TRAVELS WITH KINGDEANO ADVENTURES
Over the years , since getting our campervan , we have loved freecamping : the opportunity to park up on a whim , the possibility of traveling anywhere and , of course , no check-out time to worry about . One location we find ourselves returning to time and time again is Mount Franklin , Vic . It is one of the most peaceful campsites we have experienced .
Mt Franklin is an extinct volcano about 10km north of Daylesford . A road spirals around the outer slopes , leading you into a flat 50- acre caldera , where you camp . The camping area offers new drop toilets , a parking area , and a picnic ground . The location is popular with hikers as you can enjoy a 45- minute walk around the volcano rim amongst pine trees .
Adam and Twyla soak up the atmosphere in Mt Franklin .
The campground has fire pits sprinkled around , which we ’ ve always managed to get . If you plan to visit , the weekends are busier , but if you go mid-week , you ’ re guaranteed a spot . When we visit , we always cook in our camp oven .
Another reason we fell in love with Mt Franklin is that it ’ s petfriendly and new drop toilets have been recently installed . My favourite time of the day would have to be the mornings ; with mist in the air , you can see the pine trees poking through ..
CAMP COOKING IN MT FRANKLIN
We recently camped at Mt Franklin to enjoy some winter camp cooking . For lunch , we made some Mexican-inspired jaffles in our jaffle iron over the campfire , and for dinner , I cooked a camp oven red wine beef stew with a side of camp oven herb and cheese damper ( unfortunately , I burnt the edges , but better luck next time !). The stew was delicious , especially when dipping the damper . We like to keep our campfire recipes simple , with not too many ingredients , to save us time to enjoy the location .
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