The Queen's Birthday long weekend end in June is one of the times each year that Flat Four tries to get away for a few days of rest and relaxation instead of a one day cruise. Glenmack Park at Kangaroo Valley has been our destination for the last few years.

About two and half hours drive south of Sydney, Glenmack offers campsite accommodation for those brave enough endure the cold nights and various cabin accommodation which tends to suit Club members with young families. As I waited on the chilly, sunless Friday afternoon to pick up my kids from school for an early getaway, I noticed a number of people looking at the gear laden car thinking we must be crazy heading off in this weather.

The trip down was of the standard long weekend variety, a good start, then the inevitable botteneck, a few accidents (unfortunately one turned out to be fatal and a young life lost, a cold reminder that any cruise should be undertaken with adequate rest and concentration) and then a smooth run through to the end. The journey for us is always punctuated by the standard back seat commentary "are we there yet?", "how long to go?" and "I'm hungry...". After checking in at Glenmack we went down to see the lucky campers who had arrived earlier and had a welcoming campfire already underway. The campfire is definitely one of the main attractions of the weekend, a place to relax, sit around with some good food, drink, friends and the catalyst for a plethora of stories, some new, some old but always entertaining.

Saturday I enjoyed the rarity of a sleep-in and then we headed off to wander through the local markets and shops. I look forward to these markets and a chance to purchase a variety of spices and sauces, a few knick-knacks for the family and to buy someone else's junk which becomes my treasure. I can still hear the kids voices pleading with me, trying to drag me away from the old magazines, records, photographs and collectables. Mind you, they want to spend forever in the local lolly and fudge shops!!

Saturday afternoon is a chance to spend more time lazing around the campfire and simply relaxing (with intermittent interuptions to get up and eat even more cheese, biscuits and dips and grab another refreshment). Dinner on Saturday night was a communal effort (with thanks to some key members!!). One might say it was...stew-pendous even!! A new family has joined the Club and it was a good chance to get to know them a little better.

On the Sunday, everyone tends to break into groups and do their own thing. Some headed to the Nowra township, some to the Nowra Zoo and some were quite content the stay and enjoy the relaxing surroundings at Glenmack. For our family and two other familes, we decided to check out  Tallowa Dam which is about a 20 minute drive from Kangaroo Valley. The fact that it is much smaller than Warragamba Dam in Sydney (90,000 megalitres compared to 2,030,000 megalitres) did not detract from its spectacular appearance in full flow. The natural surroundings only enhanced the experience and the kids enjoyed the mini-walk and of course skimming a few stones across the water.

Back to Glenmack for an enjoyable bbq lunch which was even more enjoyable as Phil had won the meat in a raffle on the Friday night at the local bowling club!!! And like a magnet, we were drawn back to the campfire in the afternoon for some more socialising, some bocce and a birthday celebration for one of the young members :)

Like all long weekends, the time flies by and we were quickly into Sunday evening and enjoying the last opportunity to spend a night by the campfire. Unfortunately the Monday morning brought rainy weather, never a good thing for packing up and the drive hope but I'm sure it didn't dampen (sorry!) anyone's enthusiasm to rebook for next year!

Feel free to check this link for more photos from the weekend!