We packed up the ute and camper without much issue for a quick overnight trip to campground close by. We’ve pretty much sorted out where everything goes in the ute now, and for an overnight trip you can be relatively selective about what you bring. Heading down to Cotter Campground we got stuck behind an old and slow Delica (L300). We made it to camp and were pleasantly surprised to see that there were several caravan/trailer sites still available. Cotter has a reputation of people taking up spots without booking, but we had no issues this trip.
We found a good spot, backed into place and started setting up. The weather was very warm and sunny at the time, though it got a bit overcast later in the day. Perfect weather for a swim in the river.
Ollie headed down to the river a bit before us, but soon we were all in the river. It was pretty cold, but we just did a trip to the NSW South Coast so we’d dealt with worse. Ollie ended up shivering though so we headed upstream to a rocky outcrop for a bit of scrambling and baking on the rocks. After a swim we headed back to the camper for some snacks.
We’d set up our chairs in the shade of a couple of trees, but we go inundated by ants and had to move. Looking around, we found a lot of campers were dealing with ants and bugs in their areas. Fortunately underneath our camper there were only a few ants and we enjoyed people watching with a few drinks in the shade. Rosie got to set up and use her fantastic Ryobi misting fan, as featured on other camping trips. Ollie and I went for a bit of an explore of the campsite and other areas along the river while Rosie enjoyed her book and some quiet for a bit.
While we were sitting down enjoying the afternoon a colleague of mine from my work came past to check out the camper. He’d been interested in the Ultimates and I’d told him we’d be set up and able to show him around. After a bit of a chat he left and our friends we were camping with arrived. They were sleeping in their car and were able to just pull in on our site on the site. Nice large sites at Cotter which made a change from last trip.
With friends in tow, and blow up floaties all pumped up, we headed back down to the river for another swim and some more drinks. We had a good time in the water. Ollie got to practice his catching and throwing skills under the expert tutelage of our friend. He’s getting better, but probably still not ready for test cricket just yet.
After the swim we headed back to the camper and had a few more beverages away from the ants. Ollie got some time in on his Nintendo (Pokemon Shield is the flavour this week). I got trapped by our friendly neighbour who basically demanded that I come and have a look at her brand-new campervan. I got the full tour and then her friend parked in the site next to her asked for me to come and have a look at her (almost identical) campervan.
After these tours I headed back to camp and endured the ridicule and jokes made at my expense. I fixed up the BBQ (loose gas fitting needed to be bent back in place) and started cooking up some pre-prepared marinated chicken Rosie had thoughtfully made that morning. Dinner was really good with the chicken on wraps with pear, salad and tzatziki. After dinner and with darkness falling we set up a small fire. Rosie and Ollie went to bed earlyish. We were expecting a small bit of rain overnight based on the forecast (2mm forecast). As we sat around the fire the sky started to light up with distant lightning. At first the rain was fairly light. It cooled things down nicely after a hot day in the mid-30s. After that though at around 10.30pm, the skies opened up fully and we got absolutely pelted with very heavy rain. We scrambled around packing some of the remaining items up and storing them under the camper. The rain was pouring down so hard that there were several centimetres of water pushing dirt and leaves under the camper down to the river.
We settled in for the night after making sure the patch I’d put on the hole found last trip was effective. No water came in through that patched area, but there was some stretched stitching in the same vicinity that let a small drip through. I suspect more damage from the original wind storm that blew things around and tore a few straps last trip. This slow leak was solved with a tea towel that night and will be easily fixed up before the next trip. The rain absolutely bucketed down but the camper held up well overall.
During the night we heard people in tents and swags packing up and heading home. I don’t blame them – I don’t think they had a good night. The rain eased up around 4.30am and there was a lot of movement around then from other campers fixing up downed shelters. At around 7 we got up and there was only a light drizzle. Our friends had spent a night very close together as they had forgotten to close the windows of their car as the rain started, making both sides of their mattress rather damp. Instead of hanging around for breakfast they packed up and headed home for a warm shower as they both had work that day. We were hoping for a break in the rain to dry out the camper a bit before packup so we hung around.
At 8.30am Rosie’s dad arrived to say hi and have a catchup. It was raining even heavier so we all went inside the camper and a couple of games of chess were played. After he had left, we made the choice to pack up the camper wet as the rain didn’t seem to be easing significantly. Ollie was chucked in the ute to prevent him ‘helping’ and we had everything all packed up and ready to go in under 30 minutes. On the drive back the rain intensified for a bit, so we were slightly justified in packing up even while wet.
Overall it was an interesting short trip. The river is fantastic at the campground with most of the rocks moved out of a particular area making it good for little kids. The camp facilities are also good, with hot showers and flushing toilets. It’s really close to Canberra shops and amenities as well. The ants were a bit of a pain though and the rain did put a damper on things. One night camps are always a bit of a whirlwind and this one was no different.
Old man rant here:
Once again some outstandingly bad forecasting on the part of BOM. They predicted around 2-7mm of rain and Western Creek (closest area to us) got 28.4mm instead. Fortunately the next day I chose to ignore the BOM forecast (75% chance rain and storms all day) and got the camper canvas and cushions all dried out without much fuss.
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