Our Introduction to Australian Camping

Before we left Canada, one of Rob's new workmates got in touch with us and invited us camping the weekend we arrived in Australia. We figured, why not?

Blue Gums Caravan Park is about a two hour drive away from Frankston and part of the route takes you up and over the Great Dividing Range along a beautiful winding road called the Black Spur. Unfortunately, the afternoon we tried to drive it, the Black Spur was closed because of an accident: Melbourne's version of the Malahat. Instead, we went the long way 'round and saw a spectacular number of animals "sleeping" along the side of the road. Kangaroos, wallabies, wombats - the size of the roadkill here is astonishing. Poor Sophie - as we pulled into the campsite, she plaintively asked "Are we ever going to see living animals here?"

The campsite was swarming with a mob of tanned Aussie kids in bathingsuits and Blundstones and the adults were gathered around the firepit (made from an old washing machine drum) cooking paella.

The rain that had been threatening while we drove in unleashed its fury shortly after dinner was served. The amount of rain coming out of the sky was truly amazing. About half an hour after the deluge started, we heard the girls yelling for us from the tent (they had to time it correctly because the thunder was impressive too). They were still recovering from jet lag and had gone to bed before the rain started.  We stuck our heads in the tent and the entire floor of the tent was jiggling - dry, but undulating like a waterbed straight out of the 70's.

 By this time, the fire had gone out, but one resourceful fellow got it going again with a soldering torch that one of them just happened to have in his truck.

The Aussies alternated between apologizing for the weather, and blaming us for bringing it. Eventually though, the rain stopped and within 30 minutes, the water soaked into the ground and by the morning, it was as if it had never happened. As I made the trek to the washrooms before anyone else was up (because my internal clock was still 3 hours ahead of everyone else's), I saw a kookaburra sitting in an old gum tree. That made the already memorable introduction to Australian camping perfect.

Merry, merry king of the bush is he.