BCF = Belated Christmas Fun?!

Di had given us a BCF gift card for Christmas and we finally had an opportunity to spend it (without Vaughan's "assistance"). 

After much discussion a large(r) stainless steel whistling kettle was purchased - because (as you can see) the current specimen no longer whistled - and the lid barely opened due to it's button being melted by a few too many Hamby fires! A baby camp oven was also selected. Oh, and a packet of air mattress patches - all good, practical purchases.

The things you can buy though!

Just for the record, we decided against the waterproof toilet roll holder pouch!

Not so sweet ensuite!

Yep, it was a breeze to set up - and then created gales of hilarity when each of us tried to fold it away again! It is a shame we didn't film the comedy of errors over those 30 minutes or so of repeated frustration!

I have since found very straight-forward instructions on YouTube, demonstrating the correct (and quick) method of pack-up.  It's not nearly as funny though!

If you take a moment to view the movie on YouTube, you can read various appreciative comments. Against some of those anecdotes, it seems we didn't do as badly as we thought. More than one poster had given up and strapped the non-folded (but presumably flattened) ensuite to the car/trailer for transporting home!

Popcorn pouches

I'm not sure how I first discovered the instructions but at some stage I found the following "How to Make Popcorn While Camping" article - and knew we had to try it!

As you can see it was a lot of fun and better still, it worked!

Breakfast chef!

Actually, Vaughan didn't do any real cheffing but he did/does like cutting holes for the eggs!

The bread slices become edible egg rings, when all are cooked on the hotplate - with the crispy circle "hats" being rather coveted.

"Australian Bush Cooking" calls these "mud pirates eggs" and describes a slightly different method, where the bread is buttered on both sides prior to cooking. We might try that one time - if we remember!

Vaughan and I made some of these "eggs in bread" at home just recently using a star cutter for the holes, which was super-snazzy!

Water on tap

Most places we stay require us to bring water. The clear, collapsible water containers were an eBay purchase and are quite effective though they do tend to roll off the table occasionally!

This trip was the first time we had trialled tying them into the blue boxes for stability during use, which seemed to work well.

Usually we pack the ladder and platform away when we have finished unloading but we were a bit slower to do so this time - and therefore discovered the setup makes quite a handy bench, at just the right height for the water containers!

Fire-gazing

Sitting around the camp fire is always pleasant, though at this campground there were a few added attractions. Small, fat wrens lived in the thick crops of "farmer's friends" just beyond the cleared area. They would hop along the cable barrier at times, before flitting off again quickly.

Of an evening a rattish thing would dash along the cable. The light was too dim (and he or she was too quick) for proper identification. (Something went through our dishes when we were in bed one night but we didn't manage to spot the culprit - rattish or otherwise)!

When one tired of gazing at the fire or the little birds there was always the rocky escarpment to look up to!

You fat turkey!

The usual camping area was closed for renovation but Nick, Vaughan and I walked over in the afternoon to check it out - with a view to staying on another occasion.  Two of the fattest scrub turkeys greeted us! They obviously do very well when the campground is open and were keen to see if we had any food on offer!