Adventure Bash 2018
#adventurebash18
‘A camping festival for young families, who share in the love of Caravanning, Camping & Music’ is how this event is described on the website www.adventurebash.com.au – and that’s exactly what it was – plus so much more!
We have been looking forward to this weekend, the Inaugural Adventure Bash, since we first heard about it and bought our tickets as soon as they went up for sale months ago.
Chris and I both arranged to take the Friday and Monday off, and we took the kids out of school for the day, so we could get on the road early Friday morning. Traffic wasn’t a problem; the weather was perfect, and everyone was in a good mood. It was a great start, and it only got better from there.
Our destination was Imbil; a tiny little town in the Mary River valley, 160 kilometres north of Brisbane.
We checked in to the Imbil Camping Retreat about 10:30am and were welcomed by Brett and Cheryl, the loveliest of hosts!
We pulled in within 10 minutes of the other two families we went with (Ribics on the Road and 4xgouldsgetaway) and we were parked and set up fairly quickly. The kids took off to explore and Chris and I went for a bit of a wander.
It’s a gorgeous little spot set alongside the beautiful Yabba Creek, with 12 acres of shaded parklands ranging from secluded areas to open spaces for larger groups.
We had heard many good reviews, and it’s easy to see why. The trees and grassy areas are just magic! Everywhere you looked a photo opportunity seemed to present itself. It was the perfect location for the bash.
It wasn’t long before Justin from Trip in a Van rocked up to our van with a sore butt on a kids BMX selling raffle tickets. We had a chat, bought some tickets (the first of many sold to our group!) and he left on Chris’s electric bike. Let’s just say that he left a whole lot faster than he arrived and the smile on his face was a whole lot bigger.
We checked out the tents down in the ‘common area’ and had a chat with Adele from Caravanning with Kids and a few others. It was great meeting people we had previously ‘met’ online – it really felt like we already knew each other!
The weekend was ‘officially’ opened at 2:00 by Justin and Bec from Trip in a Van, Renee from Caravan RV Camping and Adele who gave us the rundown on what was going on and all the important info. Chris paid special attention to when the Round and Round Coffee van opened for business each morning.
Mark Maroney was the first of a fantastic line-up of artists to take to the stage, and his acoustic set really created the mood for a relaxing arvo in the sun.
Our kids took their inflatables down to the river while the adults relaxed and listened to the music until the sun started to sink behind the trees. Campfires were lit, platters were shared, and conversations started flowing along with the drinks in everyone’s hands.
The temperature dropped pretty quickly so we all took showers and changed out of our shorts and into warmer clothes. We had dinner and then traipsed back down with our jackets and drinks and settled in for a great night of live music which included some awesome tunes by Octavian, an amazing band who we have since discovered were featured on Triple J Unearthed.
1 kilogram Donut Challenge
Saturday started off right with a coffee followed by a 1 kilogram jam donut. Say what? Yep. You read it right. Kenilworth is just 19km from Imbil and is home to the Kenilworth Country Bakery which is famous for its 1kg donut challenge.
As if we could let that opportunity pass us by!
Ange had seen on Facebook that they do a 1kg donut challenge – and had signed her hubby Mick up for it. Gian (the Ribic’s eldest son) was chosen for Team Ribic and Chris represented team ADU.
The challenge is to buy a donut for $20 and if you finish it within one sitting (which can take as long as you like) you get your money back, plus your name on a silver plate mounted to the walls. There is a gold plate for those who can eat 2. Wowsers!
They all chose Jam and Cream donuts and all regretted the cream almost immediately. Chris was the first to bow out eating just half, followed by Mick also eating about half, and Gian gave it a red hot go but was also defeated by the giant donut. Not even the staff cheer squad complete with “Eye of the Tiger’ blaring from the UE Boom could spur him on to victory. When I turned back around, the other kids were eating the leftovers and the challengers were lying down in a food coma in the kiddies play area. Nice effort boys!
When I ordered my donut (a more sensibly sized vanilla slice donut) the staff were amazing and took me on a kitchen tour! The new fryers they have are awesome and my donut was picked fresh off the tray in the kitchen. Um YUM!
If you are ever in heading out to Kenilworth or even Maleny I would definitely recommend making a trip (or two) to this bakery. It’s one of the best I’ve ever been to.
We headed back to the caravan park with 3 extremely full men and settled in for another relaxing afternoon. Poor Chris was recovering from his sugar hit and spent a fair but of time snoozing on the towel.
More people started to roll in as the day went on and activities were what woke Chris from his sugar induced slumber. Tug ‘o’ war was well underway and Chris was needed to help even out the teams. After that he was up and back to his normal self.
He even won the Stand Up Paddle Board Comp for fathers and sons, and came a very close second in the adults division. It was a serious business this SUP racing! Some of us preferred to watch 😉
After showers it was time to think about heading back down to the main area with our warmer clothes and drinks for another epic night of tunes and chats.
We all had burgers from the BBQ tent which were delicious! Those guys did an amazing job keeping everyone fed over the weekend.
The fires burned brightly, and the conversations got louder. The music was great and after the kids went to bed, the real party started and continued on past midnight.
Hilarious conversations became a crazy reality when ‘The Travelling Mo’ was born, domains purchased, and Facebook and Instagram pages set up thanks to the outrageous Adele. Be sure to look her up (Caravanning with Kids and now – The Travelling Mo) Most of the conversation from that point on was done via a thumb acting as a mouth on everyone’s hands. You kinda had to be there. Lol.
It was a slow start the next day for many, but everyone came good and enjoyed the hottest day of the weekend. 27 degrees had most of us in swimmers and dipping in and out of the creek.
I took Cooper and Charli up into town and we had a look at the local markets and had a wander through the antique store. Seriously, if you want to see something funny – let your teenagers loose in rooms filled with old stuff.
We only had to walk 2 minutes down the road to find the old Imbil Railway line and Bridge. This captured the kid’s attention for ages! They were ‘diverting trains’, walking along the tracks, and I could hear their imaginations running wild. The old bridge is just beautiful, and the whole experience brought out the inner child in our 2 teenagers 🙂
We would have kept exploring for hours had Chris not called asking for lunch, so walked back and ate before more swimming, relaxing and good music.
The Adventure Bash is a fundraiser for ‘Buy a Bale’ to help our farmers and all throughout the event raffle tickets were being sold, winners being announced, and Mel Ribic was telling us how she wanted to win the fridge. She bought hundreds of dollars’ worth and won all sorts of things (including an eski, a pegless clothesline and a solar cooker), but sadly for her and funnily for us, not the fridge!
Sunday night was as much fun as Friday and Saturday. The fact that all the leftover food at the BBQ tent was ½ price and we all ate dinner around the campfire together, made it even more memorable. The talent on stage were insane with the Dennis Sisters (who were on X Factor), and a 5 person Reggae Band to really set the mood as they finished off the night. I spent so much time dancing and singing and cartwheeling with the kids, it was fabulous!
Monday morning meant time to pack up and say goodbye to our new friends. It may have only been a weekend, but it was one of the best weekends we’ve had in our van so far. We’ve met people we know will be lifelong friends, even if we correspond online more than in person. Catch-ups will be happening randomly throughout the year as we occasionally cross paths, leading up to when we do this all again next September.
This is a huge part of why we do what we do. Meeting likeminded people and getting together to share our adventures is just priceless.
Cheers to the Adventure Bash and to all of the amazing people who came together to make it happen.
AWESOME write up Miriam – it was a blast meeting you, Chris and the kidlets…we are so glad you made it and wish you all the best with your FUNDraiser soon….Happy & Safe travels – Adele & Wayne – Caravanning with Kids
Oh thanks Adele! It was great to meet you guys too. 🙂 We had such a great time, it was the best weekend! We will try our best for a catch up on our way back from Tassie in the New Year. Happy and safe travels right back at ya! xxx