Weekend Camping Trip

The June long-weekend just passed and Gigi's father came down for a visit. We are lucky enough to have a reasonably amicable co-parenting relationship and both want to give Gigi wonderful childhood memories (as most parents do).

Gigi's father wanted to take Gigi camping, so we organised a trip to Crystal Waters Eco Village on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, about an hour away from home.

 

 Gigi and her father playing by one of the many creeks.

 Crystal Waters is an alternative community set in 650 acres of bushland. The community includes a number of private residences, village green/ common area, bushland reserves, creeks, lakes and the village camping area. 

Gigi wanted her face-painted with a Unicorn

The community holds a market on the first Saturday of every month, selling everything from fruit and veg, to plants, clothing, handmade goods and second-hand items. There were also several small bands playing, delicious food and kids face-painting. Its was almost like a small festival, or a village fete from medieval times. Best of all, there was about twenty kids of all ages running around, playing together and not an electronic device in sight. Gigi had an absolute blast. 

The village camping area was a short 300m walk from the village green and was surprisingly luxurious. I'd packed an array of cooking equipment to cook over the campfire and an esky to keep our fruit and veg cold, but it was completely unnecessary. The camp area included a camp kitchen hut, which had two refrigerators;  gas cooker; sink; kettle; toaster; microwave; cutlery; crockery; pots; pans; and utensils. We still had a campfire every day and cooked all our meals over it, but having the use of a fridge and proper washing up facilities was amazing. 

A delicious camp meal of Quinoa salad and crispy-skin salmon 

As an added bonus, the camping area also has real toilets, hot showers and a laundry! All for $10/per adult/ night!

But the best thing about the camping itself was the surroundings and the company. Three other families with kids also stayed at the campsite for the weekend, as well as a German backpacker, a couple and a single. During the day, everyone did their own thing; but of a night, everyone gathered around the campfire and shared food, wine, tea, hot chocolate, marshmallows and great conversation. All within a beautiful backdrop of  native bushland. 

It was a great weekend, one that I hope Gigi will remember and that I also hope we can repeat in the future.

Gigi and I by the creek

I would definitely recommend Crystal Waters Eco Village as a wonderful camping spot.