Copeton Dam
18th March – 30 March 2025
Copeton Dam, some two and a half hours north of Split Rock Dam, was a lovely surprise. The water level here was low, just as it was at Split Rock but we hadn’t visited before, so we had no expectations, and it was a much cleaner area. No dead fish, toilet paper or broken beer bottles etc. After nearly two weeks here we had a single overnight at Ebor Falls before heading back to Port. A nice little three-week round trip.
We found a great spot and the kayaks were in the water the very first day.
There were a few other campers here, but this is such a large area, we could have been all alone. There is a caravan park on the western side of the dam, a paid campground on the northern foreshore and a free camp area, this is where we stayed, on the eastern foreshore.
This is a deceptively large dam and much to his disappointment, Peter was unable to circumnavigate it, though he did find a lovely little swimming cove.
Peter had been out on the kayak for a few hours, when he arrived back at camp, he was very excited about his find. He told me all about a hidden swimming hole so, the following day, we packed a picnic and kayaked to his secret spot. After fifty minutes of paddling, we arrived.
It was lovely there, and we visited a few times while we were at Copeton.
It was quite wet while we were at Copeton, thank you Cyclone Alfred, and cool. And what do we do in cool, wet weather? That’s right, we build a fire. But before the fire, comes the wood collection one of Peter’s favourite pastimes.
Once we have the fire what do we do with it, other than sit around it and drink wine? Right again…we cook. Peter did his first damper of the season, and I did some yummy lamb shanks.
A good friend of mine didn’t think my dragonflies were very “interesting”, (I wasn’t upset, she’s a birder) so I hunted theses down just for you RC. 😊
Just kidding,🥰 I know these aren’t birds. 🦜🦜
Here we go. There were quite a few birds in the area, and I was thrilled to see one of my favourite raptors, the Black-shouldered Kite.
There were also Black Kites, (I think)…
…and White-Bellied Sea Eagles, an adult and a juvenile. When I first saw the juvenile, I thought it was a Wedgetail, but my trusty birdy book set me straight.
We also had a mob of kangaroos in the area, a few with young Joeys.
And because there can never be too many birds, here are a few more that were around our camp.
So ended our lovely stay at Copeton Dam. After days on the water, animal spotting, cooking and relaxing we were ready to move on.
From Copeton Dam we started off for Port Macquarie via Armadale and picked up Waterfall Way. This is a slightly less steep and a little bit straighter route over the range than crossing at Walcha but more importantly, it allowed us to stay overnight at Ebor Falls and boy, were they falling.
To top off our stay we had a stunning rainbow and some friendly kangaroos.
And finally, just to be a little different some midnight slugs. Yup, we went out at midnight to take photos of slugs. Warning: the following images contain sexual content.
So, from here we’re headed back to Port where we will start to get ready for our next big trip. Fingers crossed we’ll be going back to Western Australia; this time to explore northern WA.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
Thanks, No. The BS Kite sequence was great as were ALL of your other photos. Sounds like a wonderful time.
I think you have now set off on your trip to W.A. so hope it goes well and I will look forward to hearing about your travels.