Spring 2013

With great excitement Cate, Ethan, Aisha and I, packed the trailer, loaded the car, locked the front door and headed off for our first extended trip in the camper trailer.

Our first stop was Bairnsdale for a short break playing in the park on the way to the Lake Tyres Beachfront Park, just over a 2.5 hour drive.

Lake Tyres was a very pleasant park set near the beach in amongst the tea tree and a very bushy atmosphere, it was quiet and relaxed. Trish and Darren were the owners and were very helpful. While in Bairnsdale we did a "Swap and Go" with our gas bottle only to realise when we set up for dinner that the bottle had a different connection to the previous bottle and we couldn't connect the stove. Darren found us another bottle he had and changed it for us. I could finally make a tea and coffee.

Cate and the kids went to the beach while I completed the set up and got dinner ready. We were blessed with perfect weather and beautiful surroundings.

The next morning, Wednesday, we packed up and headed for Pambula. We had never been there before and began the 3.5 hr drive around 10:30.





We decided to stop for a break in Cann River, I wandered over to the bakery while Cate, Ethan and Aisha played in the park. In the bakery were hand made dolls houses and we decided to take the kids over for a look. Chatting to the lady behind the counter she told us about a new doll museum they had opened 5 day previous. We walked into the most amazing miniature world I had ever seen. One of the residents had been collecting and making dolls houses for 40 years and they were now proudly on display. We could have spent hours there but we still had nearly 2 hours to Pambula. We will make more time to see it next time we are in the area.

This holiday was the first time Aisha had been to NSW so we couldn't help but stop for some tourist shots at the boarder, Welcome to NSW!!

We arrived at Pambula mid afternoon and set up camp. The park was fantastic. The facilities were excellent and it was not too busy, we had plenty of room. Again Cate and the kids headed to the beach while I finished setting the camp up. It didn't take us very long to realise the local kangaroos were extremely friendly and didn't mind coming right up to the campers. The kids were excited to be so close to wild animals and they were very used to being around people.

Thursday we went to the beach after breakfast. The weather was perfect, a beautifully clear sky and not a breath of wind. We played in the sand and paddles in the water for what seemed like hours only to realise when we got back to camp it was still only 9:30 so we decided to head to Merimbula and Magic Mountain for the day. We had heard about the theme park the day before with the tourist information they gave us when we arrived.

The weather turned dramatically during the morning and by the time we got to Magic Mountain the wind was blow furiously and increased within an hour of us being there. Ethan and I managed to have a ride on the roller coaster and Aisha and I rode in the racing cars before the wind became too strong and they had to close the park for safety reasons. Ethan was particularly disappointed however they gave us ticket to return the following day.

We returning to Magic Mountain of Friday and had a wonderful day. The kids enjoyed the toboggan ride and the racing cars. Ethan rode the rollercoaster for a second time and we played a game of mini golf. It wasn't only the little kids that had a great day!!

 

After Magic Mountain we went to a little cafe had some food and coffee and discovered a camping shop over the road. We purchased another table for some bench space and a cloths line both for camping.

Saturday morning was glorious, another morning with no wind at all. Cate went for a 2 hour walk along the beach while Ethan, Aisha and I played in the sand. After lunch we went for a long bike ride through the park and played in the playground.

The final day of our holiday was spent at the beach and again riding around the park. Late in the afternoon we began to pack up. After an early dinner Cate took the kids for a shower and then into their pyjamas for a 7 pm departure.

The kids enjoyed the drive for a little while before they both fell asleep, Cate slept for some of the trip. We got home around 12:30.

It was a wonderful trip and we booked another trip there before we left.

 

 

Buchan

Queens Birthday weekend and we headed to Buchan for the weekend. Up early Saturday morning to finish packing before leaving. Cate, Ethan, Aisha and I in our car and we had the pleasure of Zaron and his girlfriend Talia joining us in their vehicle. We left Yarragon around 10:30am.

The journey was exciting with the littlies in the back very excited to be going "camping in the bush". we arrived at Buchan around 4:00pm, with just enough light to set up camp.
Only the second time setting up the camper was again exciting. much less time than Coopers Creek. I'm sure we will get it down to a fine art before to long. Zaron and Talia set up a tent next to the trailer.

The camp ground was fairly busy with more than half the sites occupied. Unfortunately all the fire places were taken and we couldn't access one.

Stew for dinner, it was the first time I had cooked on the stove and I must say it turned out quite well.
By the time we had dinner and cleaned up the kids were off to bed. We definately need light in the kitchen area, a project I'll undertake shortly, cooking and cleaning using a head torch is ok but not ideal.

I sat up reading till arounf 9:30pm until the cold got the better of me. We bought a small electric heater for the tent which took the chill out of the air. We did turn it back on around 3:00am due to the cold.

We arose to a most spectacular morning, not a breath of wind or a cloud in the sky. That meant a very cold morning. 1cm of the water in the billy had frozen solid overnight and the top of the tent had severe frost on it. That said the day was perfect.

Zaron and Talia had to leave mid morning so we did one of the cave tours before they left. The caves are amazing and the first tour took around 45 minutes. Shortly after that they left us to go home.
Cate, Ethan, Aisha and I had lunch and then went on the next cave tour. again what a fantastic experience. That left us time to play in the park, and explore the camp area. There were leaves everywhere and the kids really enjoyed playing in them.

Dinner and bed for the second night. Sunday night wasn't as cold as it was on Saturday night but it was still a little fresh. The heater remained on for the night.

Monday morning we had breaky and packed up. We did take our time packing and enjoying the morning, again exploring the camp area.

Jumped in the car and headed home.
What a wonderful weekend.

Our first trip

We planned our first trip to Walhella this weekend. Cate finished work at 11am on Saturday and we wanted to head off as soon as she arrived home. The trailer was packed and we left at around 12:30
We decided on Walhella because Cate and I had been there before and had taken Zaron and Laytten, a lovely place we could introduce to Ethan and Aisha. Wikicamps had told us it was accessible with a camper trailer, however only one campsite was, the other was for tents only and had bollards preventing car access. The available one was rocky and the only unpleasant part of Walhella.
Back to wikicamps and we discovered Coopers Creek camp ground only 6 Kms away. Brilliant!
Turned out to be an amazing place. We drove in past several parked 4wds, to an oasis of rocky river, camp fire places and pristine bush. We parked the trailer and I began to set up.
We took our time setting up the camper, althought the actual tent took 5 mins (yes I did time it) to set up. The awning wasn't attached and that took a little time and getting all the boxes where we liked them was heaps of fun playing with. A little walk before dinner was great fun for the kids
Stew for dinner, 2 fruits for desert. It was then time for PJs and off to bed.
The kids slept much better than I thought they would. Asleep by 7, the usual time, however they both woke around 3 telling us they were cold. It was cold, around 2-3 degrees, they did go back to sleep and woke again at 7.
Was a beautiful morning. Foggy, misty, cold, beautiful. Set the fire and cooked breaky. Just after breaky the fog lifted to the most wonderful morning. Sunny, motionless. The mist began rising from the car and tent. Before long everything was dry. Ethan was singing the Beetles and he and Aisha were dancing by the fire, very cute.
We took our time packing up and went for a small walk to the creek, again beautiful. We had lunch in Walhella followed by a trip on the old log train.
The kids had a ball, as did Cate and I. I think Coopers Creek could be a place we could frequent often.

Buying a camper trailer

As fate would have it 3 days after we got home from Sennis, I saw a camper advertised in the trading post. It ticked all our boxesand, unbelievably, was both in our price range and not on the other side of the continent. I had seen many campers for sale in either Western Australia or far north Queensland.
As it happens it was located in Werribee. my dad has a camper and works in Hoppers Crossing. I rang him around midday and asked if he could go and have a look after work. He did so and called from there. Maybe 10 minutes later he made the deal. Transfer of money (oh my god! Don't mention the mortgage) blah, blah and the next weekend we went to Hoppers and picked it up.

I told Cate in the proceeding months that all the good deals I'd seen in the far north were unrealistic because we wouldn't buy one without seeing it first, mmm we managed to buy one only 2 hours away and bought it with out seeing it.
A big thanks goes to dad and Krissy. Their input to our decision and checking it out for us is definitely appreciated. They went out of their way to pick it up and leave it at their work for us. We were excited, to say the least, when we did see it for the first time. The 2 very poor pictures in the trading post did it no justice. For one of its age it appears to be hardly used and in better condition than I'd thought.

We have a camper trailer!!!!

Now the fun part planning our trips.

 

In the beginning

The thought of camping really began when we went to Phillip Island Big 4 Newhaven, in January 2013. Cate, Zaron, Laytten, Ethan, Aisha and I stayed there with the Bearsleys on our annual week long holiday.

Cate and I were looking at camper setups and thought we could eventually get ourselves a camper trailer and see more of this great country of ours. Scouring the Internet and visiting outdoor expo shows seemed to consume my every thought from mid January till April 6th, the day I saw a camper trailer advertised in the trading post. 

A week after we got home from Newhaven we decided to hire a camper trailer from Johnno's Camper Trailers and head to Pambula Beach in the September holidays. The trip was organized and booked before the end of January. I had also discovered an iPhone app called Wikicamps. An app that displayed all the camping spots in Australia and their features, it turned out to be a brilliant app.
In those months I researched all of the manufacturers I could find. Many of the quality ones were well and truly out of our price range. The second hand market was very interesting to watch. Very little price difference between the old and the new. I had spreadsheets with all the information I thought I needed, and had a great idea of what we really wanted. A simple to set up entry level second hand camper trailer without any bells and whistles.

We had never taken Ethan and Aisha camping and decided to spend our 9th wedding anniversary at the Sennis campground around 30 minutes from home. I guess the thought was if it was a complete disaster we could just come home at any time. We packed the car - tents, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, food etc and headed off. We had a magnificent time. The only issue was there were very few walks. We had such a good time Cate and I knew a camper trailer would suit us.