weather

    The predicted weather for the weekend was not promising. However for those arriving on Friday there was a very pleasant surprise to find a cool but otherwise sunny day. Friday night proved to be very cold with a very heavy fog. Late Saturday afternoon saw some light rain and a few further showers but not enough to deter the camp cooking and a late night around the campfire. Sunday was very overcast and cold with rain/showers around camp cooking time and showers for the remainder of the night. Monday we woke to threatening rain and for those packing up it proved to be a wet one with awful conditions for the remainder of the day and into Tuesday for those remaining hardy campers. Hope it wasn’t too bad guys!

friday

    The day was spent with campers arriving, setting up, having wood delivered, getting a good campfire established and much time spent beside the fire catching up with old friends and soon making new ones. For those already established in camp, fishing for the ever-elusive trout.

saturday

    Saw the campfire being lit very early and people congregating and chatting around it to keep warm. Some went off to nearby Camperdown or fished whilst other campers were still arriving and setting up.

     At 2pm we were lucky enough to have a local Country Fire Authority member come and chat to us about camping in the bush and the best things to do if caught in a bushfire. He also covered rules and regulations regarding total fire ban days and provided some very useful information for us to peruse at our leisure. He also discussed the use of fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and fire blankets in the camper trailer. In all it was very informative and stimulated some interesting dialogue about bushfires. Hopefully we will remember it all if we ever find ourselves in the dreadful situation of a fire. Our sincere thanks to Ray from Colac CFA.

    Saturday evening saw happy hour and nibbles and some interesting creations being cooked on the campfire with only light showers to dampen the spirits. The mulled wine produced by Jeannie and Leanne certainly kept the "inner camper" warm and happy.

sunday

    Sunday morning was a rush to get individual camps tidied up for walkabout. The criteria for each camper during walkabout was to state three reasons why they had bought their particular camper and one thing, if any, they don’t like about it. This produced all sorts of various reasons and for most it wasn’t so much about the price tag but the ease of setting up, its useability and their camping lifestyle.

    Following this, campers again disappeared to check out the area whilst others got busy preparing something for the Queen’s Birthday afternoon tea. This turned out to be a fantastic spread and I hope everyone enjoyed sampling all the goodies provided. It provided some amazement from nearby campers that we could produce such wonderful goodies from our humble camping equipment.

    The evening brought on more campfire cooking and lots of chatter, happy hour and more mulled wine again around the fire intermittently interrupted by rain. A few hardy and well-seasoned campers stayed by the fire into the wee hours of the morning.

monday

    With it raining of and on all night it was up early for those departing to pack up before the rain got too heavy. Leaving a few to stay on another night I hope they survived the wet and cold conditions.

some memorable moments

• Newbies being introduced to secret women’s business of shoogeling

• Wayne's successful attempt at baking a chocolate cake in the camp oven followed up by his first ever roast cooked in the camp oven. Well done Wayne.

• Queens Birthday high tea – did we really need tea afterwards?

• Dave emerging from the camper on Monday morning after a very late night and his statement of "oh dear" and looking somewhat startled that it was morning already

• The weather – it was not as bad as predicted and allowed all activities to be carried out

• Bob and Ann’s weather forecast on Monday morning as we were madly trying to pack up before the rain came – glad we were going home!

• The visiting koala

• Trent’s excellent run down of Mk 2.5 while Dad went AWOL and telling us that Dad was very "protective" of his camper

• Wayne’s sock miraculously turning into a five fingered puppet by the fire

• Wayne's claim to catching a trout – but we didn’t get to see it!

• Trent’s perfectly cooked marshmallows that he happily shared

• For those lucky enough to sample Mila’s spring rolls and red curry – yum