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‘Look! A wallaby!’ I point out to Alexis as it hops across the road in front of us. We keep a look out for more, hoping others don’t dart out too close in front of our car as we drive along the mountain road that snakes its way through what is known as Victoria’s High Country. As we continue on, a few more wallabies make an appearance, as well as a couple lyrebirds, and several parrots.
We were on our way to camp at Skipworth Reserve in Kevington, Victoria, about 3 hours north east of Melbourne. The wildlife spotting along the way boosted our eagerness for a weekend of relaxation and enjoying being outdoors with no phones, internet, or social media.
When we arrived at Skipworth Reserve, I was happy to see many trees other than gums around the campsites, which provided good shade without the worry of camping under them (gum trees tend to drop branches). There were more people there than I expected for a Friday morning but still plenty of room, so we were able to secure a shady campsite just up the bank from the river.
We brought our small tent, which made set up quick and we were soon off to check out the river before lunch. In the middle of the river, rocks were placed in lines forming a channel of faster moving water. Two women sat on the rocks there with their legs in the cool water.
Alexis immediately walked into the shallow river and I warned her not to get her clothes wet, as it occurred to me that I should have put bathers on her even though we were just there for a quick look. Being the social butterfly that she is, Alexis ended up gravitating toward the two women. She had a bit of a chat with them and managed to only get a little bit of her shorts wet before I could extract her from the water to eat lunch.
By this point, the day was really heating up so after having a bite to eat, we went right back down to the river for a swim. We cooled off, skipped flat stones across the river, and chatted with a couple other people who were there.
It started to thunder and I became concerned that the three of us would have to spend the day crammed into the tiny tent. But when we went back to our campsite, it just spit on us a little and we never got any real rain. So, we had some fun kicking a soccer ball around.
Getting close to dinner time, we collected wood for the fire. We already found some logs that someone kindly left near our campsite so we just needed to gather some kindling. Alexis offered to help collect sticks, but it was really an excuse to wander the campground meeting people and visiting her ‘friends’, which were the two women she met in the river earlier.
When the fire was ready, we chucked in a foil packet filled with potatoes and onions, swung the grill plate over the fire to pan-fry some sausages and heat up a pot of peas and carrots.
We savoured our simple dinner and had some relaxation time afterwards, but we were all a bit tired and went to bed early.
Around 10 pm, a small group of campers arrived and set up at the site next to ours. They were extremely loud and the noise continued until about 3:30 am. Fortunately, Alexis slept through it, so I was the only grumpy one the next morning.
We slept in a little and woke up to a cool morning. Outside the tent, little wrens hopped around the campsite as the sun was beginning to make its way over the tall gum trees that lined the river.
We brewed coffee, made breakfast, and enjoyed a leisurely morning while Alexis was thrilled to have some freedom exploring the campground on her own. She met another girl, a couple of years older than her, and they spent most of the rest of the weekend between our campsite and theirs.
The days were hot, but since it cooled down significantly overnight there were really only a few hours of uncomfortable heat, which we spent in the river. The kids played on pool noodles and innertubes, floating through the man-made channel and down the river. A couple boys floated past us on air mattresses as we chatted with other campers.
After spending much of the afternoon in the river and feeling sufficiently cooled off, we headed back to the campsite. As we were getting ready to prepare dinner, two wedge-tailed eagles flew over us!
Alexis was invited to eat with her new friend, allowing Ian and I to have a quiet dinner alone.
When Alexis came back, we made s’mores, a favourite camping treat. Alexis neglected to tell us until afterwards that she already had roasted marshmallows at the other campsite.
We got Alexis settled in the tent and Ian and I lingered by the fire a little longer. However, Alexis wasn’t sleeping so we finally gave up and went in with her. Thankfully, our neighbours were quiet that night and we got a better night’s sleep despite Alexis laying perpendicular on us with her head on my head and her feet on Ian’s head.
The next morning, we woke up to a little commotion outside our tent. We thought ducks were getting into our garbage, but when Ian went out to check he didn’t see anything disturbed. I’m not sure what was going on but parrots were flying around the campground making a racket and then kookaburras added their laughter to the ruckus.
Alexis wanted to go find the girl she had been playing with but as it was still a bit early, I told her she needed to wait. To keep her occupied, I made a small scavenger hunt for her with simple things to find like two different kinds of leaves, a round rock, a stick that looks like a Y, a feather, etc. As Alexis was searching, the girl came over and she and Alexis finished finding the items on the list together.
After breakfast, Alexis’s friend came back with her father to say goodbye. We hung out a bit longer, enjoying the morning and prolonging our departure as long as we could.
I love camping as it enables us to spend so much time outdoors. Being surrounded by nature without the temptation of internet or any screens at all, helps clear our minds a little, and always leaves us feeling refreshed and more relaxed.