Skip to Content

THE WEEKLY #209: COASTAL CAMPING

THE WEEKLY #209: COASTAL CAMPING

It happens every time I come back to Adelaide or stop traveling for a while. I put away the camera and I stop adventuring. I use the stability of a fixed base and no new travels to pour my energy into catching up on work, having an exercise routine, and some sense of normality to my days. It’s productive time and often very necessary to recharge and take care of the behind the scenes work that keeps the ball rolling. Essentially, Adelaide is the garage and I’m the traveling van. Every now and again the van needs a service.

Normally, this is a great little block of productivity but this pandemic has made the block a little longer than desirable and this has meant it’s been a while since an adventure. It’s not something you forget how to do but from the comforts of a warm house with your family, a camping trip or an overnight adventure can often be pushed aside till next week. It’s almost as if it’s hard to get back into the groove once you’re out of it. However, once you get a bit of adrenaline in your blood from an adventure or two you remember why you were addicted to it in the first place.

That leads me to this week. Josh and I spontaneously decided to head down to Victor Harbor way to camp overnight, do a trail run in the morning and then work from a cafe in Port Elliot the next day. Camping, trail-running, and cafe work sessions where the combo we were after and the trip delivered. Once we got out of Adelaide, the adventure vibes were on and I was glad to be back out and about.

We headed up to Rapid Bay campsite but found out it was closed due to the pandemic so continued on up to Waitpinga and found the campsite there was open. As we rolled into Waitpinga, we were a bit late due to the Rapid Bay closure but made it just in time to watch Waitpinga Beach light up in a pink haze as the surfers enjoyed the last few waves before darkness. Pink soon turned to red and we had stumbled into one of the best sunsets in a while.

After sunset, we set up camp in Waitpinga Campground inside Newland Head Conservation Park. I had some new gear to test out like an ultra-light tent, Jet Boil camping stove, ultra-light sleeping mat, and new ultra-light sleeping bag. All of the gear passed the test and I’m keen to add a few more camping trips to the itinerary before this lockdown period in Adelaide ends.

The next morning we woke just before sunrise to find kangaroos nibbling at the grass outside of our tents. We quickly packed up our minimal campsite and drove down to Kings Beach to begin our trail run. Heading from Kings Beach down the Heysen Trail back towards Newlands Head Conservation Park turned out to be a great idea. The undulating trail provided some testing incline but nothing too much to handle.

The trail itself was a cliff-side track with great views over the ocean on many occasions while also darting back into the Aussie bush every now and again. We came across Kangaroos, flocks of Rosellas, and parakeets as we wound our way along this stunning part of the Heysen Trail. Only bumping into one other trail runner along the way, we enjoyed the track to ourselves.

After our morning trail run, we headed to a couple of coffee shops to get some work done on our respective blogs and enjoyed the laidback vibes that come with ease when you depart the sometimes frenetic nature of the inner city cafes of Adelaide.

It was a great little trip that left me longing for another adventure, which is exactly what I’d hoped for as I sit in idle, during this lockdown that seems to continually extend itself without apology.

I stuck to my iPhone this week for photos but Josh brought the camera down so, for a change, we have some quality snaps this time for The Weekly. Here are some of my favorite photos from our sunset session and trail run down at Waitpinga and Newlands Head Conservation Park.

I hope you all had a great week and maybe even enjoyed a little adventure of your own.

setzersrv.com

Friday 16th of April 2021

Your experiences are very amazing, the way you travel and go on various adventures and your explanation of your experiences is amazing. Willing to read blogs of your travel more. Thank you for sharing your stories and making us part of it.

Jackson

Saturday 17th of April 2021

Thanks so much :)

Jackson

Saturday 17th of April 2021

Thanks so much for the kind comment: