Loaded up.
Set off at 1.15pm after an extended period of packing. This involved gladwrapping the plastic parts of the CB400, at the rear around the seat, in the hope of preventing the panniers and straps from destroying them. I gingerly tried to find a place to carry the plastic 5L water jerry can; at capacity it was too heavy for the milk crate and sloshed around too much for comfort, so I half-filled it. I roughly split stuff up between the panniers, hoping to keep the wet-weather and safety gear handy. All the camping gear went into the backpack.
Got to Woy Woy fairly quickly, but went to the wrong fish and chips place, Barry's; I'll know to go to the wharf next time. Fueled up at the BP in north Gosford. Got a bit lost on my way to Mount Sugarloaf State Park, which is pretty much directly west of Newcastle. The JJJ antenna is there, and much rubber has been laid in the carpark near the toilets. Loads of picnic tables, some in strange places like right next to a big dustbowl/circlework/pseudo-carpark. The roads radiating from the mountain are not marked, just warnings that you might need a 4WD and experience to get places. I pushed the bike past a locked gate, down to a picnic table next to the lookout; not much of a view due to the haze and cloud. There was no one else around.
Mount Sugarloaf.
Dinner was just some snacks, a banana, some tinned tuna. Got a few spots of rain after setting up the hammock between a pair of ironbarks which may have been a bit too far apart. The fly worked fine: I attached it to the hammock supports, and the shock cords I added to the guylines did the job. Not very comfortable: maybe needed to push the tree huggers higher, and peg out the sides a bit further. There were loads of mozzies; a couple got in with me, millions did not, but I needed ear plugs to sleep as they just hung around all night. Too knackered/lazy to read much of my book. Later in the evening I could see the lights of the various small towns west of the mountain, and the high voltage lines.
I forgot to check my packing list. Even so I brought everything except some pegs, which might have been handy for drying clothes on the hammock lines.
