Christmas by the beach

It's now the 9th Jan and all Christmas presents have arrived.  I wanted to get the kids all a DVD and ordered some online.  Most came in the time frame and the one I paid extra for and was promised to arrive ... didn't.  Thankfully it was the girls that had to wait and not the younger boys, who may not quite have coped with the idea.  Also a thank you to Auntie Dot who sent some great plastic bag (BPA free) drink "bottles".  Once empty they are light and take up no room.

Our plan was to keep Christmas simple with small gifts and great food.  We bought some prawns from the man at the park, I was after a pork to roast but since the pork at IGA was from the mainland we went for a local chicken with feta, spinach, pine-nuts wrapped in bacon from a local Tasmanian company.  We had tried their bacon before which was the best!

Last year I made my first Christmas pudding which was a HUGE success (gluten free of course).  I wanted to make another one.  The local health food shop had the dried fruit, the grog shop a small bottle of brandy and a few spices at IGA.  Left to soak for a while I steamed it in the camp oven over the fire on Christmas eve while we cooked our roast.

I have to say our Hillbilly camp ovens we've had for many years are fantastic.  Camp cooking is a favourite past time of ours and pulling something amazing out of it brings us much satisfaction.  Christmas eve was no exception.  The roast was sensational, the pudding lovely.

Christmas morning was fun with the kids checking out their little pressies that were deposited the night before in spare pillow cases.  Lollies, chocolates and fudge were consumed before breakfast - the kids bought their Christmas presents for everyone from the local choc-o-lolly shop.

After the sugar fest it was local raspberries and yoghurt for breakfast, a cold lunch of leftover roast, salads and prawns with leftovers with ham and sushi rolls for dinner!  The day was not entirely about food, we took a quick swim and a long stroll up the beach until we feared the tide had come in and maybe our towels and boogie board we had left on the beach may have been washed away.  The quicker paced return trip revealed all was ok :-)

Christmas 2012 was a very different Christmas for us.  We've always spent Christmas with our extended family whom we spoke with over the phone.  We did miss everyone but it was also a lovely day for us.  Quiet, peaceful and full of thankfulness for what Christmas is all about - the birth of Jesus that brought grace and love as never seen before on this earth.  Oh and of course food - we love good food!

Cooking the roast & pudding

The roast!

Sunset Christmas Eve

Christmas lunch spread

Christmas morning

Testing the Camp Shower

The camp shower has been tested!  No one wanted to brave the back yard, so it was set up in the bathroom for a few days ... hot water system, jerry can, gas bottle, pump, battery and battery charger!!

We went around in circles for a while trying to choose a hot water system.  One major factor was to choose how much money we wanted to invest into it and whether we thought some of the conveniences were worth the big bucks!

We decided upon an instant, portable hot water system.  That way we can use it with our trailer for washing up and also move it to the shower tent for a nice hot shower.  It heats up 30 degrees C above ambient.

Our trials in the bathroom have been a success.  It didn't get packed away until every person enjoyed the pleasure of the system.  Water sat in a jerry can, was pumped into the unit, which is attached to a gas bottle and instantly hot water comes out of the nozzle ... amazing - and you don't even have to ignite the gas and it even turns itself off when you release the nozzle!!

The brand as you can see in the photo we chose was Red Rock.  There were other similar, cheaper brands from the USA, but the three year warranty and dealing with people from our own country won us over.  You can find them on Ebay.  They have a set price or "make an offer".  I recommend making an offer - they do accept.

Easter camping .... will it rain?

All camper trailers are now booked for Easter. It is always a very popular time to go camping. We never camp then as we have no camper trailers available but we do try to take a break over the school holiday period.

Hopefully this year will be a dry Easter, as most Easters since we have owned this business have been WET! Rain never seemed to bother us 4 years ago, but now we are very conscious of the weather, where it is raining and when. I think I have learnt to stop stressing when I hear the rain pour down as most customers return with their trailer and let us know that it actually didn't rain where they were or it wasn't much or better still that it did rain and they stayed dry!!!

We have unfortunately had the odd customer get wet. This annoys us as we try to keep the tents water proof and in good condition. We have learnt that cleaning the tents seems to affect the water proofing, so now if we have had to bleach a tent we also water proof it afterwards. Occasionally it is user error. It is important to keep the run off sections of the tent at a good angle to stop water pooling on the tent roof or awning roof. If the water pools it will definitely start to seep in eventually.

Some people like to do the tarp thing of the tent. This guarantees a dry tent and can also make the tent cooler. We have never put a tarp over the trailers and have unfortunately been in torrential rain. We have remained mostly dry with only the odd drip after a few days of constant rain - which I feel is too be expected under any form of canvas. The only thing is that after a few days everything starts to feel quite damp... this can't be helped and is inevitable.

Camping in the rain is never much fun, but sometimes it can't be helped and you try to make the most of it and hope and pray the rain will stop before pack up time!

Dirty Gear Bag

Well the long awaited Dirty Gear Bag has arrived! Stephen was promised the bag months ago when he renewed his 4WD magazine subscription. Even the courier started to duck his head every time he passed our house as Stephen would stop him in the street just to see if maybe he had forgotten to deliver a parcel to our house.

What is a Dirty Gear Bag... some of you may ask? It is a strong canvas bag that hangs off the spare wheel on the back of our 4WD for all your dirty gear - rubbish or recovery gear that has fallen in the mud etc.

We have always pondered the idea of getting one of these and wished we had actually gone and got one during every trip. Carrying your rubbish from a camping trip in the car, especially when it consists of dirty nappies is no joy! Lugging the muddy snatch strap on the floor of the 4WD and sighing each time a child treads on it and spreads the filth takes away from the fun. Now it can all be carried OUTSIDE the vehicle in our new bag.

All we need now is a trip to use it.... photos to come!!