We got our Off-Grid Camping P plates at Mingo Crossing (near Mt Perry, Queensland).
After retiring very recently, and getting over the rain and a bout of Covid, we finally got to do our first trip.
Celebrating our New Beginnings with a bottle of Chandon!
The old saying, "Mad Dogs & Englishmen go out in the midday sun" should be changed to Crazy Queensland Campers go camping in the freezing cold! We decided to go no power and just use our battery, gas and solar so we couldn't just plug in the fan-heater to warm things up! Instead, we ensured we had insulation under the beds, -10 degrees rated sleeping bags and a huge doona! Thankfully, we had an open fire for the cool nights but the days were mostly beautiful and sunny!
This was our first trip in the Jayco Lark and I am delighted to say that everything went to plan - even the bed flys! We were a bit worried about them having read a few posts from others and watching a seriously complicated YouTube video. Next time, we might even make our own YouTube video! 📹
The Mingo Crossing caravan park is a great spot for trainee caravanners because you can go non-powered but still have the back-up of hot showers and flushing toilets. It is such a beautiful spot right on the Burnett River. It would be perfect for kayaking or stand-up paddle-boarding in the warmer weather. It was way too cold for me to get in the water at around 6 degrees!
I spent the time wearing thermal underwear, gloves, beanie, polar-fleece and ugg boots! 🥶
Things we learned on our maiden trip
Take a broom, make sure both water tanks are full, ensure you have plenty of occy straps, park in the sun 🌞, don't assume you will catch fish and, most importantly, make sure the roof vent is closed properly before everything is packed down. Yes, I had to shimmy myself in through the door to close it and still got it wrong so we had to go back in a second time! 😠 I also forgot to lower the tap before lowering the roof! A couple of 'rookie errors'!
Having the bed-flys saved everything getting wet as we did have rain on one night - of course! For us, it wouldn't be camping if it didn't rain! 🌧It did make things a bit trickier packing down - especially when a bit of a breeze came up.
Mingo Crossing is on the Burnett River and we went via Gin Gin and Mt Perry from Bundaberg. We got to enjoy a pie from the Gin Gin Bakery - always worth stopping for. Phone service and internet was very patchy for me (Optus) but I survived without being attached to social media. In fact, it was very liberating not having Facebook, emails and text messages!
Now that we can camp without 240 volt power, there will be no stopping us! Where to next? After experiencing the cold, we have decided to head north for the winter months.
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