We went down to the woods today and found a big surprise

I've ridden all over the world and seen some weird stuff in odd places, but nothing as weird and unusual as what Shalako-Lin and I came across in Penrose Forest this Sunday past.

We'd planned to rendezvous on Sat with the guys from the Off Road Explorer forum, but events conspired against us and we didn't get to ride to Yerranderie with them.

Re-arranging our plans we drove our small truck to Moss Vale on Sun and unloaded our trail bikes at Lin's Mother's house. We were on the road by midday and decided to ride down and explore Penrose Forest, as I'd only been in there the one time and there looked to be many interesting tracks to explore.

Shalako-Lin crossing Oldbury Ford.


Near the entrance to the forest we rode up Penrose Hill, crowned with pines and a good view of the surrounding area.
It was muddy.




This is the highest trail in the forest.





We took trails at random, encountering a few more mud holes and the occasional trickle of water across the road. Some rocky sections and the odd bit of gravel but nothing challenging. It was just a nice relaxing ride on dirt trails completly empty of other traffic. Just the way we like it.

The scenery varies from wide and open to the gloom of the pine plantation or the wonderful colours of native bush growth.



As we rode along we noticed a much narrower trail off to our left. The pines grew close together and it looked dark and gloomy down that way. Spooky even. So of course we took that left hand path...and it led us to something quite incredible.
If we had come across a spaceship and two aliens having a smoke and a beer in deck chairs outside it, we couldn't have been more surprised.

For here in the middle of a pine forest we found...this...


No, you're not seeing things and it isn't a photo -shopped image.
There's a solid metal ship hidden along a little used track in the middle of Penrose Forest.
As you can imagine Lin and I were stunned.
It's not like you come across sights like this, in a location like this, everyday, after all.
Who did it belong to and how did it get there? We have no idea.
The engine is still in place inside the boat and the rudder handle still moves the rusted rudder splines at the stern.
This is without doubt the weirdest thing that Lin and I have ever come across on our rides.
The sun was setting and it was already gloomy in the area where the boat was 'moored'. We struggled to get decent photos with the small digital camera we always carry, but have posted the best here.










We spent about an hour there, checking the boat out from every angle, talking about it, wondering, loving the mystery of it. Who knows what adventures that rusty hull had before it ended up in the middle of the pine forest.
One thing I know. Solid metal boats aren't cheap. Never have been. Hard to imagine that someone just dumped it there for eternity. Did the owner intend to go back for it one day? To re-fit it? To get it back onto the ocean?
Who knows. We sure don't.

The sun was setting and we didn't want to ride back to Moss Vale in the dark, so we left our strange discovery and headed home, taking some nice scenic photos along the way.

Not far from the boat we came acros two more relics.



Is this the remains of a Model T Ford?



Fields ajoining Penrose Forest.




Sunset over the fields of Gunwallow Hill.






Back at the Moss Vale residence we had another guest for dinner.


It was the end of an eventuful day.

Stay tuned for my brief ride report and pics that I took on on some of the trails in Belanglo Forest the next day.

Cheers: Jaq and Lin.