Camping at Murray-Sunset National Park
October 27 was Bendigo Cup day and I had the day off work. I’d also taken the following two days off to have an extra long weekend! We had planned a family camping trip to the Murray-Sunset National Park to stay at the Lake Crosbie Campground right on Lake Crosbie.
With a few lakes to explore it was looking like a great getaway with the potential for some fantastic photographic opportunities. I’d packed most of my gear, little did I know I’d not be using most of it!
Wednesday was spent setting up the camper and packing all the items we’d need for a couple of nights. With no water available at the campgrounds we’d need to take our own. The camper, an Air OPUS, holds 160 litres in two 80 litre tanks plus we carried a 25 litre container.
The original plan was to head off on the Wednesday but with temperatures forecast and probably exceeding 37’c we put it back one day to October 28. We knew on the Thursday there would be the chance of afternoon thunderstorms and between 3-8mm or rain but WOW did it turn out to be a whole lot more than that!
Our campsite was a good 4-4.5 hour drive from home. Leaving just after 9am would get us there around 2pm with toilet and food breaks. According to the weather forecast there would be enough time to get camp setup and have a quick look around before the storm and rain was to hit.
During the drive the car displayed the outside temperature at 36’c and it was 32’c when we arrived at the campgrounds.
Campsite setup
Setting up went like this:
Pick one of the many areas to camp (I usually get a photo of every campsite but never got to it this time). We picked one that had the complimentary picnic table under a small tree offering some afternoon shade and what looked like a track to the flatness of the salt lake Lake Crosbie.
Get bitten by a Sandfly, hit fingers a few times with hammer instead of the pegs (preparing for the coming storm).
Add two of the annex walls for shade.
Figure out that there is actually some reception but it is patchy.
Doing all this in the 32’c heat of the afternoon sun with a headache, following one from the day before probably due more to dehydration.
Lake Becking
With the heat of day still at 32' degrees and the constant harassment from the local flies we decided to go for a short drive for some cool air in a fly free space and also to have a look at the second campground along with the lake resides adjacent, Lake Becking. It was just a short drive to the north of Lake Crosbie.
By this stage we could see the dark clouds starting to take over the skies but they were still a while off and expected from the earlier weather check when we had reception.
A short walk up the side of a hill to get a good look at Lake Becking and get bombarded by the increasing wind, a nice welcome from the heat of the day. Followed by a short walk down the other side to the salt crusted shore.
After a quick look around I ran back over the hill to the car to get my camera as I only had my phone and wanted to get some shots of the dark stormy clouds coming over the salt lake bed.
Back on the lake bed it was time to explore and find some interesting compositions before the lightning looked like it was getting too close. Didn’t want to be the highest spot on the lake for too long!
A contrasting shape caught my eye off in the distance that turned out to be a great looking stick so it became the foreground of a lot of photos.
The Storm
On the way back to the campsite we did a short loop drive that followed a track to the right of Lake Becking and Lake Crosbie. During this drive the storm got closer, the skies got darker and it felt like sunset at 5:30pm more than two hours before actual sunset. With all this happening and more and more lightning bolts around we drove quickly back to camp arriving just as the rain started.
Part 1
I started putting the two remaining end walls on the annex and got an early shower as I was pegging out guy lines.
Just as I finished the wind and rain picked up so much so that the annex required assistance to stay from folding down (air beams) and so I became one with the annex for the next 15 minutes.
Sadly I had no time to setup the GoPro to record anything with priority of keeping the annex on the ground and attached. Watching or capturing any of the storm was out of the question :(
Remember that track that went towards the edge of Lake Crosbie? Turns out it was the natural runoff for rain.
We realised this after the annex turned into an indoor muddy swimming pool! We’d inadvertently setup in a low spot that happened to be along the natural path water takes to get to the lake. Basically three quarters of the annex was in a flowing puddle over ankle deep.
My camera bag was on the ground and only seconds before the water flowed in under the walls of the annex. I’d moved the camera bag up higher onto a camp chair, I remember thinking I better move it so it doesn’t get wet.
The wind had mostly died down and the rain mostly stopped when we went outside to see why we were walking in ankle deep water inside the annex.
To get the rest of the water draining away I started digging a trench. This worked really well and after 20-30 minutes most of the water had drained away leaving a damp muddy mess on the mesh flooring.
After surviving the storm that was much bigger than forecast, at least what we could see with patchy reception we had some dinner and cleaned up for bed.
Most of it should dry up pretty well over the next two days so we’ll just need to be careful not to bring mud into the camper.
During the calm I was laying on the bed with the window open allowing a fantastic breeze flowing through the camper, a welcome relief from the earlier heat and humidity of the afternoon.
The gallery below is the calm after the rain storm and before the wind storm yet to come, these are the only photos I really got of Lake Crosbie. We never got any hail that a lot of others received.
Part 2
At around 8pm I tried checking the weather forecast and managed to get enough reception for an update for the closest town Underbool. This forecast had a severe storm warning and we were in the top end of it, high winds with up to 85km/h gusts expected from 10pm. Not what you want when exposed to the openness of a large salt lake!
I took quick look outside to see how dark it was around 9pm as I was hoping to do some astrophotography. The darkness was so good that photos would have been amazing with only the light from the stars.
Around 9:45pm. WHAM! hit by wind gusts that have to have been well over 85km/h. Luckily we were in the annex about to do a toilet run. We pinned ourselves to the walls and air beams of the annex and there we stayed for the next hour and a bit all the while the wind only got stronger. The angle the wind had changed from earlier with the rain and was hitting us from an angle that allowed it to start unzipping and un-velcroing the annex from the main tent!
With patchy reception and fearing the winds would not let up for a long time we decided to start packing up at around 11pm. There was no way we would be sleeping with this barrage of wind.
Packing up tents/campers in high winds is always great fun!
After 30 minutes or so the camper was deflated and packed up. Timing the closure of each of the fold out ends with drops in wind speed between gusts was essential. All done via torch light and the lights from the car that was maneuvered to help light up the packup.
It was so strong I remember getting sandblasted on my legs after we’d packed up, good news though no flies! :)
The Big Mallee Stump in Ouyen, day of the storm.
Being a 4-4.5 hour drive back home leaving at 11:45pm was not something we were looking forward too. On the drive out as reception increased I tried looking for somewhere to sleep for the night to save driving hours and hours home that would have meant staying awake and driving until 4-5am.
Nothing in Underbool.
Nothing at Walpeup
Nothing at Ouyen, but we did stop for the toilet at The Big Mallee Stump. The car was rocking from the wind and being rained on from the sprinklers 100 meters away!
By the time we got to Sea Lake I did find a 24 hour motel and we got some accommodation, now 2am, and then some sleep.
At least we’d get to checkout Lake Tyrrell before heading back home after a few hours much needed rest.
Day after the storm
We explored the new walking track and viewing area at Lake Tyrrell. It has been over two years since I was there last and all this is new. But this is another story.
I’d love to head out to the lakes in the Murray-Sunset National Park again in the near future and get to do the photography I was hoping for.