Saturday 29 November 2014

Marinaded Chicken Kebabs

Kebabs over the campfire are always yummy, but they can be a hassle to turn over when you are leaning over the fire. We did these on our cast iron BBQ plate which helped, but you still need to be careful. As these had onion, mushroom, capsicum & pineapple on them we just served ours with some corn cobs wrapped in foil & roasted over the coals. 


Ingredients 

For the marinade & chicken
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce, oil & sweet chilli sauce
- 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce 
- 1/2 teaspoon each of ground cumin, garlic powder, all purpose seasoning, chilli flakes & salt

For the kebabs
- 1 red onion cut into wedges
- 1 capsicum cut into pieces
- 1 tin of pineapple slices cut into large pieces
- 10 mushrooms halved
- 4 rashers of bacon cut into pieces

Directions
- cut the chicken breast up into large bite sized pieces

- combine all marinade ingredients in a freezer or snap lock bag
- add the chicken & toss to combine
- allow to marinate for as long as you can, minimum 30 mins, 2 hours is good or overnight is great


When ready to assemble
- cut all of your veggies & bacon to size

- thread marinaded chicken & veggies onto skewers, with your choice of combination & amount of each, I usually aim for at least 3 pieces of chicken per skewer




Cook on a BBQ plate over medium coals & flames. You want the kebabs to initially sear, but then cook over a medium heat until cooked through, turning often. They take about 10-12 minutes. 




Serve with your choice of sides or just simply as they are. Leftovers make great wraps the next day. Remove the skewers & place meat & veggies on a wrap with grated cheese & sweet chilli sauce & toast. Yum. 





Friday 28 November 2014

Shannon's Campground & the Pemberton & Manjimup Areas

We left Contos camp on the 20th of November 2014. It was now time to start heading back east exploring the south of WA as we went. There were a few camping options around Pemberton that looked okay. First up we tried the parks & wildlife camps at Grass Tree Hollow & Snotty Gobble Loop, both set amongst the forest. Both had no sites suitable for us & most were tent based sites, it really make us wonder why they set them up like this & exclude a lot of paying costumers & most numerous campers in camper trailers & caravans. So we head further in towards Pemberton towards a camp called the Aboretum. Again we were disappointed. This time there was plenty of room, but they had been working on the roads & with all the rain most of the area was a muddy mess & with more rain forecast it didn't look fun. Great 3 ruled out. The other option was one called Shannon's so we headed over that way. This was better, with about 30 sites, a lot weren't suitable for us with the solar panels & the rainy weather but we managed to find an open site & set up.  The rain continued & didn't really let up for the 3 nights we stayed here. The bonus of the campground is that it did have hot showers, yeah, they were heated by a wood chip heater, but really good. The cost was $10 per person per night. 



The next day we went across to the small town Northcliffe for a loaf of bread & then headed out to Windy Harbour. What a beautiful spot, but of course it did live up to its name & was blowing a gale. There is nothing really out there except a caravan park & heaps of fishing & holiday houses. We explored the town & boat ramp & beach while it wasn't raining to much. 
Windy harbour 

We then headed out to Point D'Entrecasteaux, again I wish the weather was better to really show you the magic of this place, there are various lookouts & walking tracks to explore. Definitely a must see spot on the south coast. 
Point D'Entrecasteaux


It was then back to camp, the weather held out for us & we managed to get the fire going & cook up some corned beef for dinner. 
Recipe coming soon


The next day the weather was even gloomier. So we went for a drive in to Manjimup, we were surprise to find a big town with both a Woolies & Coles. We grabbed a few supplies & some diesel. We also had to find a camping shop. I am sure it comes as no surprise to our family to hear Mat needed a new chair. He is a notorious chair wrecker! We are very surprised the Roman king canvas chairs we bought lasted this long, getting used every day for 9 months, but one final gave up. We would definitely buy another one, but of course we couldn't get one, so we will see how at Oztrail Titan chair goes this time. 

We then headed into towards Pemberton for a look, on the way we found another brewery at lunch time, so I guess it was fate. We had a lovely lunch platter overlooking a dam & vineyard, with some fresh Marron. Can't say they tasted any different to normal old yabbies to me, but they sell for extraordinary amounts over here, we have seen $85 a kilo. Might have to start a Marron farm. 

After that we headed into Pemberton itself & went past about 200 bikies at the local pub. It was a very picturesque town amongst the rolling hills. On the way home we called in at the Big Brook dam, the Boorara tree a huge tree that used to be used for fire spotting. 

Big Brook dam


Would of been an interesting climb to the top


We were going to do the walk to Lane Pool falls, but again it started raining. We took the Great a Forest Drive home to camp, meandering through the forests, although I have to say it is probably time to get out of the forests & find some new adventure. That night the rain held off again until during the night & we cooked up some warming lamb shanks for dinner. It has to stop raining & get warmer soon.......


Wednesday 26 November 2014

Apple Crumble Foil Packets

Okay so these might be the yummiest dessert I have ever had while camping. Delicious gooey caramelly sauce around the soft apples & crunchy topping, not to mention the indulgence of having a scoop of ice cream while camping YUM. To top it all off these are so easy especially if you use a cheats crumble like I did.



Camping Apple Crumble

Ingredients

Serves 2
- 2 apples I used pink ladies
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 2 tablespoons of raw sugar
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 
- 4 tablespoons of granola cereal
- ice cream to serve, we had caramel swirl



Directions
- Your fire is important for this one, you dont want your coals to hot. We cooked ours after dinner when the coals had burnt down 
- cut your apples into thin wedges
- place 2 large pieces of foil on the bench
- spray the foil liberaly with spray oil
- smear 1 tablespoon worth of butter on the centre of each piece of foil

- lay the apple slices on top in an even layer

- sprinkle the apple with the cinnamon & sugar

- top with pieces of the rest of the butter
- top that with the granola

- wrap your apple package up tightly
- rewrap the whole thing in another layer of foil

- place the packages on the coals apple side down for 5 minutes
- flip over to the granolaside for 2 mnutes

- remove from the coals & set aside for 5 minutes
- place the packages back on the coals apple side down for a further 5 minutes
- flipover for a final 1 minute on the granola side
- carefully remove the outer layer of foil & be really careful of the inside layer



- serve into bowls

- top with ice cream


Conto's Field Campground in Leeuwin Naturaliste NP & Augusta area

After leaving Yallingup we headed south towards Augusta to a parks & wildlife campground called Contos campground, it is within the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park & only a short distance from the beach. It is a large campground of about 90 bays, but a lot of the loops were closed, so we ended up in the one called Hamelin Hollow. We found a nice long campsite amongst the Peppermint trees that were flowering profusely & were humming with the sound of native bees on the flowers. Right next to the camp was a open area perfect for our solar panels, as the weather situation still hadn't really improved & it was forecast to be mostly overcast. We set up & it was still early as we only travelled a short distance, so we set off to explore. 

Firstly we went to the beach right near the campground called Contos Spring. There is a spring on the beach that used to be used to water cattle & sheep when the area was grazing country. It was a beautiful beach, this stretch of coastline is full of rocky headlands & cliffs, huge waves & large rocks right up to the beach. We had a look along the rocks for a fishing spot, but it looked to dangerous, so we just went for a walk on the beach & watched the surfers just offshore. A gorgeous spot & obviously very popular in the summer time. 
Contos Spring


We headed further south still & ended up at Hamelin Bay, the only thing here is a carvan park & boat ramp, it had a lovely beach for another walk & we made ourselves some lunch. 
Hamelin Bay


We then headed down to Augusta for a look. A small town, but with everything you need, it sits right on the mouth of the Augusta River & the road follows the beach out to Cape Leeuwin, which we decided to explore the next day, so it was back to camp. This campground supplied firewood as well, so that was good, there were pit toilets, a water tap & camp kitchen in the ground & the cost was $10 per person per night. It was suprisingly busy with most camps taken by nightfall. 

Camp at Contos above & below



The next day the skies were still grey, but we ventured out again. Firstly we called in at Cape Freycinet for a look & to South beach.
Cape Freycinet 


 Again lovely coastline. We then followed the 4WD track Point Road past another campground. There were lots of 4WD tracks around out to the beach & we were keen to do some decent bush driving again. Well we got our wish, the track was rough & wet & poor Ruby got plenty of new pinstripes. We went out along Hooley Road to the beach there. What a track. The last 2 km or so, we're deeply rutted & rocky with huge holes, it took us about 15 minutes to get down to the beach itself.
Track

Beautiful secluded beach


It felt so remote, like we were the only ones around, but as we looked down at the beach we could see footprints of others that had made the journey. Still a lovely spot. I wish the weather was clearer so the photos could portray the immense beauty of the coastline. 

After negotiating the track back out we made our way to the Booranup lookout set amongst the forest looking out over the ocean, not that you can really see it in the photos because of the cloud. We made ourselves some ham & salad rolls for lunch, not that either of us felt like salad as it was freezing!

Booranup lookout

We then headed back into Augusta & to the butcher to get 2 big juicy T-Bone steaks for dinner that night. We then made our way out to Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse for a look. 

Looking down on the lighthouse

Rugged coastline


It is on the southern most tip of WA on the south west corner of the Margaret River region & had a wild feel about the place as the Indian & Southern Oceans Converge. Just around the corner is a historic water wheel that was used to pump water to the lighthouse when it was getting constructed. It is amazing well preserved despite the calcification on the wheel itself & is a must see. 

Water wheel


We took the scenic drive home & called into fishing jetty for a look. An older couple were fishing & had managed to get some good whiting & while we watched the water a huge stingray swam around the rocks below us. There were also a couple of professional fishing boats moored & they were bring in their catch of huge snapper, Mulloway & shark. Very interesting. We then made our way home to warm up around the fire & cook up our steaks for dinner. 



The next day we headed slightly back north to Witchcliffe to post a parcel & use the Internet. On the way we came across a huge flock of black cockatoos grazing on a freshly harvested paddock. 





 After that we headed to the east to check out another couple of camping areas of Chapman Pool, Warners Glen & Sues Bridge, stopping by at Hut Pool on the Blackwood river. 

Chapman pool

Hut pool





It was another dreary day, but we did get to see some lovely country, so different to the north of Perth. The next day it was time to head off again further east to try to escape this dismal weather, even though I feel terrible writing that as we know how much this sort of weather is needed back home at the moment. Fingers crossed we can send you some.