We went down to Paradise Valley for Gaga’s big birthday for 4 nights. We had to spend one of them away as it was very hot and windy and we were concerned about the fire risk. Camping during the Victoria summer is interesting with the kids, particularly for the light as it was dark around 9pm and light at 5.30am.
Eddie was loving the sheep and the water, but mostly the dirt and being able to play his trains in there. Maggie played with her cousing for the most part, equally loving the water. It was our first camping trip with the full family but it worked really well and we are now hopeful that we can do more this year.
Maggie and I went down to Paradise Valley for easter. Quite an expensive flight! But anyway – it was a lot of fun. The weather was absolutely ideal. Hot in the day, cool at night (Wed/Thurs night were freezing) and zero wind. Even rained on the Tuesday we left!
Maggie had loads of fun and was full of stories when we got back. Apparently equal best was kayaking, Kay’s pesto and the dunny run. She spend nearly every day in the water playing. We made the older kids do the big walk. Maggie did not like it – and had trouble watching where she was going. Ended up with quite a few scratches from the blackberry bushes.
We decided to book a room in Batchelor and take an extended trip in Litchfield.
We went straight away to the Buley Rockholes. Eddie was very excited and it was a huge amount of effort to keep him from hurting himself. Maggie thought it was the best and was happy jumping and swimming around and playing in the small waterfalls. Clarie did her best to keep up with a broken foot (and was thankful for the footware that I’d bought her).
That night we had a parma and a pint and there was a karakoe night on which made it difficult for me to sleep – but not for the rest of the gang.
The next morning we went to the Walker Creek day area, which was alright but probably not worth a revisit. Eddie had slept the whole way there so it made things awkward and we went to Wangi straight after and he was not in the best spirits, although Maggie was loving it, and we touched both waterfalls.
It was an extended trip back home as we got 45 minutes of sleep into Ed and we all got in the pool when we arrived back.
The next morning we went to the picnic spot and Florence. It was Claire and my favourite and the kids were in good spirits. From there we headed home.
Ed was only 8 months for this Easter so Claire decided to take him up each day. We arrived on Friday and left on Monday. The weather was wonderful, around 25-29 each day. The kids spent most of the time in the water and it was freezing – they all shivered but claimed not to notice.
It was an amazing holiday, the kids all played really well together. They invented a game called “Touch Mouse” which one would shine a touch on the ground and the others would pounce on it. They went on a “dunny run” in the ute and as Lindi drove them away they all chanted “dunny run, dunny run” and Claire pointed out they probably didn’t know what it was. When they arrived back Maggie said to Claire “We went to the toilet!!”
Maggie loved handing out the chocolate brownies and birds nest she had made with Claire so much that when the Easter Bunny came and left her a humpty dumpty she decided to give out the smarties to everyone.
Another funny comment was because Maggie was having difficulty telling “Tony” and “Uncle Brian” apart and she said to me on the last day she kept “getting confused because they have the same head”.
As always, these trips tend to be the hardest to write up as they are just made up of many little moments. I doubt we will get weather this good again for a while – but hopefully we can all camp as a family next year!
Maggie outlasting everyone in the water, chanting “Canooooe”Ed very happy eating mud
The Blue Pool was once a “locals” spot where if you were from the area you knew about it. Now, it is totally loaded with people so much that is it barely useable.
Using google maps (and a chat with a mate) I found another spot on the same river that looked quite good. It did not dissapoint. It was one of the prettier spots we’ve been to swim and Maggie had an absolute ball.
The sun set behind the escarpment early in the afternoon so the lack of shade wasn’t that noticeable for Ed. The parking was pretty tight but it was a 35 degree day on a Saturday close to the Christmas and New Year break.
