Lightening Online

It’s been a while since we’ve used our camper trailer.  More than 2 years (that’s how long we’ve had the caravan) although I’m not exactly sure when the last time we used it was.

We kept it thinking we’d still use it for camping but hadn’t used it since we bought the caravan.

So in the school holidays we dragged it out of the shed, dusted it off and decided to take a trip.

Trailer Boy was particularly excited as he can’t even remember going camping in the Camper Trailer.

We decided to head north with some friends to see the Cooper Creek in flood and the ferry that has been reset up for the first time in 20 years to take traffic across the creek (the Birdsville track is cut off where the Cooper has run over the road).

To make it lots more fun, we went with another family.

To make it more challenging - we told the kids they had to go “electronics free” (okay, we did let them have their DS’s for a while in the car but then locked them in the glove box).

So the kids didn’t feel totally “abused”, we also went phone free and I went make up free (well, Farmboy went make up free also but that’s normal for him! LOL).

Stupid phones didn’t work out there anyway (yeah, we did try and send 1 text as a friend went into hospital just before we left and we thought we’d better check if he was still alive - he is by the way).

Our kids are used to caravan parks with lawn and jumping pillows etc etc.

This one just had dirt.

Yet another challenge.

But they were up to it.   It did take a little while but they soon figured out ways to turn dirt and stones into games:

This had disintegrated a bit by the time I got a photo of it but it was a hopscotch of sorts.  Half the fun was in the making!

While we were packing up, the kids invented some kind of game which had them exercising to become “strong men” or something like that:

It was a GREAT experience for them and I was tempted to come home and throw out all of their toys.  Kids don’t really need toys do they?

Of course, camping wouldn’t be camping if you didn’t have to share the facilities with a few Australian natives:

This little lady had taken up residence in the Female Toilet Block.  She didn’t really bother us though (at least she wasn’t on the toilet seat!).

The facilities in Marree were basic but at least the water was hot and the toilets flushed.  I’m not a huge fan of the whole “bush camping”. 

More photo’s of Cooper Creek and Lake Eyre to come.