In what has become a fairly consistent event for us, this October long weekend we headed down to the 2024 Dragon Dreaming Festival. Once again we invited Nanna and Goldy down to look after Ollie and headed off sans 5 year old.
In the same way as last year, we picked up two early entry passes so that we could avoid having to park at the distant campgrounds. Being closer to the festival site is a lot louder, but it’s much nicer to be able to duck to the campsite to pick things up than having to remember to bring everything with you in one trip.
This year Rosie offered to take our friends van down to the site. They hadn’t brought the early entry tickets, so this would let us get them a space in the closer campsites. We also brought a separate tent for another couple of friends to save them a spot as well.
We caught up our early-entry friends at the same Maccas as last year, though a little later than last time. We headed down as a three-vehicle convoy through Uriarra Crossing and then on to Wee Jasper. We got to the front gates of the festival site way later than the year, and the line up was pretty huge. They moved us into an overflow lane that was pretty badly optimised and managed, so it took around one and a half hours before we were able to go into the festival.
Once inside the site there was another overflow site, and then by the time we got into the camping areas almost all of the sites were completely full up. Or at least, full up enough that three vehicles and a camper trailer weren’t able to fit. We were driving around looking for a suitable spot for a while, and just about to call it and try get back to the southern (further) campsites we’d tried to avoid by getting early tickets, when we chanced upon a friend of a friend who had secured an amazing spot with some spare spaces.
I’ve said it several times before in other posts, but finding a camping spot at Dragon Dreaming is the most stressful part of the entire weekend. (for us at least – I’m sure driving past the police dogs and testing station outside the festival entrance is terrifying for a lot of the festival goers!).
The campsite was on a bit of an awkward angle, and close neighbours meant that we didn’t have much room to maneuver the camper, so during setup I ended up jacking up one side of the camper and packing underneath with extra wooden blocks. It wasn’t perfectly level, but we made it work.
Once everyone was set up everyone retired to their respective camps for a bit of a rest. I ended up going for a walk to check out other areas of the festival site while Rosie read her book back in the camper. That night after several beverages I had a very good burger from one of the stalls.
The next morning was a slow start. The weather was a bit spotty, which was a theme that persisted through most of the weekend. There were several wind gusts coming from all directions, and quite a bit of rain one evening. We survived most of the weather, but it took a bit of maintenance to keep the awning poles in place with the wind gusting every now and then.
We did the usual things over the weekend. The music was about the same, as was the format. The stages and events did seem a bit cut back though compared to previous years. We had a great couple of trips down to the lake area and everyone had a great time dressing up in ridiculous outfits.
On Sunday Rosie wasn’t feeling well so she packed up and headed home in the car. I went with a few friends down to a sauna by the lake. For $20 per person for 30 minutes, it turned out to be an absolutely amazing idea for the third day of a festival. We were able to sweat out three solid days of drinking and heavy food, and then follow it up with some cold plunges to shock the system. Great idea and highly recommended.
After the sauna on the Sunday afternoon, the wind picked up and we headed back to camp to check up on everything. We got there just in time to make sure the awning didn’t blow away; that’s when we decided to take it down.
The same gusts took down a huge eucalyptus branch nearby that fell down and crushed a couple of cars. No one was hurt and I think the cars were all drivable, but it was definitely a reminder to never camp under a gum tree if you can help it.
Later in the afternoon as we were enjoying some tasty beverages under the camper we noticed a nearby camper and her friend rehearsing a dance routine involving some chairs while dressed in dressing gowns. We really only noticed them after one of them toppled off the back of her chair in front of us. We asked what they were practising for and they mentioned there was a cabaret show that night. That sounded like a fun time so that night we headed in to check out some of the sideshows. Our neighbours act was fantastic, even without the dressing gowns.
The next morning was our last day at the festival. We slowly packed up – there’s no point packing up quickly when you have to rely on nearby campers to finish up first in order to get your cars out. The trip back was uneventful and I ended back home around 2pm
A big thanks to all our friends that made this fifth Dragon a very chill and laidback time!
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