Another winter getaway....

Having survived last weekend in the camper we were off again the next Friday to 'camp for real' with Nancye and Bob from Perth.  They are traveling for 4 months in their fifth wheeler and suggested we join them as they pass through Victoria.  

Having been given a list of locations they would be visiting in July we choose the last weekend and agreed to meet at Teddington Reservoir at Stuart Mill.  As the week wore on and the weather got colder and wetter I was beginning to regret my willingness to join them in the bush.  Friday morning's forecast was for clearing showers but the rain kept coming all day getting heavier as time passed.  

Bill arrived home and we were soon on our way for the 3 hour trip to find them somewhere in the St Arnuad Range National park.  Our first challenge was the navigation system in our new car.  It seems to think that the shortest route is always the most out of the way obscure route that you have ever seen.  After traveling for two hours and still having no idea where it was taking us we decided that the iPad's google maps would be a better option and we changed direction and an hour later met Bob at the crossroad to guide us in to the camp site.  It was good to finally arrive and see them both again.

When speaking to Bob on the way up he told us the rain had stopped and the stars were out and this proved to be true and for the most part the rain stayed away all weekend with just a couple of light showers on Saturday.  On arrival at the camp site Bob helped Bill erect the camper for the weekend while I got to chat with Nancye inside their van.   Nancye had cooked dinner for us (and eaten theirs while they waited for us to arrive), so we ate and chatted over a glass or two of wine before heading off to bed for a big sleep.  And yes it was freezing until we got into bed and then we were toasty warm!

So where is Teddington reservoir?  It is halfway between Avoca and St Arnaud in North west Victoria.  It is a lovely place to camp in the National Park and most amazingly has flush toilets, fire rings, rubbish bins and it's free!   No showers but we managed to cope without them in mid winter.  

With two small reservoirs and lots of clean, shady, unpowered, camp sites, this proved to be a great place to chill out and spend a few days.  We were surrounded by beautiful box iron bark trees which were full of birds and they kept us entertained all weekend.  I have never seen such cheeky tree creepers before and for most of the time they were everywhere but the trees. Very cute little birds though.  The two shrike thrush which came to play were a little more reserved but by the end of the weekend had become used to us and joined the tree creepers fossicking around the wood pile.

As we were the only people camping there this weekend we had our own personal facilities for the few days.  Bill and I went into St Arnuad for a quick shopping trip on Saturday morning and found it to be a lovely little town but other than that we stayed at the campsite taking a couple of walks around the two reservoirs and exploring the bush land around us.   

While the rain stayed away for most of the time the temperatures remained very chilly and Bob kept the campfire burning keeping us warm day and night.  It also doubled as our camp kitchen and I have to say the meat and veggies were just yummy. Who says camp cooking has to be boring.

All to soon it was time to pack up and head home and we left Nancye and Bob by the campfire and drove home stopping at Dunolly for a coffee.  They were staying for a couple more nights before continuing their trip heading up towards NSW.  We had a great weekend and loved our winter holiday and really enjoyed catching up with you both.  Thanks for all the tips and tricks that will help us as we travel.  We have already bought our Camp book and can't wait to get out and experience life on the road.

And so now we are back at work again and looking forward to spending next weekend at home.  Until then......