Overnighter with 5 year old

[bearhiker]

Hey there,

My 6 year old boy has been asking me to go camping out in the bush for some time. I've only really done a bit of camping at caravan parks and stuff so looking for some ideas of where we can go.

He has his heart set on making a fire and roasting some marshmallows in the evening. It seems lots of people recommend Wilsons Prom but I don't think you can make a fire there.

I would appreciate any suggestions. I live in the south east suburbs so would probably prefer to head out east somewhere.

Cheers,

[neilmny]

Try this viewtopic.php?f=37&t=12614&p=167124&hilit=mountaineer+creek#p167124
http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets ... l-Park.pdf

The hills in that area are pretty big for a 5 year old but a bit of a wander about say to Cook Point followed by a camp at
the Candlebark camp area could a be fun. It has fire pits, BBQ, flushing dunnies and hot showers.
Plenty of kangaroos, cheeky friendly parrots etc.

[MickyB]

Welcome to the forum bearhiker. I used to go car camping at The Pines on the Delatite arm of Lake Eildon. There is plenty of camp grounds, heaps of fire wood from the pine plantations, lots of kangaroos and some nice walks. Apparently it can get very busy over the Xmas holidays but if you went on a normal weekend you should be able to get spot far away from other people.

[bearhiker]

Thanks guys, did a bit of reading and they look like some really good spots.

If the weather picks up, wouldn't mind heading out in the next couple of weeks. Will let you know how it goes.

Cheers

[stry]

Easy vehicular access with some facilities; and firewood; are often mutually exclusive nowadays.

Depending on where you choose to go, carrying some firewood for the marshmallows may be wise.

On your side of Melbourne, there used to be lots of accessible, roadside, or not far in, basic camping up past Walhalla. Think Mt Selma, Fiddlers Green, Mt Skene. No facilities. Firewood shouldn't be a problem. Traffic has increased over the years and you may feel a little too exposed to be comfortable in some of these places, depending on how adept you are at getting off the track and out of sight.

[sim1oz]

A really easy starter walk for young ones is to park your car at Mugwamp Camp (Mt Cole State Forest) and walk up to Beeripmo Camp (on the Beeripmo Trail). It's only half an hour walk, and there are two pit toilets, water tank, level camp sites, and fire-pits with seating logs. It's pretty civilised for a first overnighter, but still quite scenic. The drive from Melbourne is about 2 hours.

[paidal_chalne_vala]

Camping up past Kevington on the upper Goldburn river is a sure bet for easy car camping.The same can be said about Howqua hills , sheepyard flat and davon's flat in the Merrijig area , up on the Howqua river. Fires are allowed at both places.

[bearhiker]

Thank you for the suggestions, I plan to hit all these spots up over the summer period.

I was also discussing some ideas with a colleague and he mentioned Kurth Kiln. Anybody been there? I found it on the parks web site and it looks pretty good for an easy starter...and close.

Anyone have any thoughts on this place?

Thanks,

[MickyB]

I was also discussing some ideas with a colleague and he mentioned Kurth Kiln. Anybody been there?

I was there about 12 months ago and visited Shiprock Falls. There were a few camping spots about 100m in from the road. The track to the falls was well maintained (about 5-10 minute walk) but a few of the other tracks we saw were overgrown. From memory the Kurth Kiln Picnic Ground is about 3-4km from Shiprock Falls heading towards Gembrook. Kurth Kiln Picnic Ground is a lot more popular and the tracks are better maintained. There is lots of wildlife in the area and the tracks should be reasonably easy for a 5 year old.

[bearhiker]

Cheers MickyB,

I think we might start off there as it's pretty close, just over an hour. Will head up this arvo and see how we go!

Thanks for the tips guys, look forward to coming back and getting more advice soon.

Cheers

[MickyB]

From memory campfires are permitted so don't forget to take the marshmallows.

Have a great time.