Arcot Station

10th - 12th June

Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend

Club Members Present:
Mario & Natalie Massimissa Patrol
Joe, Carmel & Emily Elmore Patrol
Marty, Sue & Billy Cruice Patrol
Greg & Phyllis Hutchinson Patrol
Bill Freeman & Rose Patrol
Brett, Melissa & Declan Lynch Patrol
Gary & Betty Chapman Jackaroo
Peter, Sue, Shannon & Connor McGee Rodeo

We meet Mario & others at McDonalds at Yamanto on Saturday morning around 6.30am. We left at 7am with Arcot Station on our minds. We stopped briefly at Warwick for a comfort stop and then again at Stanthorpe for Bill to get some extra fuel. We arrived at the gates of Arcot Station around 10am. We meet Carmel & Joe at the house to pay our nightly fees and also met the new owner of the property. Joe & Carmel led us to our camp site where we met up with Marty & Sue, and Greg & Phyllis who had also arrived on Friday.

After setting up camp and having some lunch we went for our first trip around the property. The clouds were gathering and the rain was trying to make its appearance. We took a drive up to a part of the station where it was intended for us to have a sunset happy hour that night, however with the clouds & rain looming we decided to try for the sunset on Sunday night. We took a drive back down the hill and gathered some wood for the huge fire ring. Thanks to Peter for putting it all into the back of the rodeo. (Proves they come in handy for something.) We passed a number of gates on this trip and this was starting to prove a worry for us as we had eaten most of our lollies on the way down. We thought on Sunday we might have to give out Vicks vapour drops but the Elmore ’s came to the rescue lending us some lollies.

Once arriving back at camp it was decided that we would have the cookout that night and try for the Sunset happy hour on Sunday night. This was a little stressful for those who weren’t quite prepared for the cookout and who had to wait for meat to defrost. But who knew mince could defrost well in a camp oven near a fire. Who needs a microwave?! We started happy hour out under the stars but had to soon move under our tarp to prevent our bikkies getting soggy from the rain. Thanks to Gary who set up an extra tarp next to ours we could all kind of fit without sitting on each other’s knees. Once all the meals were cooked (many done in camp ovens) we enjoyed a huge buffet. We could choose from lamb casserole, roast pork, spaghetti bolanaise, pizza, damper and many others. The rain sent some to bed early that night but we enjoyed listening to it fall on the tent, something we hadn’t heard for awhile.

The next morning we woke around 8am (a nice sleep in) to a bleak sky and enjoyed a cuppa around the fire before we set off for a run around the property heading in a different direction. We drove through a section of the station which previously had been full of bushes and trees (according to those who had been to Arcot before) but the new owners had cleared a lot of the land for their new venture into breeding sheep. We went down some different tracks which eventually led us to an old shooter’s hut. We got out to eat morning tea but it was very cold and chilly so morning tea was very brief. Once we started to head back to camp for lunch we passed some kangaroos and then saw some emus running across the top ridge. We arrived back looking for something warm for lunch to heat up our insides.

During the afternoon trip we tackled some harder tracks and Greg and I enjoyed some success with a few tracks that not many were keen to tackle. A few deciding not to risk their cars and hopped in with me for the ride up and down some loose dirt/rocky hills, the diff-lock paying for itself making the drive easy. The hills looked worse then they were although I was told more then a few times the rain had packed the soil down making it easier as well, will have to go back on dry weekend and try again. Easier said then done with our wet weather luck with camping.

We arrived back at camp ready to fill our tummies with happy hour and a scrumptious dinner. Although it was still bleak, it was clear enough to have a great blazing fire which many utilised to cook their dinners. We have all convinced Peter and Sue that a camp oven is a necessity for camping as we had a fight for the best spot for our coals. The only problem when there are so many is to know which one is yours, but we all loved the smells coming from them and would have happily eaten anyone’s cooking. The boys had gone that afternoon to gather more wood and had also got themselves a decent chimney for the fire. After all the washing up was done, we gathered back around the fire for toasting marshmallows (thanks to Bill) and damper (provided by us). These are some of the most enjoyable times of a camping weekend – the jokes and chats around the fire. We eventually went to bed wishing we could take the warmth of the fire into our tent.

The public holiday allowed us an extra morning for exploring the property. We headed out of the front gates and along Arcot Road before heading back through a gate (one of many over the weekend) and over some previous tracks but then finding some new ones off these to explore. Before going over some of these tracks, Mario and others went for a few walks checking which way the tracks actually went. We found a couple of tracks to do even though some members of our car were a little unsure as to whether there were actually tracks to drive on. Lots of fun through creeks, over tree roots and rocks with Greg and I finishing off through a rocky creek bed while the others took another way around.
After arriving back at camp we had the daunting task of packing up and fitting it all back into the trailer. Once packed up we had a quick sandwich and then hit the road. We farewelled Greg and Phyllis at the campsite who were staying on for an extra night. (Lucky them.) The rest of us headed home with a few stops along the way. We stopped at Old Caves Winery at Stanthorpe to grab a bottle of Armchair port. We also grabbed some fuel next door at the BP/McDonalds before heading back home.

Thanks to Mario for leading this great trip and we look forward to another camping and 4wding weekend sometime soon. Thanks also to Emily for being a passenger in our car, entertaining Declan and opening all our gates for us. (Maybe she just wanted all the lollies for herself.)

By Brett & Melissa Lynch