Araluen Reunion Trip

For a bit of a recovery following the craziness which was February for the family, we snuck away to Araluen for 2 nights for some relaxing, sneaky wines, and catch up with friends. 

We set off on Friday after school pick up and made good time to the site. There was a small detour as some of Araluen Road was closed, but it was only around 10 minutes on a very smooth dirt road. 

Quick set up, particularly assisted by Ollie who was loving helping out, and then it was beer o’clock. Dinner was steak and salad, and sausages and butterfly pasta (bow ties) for Ollie. It was very quiet at the campsite with most others in bed by 9pm, but Scott and Rosie managed to make it to midnight and enjoy the fire. 

Next morning was a lazy one with naps, coffee, snacks and reading. Ollie embraced his creative side and made many videos with some plastic bugs – please enjoy the video below:

Totally non-bias review from Uncle Tommy: 

Bug Attack: The Flight of Doom is a cinematic triumph. At 2 minutes and 33 seconds, Oliver (6) delivers a high-stakes epic where insects—some defying gravity via cutting-edge string SFX—terrorize the skies. Then comes the bat. Chaos ensues. The cinematography? Bold. The sound design? Unscripted brilliance. The tension? Unbearable. This isn’t just a movie—it’s an experience. Five stars, and an extra for the string work.

While waiting for friends, we had some pizzas for lunch and rotated finding coverage in the dappled shade. The weather was lovely but started getting sticky around 3pm, so it was time for a swim at the creek before another chill out at the camp. 

Our Friends, Dan, Magda and Ed, arrived around 5pm so we left Dan to set up and let the kids explore the creek and attempt some scavenger hunts. 

Back to the camp for dinner which was sausage sandwiches for D&M, and Thai style chicken wings for us. Liz and Mac arrived around 9pm with stories of their recent adventures and many wines were had. 

Rose also attempted damper in the camp oven, however, being the first time cooking with fire… It was nothing short of a cigarette butt tasting disaster. More practiced required. 

Slow morning the next day with much the more of the first day: naps, coffee, snacks, games and reading. Following a morning swim, we packed up and headed to the Araluen Hotel for lunch which hit the spot. 

A lovely weekend with friends and hoping to do it again soon 🙂