or: One of my Top 3 Camping Trips

It’s been years since I’ve camped and early this week, my camping drought was broken.

It was only for one night however it is easily one of the best camping trips I’ve ever been on.

This comes from a former Girl Guide and Venturer Scout and someone that voluntarily goes camping as part of adventure holidays so I think I have a pretty good understanding of what makes a great camping trip.

I went with some people who I’ve never met before as well as a few that I knew. It was mostly a Creole group (including a young boy), a French woman and me. The group itself was fabulous not just personality-wise, it consisted of a guy who teaches how to play the drums (who can also play the guitar), another guitar player, someone that has worked in various hotels in the kitchen plus most of this group has been friends for a very long time so have had various day trips together.

This was their first camping trip too, though you wouldn’t know it.

They were so well organised.

We ended up having two boat trips to get to the island. The first group went while me and a few others stayed behind and waited for the pirogue to return.

By the time we arrived on the island, the other guys had set up all the tents, prepared the kitchen tent and had already started cooking gadiak (the snacks we were going to have with drinks) on a portable stove, erected a mini-braai and were building a massive fire while a few were organising beverages and / or collecting firewood.

On arrival, one of the guys gave us a couple of one litre bottles of water telling us this wasn’t for drinking but washing ourselves after a swim, brushing teeth etc. He then proceeded to cut some other plastic bottles in half which were then used to hold candles and shelter them from the wind.

I was given a glass of wine and just marvelled at the activity going on all around me not realising they had never done this before as a group. It looked like everyone knew their job and were throwing themselves into it. 

I was so impressed.

Over the night, the food they cooked was amazing and included some of the best chicken sautée I’ve had anywhere in the world. 

Then the music started.

There were three different traditional style drums plus a guitar. There was singing and laughter (not at me singing or dancing as everyone knows that would have brought the house / tents down!). There was a tambourine and another percussion instrument that I have no idea what it’s called.

Even the young boy played the drums well.

Such a fun and relaxing evening.

I went to bed and my greatest concern was how cold I would become as that’s normally the problem I have no matter where I camp.

It wasn’t a problem this time.

No mosquitoes either. 

It was like the whole camp was so well organised the mosquitoes were told to stay away and they did.

Next morning and breakfast was already prepared by the time I was out of the tent. Coffee offered and snorkelling around the island was to follow (it is a very small island and we were the only ones staying on it this particular night).

All in all it was a five star camping trip except there were no actual toilets. 

Even a well organised group can’t build those overnight though in my Guiding and Scouting days… 

Awesome experience with a great group of people.

 

Thanks to Lady A for the title to this post.