Lake Purrumbete is located 13kms
east of Camperdown in South Western Victoria approximately 195 kms from
Melbourne via the Princes Highway. The lake has a reputation as a world
class fishery with annually stocked rainbow trout, brown trout and
chinook. Set in a peaceful setting, Lake Purrumbete is also a haven for
different species of birds and is home to a few koalas. The volcanic
crater area can be viewed from nearby Mt Leura in Camperdown and the
Great Ocean Road is under an hour’s drive away.
weather
The predicted
weather for the weekend was not promising. However for those arriving on
Friday there was a very pleasant surprise to find a cool but otherwise
sunny day. Friday night proved to be very cold with a very heavy fog.
Late Saturday afternoon saw some light rain and a few further showers
but not enough to deter the camp cooking and a late night around the
campfire. Sunday was very overcast and cold with rain/showers around
camp cooking time and showers for the remainder of the night. Monday we
woke to threatening rain and for those packing up it proved to be a wet
one with awful conditions for the remainder of the day and into Tuesday
for those remaining hardy campers. Hope it wasn’t too bad guys!
friday
The day was
spent with campers arriving, setting up, having wood delivered, getting
a good campfire established and much time spent beside the fire catching
up with old friends and soon making new ones. For those already
established in camp, fishing for the ever-elusive trout.
saturday
Saw the
campfire being lit very early and people congregating and chatting
around it to keep warm. Some went off to nearby Camperdown or fished
whilst other campers were still arriving and setting up.
At 2pm we were lucky enough to have a local Country
Fire Authority member come and chat to us about camping in the bush and
the best things to do if caught in a bushfire. He also covered rules and
regulations regarding total fire ban days and provided some very useful
information for us to peruse at our leisure. He also discussed the use
of fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and fire blankets in the camper
trailer. In all it was very informative and stimulated some interesting
dialogue about bushfires. Hopefully we will remember it all if we ever
find ourselves in the dreadful situation of a fire. Our sincere thanks
to Ray from Colac CFA.
Saturday evening saw happy hour and nibbles and some
interesting creations being cooked on the campfire with only light
showers to dampen the spirits. The mulled wine produced by Jeannie and
Leanne certainly kept the "inner camper" warm and happy.
sunday
Sunday
morning was a rush to get individual camps tidied up for walkabout. The
criteria for each camper during walkabout was to state three reasons why
they had bought their particular camper and one thing, if any, they
don’t like about it. This produced all sorts of various reasons and for
most it wasn’t so much about the price tag but the ease of setting up,
its useability and their camping lifestyle.
Following this, campers again disappeared to check out the
area whilst others got busy preparing something for the Queen’s Birthday
afternoon tea. This turned out to be a fantastic spread and I hope
everyone enjoyed sampling all the goodies provided. It provided some
amazement from nearby campers that we could produce such wonderful
goodies from our humble camping equipment.
The evening brought on more campfire cooking and lots of
chatter, happy hour and more mulled wine again around the fire
intermittently interrupted by rain. A few hardy and well-seasoned
campers stayed by the fire into the wee hours of the morning.
monday
With it
raining of and on all night it was up early for those departing to pack
up before the rain got too heavy. Leaving a few to stay on another night
I hope they survived the wet and cold conditions.
some memorable moments
-
Newbies being introduced to
secret women’s business of shoogeling
-
Wayne's successful attempt
at baking a chocolate cake in the camp oven followed up by his first
ever roast cooked in the camp oven. Well done Wayne.
-
Queens Birthday high tea –
did we really need tea afterwards?
-
Dave emerging from the
camper on Monday morning after a very late night and his statement
of "oh dear" and looking somewhat startled that it was morning
already
-
The weather – it was not as
bad as predicted and allowed all activities to be carried out
-
Bob and Ann’s weather
forecast on Monday morning as we were madly trying to pack up before
the rain came – glad we were going home!
-
The visiting koala
-
Trent’s excellent run down
of Mk 2.5 while Dad went AWOL and telling us that Dad was very
"protective" of his camper
-
Wayne’s sock miraculously
turning into a five fingered puppet by the fire
-
Wayne's claim to catching a
trout – but we didn’t get to see it!
-
Trent’s perfectly cooked
marshmallows that he happily shared
-
For those lucky enough to
sample Mila’s spring rolls and red curry – yum