Cockatoo island
Apr. 19th, 2026 06:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
whitewriterWe went on a Saturday morning around noon for a 2pm check in.
Aiming to arrive at circular quay around 12 noon, to meet up with (my cousins) for lunch and early island arrival so we could have more time on the island.
When we arrived there was somewhere for us to leave our things near the visitors center.
There is also a BBQ area, picnic spot and toilet all within 50m of the ferry terminal and visitors center making it very easy to not have to carry your things too far.
We brought a lot of things. It was 2 adults and 2 kids (myself and Nonnie + the kids)
And I had hired an "extra mat" for $15 because I thought the tent came with 2 mats and 2 chairs. Turns out that was a 4th mat so I gave the mat for Nonnie to have a double mat.
It was a foam mat, and I was told they're insulating on a cold floor and its totally true - I was very toasty warm all night.
Wendy and May 2 were small enough to sleep end to end both in the same sleeping bag and like feet to feet, as the bag had 2 zips so I could unzip the bottom. Wendy used her sleeping bag (I had brought 1 very large bag per kid : it can last until they are 14ish) as a pillow in the end.
And I placed Wendy by the zipper door telling her "She's the big sister and can make sure we all stay in for the night and she was happy with that explaination.
You can't bring a camp stove to cook, but there is a BBQ site with utensils connected to the actual BBQ for the campers. There is a large fridge which fills quickly because everyone leaves their food in their cooler bag and just shoves it into the fridge. The site wasn't full so this could be a problem if it was.
There's also lots of large picnic tables, under a cover with trees that have fairy lights on them for ambiance, a hot water urn that seems to be on 24/7 and 2 microwaves and a large 6 slice but 3 button toaster.
There's also hot showers that are quite spacious - but my only complaint is that out of the 6 stalls only 2 had toilet with the shower in it. There's multiple other sets of toilets on the island, one of which is near the visitor center that is about 150m away
They lit a shared campfire aruond 6pm
and played a movie in a mini theater around 7pm (kid friendly)
and a more adult movie around 9pm.
There were party boats going around the island playing very loud music, lots of kids staying up late riding their bicycle and etc.
And it seemed like a lot of helicopters going overhead. At midnight! And they fly so low - it woke Wendy up and she wanted to go pee despite having a night nappy on.
May2 slept well. She initially fell asleep on the train ride over so her day nap was all of 20 mins
and then no more sleeping at all so at about 730pm in the movie cinema she fell asleep.
So the plan was:
5PM: dinner and Pete took home a large backpack full of extra food I'd brought or my cousins brought and we wouldn't need for breakfast) at
6pm we did the marshmellows on the fire. Hot tip, bring ur own sticks from home its very hard to find sticks on the island. I brought skewers but they were rather short for the kids so I did it. Would have been better with longer sticks.
6:30ish pM brush teeth and "shower" (which in hindsight was a little cruel because it was a little cold. But it is hot water... then you get that clean feeling. I ended up not having time to actually try the hot shower because we ran out of time somehow. So I ended up just showering at home when we got back..
19:00 Movie.
Someone had brought popcorn to the cinema and while I had prepared a bag of microwave popcorn, we'd just brushed their teeth so I left it. Wendy loves popcorn. In the end though May2 looked dehydratedish so I made the hot chocolate i had planned to make for them and Wendy drank a huge cup of it. By the time I brought it, May2 was asleep already so that didn't work and no we didnt rebrush Wendys teeth.
Movie finished around 830pm and I carried May2 back in my arms down this large hill all the way to the tent and managed to put her in a sleeping bag. She stirred a little but went right back to sleep.
In the morning they had cerial because that's what they wanted. I also had bread cause hello! Toaster. I could see and smell people cooking a lot of bacon and eggs on the BBQ. Some even had egg rings and were totally toasting the bread on the bbq also. Maybe next time.
Eventually we packed up, went one more trip around the island via the tunnel I missed out on the day before and then took the ferry back. What I had expected to be a relaxing arvo putting the house back together turned out to be a rush to Indo school as due to ANZAC weekend next weekend, they're not doing class next week, - but instead are doing it this week.
Ibu Andy made nasi kuning and ayam goreng and they even gave me takeaway which became May2 dinner and my lunch for tomorrow. She remembered I said I like emping and she had made some of that also. Luckily I came to school!
Nonnie wanted to know what I would have packed differently - nothing but I would have preferred to have had a trolley instead of the shopping bag, but I dont know how one would go transfering from train platforms with large gaps and if any have breaks for use on hills.
Because that was a bit difficult to manage- the hiking pack and the kids backpacks and a dinner trolley. And no pram and may2 had fallen asleep on the train so at one point I was carrying, the pack, the kid and a nice lady helped take the trolley off the train for me.
Aiming to arrive at circular quay around 12 noon, to meet up with (my cousins) for lunch and early island arrival so we could have more time on the island.
When we arrived there was somewhere for us to leave our things near the visitors center.
There is also a BBQ area, picnic spot and toilet all within 50m of the ferry terminal and visitors center making it very easy to not have to carry your things too far.
We brought a lot of things. It was 2 adults and 2 kids (myself and Nonnie + the kids)
And I had hired an "extra mat" for $15 because I thought the tent came with 2 mats and 2 chairs. Turns out that was a 4th mat so I gave the mat for Nonnie to have a double mat.
It was a foam mat, and I was told they're insulating on a cold floor and its totally true - I was very toasty warm all night.
Wendy and May 2 were small enough to sleep end to end both in the same sleeping bag and like feet to feet, as the bag had 2 zips so I could unzip the bottom. Wendy used her sleeping bag (I had brought 1 very large bag per kid : it can last until they are 14ish) as a pillow in the end.
And I placed Wendy by the zipper door telling her "She's the big sister and can make sure we all stay in for the night and she was happy with that explaination.
You can't bring a camp stove to cook, but there is a BBQ site with utensils connected to the actual BBQ for the campers. There is a large fridge which fills quickly because everyone leaves their food in their cooler bag and just shoves it into the fridge. The site wasn't full so this could be a problem if it was.
There's also lots of large picnic tables, under a cover with trees that have fairy lights on them for ambiance, a hot water urn that seems to be on 24/7 and 2 microwaves and a large 6 slice but 3 button toaster.
There's also hot showers that are quite spacious - but my only complaint is that out of the 6 stalls only 2 had toilet with the shower in it. There's multiple other sets of toilets on the island, one of which is near the visitor center that is about 150m away
They lit a shared campfire aruond 6pm
and played a movie in a mini theater around 7pm (kid friendly)
and a more adult movie around 9pm.
There were party boats going around the island playing very loud music, lots of kids staying up late riding their bicycle and etc.
And it seemed like a lot of helicopters going overhead. At midnight! And they fly so low - it woke Wendy up and she wanted to go pee despite having a night nappy on.
May2 slept well. She initially fell asleep on the train ride over so her day nap was all of 20 mins
and then no more sleeping at all so at about 730pm in the movie cinema she fell asleep.
So the plan was:
5PM: dinner and Pete took home a large backpack full of extra food I'd brought or my cousins brought and we wouldn't need for breakfast) at
6pm we did the marshmellows on the fire. Hot tip, bring ur own sticks from home its very hard to find sticks on the island. I brought skewers but they were rather short for the kids so I did it. Would have been better with longer sticks.
6:30ish pM brush teeth and "shower" (which in hindsight was a little cruel because it was a little cold. But it is hot water... then you get that clean feeling. I ended up not having time to actually try the hot shower because we ran out of time somehow. So I ended up just showering at home when we got back..
19:00 Movie.
Someone had brought popcorn to the cinema and while I had prepared a bag of microwave popcorn, we'd just brushed their teeth so I left it. Wendy loves popcorn. In the end though May2 looked dehydratedish so I made the hot chocolate i had planned to make for them and Wendy drank a huge cup of it. By the time I brought it, May2 was asleep already so that didn't work and no we didnt rebrush Wendys teeth.
Movie finished around 830pm and I carried May2 back in my arms down this large hill all the way to the tent and managed to put her in a sleeping bag. She stirred a little but went right back to sleep.
In the morning they had cerial because that's what they wanted. I also had bread cause hello! Toaster. I could see and smell people cooking a lot of bacon and eggs on the BBQ. Some even had egg rings and were totally toasting the bread on the bbq also. Maybe next time.
Eventually we packed up, went one more trip around the island via the tunnel I missed out on the day before and then took the ferry back. What I had expected to be a relaxing arvo putting the house back together turned out to be a rush to Indo school as due to ANZAC weekend next weekend, they're not doing class next week, - but instead are doing it this week.
Ibu Andy made nasi kuning and ayam goreng and they even gave me takeaway which became May2 dinner and my lunch for tomorrow. She remembered I said I like emping and she had made some of that also. Luckily I came to school!
Nonnie wanted to know what I would have packed differently - nothing but I would have preferred to have had a trolley instead of the shopping bag, but I dont know how one would go transfering from train platforms with large gaps and if any have breaks for use on hills.
Because that was a bit difficult to manage- the hiking pack and the kids backpacks and a dinner trolley. And no pram and may2 had fallen asleep on the train so at one point I was carrying, the pack, the kid and a nice lady helped take the trolley off the train for me.
