The Camping Thread

[prydey]

An hour and 3/4? I've camped literally about 25km from home. Can't quite see my house from the campsite

Another favourite spot is about an hour away.

[Beastie]

The yak has been christened...

Probably just legal, but I let him go anyway.




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[Beastie]

How good is it...








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[BENT_8]

Just got back from a couple of nights at Rocky Paddock at Mt Crawford.

Its a nice spot, heaps of shade, fairly popular.
Facilities are basic, Eco long drop toilets which had been given a fair workout over the holidays...

$5 per adult per night, $2 per child.

Took the kayaks as the nearby Warren reservoir has been opened to the public for kayaking and fishing.

https://imgur.com/4tfvWtJ

The recent purchase in its natural environment.

https://imgur.com/ZqBBnhK
https://imgur.com/uwP0QMz

[sgt_doofey]

If you fish at the Warren Reservoir, you'll need to buy a permit from the Barossa Council first.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

If you fish at the Warren Reservoir, you'll need to buy a permit from the Barossa Council first.

Yeah, we bought a 3 day permit for $10 online through RecfishSA or you can get a yearly permit for $33.

http://recfishsa.org.au/reservoir-fishing/

I was surprised at how many people go there to fish.

[sgt_doofey]

I probably should get off my backside one day and take the kids there

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

I probably should get off my backside one day and take the kids there

During the warmer months we like to head up to Barmera for on water activities as its relatively safe being shallow and no currents that you get on the river and then in the cooler months we head to Mambray Creek to do a bit of Bush walking or just kicking back around the campfire.
The good thing about the Rocky Paddock area with the resevior only a 2 minute drive away is that it combines all of those into one trip during the cooler months so were already planning our next trip and being only 40mins from door to site is a bonus.

[kinksta]

Off to the Flinders tomorrow, still undecided on a camp site. Maybe Dingly Dell for the Falcon to comfortably get in haha.

[prydey]

good weather for that neck of the woods.

[kinksta]

Not wrong!

[kinksta]

The Flinders were lovely as always. Dingley Dell was a win for the Falcon!

[davenl5l]

We are off to Innaminka for a month on Saturday with our Ezitrail forward fold camper, first big trip i can't wait

[BENT_8]

Hey fellow campers, hope your long weekend has given you the opportunity to get outdoors.
I just got back from 3 nights up at rocky Paddock in Mt Crawford forest.
Would have been nice to have stayed on ill tomorrow but the long range forecast had rain on the radar for today and they weren't wrong, so I went a day earlier, heading up Thursday between my split shifts, set up my camper and travelled back down for my last shift for the week.
Being only 37 minutes from site to my front door makes it so easy to do.

Glad we did in the end because we managed to get a prime spot on flat ground with plenty of room for the variety of vehicles and accommodation amongst the group, by Friday lunchtime the park ranger had put out signs at the entrance telling late arrivals that the campground was full but people were still flocking in late last night and setting up anywhere they could find vacant ground, must have been 300 people up there but you wouldn't really know it as they were well behaved.

Thursday night was bitterly cold with temperatures around 1* overnight but apart from that it was beautiful conditions for the time of the year and being a long weekend was like all the stars lining up.

Had a new couple come away with us this time for their first real camping experience, cooked them baked spuds in the fire and they were hooked and keen to plan the next getaway.

Got up this morning and began packing the camper away before the rain came down and couldn't have timed it better, first drops fell as I hooked it on the back of the Terri.

[Beastie]

We would have liked to get away this weekend, but unfortunately, my wife had to work...

[prydey]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

I just got back from 3 nights up at rocky Paddock in Mt Crawford forest.

a guy I that used to work with me used to always go on about Rocky Paddock. I've yet to go there but it does appear to be popular. The thing that puts me off is there is no allocated camp sites. I believe its first in best dressed. I'm actually one of the few people who prefer to have a site booked prior to leaving home. Puts me off if I don't know if there will be a spot available or not. One day i'll check it out though.

no camping for me this weekend. going away in july to Grampians so saving the pennies and buying some warm clothes...

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by prydey

a guy I that used to work with me used to always go on about Rocky Paddock. I've yet to go there but it does appear to be popular. The thing that puts me off is there is no allocated camp sites. I believe its first in best dressed. I'm actually one of the few people who prefer to have a site booked prior to leaving home. Puts me off if I don't know if there will be a spot available or not. One day i'll check it out though.

no camping for me this weekend. going away in july to Grampians so saving the pennies and buying some warm clothes...

That's a fair comment too Rob, it is a bit of a gamble, especially on long weekends from what I've seen but the positive is that there's a few different campground all in close proximity so whilst you might not find a spot at Rocky Paddock, there's plenty of other options nearby.

In all honesty though, unless you need a dedicated fire pit you could setup your Jayco almost anywhere as although there are about 40 dedicated sites, the Ranger didn't seem to mind people setting up anywhere, he even dropped off a half cut 44gl drum for one group who didn't have a firepit.

A few pics..
https://imgur.com/sxdN8wC
https://imgur.com/JZB5weL
https://imgur.com/tKwhSZp
https://imgur.com/1cfBWeo

[sgt_doofey]

Originally Posted by prydey

going away in july to Grampians so saving the pennies and buying some warm clothes...

I'm curious to see what you get up to Rob. Give me some ideas for my trip at the end of September

[prydey]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

I'm curious to see what you get up to Rob. Give me some ideas for my trip at the end of September

Hopefully it isn't dictated too much by the weather.

[sgt_doofey]

Have you seen the new treasure hunts that Lakeside have introduced lately?
https://hallsgaplakeside.com/grampians-treasure-hunts/

https://www.grampianstreasurehunts.com/

[prydey]

Originally Posted by prydey

Hopefully it isn't dictated too much by the weather.

Unfortunately being very much dictated by the weather. Arrived last Sunday arvo. Bom site was saying about 16mm of rain had fallen. We had the threat of rain for the whole drive but nothing actually falling out of the sky....until we got to halls gap, and then it started raining. Thankfully it was very light and by the time we got through check in, it was fine mist and didn't really affect set up. Also the site we had booked was a bit water logged so they had moved us to the next site over and gave us the use of two sites. They'd actually stopped taking bookings for the lower section where we are and only people that had a prior booking could camp here. Fast forward to today and we are the only van in the bottom section. Pretty good apart from the weather.

Mon was ok and we went to the zoo. Tues was also not too bad with a few showers. Wed was a write off with about 12mm of rain and gale force winds. Scary stuff in a van like ours but the guy ropes on the awning did their job. Today was just annoying drizzle on and off until mid arvo. Just enough to stop you doing too much. We leave Sun morning and the weather doesn't look like improving. There is a chance of snow above 700m forecast tomorrow and Sat so that would be a bonus. We went up mt William and that's some impressive views.

Anyone looking to come to halls gap, I would highly recommend this park though. The bathrooms are better than many apartments I've stayed in. Fully renovated recently. Heated. Music playing. There is some pics on their website. I'll put some pics up when I get home.

So glad we came back here. Spectacular scenery everywhere you look. Good chance we'll rebook for next year.

[BENT_8]

You must be freezing man, daytime temps of 7*...faark that.

Were off to Mambray on Sunday, looks like a few showers, it is the middle of winter after all, but mid teens through the day.

A wise man once told me, when in Rome do as the Romans do and I apply that theory to camping and consider what the native Australians did for 40,000 years, in winter I head North/inland where its a bit warmer and in summer I head to the water, where its a bit cooler....

[sgt_doofey]

Been for a swim in the pools Rob?

That's a bugger about the sites being flooded. What's it like on the side of the park closest to the dam Rob? Is/was it flooded there too or is that section OK? That's where we'll be staying in Sept/Oct.

We're still a couple of months out from our camping trip. Halls Gap, Bright and Bathurst. Leave at the end of September at the start of the SA school holidays. I'm looking forward to that one.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

Been for a swim in the pools Rob?

That's a bugger about the sites being flooded. What's it like on the side of the park closest to the dam Rob? Is/was it flooded there too or is that section OK? That's where we'll be staying in Sept/Oct.

We're still a couple of months out from our camping trip. Halls Gap, Bright and Bathurst. Leave at the end of September at the start of the SA school holidays. I'm looking forward to that one.

Only one pool is open (the top one) and even though it is heated, it's still pretty cold out so not likely to sample it.

Sites down the side near the dam wall are ok as they are slightly sloped so the water runs away. Can't see it being an issue in Sep.

Still, the shower block itself is worth the $38/night we are paying

[sgt_doofey]

Thanks Rob.

Originally Posted by prydey

Still, the shower block itself is worth the $38/night we are paying

Yeah, they're going to be luxury compared to camping at the top of the mountain at Bathurst afterwards.

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[prydey]

Chance of snow tomorrow (and tonight) down to 600m. Car park up mt William is 900m, so going to try our luck in the morning at seeing something. I'm assuming it will be more like frost/ice than snow.

If you, or your kids like birds/parrots, then do like we have done and buy some bird seed (we just bought sunflower seeds). The cockies end up all over you. The rosella's don't really like the cockies so to feed them you have to make sure the cockies aren't around. Ended up with about 10 or so rosella's eating out of our hands. Awesome.

We kept some pellets from the zoo to feed the kangaroos. They don't like you feeding them in the park because human food is bad for them and they don't want them to see the park as a source of food, so we wandered off in to the adjacent area. They seem tame but don't really like to be fed. Got met with a few grunts(aggressive) for our trouble. I got my finger bitten as well..
The ones down at the oval in town seemed more friendly letting us pat them.

The camp kitchen area is being refurbished so that should be done by September.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

You must be freezing man, daytime temps of 7*...faark that.

I wear shorts all year round. I did put some trackies in. Think I've worn them a couple of times

[Beastie]

Snow isn't on my weekend away 'must do list'...

We are heading down to Patonga on the Central Coast in a few weeks for a weekend away with the Viscount Caravan Group...

I'm confident that there won't be any snow, but it's going to be sub 10 deg overnight, so cold...

[BENT_8]

Picked up our new camper trailer today.

The Wife and I had been toying with the idea for around 12 months or so and we initially wanted to go for a Jayco wind up outfit like Robs, however, neither of us are what you'd consider light weights and as the Jayco pull out bed ends have a weight limit it was a case of take the risk, lose some weight or sleep at opposite ends and there's not much fun in that, and having to climbing over each other to get out of bed is one of the reasons we were over our current soft floor camper.
So we considered the Jpod by Jayco, but it is fairly restrictive and the little lady felt claustrophobic with the low roof height above the bed, another of the reasons we were over the soft floor camper.
Next we looked at other styles of camper trailers, in particular rear fold or forward fold and Jayco have a new line of trailers called the Jtrax which are basically their version of the Chinese built camper trailers you see at the lower end of the market, they look fancy but a couple of things turned us off, firstly the inflatable annex setup and secondly the price, around $4k dearer for the same trailer than other offerings.

Someone suggested Ezytrail, and whilst we'd looked at them before we bought our current soft floor camper and found them lacking in quality, they seem to have come a long way in the 5 years since.
So with a budget in mind we set off for our local dealer to see what they had on offer.
We were greeted by the dealer Manager, Sandy, and let me tell you, she doesn't muck around and knows her stuff, we told her what we wanted, our budget and she took us through our options.
The first option was their rear fold Albany series which she had on display in gold and it looked quite classy, I really liked it but the Wife wasn't sure about the lack of dedicated bed space for the 7yr old daughter as it would require a stretcher etc. on the hard floor.
The next option was the Sterling Z series of forward fold which she had on display in black, its the best of both worlds as it has a front bed and a club lounge which folds down into another single or double bed.
The slightly bigger version, the Sterling GT was also on display in burgundy and whilst its a whole lot more, so too is the unloaded weight and price tag and whilst it would have been nice to take home, we decided the base model Z series would be ample for what we plan to do with it.
Sandy offered us the display Z for a very good price but in the end we went with a new grey example which will be easier to keep clean, cooler in summer and look better behind the Ego Territory.

We picked it up this morning after a thorough walk through and are happy as pigs in **** to be honest.

We sold our soft floor to my Nephew for a bargain price which means we can all go away together in comfort with the families.
Heading off Sunday morning for a shake down to put it through its paces and see how it holds up.

Will put some pics up and a review when we get back next weekend.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Beastie

We are heading down to Patonga on the Central Coast in a few weeks for a weekend away with the Viscount Caravan Group...

Nice little park there but Keep your van locked if you go out.