fisho mcspaz wrote:Booney wrote:fisho mcspaz wrote:Camping trip this weekend!!!
Heading up to Horseshoe Top End with Mr McSpaz's family. He has four sibs, most with their own partners and kids, so that's a lot of family. No power, no internet, no facilities - this is camping how it should be!
We had Fri/Sat/sun night in Port Vincent with 3 couples and 6 kids. While BBQ'ing on Saturday night we could hear all the kids pissing themselves at something while they were playing cards.
Made us smile and we chatted about no internet ( they could, but precious data was not used ), the fact no TV was on, no I-pad/tablets were in use, it was just kids being kids. They also spent a fair portion of Sunday either on the kayaks, fishing or just wandering along the beach, a big highlight was a hot cinnamon doughnut. A doughnut! Usually it's free wi-fi or a new game on the PS4 or something to get them that excited! Awesome way to spend a weekend.
I love Port Vincent. Next time we go I'll have to teach my eldest how to play euchre. My dad taught me at roughly the same age, down at our shack at Myponga Beach (which is sadly no more - my grandfather sold it to the haggis who owns MyBudget and she built a poo-brown six-bedroom bauhaus cube monstrosity in its place; losing our shack is the biggest regret of my life). We'd stay up late playing, and if Mum wasn't paying attention he'd let me have a small glass of beer. Anyway, back to Pt Vincent - the cinnamon doughnuts were a highlight for us too the last time we were there.
We went in the middle of winter and it was freezing, but we still spent each night wandering along the beach, playing chicken with the waves and collecting shells - then bolting back to the cabin before we lost our fingers to frostbite.
The camping trip was terrific, although getting there was interesting. If we hadn't had a 4WD we'd have been f***ed. By the end of it we were all covered in a layer of dust, Aerogard, sunscreen and grass seeds. The older kids played Monopoly while the younger ones whacked at each other with sticks. The view from the top of the range was incredible. I was also amazed by how many little towns there used to be out there (Willochra Plains region), and how well-preserved a couple of them still are. If you're a history buff or simply get a kick out of Postcards on TV, look up Bruce and Hammond townships in South Australia.
We used to go there for Aquatics camps with school. The West Lakes Aquatics Centre would send two instructors with us, and they'd team up with their Pt Vincent brethren, and take us out for the days.
Windsurfing and snorkeling in the bay, day trips to Berry Bay for surfing. We went to one place out in the middle of woop woop I can't remember the name of, but it was a bit gusty, so we got our wetsuits on and boogy boards and had a day getting smashed by some huge waves.
Some dodgy shit went on in the tents, and we used to hang out in the laundry at night, away from the teachers. We met one older woman who lectured one of the more, lets say "loose" girls in the group about her life. She had her figured out within 5 minutes of meeting her.
I want to go there as an adult and see if I can have as much fun. I doubt it, because I was a f**kin idiot (moreso than now) back then, plus there was 20 + other idiots with me.
Now I'll probably sit at the kiosk with my kindle for 3 days and complain about the glare.