Friday 6th June, 2025
Remember when we went to the Millmerran Camp Oven Festival last year in October.... and met the guys we camped next to (Mark & Deb) and their mates (John & Fran) - yeah of course you do. Anyhoo, I've kept in contact with Deb and Fran and we've organised our first catch-up camping weekend with them all - yah!
Esk Caravan Park is sort of, more or less in the middle of all of us and because John and Fran don't own a caravan or motorhome, Craig suggested this place so they could book a cabin or glamping tent or motel room - everyone's on board!
Now, the plan was for us to leave around about 10.30/11.00am, stopping at the Exchange Hotel in Kilcoy for lunch, then arriving at Esk around 2.00pm ish - sounds like a good plan right..... well, here's what really happened. I had the van packed, car hooked up by about 10.30am looking good. Sent husband a text checking on his progress at work.... and here's where it all fell apart. He finally arrived home about 4pm and we were on the road by 4.30pm, husband still in his work clothes 🙄 Let's just say it was a realitively quite trip to Esk, with the odd message to Deb and Fran regarding our progress and the peanut gallery coming back with amusing questions such as "who Barney was talking to", or "do we need a drink for the trip to lighten the mood" 😆 We were honestly surprised at how busy the road was from Beerwah to Esk.
We eventually arrived about 6pm I think, I had contacted the office earlier in the afternoon to advise that we would be late, so an envelope was left for us in the mailbox and I just had to call the caretaker, who came out and escorted us to where the others were set up (which we actually knew, as it was the same unpowered sites we camped at before). As you can imagine when we got out of the car, the humerous banter that occured regarding our late arrival and how was the trip 🤣 It is the first time Deb, Mark, Fran and John are meeting Barney, so we got that out of the way and then of course a beer was drunk before working out the best way to position ourselves within the site lines.
Everyone waited for us to arrive before having dinner, which was lovely and after setting up and pouring myself a wine, we sat down to relax and have a chat with everyone. Deb was an angel and had made heaps of chicken fillets for burgers for dinner and fed us as well. It was a good night, catching up with everyone, sitting around the fire.
I'll be honest with you, it was with some trepidation that we embarked on this weekend. While at Millmerran Festival we all got on famously and messaging with Deb and Fran since has been very friendly and easy, but I am sure you can relate to our slight nervousness about meeting up again (we don't normally form friendships with people we meet camping, it was a strange one). All those thoughts that race through your head, what if we don't have anything to talk about or have anything really in common - DEAR GOD! this weekend could go even more horribly wrong then just our late arrival 😮
Relax, once we arrived it was like putting on your old favourite pair of fluffy slippers, it just felt comfortable - how cool!!
Saturday 7th June, 2025
Alrighty, let's just brush off yesterday and start afresh this morning. Nice shower, nice hot bacon and egg burger for brekkie (she's a bit brisk this morning in Esk), then off to the markets for a walk around (hoping for the german sausage stall to be there and maybe pick up some homemade relish). Craig and I headed straight over to the markets with Barney, while the rest went down to the Brisbane Valley Roasters coffee shop first. Well, the markets were not as we remembered them from our last visit, no german sausages - talk about very disappointed, and there really weren't very many stalls at all. We did manage to find a homemade relish stall though, so got a nice tomato relish. Decided to head down the street to the bakery to try out the pies and pastry, we've been told by someone that they were particularly good.
Meh, nothing special about those pies and pastry - sorry Esk Bakery. Spotted everyone else sauntering along across the road and we caught up with them outside the Chemist. Craig condemplated going into the pub for a beer but we pointed out we were booked in for lunch at 12.30pm, so he could wait LOL. Expressed our disappointment in the markets and then walked the long way back to our campsite so Barney used up some of that puppy energy before lunch.
Arriving back about 10.30 at camp, we relaxed and waited for the return of our fellow campers. The unpowered campsites are quite nice, the creek even had some water in it this time and looked very pretty.
Lunch at the Esk Grand Hotel was absolutely yummy as usual, but just as well Deb booked us a table, the pub was packed because of a massive amount of motorbike riders that arrived.
Just a cruisey afternoon back at camp, napping went on for most people or reading cookbooks for me. Then as you do in the afternoons of camping, some nibbles, drinks, a campfire, chatting - you get the drift and Barney figured out after dark that sitting right next to that campfire was the warmest place to be.
Well this morning was most certainly brisk, maybe a bit of frost on the grass even. Today is pack up day, coffees and hot breakfast in the morning, watching the Lamas being taken for a walk along the pathway 😯
Barney spent the first part of the morning being a sticky beak out of the caravan windows again
We all have to be out by 10am, John and Fran came down in their car after booking out of the motel and waited while we all packed up the campsites. Farewells were done and everyone headed off their separte ways.
A very successful, enjoyable and fun weekend camp with our new friends!! Can hardly wait to do more with Deb, Mark, Fran and John.
Oh wait, you will not believe what happened as we were driving out of Esk..... just as Craig excelerated up to 100klm, I looked in the side mirror on the car to see the pop top on our van popped up at the front!! 😮 Craig pulled over as quickly as he could on a side road and we jumped out and fastened it down. During our pack up we both obviously got distracted with chatted to everyone and neither of us checked the roof was locked down - that lesson has been learnt and checking the roof locks is now part of the final walk around the van before leaving anywhere 🤦♀️
www.eskcaravanpark.com.au
Unpowered Pet Friendly Campsite $43.00/night
Powered Pet Friendly Campsite $67.00/Night
They also have a couple of fenced pet friendly sites
Campfires allowed (when no restrictions) in unpowered section
Toilets/Showers with underfloor heating
Camp Kitchens - including pizza ovens, fireplace
Dog wash facilities
Dump Point
Pools
