Campfire Safety

There is really NO EXCUSE for leaving campfires unattended or still burning when you break camp. It is mostly avoidable.  

Here's a couple of tips:

1. When  you're loading up a campfire with wood at night... Try not putting anymore wood on it as it gets closer to bedtime. This will allow it burn down and out before you go to sleep. Wind can rise during the night and embers can easily start a grass fire or set a fellow campers tent alight.
2. You don't need a roaring fire in the morning to cook brekky. A few coals will do the trick nicely. Coals can easily be awakened with a little bit of kindling.

Once brekky is finished... PUT IT OUT PROPERLY.

USE WATER, a little MORE WATER and a bit MORE WATER just in case.

If you cannot access enough water to extinguish your campfire for some reason... Add a little water, then MIX the coals with a shovel full of dirt or sand. Then repeat this process again and again and again. KEEP adding and mixing until coals are coated and appear SMOTHERED and extinguished.

FIRE PITS also help keep fires contained and prevent children from walking on hot coals. Lay rocks around your campfire if there is no existing fire pit. Please do not simply let your fire/coals fall as they may. Please don't add long pieces of wood that extend out past the fire pit edge if avoidable.  Especially if you aren't watching it. Try not to leave these burning when you have gone to bed.

Think about your campfire and pack and plan for it the same way you do everything else ie EXTRA WATER, AXE, SHOVEL.

IMPORTANT..

DO NOT SIMPLY COVER A CAMPFIRE WITH DIRT OR SAND. It is still hot and well alight under the dirt or sand. Children may walk on this ground. Please think about the after affects of your campfire.

Enjoy your campfire in safety.

Fried Rice - Camping Style

This is my favourite super fast, healthy and inexpensive camping dish. I freeze rice when I cook it. Have even been known to buy extra when I have had takeaway Thai and froze it. Can't imagine anything worse than cooking rice at camping.

Tip# Fried rice seems to be less gluey if pre-cooked and chilled.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 takeaway tub of pre-cooked rice
• 1 can of peas & corn
• 1 small onion
• 1 Egg
• 2-4 tablespoon of sesame oil (or olive oil)
• 1-2 teaspoon of chopped garlic (or garlic flakes)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Soy Sauce

Directions:

• Heat pan. Add oil, chopped onion, garlic.
• Then add rice, peas & corn, salt and pepper.
• Stir occasionally until all is heated through.
• Crack egg into rice mix and fold through.
• Add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce or to your taste

Camping at Lennox Head, NSW

I headed to Lennox Head, NSW on the weekend.   Lennox is only 2 hours south of Brisbane and 1 hour from the Gold Coast. Lennox Head is surrounded by some of the most beautiful national parks and rainforests you will ever see if you ever want to explore this coastal region further.

We booked into the North Coast Holiday Park.  The park staff was both friendly and helpful.  There is a choice of cabins, tent or caravan sites.  The park is immaculate and has all the basic tourist park necessities i.e.  BBQ’s, camp kitchen, dump point.  It does lack a playground and swimming pool though and sadly, it is not pet friendly.

Cabins available

Lake Ainsworth in the background

Nice big sites





My favourite thing about this park is how perfectly situated it is to everything.  It is only a short walk to the main street of Lennox Head.  Ideal if you fancy brunch in one of the busy coffee shops.  The surf club is directly across the road.  I’m also told the bowls club is a great feed, if you need a night away from the kitchen.  All within easy walking distance.

I didn’t see a lot of children in the park but maybe they were all at Lake Ainsworth recreation area, which is a tea-tree stained dunal lake right beside the holiday park.   This lovely, well grassed recreation area has barbecues, picnic tables and a couple of blocks of toilets very close by.  It is perfect for swimming, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking or canoeing.  Ideal for children as there are lots of shallow areas and no motorised water sport is allowed in this protected lagoon.

To the front of the holiday park is Seven Mile Beach which is a renowned surf beach.   It was super busy on the beach with all the little surfers having a club day and many bigger surfers enjoying some waves.

A lovely weekend was had by all and both this holiday park and region come with glowing recommendations from me.  Definitely one of my favourite spots as it is just that little bit away from the hustle and bustle of Byron Bay and the Gold Coast.

https://www.northcoastholidayparks.com.au/park/info/lennox-head

Driving to Ballina



Seven Mile Beach, Lennox Head, NSW



Busy day at the beach for little ones club day



About to have boogy board lesson



Lake Ainsworth



Lake Ainsworth

Never Fail Scones

Ingredients

• 4 cups self raising flour
• 300 ml cream
• 1 can of Lemonade

Method

1. Add SR flour to a bowl and make a well in the middle. Add cream and lemonade.
2. Mix well and make a dough. Roll out dough (add flour to surface beforehand) until no more than 2 cm thick.
3. Cut out with scone cutter and brush with milk once settled in pan.
4. Bake approx 20 mins in moderate oven (180 approx) or until golden colored.
5. Serve with cream and jam.

Honey BBQ Bacon, Chicken and Sweet Potato Packets

(serves 4)

• 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 slices of bacon
• 1 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large sweet potatoes, diced
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper

1. Cook on a grill, in the camp oven or on the coals. 
2. Lay out (4) 12×12 square of aluminum foil. (I usually like to double these to make sure they are sturdy- so four sets of two).
3. In each aluminum foil square, divide the diced sweet potatoes and top with fresh rosemary.
4. Place one chicken breast wrapped in bacon on each square and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
5. In a small bowl, mix the barbecue sauce and honey. Pour the sauce over each chicken breast. (I usually add 1-2 Tbls. water to prevent burning).
6. Close each aluminum foil square around the chicken to create a “packet.”

Cook for 30-40 minutes.

Hobo Stew in Foil Jacket

Ingredients:

• 2 kg stew meat, cubed
• 2 cups carrots, sliced
• 2 cups celery, roughly chopped
• 1 fingerling potatoes (any variety), cubed
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 8 ounces button or baby bella mushrooms, cut in thirds
• 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 pats butter (optional)
• 2 teaspoons herbs de Provence
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 teaspoons water (optional)

Directions:

1. If you're taking this to eat while camping, do all your chopping before you leave (vegetables should be about a third the size of the meat cubes for optimal cooking) and store the veggies and meats in individual containers in an ice-packed cooler. Make sure the potatoes are kept in water (to keep them from browning) and that the mushrooms are kept away from water (to keep them from getting waterlogged. Marinate the meat in the Worcestershire sauce and store it in a separate container to keep it from contaminating the other ingredients.
2. When you're ready to eat, divide the aluminum foil into four foot-long strips and spray with cooking spray if desired. Each family member can pack on whatever amount of veggies and meat they'd like, but each layer should be salted lightly. Don't over-pack the foil for a bigger portion, but make two packets instead.
3. Top each pile of raw food with a pat of butter, 1/2 teaspoon of herbs de Provence, a little pepper and a little water if desired (or if you don't have butter).
4. Bring the longer edges of the foil together in the middle to form a tent over the food and fold them together three or four times, creasing it well each time (like you're closing up a chip bag). Scrunch the ends in well to ensure there's no leakage.
5. Place the packet over heat (inside a preheated 350 degree F oven, on the campfire grate or on the grill). Cook for 15 minutes to half an hour or until the meat is cooked through and the veggies are tender. Cooking times will vary with the method you use and the size of your food chunks.
6. Serve right in the foil pack (when cooled) or transfer to a plate or bowl to eat.

Coleman Gold Series Instant Up Review

Coleman Gold Series Instant Up - Fully erected

I took my new COLEMAN GOLD SERIES INSTANT UP for its maiden journey on the weekend. 

Heavy Duty Canvas Carry Bag

Step 1.  Lay tent out and fold the legs out to a semi-erect position.

Very impressed with the new heavy duty polyoxford PVC flooring.  Feels nice underfoot. There was a fair amount of dew around this morning.  I was expecting it to need some sun.  Alas, not so much as drop of condensation inside or moisture underneath at pack up.  I usually find drying off tents the most time consuming part of packing up after camping.  It was a breeze this morning.  

With all the new features, my very favourite is the thicker and heavier fabric used in the fly.  It was so much darker inside. So much so, I slept till 7.30 am.  I could get used to that.

The instructions say it requires 2 people to erect.  I disagree.  I always put my old model up by myself. This model is fundamentally same design.  But in saying that, the thicker, heavier fly fabric makes it a little harder to use the wind to pull the fly over the top. The Instant Ups are quite tall and dragging a fly over the peak is a chore if you don’t have someone to hold the far side in place. I struggled with this for about 3 mins.  Walked around it twice, then decided to drop the 4 corners back down and put the fly on whilst it was down.  I then erected it again and it was easy as.  Done.  You can easily have this tent up in 2 mins by yourself, if you remember this tip.  

The only complaint I ever had with the old model was no lower level ventilation.  The new model has 2 extra air flows, plus the front door.  Perfect for those sultry summer nights when every bit of air is precious.

The other bonus is the heavy duty carry bag.  It is huge.  I was able to lay the fly on the ground, place the inner on top of that.  Roll it all up and throw it in the bag.  I didn't even have to push little bits into corners; whilst attempting to pull the zipper.  Nothing worse than taking longer to put a tent back in a bag, then it took to erect and pull down combined.

Step 2 - Raise legs to fully erect

Drove away from camping feeling pretty pleased with my new purchase.

https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/coleman-instant-up-4-tent-gold-series

Step 3 - Drop it back down and pull the fly over the peak

• Coleman Gold Series Instant Up design - sets up in under two minutes
• Front door can be pitched out as front awning with two poles (included)
• Detachable over-sized 3 pole (included) awning which can be attached to both left and right sides (so you can follow the shade)
• Coleman Circle Ventilation for added air flow
• Integrated internal storage hammock and organisers
• Power cord management system
• Convenient welcome mat to help keep tent clean and dry inside
• Heavy duty carry bag
• Frame: Steel (includes 5 awning poles)
• Weight: 12.7kg
• Size: 240w x 240l x 190h cm

Fabric: 

• 75D/ 185D Polyester rip-stop inner
• 3000 mm PU fly
• Heavy Duty Polyoxford PVC flooring

Step 4 - erect again & peg out

Side View - No # 1 air flow

Side and rear view - No 2 # air flow