Camping : Part 1

In continuing on with the Australia Day celebrations, we thought what better way (apart from the BBQ and beers, which we'd already had!) to celebrate all things Australian than to head away for a weekend of camping! Liam and I packed up the ute with fishing rods, tents, hammocks, camping gear and threw our best friends in for good measure, and headed to Big River, down by Eildon.

I was lucky enough (sarcasm alert!) to have to work on the Friday after Australia Day, so we headed up as soon as I got home that evening. Liam's best mate, Mark, managed to head down earler in the day so he had a few hours to set up camp before we arrived.

Driving down the big stretch of road, we spotted this sign which Mark had put out so that we wouldn't miss the campsite.

Yes, that says "LIAM you poof". Boys, honestly!

On the bright side, Mark had been busy during the day and totally set up camp!

This was our home for the weekend. A four room tent, including two single rooms, a "living room" area and a double room, plus a gas fridge and all the bells and whistles. Not quite as "roughing it" as some might imagine, out in the Aussie outback! This was my best friend, G's very first time ever camping, and she was suitably impressed.

Unfortunately our bathroom facilities were not quite so glamorous! Long-drop dunnies. G was not quite as impressed with this arrangement!

When we arrived, the sun was starting to go down so after a bit of a quick explore the boys got the fire going so that we could cook some dinner. It was still quite warm, so it was a perfect night to relax for a bit underneath the stars. It's amazing how many stars you can see on a clear night out in the country.

After a hearty meal and a few drinks, we had a relatively early night so that we could get up early and make the most of the day. In the morning, G opted for a bit of a sleep in, but the boys and I wandered down to the river for a bit of early morning fishing.

However I soon found that THIS was the perfect way to spend the morning - lying in the hammock with a book, drink in hand, clear blue sky above. I could have stayed there forever.

Being the ever-thoughtful soul that he is, Liam had decided to surprise me by packing the hammock for me to use on the trip. Have I mentioned how much I love that boy? It was a perfect idea!

This is food photography - bush camping style! Bacon, egg & cheese toastie. YUM.

There was even table (hammock?) service! My wonderful man cooked up breakfast, and served it to us.

Didn't have to lift a finger!

Here he is, hard at work! :)

However, G and I decided that we wanted to try our hands at campfire cooking! If only so we could say that we'd cooked jaffles over campfire coals. And we proved a point that ladies are superior cooks to men, even by campfire, when we turned out these perfectly toasted jaffles!

After breakfast, we took a drive a bit further upstream. We packed a few lilos, inner tubes and floaty devices and set off down the rapids and floated back to camp! It took just over an hour to get back to our camp site this way, and although it was awesome fun I came home with bumps and bruises all over my body! The boys also rigged up a floating esky using a cooler bag, a wading pool and copious amounts of duct tape! Although the esky stayed afloat the entire trip, we unfortunately flooded the river with lots of alcohol as we tried to keep the stubbies in our hands safe while going over the rapids.

Once we got back to camp, we set up our chairs in the river, and G and I worked on our tans with magazines and books to keep us occupied. Mark and Liam decided to try a spot of fishing, and Liam managed to catch a baby trout! As he was only a tiny tacker, there was time for a photo opportunity before setting him free.

There were plenty of people swimming in the river, so it wasn't the most ideal fishing spot.

However while G and I spent some time relaxing (me in the hammock, of course!) with a good book and some magazines, the boys went off on a mission. The fish just weren't biting, but they managed to catch 4 little fishies. Most of them were far too small, and got sent on their merry way, but there was one who ended up on the dinner plate. Poor fishy!

Everyone else in the campsite seemed to go to bed very early (lots of young families) so after dinner it was just us left sitting outside by the campfire. It was absolutely gorgeous, the warmth of the fire, the clear sky full of stars, and the quietness and serenity which was interrupted only by Mark's bad jokes!

And of course, what would camping be without toasted marshmallows by the fire? G had never tried this before (really, a camping virgin!) and adored these! Although I prefer to hold my marshmallows above the flames until they are toasted crunchy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside, Liam advised her to put the marshmallows right into the flames until they caught on fire. She seemed to enjoy these little blocks of carbon!

Part 2 of the trip still to come! :)