Sunday, October 5, 2014

Happy Campers


Well, I know I said taking a family holiday outside of school holidays was a good idea, but returning from a trip with just 5 days of the school term left is not recommended, trust me! In hindsight we should have travelled a week later so we came home during school holidays where we could have leisurely got back to normal. Instead, we had to launch straight back into a busy final week of term with all that that entails and by the end of the week I really started to wonder whether we had gone away at all. "Re-entry Syndrome" was coming on thick and fast. However, our friends then decided they needed to get the 'heck out of dodge' as soon as school was out and that we of course should join them on their impromptu camp trip - a mini holiday to get over the post holiday blues. You can't argue with that logic.

So we packed our little bags again and crammed into the car, with bikes and kayaks attached to any available surface and headed to Fortescue Bay where we camped back in January. We spent the whole time shaking our heads as we couldn't believe the whole place was empty - our own private beach and the entire camp ground completely to ourselves. Even the campsite manager left after the first night. "Did we miss the memo on the Tsunami or something?". No, apparently it only gets busy in Summer. We did the hike around to the Shipwreck again and enjoyed the beautiful colours of the native flowers. There were a few Beer and Bocci sessions, Night Fishing, Bike Riding and Kayaking. It was so nice to spend some quality time with good friends, chatting into the wee hours of the night in front of the campfire.

There's one week left of school holidays and with the in-laws arriving from Alice Springs last night and I'm looking forward to some slow and leisurely days at home with them this week.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Mel x

36 comments :

  1. Gorgeous place! Looks like the weather was fantastic. The colours and crispness are just stunning, I especially like the cormorants and the wildflowers/berries shots. It's awesome camping when no one else is! We spent some time in northern NSW in the middle of winter and while the nights were COLD the days were lovely and we practically had the place to ourselves.
    Btw, is that little nugget next to the wallaby what I think it is?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you mentioned the nugget! I didn't know whether it was obvious to anyone else... it's just an olive in an unfortunate location :-)

      Delete
    2. I wondered if it was wallaby poop too! Real life photos - no Photoshop! :)

      Delete
  2. I would be keeping this spot to myself and sharing it with no one. How perfect. And I am not even much of a camper!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know Claire but Tassie really is full of special little places like this so I can't see it getting overcrowded anytime soon (I hope!) x

      Delete
  3. Gosh, it's so beautiful there. It looks like you had a wonderful time. I can imagine it wasn't easy to come down to earth after that, though. I hope you have a good school break. The wallaby is adorable. I want to pick him up right out of the photo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't he adorable. They are called Pademelons (basically one of the smaller types of Kangroos) and he kept interrupting our Bocci game and stealing Olives!

      Delete
  4. What a wonderful spot, how amazing you had it all to yourselves too :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. The camping spot looks amazing and your tent looks very similar to the one we've got. We are going camping to a new spot in 2 weeks just for the weekend and looking forward to it. Regards Kathy A, Brisbane

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So nice to have something to look forward to isn't it x

      Delete
  6. What a perfect spot for a getaway! Lucky to have it all to yourselves as well! I was wondering what was near the wallaby as well! hahaha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Honestly I didn't notice it there until I uploaded the photos and then I didn't know whether to just blatantly mention it or wait to see if anyone else noticed it :-)

      Delete
  7. I love the idea of a holiday to get over the holiday! I have said before that sounded like a great idea. Glad that you had such a great time, it looks as though you had a lot of fun! xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks idyllic and how lucky to have the place to yourselves. In England, you get fined if you take children out of school for a holiday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, you're not really selling 'England' to me Anne ... what with tales of 'workplace health & safety' and now fines for taking your children out of school! Things are looking good down here!

      Delete
    2. That's really harsh Anne! Is there no discretion at all? I can understand it being a policy to reduce truanting but surely the learning benefits for kids who travel shouldn't be dismissed. For us it was the difference between being able to afford a holiday or not as the airlines and hotels seem to conspire to double their fees during school holiday times and with 7 of us it makes a massive difference...

      Delete
    3. we were told the story about being fined the whole time we were away in Europe - the English could not believe that our school welcomed our 3 month break!!
      the fines were crippling too!
      x

      Delete
  9. Looks amazing Mel. As I've said before, you do a wonderful job as an ambassador for Tourism Tasmania.
    Love the clean lines and beautiful images of your blog. Enjoy this slower week.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great photos Mel! Holiday to get over post holiday blues sounds perfectly logical to me and what a beautiful spot!! Sometimes impromptu outings, days and holidays turn out to be the best! Hope you manage to relax with the innies this week! x Dre

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As relaxing as it can be with 5 kids on school holidays Dre x

      Delete
  11. I think I remember your camping trip to this beautiful spot - isn't it the one where you had the hilarious picture of your vehicle loaded down with gear? You were very lucky to have the place to yourselves!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that's the one Kristie! And this time we had bikes too :-)

      Delete
  12. Fun, happy pictures. What a beautiful place to camp, and even more so because you had it all to yourselves. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the best bit was that we had it to ourselves x

      Delete
  13. Oh you make camping look so good
    Its been too long since we went to Fortescue
    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I should have taken some shots of the camping aftermath - the car and the washing machine have had a thorough workout!

      Delete
  14. Gorgeous place, and stunning photographs, and that sea, woah! Writes reader with holiday envy!

    ReplyDelete
  15. How beautiful! I'd love to go camping but Eve is too much of a flight risk!

    ReplyDelete

  16. Gosh the beauty is overwhelming isn't it! And such beautiful photos. We're planning a holiday during term time for next year at the moment and trying to figure out when during the term is best. It's tricky isn't it!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I've missed you guys! I didn't know you were back blogging and I'm so glad you are. x

    ReplyDelete
  18. Great photos and sounds an idyllic camping trip. What fun activities you did. I haven't been camping this year and have missed it, even considered putting the tent ip in the back garden and having a "cook out" for dinner!
    Caz xx

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh I have not camped for eons but your gorgeous pictures make me desperately want me to go camping right away! Looks like you have had an amazing time xx

    ReplyDelete
  20. It sounds so tempting. We are not campers really, but our good friends have just moved to Australia and gave us their tent (they couldn't take it as it had soil in it, or something) so now we have no excuse! Your photos are breathtaking, that sun glittering on the waters is spectacular. x

    ReplyDelete