Another beautiful free camp

So the decision was made late last night to head off to Cobram as Jason had found a few free camps on the Murray just outside town.  We even discovered one couples blog that had just stayed at one a few days earlier and how wonderful it had been.  We were also determined to pack up and be on the road a lot faster than the few previous attempts.  Mind you we did decide that we should also wash before leaving so considering we did that and dried them in the dryer we were extremely impressed with our departure time of 9:15am.

Cobram was just over an hour and a half away so it was a relatively easy trip and the first stop was the information centre to find out how to get to these free camps and which one was better.  Then of course we decided to do some food shopping whilst in town to stock up the ole supply levels.  We had been in contact again with Lexie as she had said Jake might be able to take Jason out fishing so I told her I would text when we were at our campsite. 

Now I know girls are known for not being able to read maps, but men are just as known as not stopping to ask for directions.  Jason had gone into the information centre whilst I fed Kayla, and of course been given directions to this great site that was “well signed”.  When we went to leave town he gave me the map and the first question I asked was to we take the first left or go straight.  I was as met with silence as he hadn’t asked that vital question!  He guess was to turn left, which I am sure you can tell by now was incorrect.  Well quite a few kilometres down the dirt and winding road we decided to turn around as I found it hard to believe it could be that far away.  When we got back to the point of that first left turn we went straight and asked a car who was driving out how to get there (the answer was straight along this road for 1.5 km. 

Set up at Dead River Beach

 

The view from camp.

 

Our setup looks so small to the big rigs.

 

Finally I was able to text message Lexie where we were (oh and what road not to take) and they joined us about 20 minutes later.  In the meantime I checked out the toilet as the lady from one of the caravans already here told me that she heard it was nasty (they had a toilet in their van so didn’t have to use it).  Well nasty is one way to describe the toilet, but what can you expect from a drop toilet.  The main thing was that it was clean so we were not moving on.  She was also lovely enough to point out a Koala up in the tree that was only 100 metres away.  It was great to be able to show Hamish these things and he loved building sandcastles on the beach.

Local resident.

 

Obviously we weren't very interesting.

 

Jake was more than happy to give Jason some pointers for fishing, now only time will tell if these will actually help him out or not.  Lexie and Jake were also kind enough to bring out some lunch so we showed them our setup (as we were setting it up due to the time we spent lost) and then sat down to eat.  Hamish really took to Lexie and had her playing cars, building sandcastles and even rescuing his plastic container out of the Murray River (shoes and all).  The boys then went out fishing for a bit but again Jason did not manage to catch anything.  One day I do hope I can tell you a successful story.  Lexie and Jake then had to head off but they invited us over for dinner (and a shower) at their place on Monday night.  We are forever grateful for their hospitality and jumped at the invitation to scrub up and have a home cooked meal.

Lexie playing with Hamish.

 

Kayla enjoying the peace and quiet.

 

 

Hamish and I then set about making a campfire.  Our neighbours offered us to use their fire which sounded perfect to me, but Hamish wanted to collect sticks and have his own!  So of course I sent him and Jason out to collect the sticks and I set about lighting the fire and getting it going.  I am proud to say that it didn’t take too long and then Hamish was able to toast some of the marshmallows we had.  I don’t know though if you could call them toasted as he didn’t hold them over the fire for too long before chowing them down.

You pop it in the fire then rip it out and...

 

eat it!

Due to the fact we can’t use the microwave when not plugged into power we cooked pizza on the Webber for dinner (as nothing required defrosting for it).  Unfortunately we had to sit inside to eat it as it was raining and quite windy.  Not heavy rain, just really light, but the wind was a bit daunting with all the big trees nearby (though a good 150 metres away) and knowing a tornado went through this region not long ago.

 

My makeshift mobile works a treat.