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and led to old campsites in the middle of God knows where that challenged our skills.
Wingello State Forest is one of those places that would take numerous visits or a couple of days to explore all the tracks and fire trails. We found ourselves in the middle of the wilderness and yet only a couple of hours out of the Sydney CBD.
Leaving Wingello, we headed back through Penrose State Forest to see what tracks were available. Signs told us the tracks were closed, and the only thoroughfare was along Penrose Forest Way. You often read on social media of people complaining forest roads are closed to the public, however, when you see the state of these roads with the potholes, ruts, washouts, you can understand the reason for the closures. The last thing rangers need is an overconfident 19-year-old getting their SUV bogged or stuck in a place they shouldn’ t be and having to do a rescue or recovery. Especially with a motorcycle rider breaking an arm or leg in the middle of nowhere. Even with a buddy rider, when people panic, they are more susceptible to losing themselves getting out of the forest and even worse, not finding their way back to their injured mate.
The Penrose Forest Way on a weekend is a busy stretch of road so watch out for oncoming traffic especially on some of the bends. Penrose Forest once had a steel hulled boat berthed amongst the pine trees. Looking like a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, no one knew how it got there and who was responsible. I’ m not sure if it was still there or the mother ship had taken it away, but it might be worth looking for, once the tracks are restored.
Following the dotted lines of the expressway back to Sydney, Phil and I made a detour to Berrima and a stop at Schmokin’ for a burger, beer and listen to some live music. The beer
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