After a few hours of driving we managed to find our next stop,
Coopernook State Forest. Court and I were both nervous driving down an unsealed
road for the first time. I joked to Court saying that in about 10 minutes we
would run into our first axe murderer, and I was unsure about staying here as
it was our first unpowered site and it was away from “Civilization.” (No video
game stores around!)
My trepidation was eased as we drove into a clearing and saw
a herd of “Grey Nomads” It was amazing seeing them in their natural habitat.
The Grey Nomads are peaceful creatures, who constantly migrate to stay away
from “Our kind” (young idiots.) I did see a few of the nomads look in fear when
we stepped out of the car, perhaps fearing I play a percussive instrument or
was planning to set up a rave party, but once we unpacked, argued, unpacked a
bit more and argued again, the nomads accepted us as one of them. The best
thing about the Nomads is that they are like the neighbor you always wanted
but never had. They always give a friendly wave when you pull up and some of the
alpha males will even offer to back your van in! After we set up the van Court
decided to nap and I decided to observe the Nomads in their natural habitat.
The Nomads generally graze under the awnings of their
pristine campers and have a steady diet of cups of tea and biscuits. They care
not for Nintendo’s, blurays or mp3 players. They simply sit there talking to
their significant other enjoying the view. I imagined what Court and I would be
like in the future provided this trip doesn't kill us. I guess there’s
something romantic about an elderly version of us still strangling each other
arguing about how to wind the roof up on Chernobyl van or who’s putting the van
brakes on. One thing I have observed about the Grey Nomads is they seem
strictly diurnal, meaning as soon as the sun goes down they retreat into their
shelters for the night. Meanwhile Court and I are busy burning snags and
cooking pasta at 10pm.
Coopernook is a beautiful forest about 400km north of
Sydney. It’s free to stay there and I would recommend it to anyone. My only
advice is to take a porta-potty or something because at the time we visited
there were no amenities apart from a hire-a-loo which is hard to find in utter
darkness and also is frequented by local grey nomad herds. The camping area
itself is meadow about 2 football fields long and is surrounded by towering
pine trees that sway blissfully in the wind. For someone like me who finds it
hard to detach from my technology filled life, I found myself somewhat at ease
and if there were showers or better toilets I would have stayed there until my
caravan battery went flat and the gas ran out. Unfortunately for us, we had to
be in Sydney the next day so we could only stay the one night. The next morning
we packed up the Chernobyl van and while Court attended to Dogzilla and her
dinosaur sized poop, I plotted a course for St Ives Showground.
Next Time on Nerd VS Wild we take a shortcut to disaster! Find out what happened tomorrow!
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