BOODEREE - GREEN PATCH CAMPGROUND
Reconciliation Week starts on May 27 every year. After planning whole school and community events in my school for Aboriginal Education, I really wanted to spend the weekend camping on Country. A weekend to connect, reset and breathe on spiritual land.
Green Patch is a 30min drive from Nowra and is located in Booderee National Park, near Jervis Bay. It is actually part of the Australian Capital Territory! The word Booderee is an Aboriginal word from the Dhurga language. It means ‘bay of plenty’ or ‘plenty of fish’. This name was thoughtfully chosen by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal community. In 1995, the Commonwealth handed back what was known as Jervis Bay National Park to the traditional owners of Wreck Bay. It was then renamed Booderee National Park. 80% of staff and contractors working at Booderee are First Nations people. They work in the park, as well as help visitors to connect to culture and Country. Everywhere the eye can see, you’re surrounded by bush tucker and bush medicine plants, native wildlife and Dhurga language.
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Tootawah created the Dulamar, Murrawaddi, Yilarn and Gurrarama winds. These represent the points of the compass, north, east, south and west, in western culture. I can tell you now, we definitely felt the presence of Yilarn this weekend! Those winter winds were on their way! We had wind chill factor of 2.5 degrees. With no powered sites, I honestly thought that we would last one night without our heater and electric blankets, but I was pleasantly surprised! We were quite protected at the campsite and the Jayco Flamingo didn't let us down! She kept us all warm and cosy.
The campground has hot showers and flush toilets. Gas BBQs are provided in communal areas, however this campground can get rather busy so packing your own gas BBQ would be recommended. You can have campfires either at the designated fire pits or in a portable fire pit that is off the ground. No campfires on the ground are permitted, or during total fire bans. There is a firewood pile too for guests to use. The campsites vary in size, are all unpowered and have no water. There is fresh water for you to fill your jerry can. The campsite is split into two sections, D section and Y section. We have always camped in the D section.
The campground has hot showers and flush toilets. Gas BBQs are provided in communal areas, however this campground can get rather busy so packing your own gas BBQ would be recommended. You can have campfires either at the designated fire pits or in a portable fire pit that is off the ground. No campfires on the ground are permitted, or during total fire bans. There is a firewood pile too for guests to use. The campsites vary in size, are all unpowered and have no water. There is fresh water for you to fill your jerry can. The campsite is split into two sections, D section and Y section. We have always camped in the D section.
The beach is a five minute walk down the hill from the campground. It is a sealed footpath the entire way making it easy for those who would like to use a beach cart. We did live in puffer jackets and uggies for the entire weekend, well until we hit the finest white sand! We had to sink our feet in! It was rather overcast during our stay but the sun popped out just before sunset on our last afternoon. We sprinted down to the beach to enjoy the last few moments of sunlight and warmth. It didn’t disappoint! HMAS Creswell is just around the corner so Navy ships in the bay is a regular sight to see. It looks like a real life game of Battleship!
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There are many bush walks around the national park. Be sure to pack your activewear and joggers. The Green Patch to Bristol Point walk is 900m and can take 40mins roundtrip. It is best done during low tide as you walk along the rock platforms. The Telegraph Creek nature trail is 2.4km and can take an hour. There is plenty of wildlife to see from crimson rosellas, lorikeets, to swamp wallabies and bush-tailed possums, but be sure to not feed any of the wildlife.
If you love to get back to nature, unplug and unwind, this is the spot for you!
Peace + love,
If you love to get back to nature, unplug and unwind, this is the spot for you!
Peace + love,