Wee Jasper camping trip — June 2026

Over this weekend Clare and I took a short camping trip down to Micalong Creek — a place dear to her and full of memories of camping trips with her family.

So first of all, it was an incredible privilege to share time at a place that means so much and holds some fond memories!

We arrived early on Sunday evening after a short ~1.5hr drive out of Canberra. The roads up were pretty devoid of traffic — which is to be expected on a school night (and in the middle of winter, and on the winter solstice). But offered some incredible views over the landscapes which often surprised us as we came around a corner to a vast, verdant and undulating vista that took off in to the horizon.

Once we checked in, we got to unloading while the dogs waiting in the car (much to their dismay!). The first thing I noticed is that tent technology has come a long way since the manual build-and-thread-each-pole days of yore. We had this thing up and habitable in less than 15 minutes — including blowing up the airbed!

In fact, I now get the obsession with camping tech. Our little table came in 2 parts, a set of slats for the top, and a base that once fitted together was incredibly solid! Not to mention the incredibly stylish yellow gas burner!

With setup all done for now, we unloaded the dogs and took off for a short walk up river to a small swinging hole at the bottom of a series of water falls. It had just been raining (and would rain again later), so the current was quite strong as water was coming down the mountain in to the Micalong creek. While it was no weather to be swimming in, we did stop and admire the beauty of the place we found ourselves.

(📸 by Clare)

After taking in some of our surroundings and getting a few photos of some of the interesting and inspiring bits of nature we found around us, we headed back to our little campsite to get a fire and dinner organised!

Clare had picked up all the food supplies (❤️) and on the menu for tonight was Tacos!

(📸 by Clare)

With a fire going, we sat down to eat our dinner and chat. Unfortunately, there was a smidge of rain (which wasn't all that bad, the fire stayed lit), but rain means clouds, and clouds means no stars! We were hoping to do some stargazing given we'd only planned to be there for one night — but, maybe next time! 🤩

While taking the dogs out for a toilet break, we did come across a wombat — which raced off the moment it saw us. Those things can really move!

After some really lovely chats and cuddles by the fire, it was time to get some sleep — we did see a small patch of stars poke through the clouds though, so it wasn't all for naught 😊.

Our tent was right by the creek, so the sound of babbling water flowing past, and crashing off in the distance was a really lovely sleep aide. Once we settled in, I had the thought of being too warm — with wooly socks, trackies and a long sleeve top in a fairly thick down sleeping bag. But as the night got on, and cooled down, that thought changed. Leaving my arms uncovered for too long, or if my sleeping bag slipped down, I definitely felt the cold.

At about 1am, Barkley woke me up by trying to get out to go to the bathroom. So I hopped up, found my beanie and took him out for a walk. We walked up to the toilet block and on the way spotted the wombat again, hanging out by the entrance.

I tried to get a photo, but the dang thing wouldn't stand still for the requisite 3 seconds! If you like this one, you'll love my photos of BigFoot!

By now, though, the clouds had cleared off, and the sky was filled with stars! And let me tell you, there are a lot of stars out there. I so love the night sky when you can see how vast it is. And the variations in colours and star density is just magnificent. An amazing reminder that we are so hugely insignificant in the scheme of everything else around us.

With some existential musings out of the way it was back to bed with me — but not without telling Clare what an amazing view there was of the stars 😂

We totally slept through sunrise, instead opening to stay in a bit longer and keep warm, but once we were up we were greeted by a glorious day. Blue skies, a warming sun, no wind and the sound of the creek and birds as the soundtrack.

Breakfast was bacon and eggs with mushrooms, toast, orange juice and coffee — when I say Clare organised the food, this is the level we're talking 👌🏼😋. And with nowhere to be, we just sat, chatted and slowly got through eating. And then remained sat there basking in the sun, listening to the world around us and occasionally interjecting so we could talk 😊 Clare picked up her knitting, I remained in awe of how neat the jumper she is knitting is and the level of care and expertise that seems so natural.

By now, though, the sun was fading, so we got the fire going again (the little Bunnings fire bin had been serving us well!) and Clare put together some sandwiches. There's something to be said about the humble ham and salad sandwich.

After some more sitting by the fire and chatting (and while the dogs made themselves comfy in the tent and had a nap), we went for a walk down river to where the Micalong Creek meets the Goodradigbee River. It was such a beautiful walk with some tricky bits for the bipedal members of the troupe, with some really lovely views along the way — including a flock of goats greeting us upon our return.

But now with most of the day full of doing nothing behind us, it was time to pack up the car and head back to Canberra.

Leaving nothing behind, but taking with us full hearts, a head full of incredible memories and a yearning to get back in to nature.