Camping in the Prom Country!

17^th - 21^st January 2011

For the summer holidays, our family planned a camping and cabin trip to the mountain ranges of Grampians, west of Victoria! But unfortunately, we had to cancel it since it had turned into a FLOOD ZONE. So one day before the 17^th, we decided to take a last minute 'gamble' and drive to Wilsons Promontory instead!

We knew there was no chance we'd find any accommodation or even a proper campsite since it was last minute. So I checked the internet and found a remote FREE camping spot at Cape Liptrap Coastal Park right beside the beach overlooking the mountains of Wilsons Prom! The campsite is called Bear Gully. We decided to take a risk and hope & pray there'll still be a spot for us at Bear Gully. The setbacks were there wasn't going to be any power or electricity and clean water for drinking or bathing! And those are the basic requirements for most people when they go for holidays... 

But we were so eager for an outdoor crazy adventure that we took the chance! It would be our first time camping in Australia. We didn't know if we'd even last 2 days camping without showers or electricity or a warm bed, but we ended up staying 5 days! Haha J Every night was very cold, with the wind howling and the distant rumble of the waves by the coast. When we woke up, we couldn't even wash our faces or brush our teeth because the toilet water was brown & it wasn't much of a toilet anyway... Hahaha. 

Thank God the day we arrived, after driving through a winding dirt road, we found a nice cozy spot with some gnarly low-hanging trees. We pitched 3 tents! Dad & mum shared one, me & Janna shared another, and Jirene had a tiny tent for herself!

Since it was our first time at the rather unknown camp spot, we had no idea what the conditions were gonna’ be like. Funny thing was, we searched the place all over and to our dismay realized that there were NO SHOWERS! Oh no, so how are we gonna survive even 3 days without showering? Especially when we'd be getting sweaty and salty from hiking and beaching!

Thank goodness me, we managed to find an open tap shower at the beach in Venus Bay. And none of us complained about having to wear our swimsuits and take a quick 1 minute cold shower outdoors! Boy was it freezing, since it was at the beach and the cold wind blew continuously! But it was very funny seeing my dad shampoo his hair wearing his swimming trunks and doing it all by the side of the road. Hahaha. The great thing was we had no choice & no one complained cause' at least we had clean water!

It was freezing at night & we had to ration water when cooking because there was no clean water tap. But we had lots of fun sitting by the 'Campfire' – also known as the portable gas stove and the lamp. My sisters and I played the ukelele, recorder and harmonica while we all sang praise and worship songs and simply improvised. It was a fun way to pass the night time when we had no light!

Our thirst for adventure took us hiking and beaching to explore the heights of Mt. Oberon at Wilsons Promontory, the beautiful Cape Liptrap Coastal Park, the Squeaky Beach, Venus Bay and the Limestone Kilns. All in all, it was an amazing and memorable family adventure!!! =) Can’t wait for more family camping trips in the future :D :D :D

On Mt. Oberon overlooking the clear blue seas at Wilsons Promontory! =)

 Dad stopped the car and I jumped out to capture this beautiful shot of the pastel-coloured skies and the rising full moon by the countryside! =)

The endless blue sea and swirly clouds above.

It was an amazing experience with my adventurous family once more! Thank God for everything. Love dad and mom, and my quirky sisters to bits!!! =)