i had strapped on there and a microfibre towel i had out there drying in the breeze. The raincover for my tank bag was also missing in action. Not happy!

The creek looked like it may hold fish so i went and threw a few lures about with no luck, I did get some decent photos of the creek though

Anyway, i set up camp and lit my first fire for the trip thinking that it might lift my spirits a bit. Unfortunately it started to rain quite heavily and continued to do so into the night. A pretty average dinner of tuna on tortilla bread followed as i had lost my meat thanks to the bungee net. and an early night. Physically i'm coping ok but am pretty tired after a big day on the bike.

South coast tomorrow!!