Meet Dario, our HelpXer from Madrid, who stayed with us for a bit over a week earlier in August. Dario is studying plant biology and was a study abroad student in New Zealand before coming to Australia for a few months, before flying home. Because he was so keen on all things nature, I decided we would go camping out at Bald Rock National Park, about a three hour drive from our place, north of Tenterfield. By the time we arrived at the camp site, in the mid-afternoon, the sky had grown cloudy, but no rain was predicted for the entire week, so I was relaxed. We pitched the tent and I introduced Dario to Australian-style confectionary (a lamington) before we set off on the 90 minute return walk to the summit of Bald Rock. Memo to self: never leave the tent flap open, no matter what.
About 15 minutes into the walk we felt a few spots of rain, which increased to a light shower. We both decided we should go back and wait out the rain, and so we turned around and started walking back, but within a matter of metres the rain had stopped, so we both scolded ourselves for being sissy nancy boys, turned around again and continued our trek. The sky had turned into an ominous inky black colour and the stillness of the bush was punctuated brutally every so often with loud claps of thunder. Memo to self: when the sky turns dark and thunder claps, turn back. But, once we approached the summit and the form of Bald Rock was evident, Dario was captured by its intense beauty, as all I have taken here, have. It's just a shame about the hail storm that followed the taking of this pic.
Once on the summit itself, we stopped to grab this selfie. Shortly afterwards the clouds could no longer hold on, and rain bucketed down on us, drenching us to the bone as they say. Memo to self: always take a change of clothes, even if you are only intending to camp for one night.
So this is what the sky looked like as the rain poured down on us. The rain had nowhere to go of course but flow down the granite face of Bald Rock, making the descent down the rock face a tad more difficult. The rain eased off after about ten minutes, but ten minutes is more then enough to be drenched. We made our way back to the camping ground, and, because I'm a glass half full kinda guy, I was still hoping/thinking that the tent would have remained dry, if the rain had come from the opposite direction to the tent opening. I was wrong. The tent, our sleeping bags, the mattress, everything was drenched. Although Dario stoically suggested we could sleep in the car, he changed his mind when I pointed out that it could get to zero overnight and we were wearing wet clothes. I felt rather stupid as we packed up the wet tent and gear, piled it in the car, and made our way home, three hours ago. Memo to self: Don't be bloody stupid.
The highlight on the return journey was this rufous bettong (or rat kangaroo) which remained in our headlights in the middle of the road for a minute or so, allowing Dario a nice view of this uncommonly seen marsupial.
