Tocumwal- Emilia's birthday, Easter, koalas and a 'hole' lot of fun

Tocumwal, NSW (but we camped on the Vic side of the Murray River)

Sunday 2nd April- Monday 10th April

We had an incredible week at Tocumwal catching up with Val and Henry and our fabulous friends, the Crellins, as well as celebrating Emilia's birthday and gorging on chocolate over Easter. 

On the Tuesday, the kids spent a day at school reconnecting with their friends. When they walked in their school campuses they were both greeted with gasps of shock and squeals of excitement, one of Emilia's friends bolted as fast as she could and nearly bowled Emilia over when she grabbed her for a hug. It was so lovely to see. When I collected them that afternoon Jackson said he felt like a celebrity as everyone kept saying his name and wanted to talk and hang out with him!

That afternoon we met a few of Emilia's friends at a park next to Lake Mulwala for an early birthday celebration. It was a perfect afternoon and the girls enjoyed each other's company, and chocolate cake and pizza, until the sun set.

We'd managed to get Jackson registered in the basketball competition and they needed a player that night, so we ended the action packed day watching him join in for his first game of basketball in more than 18 months.

We had perfect weather for the first 3 days at Tocumwal. It was so lovely that we all braved the cold Murray River water- the kids actually spent heaps of time on the surfboard and paddleboard, we also went on lots of walks spotting koalas and just relaxed in the sunshine at camp catching up with Val and Henry whilst the kids had fun with Marty (their dog).

Emilia turned 12 on the Thursday and she had a great day at camp enjoying her presents and lots of yummy food. Dave, Bec, Xavier, Madi and Zoey arrived in the afternoon so she had a fabulous time playing with them before ending the night with her chosen dinner (smoked steaks), chocolate cake and brownie.

Unfortunately the weather turned that evening and it rained heavily all night. We awoke (with rather hazy heads after the excitement of seeing the Crellins after a year caused us to overindulge!) to find the Dave and Bec's van sitting in a very large puddle. It seems we'd put their van in the lowest point of the whole camp area! Their mat out the front of their van was totally underwater and we found their kettle floating away!!

It was a great lesson in problem solving for the kids as we determined the best way to deal with the issue. The boys - with some help from the kids- ended up digging a deep channel all the way to a low point on the sand. We all crossed our fingers as Daniel dug the final bit out and opened the channel - it worked! The water slowly drained away and within an hour it had cleared, leaving only a few muddy sections that we put planks of wood over.

The weather for the rest of the weekend was not the best, but thankfully there were not any more downpours. The kids still enjoyed the water and they even got a biscuit ride and a knee board from our neighbouring campers who'd brought their boat.

We had a few dramas with some inconsiderate campers who camped very close to us then played their music super loud and got very intoxicated. Daniel and Dave had to have a word to them on the Saturday night and remind them that the Easter Bunny doesn't come if children aren't asleep and our kids can't get to sleep with their music blaring. Thankfully they turned it down (at least for a few hours anyway).

By far, the best fun the kids had all weekend was in the big hole Xavier and Jackson dug. It was big enough for them all to take their camp chairs in, and they even made their own fire so they could sit and relax away from the adults! 

Tocumwal is a beautiful spot, made even more special by all the koalas (they are all around, there was even one in the tree right in front of camp) and the great company. 

We loved it so much we are keen on making it an annual Easter trip.

Emilia's early birthday celebration with her close friends.

It was so lovely to see her reconnecting with her friends - she'd missed them a lot. 

Daniel had fun trying out the new drone he purchased - unfortunately we couldn't use it where we were camped as it was close to the Tocumwal airport.

We camped right on the sand, so this was the view just in few steps from camp.

Playing in the river, enjoying the sun.

The kids and Marty had so much fun together, he didn't forget them at all.

Emilia's 12th birthday

Jackson got her some 'Odoureaters' powder as a joke present (to add to her real present) as it had become a running joke on the trip about how smelly her feet were getting - she received it in good spirits and we all had a laugh.

Birthday breakfast - loaded pancakes

Emilia showing off her new t-shirt.

Birthday lunch.

Birthday cake and brownie.

After her special smoked steaks for dinner we had cake. The Crellins had arrived so, with Val and Henry as well, there was quite a crew to sing to her.

On Good Friday the Crellin's walked out of their van and into a huge puddle! The boys spent a good hour digging a deep trench which thankfully helped drain away most of the water (but just left A LOT of mud!).

The adults were in jumpers whilst the crazy kids playing in the water for hours!

Perfecting their hair flicks!!

The beginnings of the 'hole'

There was a koala in the tree right in front of our campsite. He was there for 3 days and we got to watch him sleeping, eating and climbing.

The slack line got a lot of use - even from neighbouring campers.

Relaxing in their hole!

Their first attempt at a fireplace in their hole - unfortunately the smoke was blowing right into the hole then the sand caved in over the fire, so they had to move to plan B.

Getting biscuit rides from our neighbours.

Plan B - the fire worked much better on this side of the hole.

Notice the bark they'd used for 'carpet'. They even had steps to get in!

Catching yabbies

The kids caught a few yabbies and Zoey bravely held one.

Easter Sunday - collecting eggs around the caravan.

Getting ready for a double knee-board- lucky kids (even though the water was very cold)

Bec and I enjoyed a few wines and a much needed catch up.

Saying goodbye on Easter Monday - we'd all had a fabulous time.

Because of the rain the track was very muddy so it was a bit hairy getting out. We all crossed our fingers that Dave and Bec's van (which is a bit lower than ours) would make it out intact - thankfully it did.