Helensvale Meet Up

by Miriam | Nov 27, 2019 | Adventures, Adventures Couples, Adventures Family, Destinations, Destinations Couples, Destinations Family, Miriams Moments

RnR Wanderers, Let’s Get Outta Here and Makn Trax were coming along for our first weekend away in months! We’ve had a really rough year having had no van or 4×4 for what feels like forever, and this was us finally getting back out there doing what we love.

We still don’t have a caravan or a battery system in the Hilux but we weren’t going to let this stop us. So, we were heading off with what we do have – the Alucab rooftop and a borrowed Eski packed with ice.

Our initial plans of a weekend at Flanagan’s Reserve were completely thrown by the devastating bushfires that have wreaked havoc in our National Parks and so many other places. Where could we go on such short notice we wondered? The BIG4 at Helensvale popped into my mind (it’s our local go-to park being only 20 minutes down the highway). Worth a try I thought and made the call. Within a few minutes we were booked into the unpowered sites down the back by the river.

It’s such a fun park with awesome amenities and great, super-friendly staff. I love the huge tropical fish tank in one of the (really nice) camp kitchens and the even bigger one in the amenities block! It’s pet-friendly and even has a dog-park which was perfect for Mel and Geoff’s pooches Molly and Kiki to have a good run around in. If dogs and fish aren’t your thing, feel free to check out the various animals in the ‘petting zoo’. There’s a BMX track which Greg’s little fella didn’t take long to find, and plenty of open spacefor the kids to ride/tun around in.

The pool area lit up by flames at night and open until 9 p.m., is amazing. You can relax in the spa or splash around in the heated pool which has a water slide while the kids (if you have them) have fun in the shallow kid’s pool. If you get hungry while hanging out in the pool area, you’ll find the café serves scrumptious food and drinks until 8 p.m. And they can whip up a mean cocktail!

Yep, this park is just awesome! It also helps that the park is located right across the highway from Movie World, Dream World, White Water World, Wet n Wild, Outback Spectacular and Top Golf and isn’t far from Surfers Paradise or Brisbane.

This park is just awesome! It also helps that the park is located right across the highway from Movie World, Dream World, White Water World, Wet n Wild, Outback Spectacular and Top Golf and isn’t far from Surfers Paradise or Brisbane.

Mel and Geoff (RnR Wanderers) were already set up when we arrived about lunch time on Friday. We parked the Hilux next to ‘Blondie’ and our Alu-cab roof top and brand new awning was set up within a few minutes.

We had a bit of a chat before I left the boys with their beers and went for a splash in the heated pool.

When I returned to camp, Greg from Makn Trx had arrived along with Kurt and Carly from Let’s Get Outta Here .

The boys were frothing over Greg’s chopped 200 series and discussing all things 4×4.

Camping makes a person hungry and we were there is a flash when Kurt and Carly invited us over to their caravan for Weber-fired pizzas. Carly’s got that recipe nailed … dinner was delish!

It was still early when we climbed up into the roof top. It’s super comfy so we fell asleep fairly easily despite the sound of the freeway. We had forgotten how loud the road-noise is when not in an enclosed van!

The sun peeking in through the flyscreen combined with the cockatoos squawking had us up pretty early. I pulled up a camp chair by the river to read for a while and Chris did whatever it is Chris does (Instagram and YouTube I think … lol).

By the time the others were up and about, we’d showered, and Chris was getting hangry. We thought brekky at the café would be quicker than cooking our own, so we all headed over there to find we had 15 minutes before the gate opened. Not to be idle, we decided to have a bit of a sticky at the huge new water park that will be open to the public in February next year. It will be amazing!

On the way, some gorgeous little French Bulldog puppies name Bob and Marley grabbed our attention and wouldn’t let go! They were adorable and had us all wishing we could take them home. Marty (their dad) came out and had a chat with us. Turns out he was there with his family on the final leg of their lap around Australia! ‘Glamping Around Oz’ was stuck on their Silverline next to a big ‘For Sale’ sticker.

Breakfast was divine (pancakes, eggs benedict, brekkie wraps and big breakfast filled our table) and a great way to start the day that was filled with relaxing, chatting, swimming, being a little crazy in the pool and just enjoying each other’s company.

We had a nibbles platter for lunch, again thanks to Kurt and Carly, and said goodbye to Greg who was packing up and heading off only to set up in a new location a few hours later. The rest of us all went our separate ways for a few hours; some of us reading, others (Chris) having naps, swimming, and doing whatever else we felt like.

Chris added some awesome graphics to the back of the Let’s Get Outta Here Van and managed to get it straight even after a few Big Heads!

We came back together later in the arvo to sort out how we were getting to and from Top Golf which was just across the Motorway. Needless to say, we were all a little disappointed when we arrived to find out that the wait to play was over two hours.

We decided food was the next best thing (I know, food did feature a lot in our weekend!) and headed to the Boathouse Tavern for some amazing food and drinks.

We sat outside next to the live music. It was fun to people watch a bit and continue chatting. We didn’t run out of conversation all weekend which I guess is to be expected when like-minded people with similar passions get together. It was great!

There was a brief lull while we were all devouring our meals … but that didn’t last long! We all have so much in common and so much to share with each other … including lots of laughter.

I tell you … Mel and Carly seriously crack me up! Such hilarious human beings.

Sunday was breakfast at the café and then time for Kurt, Carly and us to pack up and head off. We watched Mel and Geoff disappear in our side mirrors as we drove away … they were lucky enough to be hanging around for an extra night.

We had such a great weekend even though it was nothing like we had originally planned. Our free-camping adventure at Flanagan’s turned into a caravan park adventure with loads of delicious food and pool time! Who can complain about that? Certainly not me! I had a blast and I can’t wait until our next meet up in mid-December.

Thanks to Mel and Geoff, Greg and Ellie and Kurt and Carly for making the weekend awesome. Oh, and Chris. Of course, thanks to Chris! He makes all my weekends awesome 🙂

Website: https://goldcoastholidaypark.com.au/

Girraween National Park

by Miriam | Mar 14, 2019 | Adventures, Adventures Couples, Destinations, Destinations Couples, Miriams Moments, National Parks

Check out our video here

This year for Australia Day long weekend, we headed away from the crowded beaches to our beautiful granite country keen to explore Girraween National Park.

We decided it was time to tick something off the bucket list … and on day one we did just that; we climbed the Pyramid! And wowsers … what a view from the top!

It was so worth the incredible steep (and scary) climb. Just epic! 🤙🏼 I must point out that I (Miriam) was the one terrified of slipping down the rock face as we made our way up. Chris was running up in his runners, and I was stepping very carefully with my hiking shoes on. Oh to have his confidence!
He even scaled a rock on top of the rock … 😯

We also walked through, around and Chris walked on top of the Granite Arch as well 😆 It’s hard to figure out why it has the name it does … lol. It’s a beautiful spot from all angles and boggles our brains as to how the rock just balances on top like that! Come to think of it, there are lots of rocks in precarious positions that we spent ages trying to figure out not only how they got there but how they’ve managed to stay put!

It was a scorching hot weekend with temperatures soaring up into the high 30’s, so we made sure we had plenty of water, wore our wide brimmed LSKD hats and headed up the rock early.

We were back at the caravan by midday relaxing and enjoying being immersed in nature in an almost empty camp ground. Something you don’t often come across is a gorgeous campground with plenty of empty sites on Australia Day long weekend!

It was the perfect opportunity for us to get out our epic Knobby Underwear collection and snap a few true blue Aussie shots in honour of their Australia Day design. And while there may have been quite a few empty spots around us, we still drew a bit of attention and ended up meeting some great people who wandered over to see why on earth we had done so much washing! We honestly love these undies – we have so many pairs/sets and still look forward to ‘Knobby Day’ when they show up in our letterbox each month! If you would like your own Knobby subscription, head over to the Knobby website and enter our code ‘yhs34y‘ and you’ll get a discount off your first subscription.

You can of course purchase a single pair if you don’t feel the need to cover the entire front of you van with your intimates like we did here!

Ok, so we may have also done a few sneaky Knobby’s shots on top of The Pyramid too. One bonus of getting up early and starting the climb while it was still cool was that we had the top to ourselves for ages! We passed lots of people on our way down … I wonder how it hot must have been for them at the top!

Girraween National Park has been undergoing a severe drought and the campgrounds have been closed for quite sometime. There was no water to the amenities other than toilets and taps. It was such a shame about the showers as they looked fantastic! We usually shower in the van, but I would have used the amenities because they looked so darned lovely 😊

The camping areas usually open for public holidays, long weekends and school holidays operating at half capacity and without showers.

👉🏻 Check out campground status here: https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/park-alerts/16209.html

As it’s a national park, fees are quite low. (taken from the above website)

$6.55 per person per night, or $26.20 per family per night;
$3.60 per person per night for students and accompanying adults on approved educational excursions.

Family rate

A family is 1 or 2 adults and accompanying children under 18 years.
The family rate applies to a maximum of 8 people in total.

Free of charge for children under 5 years.

On day two we went for a wander to The Junction. We did The Junction Circuit at 7am before it got too hot. It was just under 3km and a nice easy walk, most of it was along the very dry river bed. So. Very. Dry.

It made for some great scenery, but oh – how amazing it would be if there was a swimming hole!

It was so awesome to have Kurt and Carly from Lets Get Outta Here join us 😁

Check them out on Insta and Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/Lets-Get-Outta-Here-494857247657662/

https://www.instagram.com/letsgetouttahere_/

Let’s sum up our weekend in three words … HOT … WALKING … NATURE 🔥🌿🚶🏻‍♂️🏃‍♀️

We will be waiting for the water to start flowing again and we’ll be back for sure. We’d also like to head back in winter 🥶 ❄️ 😁

Map📍
Girraween National Park
Pyramids Rd, Ballandean QLD 4382
https://goo.gl/maps/6mGRgJgvijy

Sandstone Point Holiday Resort, QLD

by Miriam | Feb 19, 2019 | Adventures Family, Destinations Family, Miriams Moments

‘On the glistening shores of Pumicestone Passage, just a stone’s throw from the iconic Bribie Island is the brand new BIG4 Sandstone Point Holiday Resort. Nestled directly in the middle of Brisbane CBD & the Sunshine Coast, there is plenty to do with magnificent facilities, beaches and scenic bushland showcasing the best of South East Queensland escapes.’

Name:

Sandstone Point Holiday Resort

Location:

1820 Bribie Island Rd, Sandstone Point QLD 4511

https://goo.gl/maps/jE61VorrgsJ2

Date of Stay: Feb 15-17, 2019

Type of Park: Resort

Rating: 4.5/5

Staff: Lovely

Sites: Large and flat, very new

Positives:

new
close to the hotel (for concerts/meals/drinks)
awesome facilities
shampoo/body wash in the showers
not far from Brisbane (minimal traffic getting home)
caters to most people
café/restaurant

Negatives:

no pets
minimal shade (trees)
no adults only pool (I wish!)
no beach frontage

After reading about this incredible park that was ‘opening to the public’ in November of 2018 and was booking out 6 months in advance, we knew our kids would LOVE it and we had to check it out. We decided that it would be the perfect place to go for my 40th birthday weekend and we booked straight away for the weekend of the 15^th of Feb, 2019. (My birthday is Valentine’s Day, lucky me. Lol).

When we invited our camping buddies, we almost fell over when they said they’d booked the same place on the same weekend for Archie’s second birthday and were about to invite us! What an awesome coincidence.

We had to wait for the kids to finish school before heading up, which meant we arrived late in the afternoon as the sun was starting to set. Our first impressions of the park were dusted with golden hues – it was absolutely beautiful.

Sandstone Point Holiday Resort is yet another amazing Big4 that has opened its doors offering up a stunning park filled to overflowing with all you could possibly want to keep the kids out of your hair all day and into the night.

The best part for us is that it’s not much more than an hour away which means on the Sunday afternoon return drive, we were ahead of most of the crazy Bruce Highway traffic. Those of you who live in Brisbane or further south and love to head up to the Sunny Coast on the weekend will know exactly what I’m talking about.

The facilities are world class; we are talking an epic water park that even I didn’t want to leave! The rainbow slide was a huge novelty at first, creating a trippy, wet and windy ride – but eventually the psychedelic colours didn’t even register as we raced from slide to slide, getting pulverised by water from all directions, stopping only to wait for the giant bucket to fill up and crash down on our heads or backs or whatever was facing up at the time!

This waterslide brought out the crazy kids in all of us!

The resort style pool is one of the best I’ve seen with floating pillows and just so much space – it’s a brilliant design. There’s an infinity type wall where the water flows into a beach-like shallow pool (perfect for the younger kids), and so many deck chairs, shade umbrellas and big round cushioned swings under the many palm trees.

The cafe is pretty awesome as are the cocktails you can order while lounging around the pool (so I’m told!)

My only suggestion would be an adults only pool/section. Kids are great, but, well, some adults only space would be a very welcome addition.

The palm trees light up as the sun sinks low and the pool area quietens down and become almost magical with the soft glow from the restaurant and the hum of happy conversations.

Let’s be honest though, this isn’t ‘camping’ … it’s most definitely a ‘resort’ and every part of this gorgeous park reminds you of that.

From the wide, white concrete roads winding through the huge property (perfect for bikes, scooters and skateboards) and manicured lawns/gardens to the many camp kitchens and holiday villas dotted around. There is an air-conditioned gym and 2 air conditioned games rooms complete with air hockey, claw machines, x boxes, play stations, pool table and arcade games.

The amenities are fabulous and there is even body/hair liquid in each shower. Perfect for when you forget your toiletries bag!

Outside you’ll find a jumping pillow, full-size tennis court, basketball court, playground, large chess game and a dirt section to play bocce.

All this plus the water park and swimming pool which is surrounded by beautiful palm trees and the softest artificial grass I’ve ever wiggled my toes in.

We had site 57 which backed onto what looked like a little forest of tall straight trees. It’s a prime spot close to the pool with grass to one side and the trees behind.

I went for a bit of a wander as I usually do, and this was when I discovered all the safari tents and villas up the back. Walking down the road past a huge 2 story house with water views, I saw a big thick rope leading down the bank.

I followed it down to the mangroves where there was a thin strip of sand and water lapping gently against the shore. Sadly, it was filled with mosquitoes and I ended up with more than a few bites in my brief 5 minutes by the water.

I walked back up some beautiful timber stairs that led me to a deck and yet another huge camp kitchen. The park is quite big with lots of different sections, all that were being put to good use.

We had babies right through to teenagers in our group and they all had a blast. The adults had a great time too. We had planned on heading over to the Sandstone Point Hotel, but sadly we didn’t get around to it.

Many huge international artists perform major outdoor concerts at the hotel, and Suzi Quatro along with The Angels, Baby Animals, Screaming Jets, Jon Stevens, Moving Pictures and Chocolate Starfish are all being advertised for next months ‘Red Hot Summer’.

I guess that would be something to be mindful of when booking – check for huge acts and avoid if you don’t like loud music or lots of cars in the guest car park. RnB Fridays are also being advertised at the hotel.

The guest carpark was where my bestie parked up when she came up for the birthday celebrations. She paid $20 which gave her a hot pink wrist band allowing her access to the park and all facilities for the day.

I was told by staff that 6 people per site are allowed, and as we had 5 in our family, one extra was fine.

While this usually isn’t our scene, we also enjoyed our stay as it caters nicely to everyone. To be honest the best time for us was Sunday after most people had checked out and the pool area and water park had quietened down.

We know what we prefer – and that’s free camping in more out of the way, unusual spots. We aren’t the biggest fans of crowded swimming pools and resort style places. (By ‘we’ I mean Miriam and Chris) but our kids LOVE this and have rated this one right up there!

I must admit, while secluded camp sites are what I prefer, on occasion I do enjoy the resort style caravan parks (in off-peak when they aren’t so crowded) and am happy to bob around in the pool, lay under the shade of a perfect palm tree wrapped with fairy lights, then make my way across the lush fake turf to the immaculate showers before retiring to the van without a speck of sand to be seen … Chris on the other hand gets quite annoyed and wishes he was by the ocean with nothing but our camp shower to rinse off.

We rate this resort up in our top 3 along with Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort (Cairns) and Northstar Resort (Hastings Point, NSW). Rivershore at Bli Bli also rates highly with our kids.

This is the perfect place for families and groups with kids – especially if you want your kids to disappear for hours and have a fun, safe time.

Facilities

Amenities Blocks
BBQs
Cafe/ Restaurant Available
Camp Kitchen
Caravaning
Convenience Store/Kiosk
Disabled Bathroom
Fire Pit/Camp Fires
Games Room
Giant Jumping Pillow(s)
Groups Welcome
Gymnasium
Ice
In-House Movies
Internet – Free Wireless

Kids Activities
Kids Playground
Laundries with Washing Machines & Dryers
Playground
Pool
Pool – Heated
Recreation Lounge
Security Boom Gate
Sites
Small – Motorhome Friendly Sites
Tennis Court
Tourist Information and/or Bookings
TV & Video Room
Villas
Water Playground
Waterpark

Coolum Beach Holiday Park Review

by Miriam | Oct 21, 2018 | Destinations Couples, Destinations Family, Miriams Moments

Website:

http://www.sunshinecoastholidayparks.com.au/holiday_parks/coolum_beach_holiday_park/

Location: David Low Way, Coolum Beach Qld 4573

Date of Stay: October, 2018

Type of Park: Beachside

Rating: 4.5

Description:

Chris and I are celebrating 8 years together and for this ‘momentous occasion’ Chris booked a weekend without the kids at this gorgeous little park.

Happy Anniversary to us! We celebrated with a Big Head or two and a weekend away 🙂

We usually stay at Cotton Tree when we head up this way, but Coolum has been high on our list of places to visit as we’ve heard great things and driven past many times.

We are pleased to say that it didn’t disappoint! We were a bit skeptical of how the weekend would turn out after what feels like non-stop rain for weeks, and storms were forecast.

We were lucky to have gorgeous weather both Friday and Saturday with only a few drops of rain on the Sunday morning which brought a whole lot of clouds that helped create a spectacular sunrise.

This wasn’t an adventure-filled weekend, it was a ‘let’s relax and unwind’ weekend, and that’s exactly what we did. It was a combination of lying in the sun, walking on the beach, exploring Coolum and kicking back in the caravan park chatting to people as they wandered by.

We want for a wander to try and find a coffee shop for Chris

He needed coffee to help with what the Big Head’s had done last night!

We found Alley Cat … down an Alley 😉

Tickle Park is located right next to the caravan park and is a great place for the kids to play. It has a playground, undercover skate park and a nice grassy area that was being used to hold a bootcamp as we wandered by. This would be handy if you had kids as there is no playground or swimming pool in the park. There were plenty of kids getting around in the caravan park and nearby on bikes and scooters who all looked to be having a wonderful time.

The caravan park itself has 3 amenities blocks which are well maintained and easy to get to. There are 2 laundries and an outdoor clothesline, a camp kitchen and a couple of well equipped BBQ areas.

There were also lots of dogs dotted around the park and playing on the beach.

We were parked up the top directly opposite the path that takes you to the beach. We fell asleep to the sound of the waves and woke up looking out the window watching the waves rolling in. Just magic!

This was the weekend we both needed, and this was the perfect place to do it.

Construction seemed to be well under way for what looks like a new Pavilion. It’s right next to the camp kitchen, so quite possibly will make a bigger kitchen! (see the pic above). We will have to revisit when it’s complete 😉

Facilities:

Powered caravan sites
6 villas
Baby facilities
LPG and party ice for sale
Free Wi-Fi
Camp kitchen
3 amenity blocks
2 laundry areas
Dog friendly, on application

Staff:

Friendly and helpful

Sites:

258 (I counted on the sitemap!) which are a combination of:
Powered slab sites
Multi purpose sites
Unpowered tent sites

Positives:

Direct access to patrolled beach
Right across the road from a huge variety of shops, cafes and restaurants
Great amenities
Lots of sites
Chess set and table tennis table
Pet-friendly (must be pre-arranged)

Negatives:

Reports of things being stolen on Friday and Saturday nights (from people who were here, not from us!)
No swimming pool
No playground

Adventure Bash 18

by Miriam | Sep 24, 2018 | Adventures, Adventures Couples, Adventures Family, Destinations, Destinations Couples, Destinations Family, Miriams Moments

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.