Downstream Lake(s)

5 35 PM

I’m at Lake Ginnindera with food cooked and an anxious feeling while I try out this new stopover spot. Locals are lovely but the toilets nearby get shut at either 8 PM or 10 and I might get in trouble. Night locals might be different: nearby are hoon burnout marks.

Left Mawson early in the dark so as not to cause a problem. Had a good sleep there.

Showered at Weston Park. Then explored Scrivener Dam, and Black Mountain Peninsula where I had to sleep being tired again.

Woolies at Belconnen. Mongrel big shopping complexes. Then to here.

Met a muso who went to Lyneham. Knew The Mourners and others I knew. Great rapport, lovely terrific bloke.

A different Canberra day, visiting sites of my youth and places I had wanted to see.

Photos show morning at Weston Park, Scrivener Dam, views from Black Mtn Peninsula and Lake Ginnindera (where I’m hoping to sleep).

8 35 PM

So far so good. At least 3 other cars here, probably overnighting.

From sunset:

9.05 PM

Flashing orange lights stopped, bloke with a torch at the toilets, no contact with anyone. Drove off. Might be in the clear for the night re authorities.

Stressful, the first one in a place.

How it panned out:

Weird. Cars drove in and back out. Locals, it felt like, checking out who’s in. A couple of cars a bit rowdy.

I woke up several times, every time because of a car. Sometimes people walked nearby. Hard to get used to because it was hard to know what was going on. It’s like a project you’re in.

At 2.30 a mechanical noise flared up and then noisy sprinklers. Often, again, O thought I was hallucinating from half asleep.

Sprinklers ran for about 20 minutes. None wet the carpark.

Flashing orange lights again from council workers, in the dark. Attending to something in front of the carpark but not bothering us (3 other vehicles) including when a worker went beside the van to the bin.

Very strange place. Trippy.