Belated Camping Memories

 Much earlier this year, back in April actually, I took the girls camping. We went to the usual spot for a "just the girls and I" camping trip, since it's easy and still fun. The difference this time, was that we also took some friends. The girls cousin Hugo and our friend Mia both have Dads who are into camping, but their Mums are not so much. Kind of like Steve and I, but reverse. 

Anyway, we booked a couple of nights and the kids had a blast. It was a bit rainy, but dry enough for us to venture out and see the glow worms at the Natural Bridge the first night. 

The next day we did the Warrie Circuit, which I a little bit regret suggesting, since the rainy-ness had made a lot of mud. We did the walk in good spirits, only a little complaining from the kids at then end, which was abated when I told them I'd dish out a marshmallow for every hundred steps we went up. 

While I could barely move the next three days from the pain in my knees and hips (welcome to old age?), the trip overall had been a success. I'd like to thank the playdough I packed for entertaining the kids for a lot of our campsite down time, and the audio book, Have Sword, Will Travel by Garth Nix and Sean Williams, which also kept them occupied and resting for the before bedtime hour and the two hours it took us to pack up in the morning. 

On the way home, we stopped off at the Gold Coast for a play and an impromptu swim (kids only!) Sophie cooked us sausages on the BBQ for lunch and we picked up a pie from Yatala for dinner. It was beautiful and a lovely reminder that we live in a beautiful part of the world. 

Guide Camp Sewing

Our girls started Guides this year and have loved every minute of it. I'm glad, because I have great memories of being a Guide when I was a kid too, and I know they are learning so much being there with other people. It also has the perks of being two hours on a Friday night. I'll be honest, Steve and I haven't really taken full advantage of that yet, but every now and then, we do enjoy the quiet dinner together. 

So one thing Guides do, if you don't know, is go on camps. Pretty frequently actually. The girls had one in August that was just at a local guide hut for two nights. I was so excited for them, because again, I can remember so much fun on guide camps. Hooray! 

What I didn't remember was all the packing. Our Guide group is lovely, but they aren't the most organised, I'll have to admit. So we got the packing list a week before the girls were to go away. All well and good if you have been on a camp before, and it's not like the list contained too many out of the box things. Wet pack, spare clothes, sleeping bag were all there. But extra things like a plate bag, to put all their cutlery/crockery in, and a tarp, that had to be two by three metres. And a "Sit-upon" which is a square mat (preferably water proof) they can use if they need to sit on the grass for a long period of time. 

Reading the list, I felt a bit silly for not remembering some of those things, but also frustrated. We did have a tarp, for example, but it wasn't quite big enough, and I didn't have two of them. Most people would have a spare drawstring bag lying around for a plate bag, but two that are roughly the same to avoid arguments? Sigh. Even one extra weeks notice would have been greatly appreciated. 

In any case, I got my thinking hat on and then got sewing. Plate bags first, since drawstring bags are easy and I was sure to have some fabric I could use up in the scraps box. Serendipitously, I found that I had exactly the right amount of material for two plate bags from two rectangles of  fabric that the girls themselves had tie-dyed after Christmas. The tie dye powders were a Christmas present from my Godmother, and I had just given them any white fabric that I had on hand to be creative with. 

Perfect for their plate bags: hooray! Rachel sewed hers on her little sewing machine while I did most of Sophie's on Sally. She had to patch her piece of tie dyed fabric first since she'd cut a random circle from one corner for something else. (See my peacock fabric below?) Sophie did come over and do a bit, but was mostly not interested. I happened to have exactly the right amount of cord and two wooden beads in my stash as well. So perfect. 

While I was looking through the stash box for plate bag fabric, I stumbled across the strip of leftover vinyl that we had from recovering the chairs. I had to patch it together to get the squares, but they are pretty sturdy. 

For the flip side, I used a quilted Lorraine Lea pillow case that my friend Katie gave me. (I've used pillowcases before see?) I figured that the quilted bit would make the mats slightly more padded and thus comfortable on the ground. Rachel learnt how to bind things when we finished all the edges with strips of the other side of the pillow case.  

Done and done. Though it was rushed, I did feel good sending them off with home made things in their bags. Also happy to report that the girls both had a fantastic time camping and can't wait to go again. 

Clear Skies and Waterfalls

Even though I know I've said that we are not a camping family, it seems I can't let it go entirely, and the girls are still so delighted with nature that it seems it would be a waste not to embrace it even a little. Steve was going to Canberra for a week with his new job, and since it was holidays, I figured what better time for a spot of mid-week camping at Springbrook.

I'd gotten rid of a stack of stuff after our last camping trip, but had kept the essentials. All I did was spend $50 at Kmart to get a slightly larger pop-up tent, so that we all had a bit more space. Last time I took the girls in the 2-man pop-up we had, we had a lot of trouble with condensation on the inside of the tent. I'm sure there were other factors, but I thought with a bit more breathing room we'd have a greater chance of staying dry. 

Not being committed campers means that the set up is easy, since all you do is throw out a tent and put up a gazebo. I guess it also helps that I forgot the camp stove, but really, that wouldn't take too long to get out anyway. We also forgot pillows and paper towel. The pillows were solved by putting clothes in the sleeping bag covers, and the paper towel was replaced with the box of tissues I'd thought to throw into the car. When I'd been sorting through the kitchen box, I'd taken out the tea towels, and discovered that they didn't make their way back into the box. Luckily I'd packed a towel, so we were ok. 

We did the Purling Brook Falls circuit, and never have I seen so much water in that waterfall! Last time we were able to paddle quite comfortably in the water in the pool at the bottom, but this time there was so much spray that we didn't spend time there at all. The girls had a blast taking photos with their hand-me-down cameras. Those bucket hats they are wearing are the reversible ones I made for them in Isolation earlier in March. 

We saw these very cool orange mushrooms, a bug that curled up into a ball when Rachel touched it, a blue tongue lizard and a stack of leaches. Thankfully, most of those leaches were just looking to be friends with us and could be relocated pretty easily. Just one attached itself to me and drank it's fill before I'd even realised. 

Day two we did more of the Purling Brook Falls and played in the water. Then the girls made lunch on the BBQ while I did some pack up at the camp site and after lunch we headed off to do the Twin Falls circuit before heading home. 

Initially we had been planning on staying for two nights, but there was rain on the way, and I figured it would be better to pack up in the dry and have solidly good memories of this trip, than to push it out and leave with everything sad and wet. When we weren't bush walking, the girls were searching for the paddymelons that live around the campsite and chasing away the bush turkeys. And also reading. Of course.  

Sometimes I wonder why I take them anywhere when they just do what they would do at home anyway. We also started reading The Secret Animal Society together which they have been very happy about. 

Here ends our April camping trip for 2022. Not sure if we'll do another this year, but I'm hoping to convince some friends to come along next time. We shall see. 

Camping Memories

 Last camping trip. Maybe ever.

It sounds very fatalistic, but in the lead up to camping at the start of October, I started to realise that even though I would love for us to be a camping family, we just weren't. Camping wasn't a priority for us. Steve was happy to camp, but it was never something he would actively suggest or be excited about. While I loved going camping, I had to admit, I wasn't advocating for a four wheel drive, or to go off an explore places that were any more than two hours away. 

So while I was a little sad at the realisation, I was also ok with it too. We aren't a camping family. 

That said, we did have a great time camping with Steve's mum, brother and all the kids for four days at the start of October. 

We took everyone back to the property at Fernvale where we had camped in 2020. Steve's brother had bought a four wheel drive (he's committed to camping), at the start of the year, and as soon as I heard, I booked us in to camp together. It was perfect. I was a little worried the kids would get sick of each other, but they had a great time playing together. 

We hired the kyaks and paddled around on the river. The days were warm enough to get in the water, at least a little anyway.

Everyone tried fishing. 

Rachel caught a fish. 

We played card games, we had campfires, we ate all the food. 

The last night, we watched the grand final of some sports ball game, which I never would have even though would be something we would do while camping, but it was important to John, and it was his birthday, so we did it. Glad we were in range for the wifi to work, or I think he would have packed up and driven home. 

I loved waking up to these little girls in our tent. 

And it was over at just the right time. We packed up and came home. 

I have given away most of our camping stuff since then. Camp chairs, the four man tent, the huge twelve man tent, the cast iron saucepan, the self inflating mattresses and all sorts of other stuff. I'll admit, I haven't got all the way yet. We still have one box of camping related things in the garden shed; plastic plates and cups, the lantern, the bread toaster thing, as well as one two man tent, which packs flat and easy to pop up. 

So if I did feel the need to take the girls for a one nighter again, I've got the means for a little while longer. Our street people are talking about a group camping trip too, but I figure, if we go with people who camp - they will have all the stuff right?  

Girls One Nighter

The Queensland Government graciously gave all students two pupil free days at the end of the final term for 2020. I decided to use this extra time to the best advantage and take the girls camping for a night. Solo. No other adults, no extra family with kids to entertain each other. Just the girls and I. 

They are just so into camping and I want to make the most of the time we have together. So I booked a night at Springbrook for us. I figured one night would be pretty easy, and Springbrook has a BBQ facility, so I didn't need to pack as much kitchen stuff. The weather was absolutely against us though. So much rain. 

I still feel like we made the most of it, and had a great time. As is usual for a camping trip, I've come home with more good things that outweigh the bad on my list, and I'd be happy to go again. 

We got up to the mountain about 10:30, and set up a very basic camp. I had just brought the two man tent - which the girls kept insisting was actually a "three girl tent" for us. It's a very simple pop up tent, which was fine for a night, but I wouldn't want to do any longer in it. We also popped up the gazebo, which I was very thankful for in all the rain. 

Two years ago, when we took the girls to Ceader Creek with our friends the Pans, it was rainy and wet. The red dirt there turned to mud very quickly, and the five kids had no trouble forgetting about it and tramping it all over our picnic mats and into our tents. Despite our best efforts to remind them to take their shoes off at the door, or on the designated towels, the red mud was everywhere. 

This time, I saw the same red mud situation about to happen, but it seems the girls have levelled up. I only had to explain once, and every time they remembered to use the towel and take their shoes off. It's a small victory, but it made a significant difference. I feel we can camp so much more now, just because of this tiny step. 

Anyway, the rain was clearing, so we took off for the Purling Brook Falls walk. 

Again, my memory of doing this walk six years ago, when Sophie wasn't even two and Rachel was only four months old, is very different to how it played out now. We had a great walk. Sophie kept saying: "This feels so enchanted, Mum!" and Rachel was super at spotting small things. 

We went all the way down to the falls and had lunch and a paddle before starting back up again. 

We were right at the top and the girls asked for another paddle when the rain started up again. I called the girls over to hurry them back to the campsite and unfortunately slipped on a rock. I was mostly fine, but both of my shoes were completely submerged in the water. So annoying. Still, we made it back to camp and played some games under the gazebo together while we dried off. 

Given that I was going solo with the girls, I had planned the most basic and easy meals for the trip. Dinner that night was two minute noodles, which the girls loved. In the morning we had shaker pancakes on the bbq. Too easy and still delicious. 

Given the rain, after our dinner, we just crawled into the tent together. I had packed a chapter book to read to the girls called My Side of the Mountain. It's about a boy who runs away from home in New York to the mountains to live. Perfect for our camping trip. We cuddled in and read until bed and when we woke up in the morning, we read some more. In fact, thanks to the rain, we read about two thirds of that book. 

I say, "when we woke up in the morning we kept reading" like it was a great 8 hour sleep for us all. It was mostly a good sleep for the girls, but I had the worst time of it and it felt like the longest night ever for me. We all fell asleep about 8, but then I woke up at 9, and 10, and 11. It was the wake up at midnight that convinced me to pack up all the outside things (picnic mat, food box, stove) into the car and shift the gazebo so we were more directly under it. The rain wasn't getting in, but it was still directly on our tent. 

Also, because the tent was so toasty warm inside, and the rain was so cold outside, there was a lot of condensation happening on the sides of our very small tent. The girls were on the edges, so I kept pulling them in towards me whenever I woke up, but Rachel woke up at about 11 completely saturated despite my efforts. 

I gave her my sleeping bag and tried to get back to sleep sharing with her, but it was very squishy. At 2am I gave up, and moved to the car with Rachel's wet sleeping bag. Compared with the tent, the car was absolutely freezing, and the wet sleeping bag I had with me didn't really help much. I slept there rather brokenly for an hour and a half before returning to the tent. 

Good thing Rachel's sleeping bag had dried out in that time, because Sophie woke up on my return and discovered she was wet. The three of us cuddled back in together under the two sleeping bags that were still dry and slept until 6, so not too bad at the end there. 

We crawled out for breakfast at 7, and then back to the tent for more reading. There was a break in the rain shortly after, so I figured that was as good a time as any to pack up. It was a bit of a shame to have to leave so soon in the morning (we had been hoping to do another hike that second day), but the rain had really set it and there was no chance of it clearing. 

We took the long way home, with a stop at the Gold Coast for a play in the park and a walk on the beach. Even in the terrible weather, the girls still had fun running around on the sand and chasing waves. 

I just loved the time I had with the girls for this short camping trip, and I'm feeling pretty confident that I could do another, longer one, with them again soon. 

Camping 2020

I almost don't want to post about this. The spot we camped at was so perfect that I want no one else to go there, so that we can book it out whenever we like. Alas, I know that would be selfish of me, and so I am sharing this with the world. We went camping, and it was perfect. 

This is probabaly the hightlight of our September holidays actually. We did two nights away with Sophie's friend and his parents, who I took the girls camping with last year. This time, Steve came too! 

We went to a property in Fernvale, so we had the whole place to ourselves. It was so perfect, becuase we were right on the river. It was cool and shady, even in the middle of the day. Our friends brought their cannoe and the water was just warm enough for a swim. 

There were fish in the river, so we tried our luck at hand line fishing, with no success. 

We played DnD with our friends, had campfires and generally lay around. 

Compared to the 14k hike we went on last year, this was so relaxing. To be perfectly honest, we didn't do much at all, and as I'm typing this, I feel like it's not even worth a post. Even getting there was only 40mins drive! We didn't even listen to a whole musical album in the car. But it was refreshing and fabulous, so I want to remember it and I'm posting this anyway. 

I'm surprisingly even more keen for camping again. It's so irrational, but we had a great time. The girls have scored themselves two extra days off school at the end of this term, and I'm wondering if they aren't ready for a solo adventure with me prehaps? 

Camping 2019

I want to camp more. Some days I don't even know why, because there are so many things about camping that are hard or inconvenient that it's hard to justify that the pros outweigh the cons at all. But I still want to do it. I want to be out in nature, unplugged and offline for even just a little while. Breathing fresh air and enjoying God's creation.

Steve had his fair share of camping as a kid, so he's probably more experienced, but less enthusiastic that I am. As the girls get older though, I think it's much more doable, and certainly an experience that I want to give them while we can. While I appreciate that it's not particularly Steve's holiday of choice, I'm still so keen.

So, this September holidays, I took the girls camping.

Steve doesn't get as many holidays as I do, working in the corporate world, and he is saving those up for Christmas, so I took the plunge and took the girls. Before you start applauding (or worrying) I'll let you know; I didn't go solo. We went we with a family we know. Sophie goes to school with their son. Three of them, three of us. The numbers were good, and the overall adult to child ratio was a fabulous 1:1.

We went down towards Mt Barney on the boarder of Queensland and New South Wales. It was great. The campsite was busy, but didn't feel crowded. A little rain but mostly fine, chilly at night, lots of animals to see and barely any phone signal at all. Perfect.

The second day we all did a 14k hike, which was pretty tough, but so worth it. It was seven k's to this waterhole (sourced from an underground spring), where we splashed and cooled off before heading back the way we came.

We also did all the things you usually do when camping, like sitting around in the shade eating, collecting sticks for fires, cooking marshmallows and playing card games. We saw wallabies, Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos, a Bower Bird, Kurrajongs and a goanna. There was rock hopping at the creek and torch games after dark. Rachel's Nature Explorer Bag was in full use.

In the end the fun of going and the good memories definitely outweigh the trouble of packing even the kitchen sink to get there. Let's go camping more! Maybe one day I will even feel like I can take the girls on my own, but I think they would need to be older and more able to help out first. In the mean time, we will enjoy the time with friends. And the marshmallows.