Camping at Bendeela Recreational Area

It is safe to say  that after our first camping ever, we are sold out  and completely love  it! It was a really great experience for us and the three nights and four days that we spent at the site, we made so many amazing memories, visited new places, and learned a trick or two for our next camping trip. Here's our list of our newbie camper essentials.

Some of the views on the way to the camping site

I have to be honest and say that the way I looked at it, it was just like going away to a new place for a holiday, except we slept on a tent. The kids thought it was the best idea anyone ever came up with and we saved so much money on accommodation. If you know me well, you will realize that it is right up my alley, being the person who puts premium on economic reasons.

Picking a Campsite
Since it was our first trip, I thought we should take it easy and stay close to home so Bonnie Vale Campground was the obvious choice because it is powered, it has hot shower and has mobile coverage. And my darling husband being on the job most of the time, making sure a resource facility is running smoothly without hitches,  it was an easy choice. But at the time I was looking, it was fully booked til close to school opening.

taken from the website here

I read about Bendeela Camping Grounds being highly recommended and I did know that it has basic facility, unpowered, no mobile coverage and FREE! I probably only read the last bit properly because I managed to sell the idea to my unsuspecting family who actually got excited. The other thing was we were talking about Kangaroo Valley a few years back and almost went, except our then GPS could not locate it and found Kangaroo Island in South Australia instead, but that is another story.

We arrived at the campsite at 4pm, after almost cancelling because of a little argument about storage. That did lead to lots of ideas on decluttering, forcing me to book for council clean up, which was good.

We forgot our lighter so on our first night, we had fruits, sandwiches thinking we couldn't cook. We found out the funny way that the advice to try equipment before going makes sense. Sure we knew our tent could endure some rain and we can stay dry but we ran out of time and left getting the butane gas last minute and did not care to read the instructions. Good thing we did not starve that night!!

Testing the Waters

We went out for morning walks just after breakfast, and spend some time subtly checking out other peoples' tents and caravans and talk about what we would do the next time.We did not see a lot of people jump into the lake but there were heaps on their canoes.I think the image of sea monsters kept bugging me, making the water less enticing. While we cooked breakfast and dinner, we would go to the closest attraction, have lunch and go back in the afternoon.

Chasing Wombi the Wombat

Playtime

Fitzroy Falls
We had brunch at the visitors cafe, after a massive breakfast at the campsite. We were probably bracing ourselves for a little trek, that even the kids enjoyed themselves!

This made us want to jump in!

Jersey Lane with this two

At the Cafe where I was trying to make a point about not being scared but....

Tallowa Dam/Lake Yarrunga

We were ready to turn around but after driving for a bit, thought it would be silly to turn. So we kept driving til we can see the water. It was a beautiful lake, with a picnic site and kangaroo running around. There were a number of guests going for a canoe ride.The lake was a much better spot for swimming as it wasn't as muddy and the toilets were clean.

Spotted at the Dam

Kangaroo Valley Town

A small town with lots of crafts ,shops  restaurants and hotels, I was surprised to see signs that all accommodations were full.There was even a powered camping site at the town centre and a public pool that made us want to jump in. We saw lots of signs saying they make the best pie and the one we tried were definitely delicious!

Love the look of the police station

Kangaroo Valley Town Hall

This is a private play area so we had to order some kids meal after lunch so we can stay

This was the pie place we went to whose name escaped us

shop at the main street

Pioneer Museum Park
My most vivid memory of the museum was a sign that cars parked by illegally will be towed and  turned into beer cans! It has lots of history in one venue,with every cottage a story of its own.

One Vehicle at a time

Main Office

The Kids were getting bored but they lightened up when I told them there is a Tardis outside.
It is a telephone booth of course

The Telephone Switchboard

The Hanging Bridge (I'm sure it was called something but forgot)

I found very sad a bench donated by a church that had to close after decades of ministry. It made me think of the next generation and how important it is to disciple and bring them up into the things of God. That sign was the exact same reason why it makes me sad when I hear or read well meaning individuals say that they are giving their children a choice and they can make a decision on what to believe when they are older. In my opinion, it is rather unfair to expect someone to make a choice in the future if they were not trained and taught when they were young.

Of course it is not a guarantee but we can only hope that what they learn at a young age will stay with them and when they are stuck or have to make decisions in the future, they will remember the things that they were taught when they were little.


Comic Relief
We spent  some time practicing letters and numbers with the kids. Mr D was oozing with confidence while his sister, eleven months his junior skips a few things and asks us for clues. We specifically grilled her with her numbers  because we noticed that she goes ....14..16...17..18.One time after repeatedly asking her, one of us went, okay - can you count 1 to 20 for me, to which she would reply - 1..2..20 :p Other times she would burst into tunes that she made up herself,one of which was a variation of a song from one of her favourite games with lyrics that says - i'm so fabulous..i'm so fabulous!!! Not to be outdone, the little mister would then pose in one of his superhero characters then scream: I AM the INCREDIBLE Daniel!

The most hilarious was probably when I gave them a bath using water from  the tap - they both screamed like little girls -MUMMYYYYYYYYY it's too cold!!Mind you it was a very hot day so the water was not so bad.

Kiama Stopover
Naturally we stopped for ice cream in Kiama on our drive back! The kids also went to see the blowhole and a bit of trampoline fun.

All photos taken through Google Nexus  and the really sharp and vivid ones via OnePlus One

Learning Curve
Because I read that we should go early, by the time we got there,we sort of panicked and picked the first available spot we liked. The spot was fine but the ground was not flat in the middle, which was okay when kids slept on that side. It became a problem when two adults slept on it, causing back pains. So we learned that we should have driven around to see the whole area, which we did on our last day and saw lots of empty spots that would have been perfect.

We also realized that we needed to account for the proximity to toilets, tap and showers.

We clearly did a research of the area but probably not well enough to organize our movement and be more efficient and effective with our time.

I suppose in the end, for a first time, it went really well. The fact is we had great fun, the kids were gadget free and we went out and enjoyed the beauty of nature. What kept running in my head as I sat and look at our view was the magnificence of the surroundings and how surely it did not just pop out without  a Creator behind it!

Our little family is truly grateful for such a beautiful experience! I think we are in for a great adventure ahead!

Our Newbie Camper Essentials

A few months ago, our little family decided that we are ready to camp. After years of looking into it, hearing from friends and colleagues talk about it, we thought it was time to give it a go! 

What probably made us most hesitant  was the huge initial investment required. And we weren't even sure if we will like it so spending too much was not an option, apart from not having the money to spend anyway. But our due diligence led us,  thanks to Google, to this website that has relevant information about camping. I found most useful  the  list of 10 basic things needed by new campers:

1. Tent. Just when we were looking for a tent,  Aldi, our favourite source of cheap but quality stuff has a camping kit on special, including a 4-person tent with 2 adult sleeping bags and 2 camping chairs. Naturally we checked the reviews, and was quite pleased with what we read. We tested the tent in our backyard one night and discovered that it can withstand moderate rain, wind and thunderstorm. Setting up was also easy as the concept was similar to our sunshade that it was assembled by the female adult and kids in the family (bragging aside ha ha!).

2. Table. We also got the folding table from Aldi. It was very light and came with a bag.

3. Camping Stove + cookware. Aldi also had this double burner lightweight camping stove. We left this at the last minute that we did not even realise that we did not need a lighter to make it work. So on our first night we ate fruits and sandwiches instead of cooking anything due to that misunderstanding. We also drove over 20 kilometres, via the tourist drive, thankfully, to buy a lighter, among others, only to find that it was not necessary.

The cookware included plates and cups so it was good too.

4. Beddings. Since the camping kit only came with adult sleeping bags, we needed two more for the kids. Good thing we already have one for Miss Z so we only needed one more. We found what we wanted at Kmart for a bargain. 

We also got the air mattress and air pump from Aldi but on the night that we tested the tent, we slept very well with just our sleeping bags that we thought it was not important. We did not have a very good experience with  air mattresses before, and we already have something that we can use alternately. So we returned the air mattress and air pump and got a refund.

Maybe next time we can get the self inflating mattress.

5. Rechargeable Lamp. Aldi had a battery operated LED lamp with fan so we got it but we felt that we needed a rechargeable lamp since we were going to an unpowered site. We went to Bunnings and got ourselves a lamp. We also got the kids their own torch that they had fun playing with at night time.

6. Esky. Also from Bunnings, we got ourselves an Esky with wheels, making it really easy to move such a heavy box that contained our food and drinks. A fridge would be nice :-)

7. Shovel. We just got ours from Kmart. We did not really use it this time.

8. First aid kit. We bought from our local chemist and just added things that we thought we might need.

9. Bucket. We just used one we already have, and as advised, it proved very useful. It's good we brought two along.

10. Sense of humour. I suppose this should be on top of the list because I imagine it takes people with lots of sense of humour to put themselves in a position to make life a bit difficult and a little inconvenient in order to make memories. But the kids love it and it kept them away from the television and gadgets the whole time. Win-win.

My selfie stick did not make it to the list although it almost ruined it for me especially that we had to take turns when taking pictures. But because we had heaps of sense of humour on our first camping trip ever, somehow I managed to get past it.

If you are like me, you would want to know the figures and this is probably on the low end as we got these things on special. We probably spent under 400, max 500 for these essentials and we will be using them again when we go next which comes out way cheaper when I think of going away for breaks and the huge amount allocated for accomodation. It totally justifies every expense and discomfort considering the priceless memories we collected as a family! x