By Simon Bayliss
Having all met up the night before at the Blackheath Glen Caravan Park, cast, drivers, and crew are up early and there is a palpable buzz of excitement among the group as we chat about the planned route on our first leg of the Blue Mountains to Byron Bay trip.
Joining Macca and Robby for the drive is Marc Almeleh from G&S Chassis/Austrail RV Chassis, Aiden Saggers from Vacationer Caravans who is towing a Rough Rider, Ron and Di Sinclair with the Billabong Drover, and photographer Simon Bayliss towing the Universal Explorer caravan.
No visit to the Blue Mountains would be complete without visiting Govetts Leap, one of the most well-known and majestic lookouts along the Great Dividing Range, so the team make the short trip from the caravan park to experience the view 180m above the valley floor.
With the obligatory photos taken, it is time to hit the road for tonight’s destination on the upper Colo River in the Hunter Valley.
The drive through the Blue Mountains via Bells Line of Road is spectacular with glimpses through the trees of the many valleys that traverses the Blue Mountains.
With Mt Tomah roughly halfway, it makes for the perfect place for a quick lunch-break as our accommodation tonight is under the stars and we want to ensure we are in a setup well and truly before sunset.
We arrive at the Bielany Campground, with plenty of time to setup and some post-trip entertainment from Macca and Robby preparing a Caprese Salad to accompany our post-drive chat around the campfire, which Marc nurtured to life with notable care and finesse.
Marc was not only a master of the flame but master of the grill as well with more than enough to feed the party of eleven.
After dinner, we were provided with some wonderful fireside entertainment when Ron broke out the guitar and took usual and some not so usual song requests for a couple of hours.
What a way to finish the first day!
