Lorne Homeschool Camp 2016 - Day 4

On our last morning I woke up before the others and went outside to a gorgeous orange sunrise. I went down to the beach and took some photos and had a quick morning swim - it was so beautiful in the water and refreshing as always. Back to the tent and I read my book and had some breakfast and relaxed a little before getting started on packing up.

Sunrise

The kids emerged after not too long and LiAM and Caitlin went for another walk on the beach. Caitlin went back over to the shops to get herself some more yoghurt. After we'd eaten I started tidying up the stuff that was outside the tent and then went in to start packing up clothes and beds and things. M arrived in time to help me take the beds apart which was rather handy! LiAM had a bit of a play with K and Caitlin went to chat with M until both of them left. The kids helped pack up in between playing with friends and exploring the campsite just a little more. Amelie washed the dishes for me which was an incredible help, saved a heap of time.

LiAM and some feathered visitors to our tent

Breakfast

I managed to get the tent packed up mostly by myself - LiAM helped pull the poles up on top, which meant he had to practically sit on top of it himself. The guy from the campsite next to us helped me tie it down - I will try to practice my truckers knots next time before I take it away without Tony - he does good knots and I haven't remembered how to reproduce them. Amelie's friend A came by and they helped us finish the dishes and pack up a bit more, then Amelie went to the playground with them while I finished putting everything in the trailer (our table has to go in first, so I wasn't able to put anything else in until I'd finished using it - I think we'll get a different table to make packing up easier). Finally everything was in (by 11.30, only half an hour later than I'd been aiming for) and the guys moving in to our site had arrived, so they helped me put the trailer on the car which was a great help.

I moved the car to a parking spot and joined the kids at the playground. LiAM was playing tag with Amelie, A and our 4 year old friend (who says Caitlin is now her best friend and has invited us to visit them again). Caitlin came back after a while and then we all went and got our swimmers on and went down to the closest beach for one last swim. LiAM had been wary of going back in here due to the stingray, but was feeling relaxed enough to give it a go and although we all kept an eye out for shadows and animals, we had an enjoyable swim. Amelie came in a little way, and dug some more sandcastles once she'd had enough. Once we'd all cooled off enough we went back up and showered at the outdoor shower, got changed and jumped in the car.

We wanted to see the bookshop (LiAM had been there with K the day before) and the op shop and Caitlin wanted to buy some postcards - but lunchtime on a hot Saturday afternoon was a crazy time to be in Lorne, there was nowhere to park the car with the trailer on, and everyone was too tired to walk very far. So we drove through town, up to the jetty and enjoyed seeing some of the different views and sights of the town, then turned around and headed towards home.

It was beautiful driving along the Great Ocean Road again, and once we got away from the coast we started playing car games again - counting horses and birds and dogs and so on. We stopped at McDonalds just as we reached the Ring Road and got ice creams and a Chai for me, and had a quick play in the playground. We were home by 5pm (Tony wasn't here, he was still at work), quite tired and very very happy that we'd gone to homeschool camp. The last full day in particular was a highlight, definitely enough to encourage us all to go along again next time. Coming home was also exciting, seeing all our animals again and settling into our own house.