Murphy's Creek Escape

It's been longer than we would have liked, however the Easter school holidays have been the prompter for our next camping trip and the venue chosen was Murphy's Creek Escape. It's only an hour and half from our front door, yet from all reports, secluded enough to get away from it all.

A few of the locals

We saw out the Easter weekend at home then headed off on Monday for a 4 night stay at 'the creek'. We'd secured a powered site close to the amenities block and couldn't wait to get away.

Loo break at Gatton

Day 1: We stopped off at Withcott for some lunch and arrived at the camp ground just after midday. Set up took about 3 hours at our usual easy pace and included the new gazebo which is a welcome addition to the 'living space'.

Camp is set up

God knows why, but the satellite proved difficult to find. Like most things that just won't happen for ya, the solution was simple...leave it, go away and try again 10 minutes later and suddenly it works, go figure!?

A snap shot of the pleasantly deserted camp ground

It was then time to light the fire and anticipate cracking out the marshmallows later in the evening. One of the charms of MCE is the freedom to light fires in the supplied (moveable) fire drums. You can also choose to buy your wood, or source it from anything that's fallen to the ground.

The Xmas  pressie got it's first real work out

First nights sleep away from home is rarely a good one, but this time it was a little worse. Turns out coal trains run night and day past the camp grounds. We arrived Easter Monday when they weren't running, so our first experience was at about 2am on Tuesday morning. Needless to say, lucky we were reasonably close to the amenities block because I needed 'em after being woken by what sounded like a freight train running through the camp site!

The sign says it all

Day 2: Other than a quick run into Withcott to pick up forgotten supplies we spent the day around camp and exploring the grounds. We walked the creek from the road crossing to the beach which was a load of fun. It was also a little challenging since the rain from the weekend had left the water fairly murky. The owner, Pete, told us to expect the water to clear right up in the next 24-48 hours.

The Creek

The Rapids

A couple of hours were killed swimming at the beach and playing around with the communal tyre tube. All the Easter crowd had disappeared by late Monday, so we basically had the beach to ourselves.
Once the kids finally had enough, it was ice creams from the onsite office before enjoying the golden hours by starting the fire and relaxing with a few Turkeys. The evening was closed out with BBQ dinner, the now traditional marshmallow roasting, showers and then a little bit of TV before bed.

Day 3: We took a day trip to explore the west further. There were stops at Oakey, The Jondaryan Woolshed, Danish Flower Art/Cafe and the Springbuff railway.

If you find yourself north of Toowoomba around lunch time, then do yourself a favour and drop into the Danish Flower Art Centre. The place was very kid friendly which kept things Mum and Dad friendly!

Danish Cafe at Highfields

Danish Cafe bantams roam free

The drive back to MCE via Springbluff was a stop start affair given all the roadworks that were underway to repair damage caused by the floods. Thankfully the scenery was brilliant so the ride was a comfortable one.

Springbluff Railway Station

Day 4: We love a "Big Breaky" in this family so Day 4 was pencilled in to be highlighted by this event. Is there a better way to start a day than a sleep-in followed by a brunch of sausages, tomatos, bacon, eggs, beans and muffins!?
The remainder of the day was wasted away with a combination of lazing around; swimming and then an impromptu game of footy with the kids from a neighbouring camp.

More of The Beach

"It's time to Go Anna"

Day 5: And unfortunately it's time to head home. We pack up camp and head down to the beach for one last swim before hitting the road.

Despite the cool morning, we still squeezed in a swim.

We had a great time at MCE. Fortune was definitely on our side. For one, we managed to secure a few quiet days between the peak periods of Easter & a weekend. Whilst we're not necessarily adverse to crowds, I'm not sure we would have enjoyed ourselves as much if the numbers weren't so low.

The weather was super with just a few showers that rolled in during a couple of evenings. All in all, I'm sure we'll be back.

Klms: 961
Fuel: 14.4L/100k