We’re staying in the Arakoon State Park, which is a great place to stay – the campsite is spaced out, and pretty quiet normally (although its busier today because it is the weekend), and there’s plenty of space for tents, plus a dozen spots with power for caravans and camper vans (basically, we pull up and plug in an extension lead, which powers the kettle, lights, fan etc). Although we’ve got a backup battery, which can run the fridge and lights for 24 hours, and a gas stove to cook on, it is still more convenient to be able to have mains electricity.
The campsite is in the shadow of an old prison, Trial Bay Gaol, which was used in the 1890’s, and again as an internment camp in the First World War. Now it’s a ruin, with all of the walls standing but no roof left. The girls loved it for the two cells which had been restored to show what they looked like as a prison – Emily felt very sorry for the two stuffed dummies which had obviously been locked up for a long time!
Like all parks in Australia, whether it’s caravan parks, national parks or even some car parks, there’s public barbecues available to cook on – but this here they’re wood burning, rather than the normal gas or electric ones we’ve seen. So tonight we had our sausages burned on the barbecue for tea!
By the way, we watched the England-France game at the South West Rocks Country Club last night, enjoying an all-you-can-eat buffet for £13 for the whole family, and then watched England kick the French into touch on a 20-foot screen! Altogether very enjoyable, even if we were surrounded by Australia fans who had quite a bit to say about England’s playing style. We’re obviously going to have to consider where we watch next weeks’ game – it would be nice to find at least a couple of other Poms to watch it with!