We were not going to let a "little" bit of rain stop us so with rain jackets & gum boots packed off we set. It was a bit of a bumpy start when Keith slept in & we had to go back to the house twice as we forgot things. We met up 30min late but still we forged on.
We met Rhys, Effie, Jeff & Jemma at Mooney Mooney and headed north. With a quick stop for ice we made it to camp at 11.30am. Surprise surprise we were the only ones there!!!! Unfortunately for us the bollards had all been replaced so we couldn't camp next to our cars & the shelter. We chose to set tents near the shelter & when the rain eased or briefly stopped we gathered things from the car.
The rain would go from drizzle to absolutely pouring. We were so very fortunate to have the shelter with the 1 solid wall. Without this shelter we couldn't have camped as most the rain came from that direction so having this wall kept us drier then any other shelter. The shelter floor was uneven so many times the fire wood was used to push out the puddles. It was going ok until it absolutely bucketed down at about 2pm and the water rushed down hill & into the shelter we were then in the middle of Mogo creek sitting in 2inch deep water.
From here on it rained on & off but Anna looked increasingly worried & after dinner opted to pack up & head home. We fare welled them & got a great fire going to keep warm. Thank goodness the shelter had the high set BBQ/fire place as it was about 9pm when the heavens really opened up & we got torrential rain for about 20min and the water again rushed down the hill & into the shelter only this time it was double the depth of earlier & kept coming for a longer time. There was a space of time where we couldn't tell the shelter from the grass as it was so deep.
When it let off we decided to check our tent. We had never had it out in rain let alone now sitting in the middle of Mogo creek. We had picked a great spot to camp right where 2 streams had formed and met right at the front of our tent. Luckily the tent design was brilliant and nothing inside was wet. We pulled up pegs & moved higher up stream where it was slightly drier.
About 10pm the rain eased off & then stopped. We were fortunate & had only caught the edge of the storm.
Sunday we woke to the birds & brilliant blue skies. After a yummy late cooked breakfast we decided to head home past St Albans Pub. The road was washed away at some points and we were not far from St Albans when we came across a tree blocking the track. We tried to winch it out of the way but with further thought Rhys dragged it off the track.
On we pushed until we came to the river crossing. The boys were smart and walked it. The depth was up to their thighs but it was the current that they all agreed was flowing too fast to risk crossing. So we turned back and made our way out.
We decided to drop past Mangrove Dam for a break, then turned for home.
We had a brilliant weekend even with the rain/river/flooding. It was a good test for bad weather to come.
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