My sister Gill was here from London for her annual visit so we decided to go on a little trip. When she was with us last year we went to Broken Hill and the car broke down resulting in a race back in a hire car so she could make her flight home, we didn't want to repeat that so plumped for somewhere nearer home. 

Barrington Tops had been recommended by a number of friends and was only two hours away so, off we set. We drove along The Bucketts Way and stopped for lunch in Stroud, which is a beautiful, historic town. It was a very important town for wool production from 1824 and the location for the settlement was chosen because of its resemblance to the Cotswold countryside in England, therefore the main towns were named Stroud and Gloucester. The crepe myrtle trees were in flower in Stroud at the time of our visit making this well kept place look even more striking.

 Back on the Bucketts Way we turned onto Gloucester Tops Road which soon became unmade and crossed several fords before it delivered us to Gloucester Tops Riverside Caravan Park. The standard National Park charge for camping is $12 per person and the caravan park charged the same but had the bonus of an immaculate amenities block with hot showers for $2 a go. 

There were about 50 permanent sites in the caravan park which were made up of a caravan or motor home with an annex added. Some were very elaborate like a two floor Dutch style arrangement, and others overlooked the river in the woods like the one with a notice on the door saying 'IF NUDITY OFFENDS, PROCEED NO FURTHER' ooer.

 It was a glorious location and we had the whole place to ourselves because it was midweek so even the nudists were at work and would not be arriving until the weekend. The reception sold bags of birdseed and told us we were guaranteed visitors and they were right, as soon as we put the seed out King Parrots, Crimson Rosellas, Satin Bowerbirds, Pied Currawongs, wallabies and even a couple of Brush Turkeys turned up. 

Within a few minutes one of the wallabies and all the King Parrots were happy to be hand fed and, for the rest of our stay they would appear as soon as we came back from an outing and were even waiting in a semi circle for Ian to get out of bed and become the human bird table every morning.

 This was a wonderful place to relax and I could happily have stayed at the campsite surrounded by these wonderful creatures while I revised for my upcoming citizenship test but, we had come for a purpose so set off to find some walks.
18km further up the road we came to the Gloucester River Camp Area where some of the signposted walks begin. The roads were very lumpy and unmade, we have a big 4WD truck so bumpy roads don't worry us but it would not be pleasant driving in a small family car. 

We spent three days taking various walks, some in Gloucester Tops, others in Barrington Tops and they were all different. Honeysuckle Walk was all misty tree tops and ferns with rich, dark brown soil, Gloucester Falls Walk ended early because work was being carried out on the paths but the views were sensational, The Riverside Walk took us along beside the babbling river which cascades over rocks and falls throughout the area. 

 We even came across a walker's cabin, it gets pretty cold up there in winter so this was an overnight shelter for anyone to use, the visitor book showed it had been occupied only the week before. 

The whole trip was a birdwatcher's dream and we even came across a snake, who I think was probably an Eastern Brown (deadly and aggressive), but because I am studying to become a brave Aussie, I managed to keep calm and get a decent picture.