Our Camping Adventure

Some of my best memories as a child are when we would be out camping. The different things you would see and do. I laugh with my kids about the stupid things that we did and saw on these adventures; the really weird guy that lived over the sand dunes who wore a creepy wooden mask - he made my two older cousins and I run for our lives!! Then there was the lady who came running down the hill because her camp was on fire, back in those days there were no mobile phones and we were in the middle of nowhere! She was screaming for someone to call the fire brigade, so my uncle picked up his shoe and pretended to call! And then there was the spot on the Murray River that we camped at one year, that ended up being a cow paddock!! This heard of cows would come down to the river every morning for a drink!

Oh yes, they were the days ... So I have been banging on about taking the kids camping for years. Nik and I had taken Mik a few times over new years ... (there's some more memorable stories there!) but since Zarah was born I brushed it off and put it in the too hard basket; especially once Lex and Nate came along.



But last year, I was adamant I was going to buy a tent. Something that fit us all in comfortably, was easy enough to put up and wouldn't blow away in the wind! So I did a lot research into what was out there, what materials were good, what technology had given us over the years!

In that time I found that tents are a lot easier to put up these days! Some even coming with the poles/frame built in ... these are like pop up tents ... needless to say, that was the path I wanted to take. No need for stray poles or bits coming undone.

Hubby looked into it and found a perfect tent that meet all our requirements and we got the BlackWolf Turbo 300. We bought it the day I left to take the kids on our first camping adventure, never having put this monster up before, I had it up and pegged out in 20-25 minutes. HOW AWESOME IS THAT? The fly (which is the cover that goes over the top to keep it waterproof) took a little longer, as I was being very meticulous. So all in all i think I did a fantastic job! Who needs a man??? Not me!

This is the BlackWolf Turbo 300 all set up #ididitmyself was tagged everywhere!

This thing was rocking! Inside has three rooms, can sleep 12 and gave us the space you need for a week away! We also bought an 'add-on' that was meant to enclose the annex, but the douche sold us the wrong thing ... insert swear words ... I wasn't impressed! So I did what any sane woman, camping with four children would do. I rolled it up, shoved it back in the bag as best as I could and through it the boot. I'll deal with that tomorrow. The next day we took it back and swapped for what we actually needed and then we had even more protection ... SWEET!

Adding on the front and side panels gave us another room almost! 

So once the tent was all sorted the kids were ready to have the time of their lives! We really did have a great time! The main reason for our trip was to watch the Rip Curl Pro. Mik and I love surfing, well I enjoy watching it as I have never ridden a board before, but Mik does the actual surfing. Needless to say, with our awesome luck, the first three days of our trip were lay days, so no competition! However, this did happen ...

He stopped. He actually stopped!! After all the years I have been heading to Bells Beach, he has never stopped! I have idolised this man since I was 13-14 years old. If you don't know who it is ... this is Kelly Slater! I managed to squeeze past everyone and get to the front, he signed something for the person next to me, TURNED AWAY, so i tapped him on the shoulder! He turned around and I asked if I could get a photo, he goes (insert American accent) "Sure love, no worries" and that's when I went total fan girl on him! So embarrassing ... but so worth it!! Mik didn't even know where I had gone!

We did other stuff too!! We spent a lot of time on the beach, either at the pro or letting the kids have a go. We walked and played and relaxed and drove. The best part was making the memories, taking the photo's, laughing at the silly things we saw and did. And most of all, no distractions; no need for TV's, constant rushing around and just disconnecting from the busy lifestyles and getting in touch with one another.