Final day at Thomas Hill

The final day at Thomas Hill stretched out rather longer than we expected.

Having read that we needed to be out by ten, Trev and I  were up, packed and cleaned up by 9.30, knowing that we still wanted to go out and complete the little orienteering course which Craig had set for us.

We set out and found the first 3 controls without trouble, then had lots of trouble with blackberries and very slippery side slopes as it had started to rain and Trevor in particular didn't really have the shoes for the job.  It turned out to be a bit of a lesson in not going up the wrong gully and also a good bit of exercise.

When we returned to the house about 1.5 hours later it was almost cleaned up, but the Colwells proposed that we then go for a drive and come back for lunch.  So we headed off along the track partly on a mission to get to "Grandad's Camp". (A geocache location)

The map shows the house in the yellow triangle, and a gentle red line showing the way to Grandad's Camp where W1 can be seen.  Grandad's Camp is a lovely peaceful spot where a Grandad and Grandson used to go to reflect and talk years ago and is now on the Heysen Trail.  In fact we followed the trail a little further down to a locked gate and walked in along the Heysen Trail past some lovely dams and admired the beautiful area.

Grandad's Camp

Next to the Heysen Trail. 

We then backtracked a little up the track, turning off to do a sharp turn back to the north, and then to curve around the side of a hill on the track now showing in heavier black on the map above.  This was certainly an experience as the track was once cut into the hill but obviously not usually used (no tyre tracks were evident) and was single width only, clinging to the side,  and with steep drop off, so if we had needed to back track it would have meant reversing a very tricky path.

Luckily we made it around that part of the track and into a wider trail, but had to detour around a fallen tree, drive over another smaller one, and were forced into a steep climb up the hill which allowed for stunning views below of the Millbrook reservoir and the enjoyment of the view of one solitary large gum standing graciously at the top of the hill.

King of the gums

Then home via pine covered trail and familiar track for a slap up lunch of leftovers before finally making our way back to the city via one last tricky geocache and the back roads. By choosing the back road's we also avoided yet another nasty accident which had happened at the bottom of the freeway. 

What a contrast between all that is wonderful about peaceful country life, and some of the worst of city living!  The silver lining in this was the enjoyed an impromptu visit from eldest son as we are close to his work, and getting home in the traffic was going to be difficult. He stopped in for a chat and cuppa with us, which is always a bonus. 

Another nasty accident at the bottom of the freeway.
Photo taken from twitter feed. (Retweeted by Nicole Gage)