Morisset Showgrounds

Whenever we return to Newcastle Troy is like an excited kid, he will always deny this but its so funny to watch him as he returns to his hometown and although I grew up in Victoria, Newcastle is a bit special to me too after all, its where we first met, Anthony was born in the John Hunter Hospital and its where we owned and operated two award winning lolly shops.

We decided to camp up at the Morisset Showgrounds which has a huge open space and at only $25 per night for all of us with power, its a lot more economical than camping in a caravan park.

The amenities are clean and the showers are new which makes life more comfortable when you have young children.

The only thing I would suggest to any future camper is to not park near the track because the horses trotting in the mornings create a lot of dust but having said this, the people that are parked along the track don't seem to be bothered.

This camp was my first experience with lazy people who empty their toilet cassette in the loo.

I won't go into detail but just think of the word spray and you should get the idea, not nice to walk into first thing in the morning!

I find this so grotesque, especially when there is a signed dump point metres away with a hose supplied for cleaning.

Do these people consider the poor caretaker who has to clean up the mess afterwards?

We have had a great time at Morisset waking up with Nana and Pop and the kids Christmas morning and catching up with family.

Troy set a tarp up over the bus which allowed for some shelter outside, this created a lot of calm in the camp, we all had somewhere to escape to now.

We have been so busy here that we haven't done as much as we would've liked but the kids and I went on a lovely walk through Glenrock reserve at Kahibah which opens out onto the beach, it was such a beautiful walk with some great views and wildlife along the track.

We visited the Newcastle museum with family, went to the Morisset Psychiatric hospital grounds to see the kangaroos but it was such a hot day I think they were all hiding as we only saw one, we visited the Norah Heads lighthouse which was fantastic and I got to see the Archibald exhibition on tour at the Gosford Regional Art Gallery with Anthony.
The Gosford Regional Art Gallery also has a Japanese Garden you can wander through.

We have met some lovely families while staying here, and the caretakers are really friendly and approachable.

Its the first time we have stayed home for New Years Eve for a long time but it feels like we don't need to go anywhere, we are so relaxed here.

Tomorrow I will be packing the car and taking the kids on a camping trip down the South Coast, eventually arriving in Melbourne.

Troy is having trouble with his back so is staying behind for a while and resting up before eventually meeting up with us again down the track.

Goodbye 2014, I hope you all have a happy and safe night crossing into 2015.