2 Girls 1 Camp - A C196 Girls Adventure!
That Kokoda Lady here. Wishing I was back on the road with our Counterstrike C196 as I’ve returned recently from the 2024 Nationals which took place at Rawnsley Station, South Australia. The trip was full of interesting, entertaining and melt down moments I won't soon forget.
I talked my good friend Amanda, once a professional chef (savvy, Summer... savvy) into coming along on the trip with me. For several reasons this was a great idea. Firstly, as already mentioned... she was a chef so food was sorted. Second, she's the kinda sidekick that is up for anything and just goes with the flow packing a great attitude with her at all times. Exactly what I need when I'm frustrated about any of the little things I can hyper focus on that really don't warrant the attention I give them ie: my obsession with filling my fuel tank before it gets to the halfway mark. And lastly, I was 100% confident there would be so many belly laughs I'd return with more defined abs than I left with.
The superstars at GMSV set me up with a 2024 Chevy Silverado 2500 LTZ HD in slate grey. I've always maintained I'd never marry again... Until I met and got to know this truck. This truck coupled with our C196 was a 15-meter-long head turner. Especially with a woman as small me towing. When I hopped out of what I fondly named "Macie Grey" ... My head was not visible over the bonnet.
Mandy and I set sail from Kokoda HQ at first light on Saturday morning. Ha! Just kidding. I never leave on time. We finally took off around 1pm (I still gotta work on these trips!) and pointed the truck towards SA. Not knowing where we’d end up camping each night en route was half the fun and half the anxiety. I don’t like towing when the sun gets low so I left it up to my new co-pilot to navigate to the best free-camp she could find within the limited time we had to travel. She didn’t disappoint (this time) and we rolled into Walkers Lake. Which after my obsession with a full fuel tank and a top up of AdBlue (necessary for the Chevy HD) took us about 4 hours to get to. Open spot. Only a few campers. Lake front. Nailed it. A beautiful meal of salmon and miso egg plant on the NomadiQ BBQ and I was, indeed, a happy camper. I highly recommend bringing your own chef when camping.
Of course, we didn’t leave in the morning early like I said I’d do every travel day but hey… at least I’m consistent. Luckily the Counterstrike Series are all about maximising the enjoyment and minimising the fuss! Pack up is a breeze when literally everything has its own place!
We got on the road about 11am and travelled to our next destination. Which ended up being a hilarious Wiki Camps disaster. The first spot we aimed to land on was absolutely NOT suitable for caravans despite what the app said. Lies! So, what we got stuck with due to diminishing daylight was a roadside camp site in Renmark South Australia. And I mean roadside. We laughed it off, had leftovers, drank (a lot of) wine, watched a movie, and claimed it as a “shit happens” camp. The sound of air brakes lulled us to sleep, and we had a decent night’s rest. Couldn’t have been the wine…
Day 3 we finally spotted the “roadside melons” aka Citrullus Lanatus, that for some reason I get so excited about seeing. As they’re an invasive weed, they’d been sprayed since my last trip to SA (Tough Tested 2023 at Loveday 4x4 Park) and they were harder to spot. Don’t eat these. Your insides will fall out if you do.
We pulled into Rawnsley Station after a drive that reminded us to wear sports bras on the road trips, late of course. We swung off the paved road and started to feel the excitement of camping at the base of the beautiful Flinders Ranges and of course… by being greeted by over 90 Kokoda Caravans and almost double the Kokodians. The Kokoda KFW’s were being handed out like lollies on Halloween. If you don’t know what the Kokoda KFW is… well… I feel bad for you.
We stayed here until Wednesday night enjoying the activities that had been organised by Happy Campers Australia aka Super-Duper Awesome Humans aka Vicki and Glenn who raised over $7,000 for Mates4Mates across the duration of the event. We rode the steam train in Quorn, We listened to live music, we did a paint n sip… sip… hahaha… ahem…BBQ nights, music around the fire and visited Kanyaka Homestead. We got to meet so many lovely people and have a lot of great conversations, show off the C196 and really just relax and party with a bunch of fabulous campers. It was an absolute blast.
Unfortunately, I had to leave the event early to get the Counterstrike back to VIC as Trev had to hitch up and take the van right back to SA for Tough Tested 2024. This meant I sadly missed out on the Pub visit on Thursday arvo and the end of trip shin dig and closing ceremony. We were kinda bummed but the road was calling.
We opted for a different route back as to check some new sights (everyone loves a good Silo Art detour). Night one of the return back to Kokoda HQ we camped along the Murray in Murray Ward at what I would describe as “Not Mandy’s best choice.” The two trips over the river by ferry were mildly amusing however the Wiki Campsite was packed. PACKED. It was tiny. It was right by a main road. And it was almost impossible to get out of with the Chevy / Kokoda package without a 27-point turn. This was a meltdown moment that reminded me why some people love a single axel for its nimbleness although I must say I’m still a dual axel kinda gal.
Luckily, our neighbours were up for a fire, some home-made pizza (dough and all) and maybe a few too many bevvies. It really was a great night meeting two lovely bikers that were travelling in fabulously refurbished truck camper. If I pass through Adelaide again, we’ve an open invite to stop in and re-enact the evening at their place.
Our last night was a winner at Lake Taylor VIC where Mandy certainly redeemed herself. Great free spot, big drums for campfires, plenty of open space overlooking the water and she cooked up a roast lamb n veggie delight in the cast iron pot over the coals. We did a pamper night which resulted in a five-minute video of us wearing face masks and laughing so hard we couldn’t make eye contact for quite some time without bursting into uncontrollable giggles. It really was a great night to top our trip off.
This girl’s trip is by far my favourite trip I’ve done in a Kokoda. Mostly due to Mandy being an awesome co-pilot that picked up how to use a caravan and its components on the first day. She helped keep me calm when my anxiety reared its ugly head, cooked 5 star meals and provided more laughs than one could possibly count. Very much looking forward to the next 2 Girls 1 Camp adventure!
You can checkout more of my adventures on Instagram - @that_kokoda_lady
