Dharug National Park

If you've got a penchant for leeches and torrential downpours then you're going to love this place! Dharug National Park is much akin to a tropical rainforest with humid weather conditions, creepy crawlies and the occasional splash of water in the face as you're snuggled up fast asleep in your leaking tent.

We spent a fun weekend camping and trekking in the park with the Mounsey clan. The lack of showers at the campground led to some creative use of wet wipes, deodorant (aka 'army shower') and dunking of heads in the local creek. Otherwise, the site was nice and the open fire option great for nighttime banter.

One of the popular treks in the park is the '11km Circuit' which starts from the Mill Creek picnic area. The park info grades this as a 'Hard' walk, which I was a bit sceptical about given the distance. There's a lot of ups and downs along the way with slippery creek sections and some clambering down rocky paths ... not for the faint-hearted. The tropical bush scenery is pleasant and there are some interesting cliff formations, but the real attraction was the tiny stuff on the ground ... lots of weird insects, small flowers, a snake, oh and about a million leeches! Basically we were violated from start to end and would strongly recommend gaiters and spray repellent for those considering it.

Overall an enjoyable trip but I think it has proven to us that we prefer drier locations for the best camping.