Easter weekend meant time for a little break from Adelaide, and time to experience Australian camping. We stayed in South Australia, heading further south than Adelaide to Deep Creek Conservation Park, on the southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula (about 1.5 hours from Adelaide).
Arrival – Tapanappa campsite, Deep Creek
After getting lost en route and ending up doing a detour through Victor Harbour, it was dark by the time we arrived. Due to it being evening, as we approached the campsite, wild kangaroos were jumping from the darkened forests at the side of the road, darting back and forth in front of the car. I was rather loving it but was also very concerned we were about to hit one! Many kangaroos and no collisions later, we reached our camping spot. Hallelujah! It was so dark there wasn’t even any point in rushing to get the tent up before it got darker – it wouldn’t. We therefore opted for a bbq dinner before tackling putting up the tents.
What struck me immediately about this campsite was the lack of large grassy area with loads of tents on it – this is what it is always like when I go camping in Scotland. Camping in Australia, on the other hand, provides you with your own secluded camping space (I have been told this is the norm anyway!). Each area has its own camp fire spot, and, in this case, enough room for two cars and around three tents (this is what we fitted anyway). Unfortunately, camp fires are not permitted until April 30th (it is still bush fire season) so we were unable to chill around a campfire.
There are 5 different campsites at Deep Creek, the one we were at being ‘Tapanappa campsite’. Because we arrived in the dark, we had no idea of our whereabouts, so waking up in the morning to go for a wander and seeing a stunning sea view (I love the sea!) was an awesome start to the day. Forest and sea – the best of both. The sea was super blue and calm, the forest free and wild in its stillness, both appearing infinite. The scenery almost did not look real. The other campsites at Deep Creek I believe are simply more just forest, so you don’t get a great coastal view but of course would be able to walk or take a short drive to this area.
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Walking trails
Deep Creek Conservation Park is very much a place of walking trails. We did the walk to Deep Creek Waterfall – it is rated as hard but all the people in my group agreed we would rate it moderate. It only took around 1 hour each way. There was a little uphill but nothing to complain about – it was very much an enjoyable walk to do. The trail provided some great views of forest and sea, and it was the most beautiful day with the perfect temperature. We stopped at the waterfall for a while, had lunch and explored there a little – going to the waterfall wasn’t quite enough and we all climbed our way to the top of the waterfall – it was a lot of fun.
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The sky
The sky was incredible in this area of South Australia.
- Sunset: Unfortunately, the sun set over the forest and not over the sea, however it provided beautiful colours in the sky.
- The night sky: The stars were incredibly clear, the perfect place to spot the constellations – the Milky Way was dazzling, and the Southern Cross one of many highly visible constellations.
On the 2nd night the moon was a magnificent bright red, the red reflecting on the ocean. The surroundings were so dark that it completely stood out – people were gathering to see the superb sight. This was one of those moment I regret not having great camera skills – auto mode does not work for times like this. The red didn’t last overly long but I am certainly glad I got to see it.
- Sunrise: I awoke around 6:15am and feared I had missed the sunrise, turns out it was getting light but the sun was yet to rise. I dashed out of my sleeping bag and went to watch the sunrise in the stunning spot just 2 minutes from our tent. It rose over the forest just to the left of the sea, the sky bright orange as the day began.
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‘Real’ camping
There was no running water at this campsite (meaning a long drop toilet was what we had – better than nothing though). The campsites I usually go to in Scotland (those rare times I do) always have running water and showers. There were no shops nearby, a lack of phone signal, not even any bins (we had to bring our rubbish back home with us!). Stringybark campsite (another one of the 5 Deep Creek sites) has toilets with running water, sinks for washing dishes and even hot showers. It is possible to go and use these facilities which ever site you are staying in, but being there only 3 days there was no need. It was in a way quite nice to experience what could be described as almost ‘proper’ camping, and doing so with Australian families made this a very authentic Australian camping experience. One which I thoroughly enjoyed!
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