Middle Creek Camping Area is in the Mount Buangor State Park, approximately 15 km west of Beaufort, a small town located in an agricultural-pastoral area 165 km NW of Melbourne on the Western Highway. This was the beautiful setting for the Victorian Melbourne Cup Weekend meet over the first weekend in November. The park contains a variety of flora and fauna and several camping areas, the biggest of which is Middle Creek. It’s a huge cleared area in the forest, with good shelter if needed, and pit toilets. When Doug and I decided to host this weekend meet we expected to have a good number attending, but as the poll on the website kept going up and up, we secretly hoped that it wouldn’t go too high. Cup Weekend in Victoria is always a popular time to get away, and we hoped we would all fit in.

We left early on Friday morning, braving the traffic to make our way through suburban Melbourne and head out the Western Highway towards Ballarat. Some of our fellow campers were arriving the night before us, and we got a call from Leanne and Paul to say “Hurry up and get here, it’s filling up fast!!!!” We arrived just before lunch and were met by a small group who had spread themselves out and tried to claim spots for the 20 or so camper trailers or tents still to come. As the afternoon passed, more people arrived and the camp ground was getting busy. Not too busy to be uncomfortable though and we all enjoyed spending the beautiful afternoon setting up and watching others do the same. We had arranged for a delivery of firewood and the dependable Ross duly arriving during the afternoon to dump a large load of lovely dry wood beside the fire area, and we proceeded to get the first fire of the weekend going. With the pile of firewood we had to get through we thought we could keep the fire going 24/7, and after everyone had had their dinner and cleaned up, the usual gathering around the campfire meant that the weekend had commenced in earnest. We thought we were going to be in for a storm later in the evening as we had a few flashes of lightening and rolls of thunder, but the splashes of rain didn’t come to much and quickly passed. Apparently Melbourne copped the storm after it by-passed us, so we were lucky. And one by one, quietly (well, some of us!!) we all disappeared to bed.

Saturday morning was bright and sunny, the start of a lovely day. The remaining members began to arrive around 9am and slowly trickled in over the course of the day. Some of our group got off to an active start and headed off for a walk up to the waterfall, while others took their time over a leisurely breakfast. Some went into nearby Beaufort to see what the town had to offer (which included a trip to the local winery!). I don’t know if it was just the long weekend, or if the good weather was also responsible, but the Western Highway was very busy that Saturday morning, and while we were in Beaufort, Doug and I were concerned that all this holiday traffic was headed to Middle Creek. We needn’t have worried, because although it was busy, we still had plenty of room and weren’t camped on top of each other. Robert was even so kind as to reserve a prime spot for Paul, who arrived on Saturday afternoon. It’s that kind of selfless behaviour that makes being a member of this group such a pleasure!!
As the afternoon shadows lengthened, nibbles came out, and we, again, did our best to get through the enormous pile of firewood. After dinner, there was general merriment and the evening finished with a group of die-hards round the fire. Let it be known that the writer did manage to find her way back to her camper in the dark, contrary to popular belief!!

It was a cool, misty morning that greeted the campers as they gradually appeared after a good night’s sleep. It was a perfect morning for a group of “happy campers” to set off for a walk, whistling as they went! Although it hadn’t really been planned, there were several requests for a walkabout, where people could give an outline of their set-up and others could gain ideas and thoughts for the future. It was especially good for the new members of the group who hadn’t experienced a meet before to have a chance to look around and poke their noses in others campers. It was a shame that some of our number had to leave so early, after only arriving the day before, but we were very happy that Lee and Chris took time out of their busy weekend to stop by for a night. We hope they’ll join us again. By lunch time the sun had come out again and the day was warming up nicely. We had a special evening planned, and therefore there was preparation necessary and the camp was a hive of activity in the afternoon - although there was still time for a few to catch a “nanny nap” or just have a relaxing chat in the sun. One of the planned activities for the weekend was a “Pot Luck Supper” on Sunday evening, where people brought a contribution to a communal table and we all shared some time and a meal together. With thoughts of Melbourne’s Longest Lunch in mind, we went for Camping’s Longest Dinner, where all the tables were joined in a chain and we all sat down to a candle-lit feast. What a spread we had, with everything from beautiful nibbles before dinner to a wide range of mains, including stews, chilli, fried rice, chicken wings, and Lindsay’s “road kill special” to name but a few. Dinner was finished with some wonderful chocy creations and a cake. We were a bit worried when we thought of this dinner, thinking that it could be a bit of a disaster, but how wrong we were – it was a delight and I think everyone enjoyed spending time together. As the cleaning up got underway, the fire was ramped up to full and we all gathered round to the end the night in the best way we know how.

We couldn’t believe how lucky we were – the weather turned on another great day on Monday. Hmmmm, what to do? Breakfast was followed by some intrepid campers heading off for a tour in the Grampians and others deciding it was all too hard and opening the paper. Others had to face the task of packing up and heading off – something that always proves entertaining for those sitting back and watching!! Mount Buangor State Park has several interesting tracks and things to see, so Doug and I thought it would be a good idea to see who was interested in a small 4WD trip up the hill to see what we could see. So I did a quick run round all the campers to see who was “in”, and while chatting to Lindsay and Sandra, we discovered that Lindsay had a guide book to the tracks in the area. We were more than happy to delegate the lead to someone with detailed information and at 11am eight vehicles left in convoy packed with lots of happy travellers. One group in our convoy was in a 2WD and as we left the campground, they turned right while the rest of us went left, with instructions to meet further up at the next picnic area. Now, far be it for me to cast doubt as to the reliability of our leader, but after a short while, and many curious comments over the radios it was decided we were lost!! Well, not really lost, but somehow, we’d managed to stray onto a circular walking track.