Simple fun ... fishing and swimming in the Shoalhaven.
Rain is lashing the windscreen. The wipers are on full, front and back. Visibility is so poor I consider pulling over, except my children will wake up and demand the toilet.
So I crawl along the Princes Highway towards Nowra. I'd tried to take the children camping on the previous three weekends but each time was foiled by Sydney's schizophrenic summer. This time I vow we'll press on - rain or shine.
Fortunately, a mate, Josh, and his two children are equally reckless. Our families camped earlier in the year at a Big4 site near Umina and were caught in a raging storm that razed my tent in the middle of the night. I've brought extra ropes this time.
Both of our wives, however, appear to have learned from history: they bailed out when they awoke to the relentless rain.
We turn off the highway and head for the hinterland. Soon we hit a windy 11-kilometre dirt track that leads from Burrier to Coolendel, a sprawling 51-hectare nature reserve that hugs the S-bend in the Shoalhaven River.
We chose this site because it's the polar opposite of a caravan park. While the youngsters love the luxuries - swimming pool, tractor ride and cafe - it's borderline camping at best. At worst, it's a distant relative of a refugee camp, with families cramped cheek by jowl in grid-like formation.
By contrast, Coolendel has natural bushland, a river and wildlife galore. Oh, and fires - the sine qua non of camping - are permitted. Sleeping in a tent is one thing but my children have been salivating for days over the thought of fire-roasted marshmallows.
It's nearing dusk when we arrive, the storm has not stopped and the prospect of erecting a tent and feeding four ravenous children is not appealing. Fortunately, one of the reserve's two cabins is available. It's a basic shack with two rooms, each with bunk beds, and a fold-out couch in the living room.
Daylight brings relief. Sunshine peeks through the clouds and it's as if we've landed in animal kingdom.
"Quick!" screams one of the children. A giant goanna is slithering its way up a tree trunk nearby. "Look!" yells another child. A peacock decides to perform a fan-shaped manoeuvre to reveal its giant turquoise feathers. The youngsters take a collective gasp.
Coolendel is huge: there are 250 campsites in five areas. The Main Camp and the Burrows are grassy paddocks shaded by gum trees. Nearby is a bunkhouse, which sleeps 20, and the amenities block. Canoe Flat, Willow Flat and Sandy Beach are closer to the river but we settle on the main paddock because it's near the toilets.
The young ones are desperate to swim so we head down one of several tracks to the river. It's not the beach but there are pebbles instead of sand and small rapids in place of waves.
I'd been tipped off to bring li-los and the children fling themselves down the rapids on them, giggling as they go. Canoes sweep by, some with paddlers enjoying the countryside, others with anglers looking for a catch.
Back at base camp a kookaburra swoops by and the children break into a song: "Kookaburra sits on the electric wire jumping up and down with his pants on fire!" Except there is no electricity at Coolendel. The two cabins are powered by a generator.
There is no mobile phone reception, though there is a phone box nearby. Instead, we are surrounded by serenity and silence.
The wind picks up and the gum trees start swaying as heavy gusts blow through the campsite. History may be about to repeat itself. I start securing ropes from the tent to the car. Mercifully, we're spared the ignominy of a second wipeout.
The children are woken early by the soundtrack of nature. We relight the fire and cook pancakes for breakfast, then take a different track to the river for more swimming.
It takes us ages to pack up; we know that as soon as we cross the dirt track our phones will start beeping and we'll be back in the wired world where everything moves at the speed of a megabyte - except the Sydney-bound traffic on a Sunday afternoon.
The saving grace is we've discovered a hideout where we can literally switch off.
FAST FACTS
Coolendel Camping and Cabins is at Grassy Gully Road, Coolendel, about three hours' drive from Sydney, south of Nowra.
Cabins are $165 a night in peak season (bring your own linen or sleeping bags). Bunkhouse is $32 a night for adults; $18 for children. Camping and caravans are $25 a night for adults and $12 for children. Phone 4421 4586 or see www.coolendel.com.au. Hire a canoe for $20 an hour or $70 a day. There is an onsite shop selling the basics (bread, milk, ice, etc).
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