This weekend is running number 1 on the ‘weekends of the year list’. We had a camping date in the diary for the past few months and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since.

If you know me personally, you might think it’s not quite my thing (For those who follow me on Instagram you would have seen my sisters timely comment on my most recent picture…”Camping????”) But after a single camping trip last year, I got the itch for it and have been looking forward to a return trip when the weather was right.

It’s one of those things you get better at each time. First time – we forgot wood, matches, ice, kindling and accidentally took the wrong tent which ended up being for one person so slept in the car. Alas, it wasn’t the most successful of camping excursions but nethertheless, it didn’t take away from that rather serene feeling of being in the middle of nowhere and just appreciating the company and time you have. This one was a slightly different story (thank god) and we came prepared with most things.

Jack and I went with another couple in Dubai who I personally think are some of the best parents I know. I can’t speak from experience – but I can speak from observation and if I could take some leaves out of a parents book – it would be theirs. They brought their little gorgeous girl, Cleo, for the ride and apart from a few cries (solely due to wanting to be involved) she was a dream.

We decided on a sandy location, 2 hours drive from Dubai called Wadi Maidaq. You don’t need a special visa to get there as you’re not entering Oman or crossing any borders. There’s lots of places to pick up necessities like fire wood and ice on the way so don’t worry about pre-packing that. We stopped off a few times on route to take a few pictures and enjoy the scenery!

We went through a rather odd little town. Villas the size of palaces with beautifully decorated doors (some a little less beautiful but still extravagant) yet the area around was sparse and not somewhere you would expect mansions to be built. We passed what must have been a 10-year old driving a 4×4 bigger than both of our cars combined.

Then we came to a highlight of the route, a fruit market which had the most amazing fresh corn and fruit a quarter of the price of anything in main Dubai. I’ve since chopped up all the fruit and put it in the freezer ready for healthy ice-creams!

We ended up arriving later than we had hoped so there was a bit of a rush to get some food on the grill, set up camp and go and catch one of the most gorgeous sunsets I’ve seen on the mountain top.

Cleo seemed to like the cold beer a bit too much!

Sunset wasn’t before Jack got stuck in the sand and had to get some help from a local. And for them to think they’re better than us at driving….uhum.

We settled in for dinner and being the foodie I am, I couldn’t help but come prepared with some proper camping grub!

Food on the menu was….(drumroll please)

Peri Peri Chicken Kebabs

Nachos with salsa and guacamole

Homemade sesame and beef burgers

Baked bananas with Dark chocolate – the BEST.

One full English for the morning after.

I would love to say my hubbie-to-be was knee deep in fire preparations but in truth…It was all down to Sam. I thought men were meant to know this stuff!

Credit to the boys (or boy)…they got the fire going pretty good!

The cutest baby Onesie!

Next up were my homemade burgers and “NatChoCheese” with salsa and guacamole.

The stick I found at the start lasted me though the night and in all honesty might replace some of my standard kitchen utensils!

Super comfy and warm New Era Jumper. I think it’s mens wear but I love it!

J got involved in the cooking…he can’t start fires but that man can flip burgers.

With a killer smile to go with it…

The night got a bit chilly but with a big jumper, socks and tracksuit bottoms, it was toasty by the fire!

The last course was the BOMB. Whilst I appreciate they may not look like the bomb – they were truly the best thing I plated up during the night and the perfect camp fire dessert to make.

Directions:

Get a bar of 90% Lindt dark chocolate (saw this for the first time when I did the food shop for the trip…think it might be new as I’ve only ever had the 85% before) and one banana per person.

Slice the banana from top to bottom, but don’t cut through the bottom skin. Place in the dark chocolate all the way along the banana and wrap them up in foil, fully covered.

Leave them to bake, grill and everything else a coal fire does that makes them into a yummy, gooey chocolatey and banana mess! It took about 10 minutes on the coals we had but if you’re baking the bananas in an oven, aim for 15 minutes on 220℃.

We stayed up for hours laughing and chatting the night away.

……..

The next morning was crisp air and sunny, a really lovely wake up! It gets hot super quick so we left the campsite around 10am, and had some cooked breakfast before we left.

All in all, an amazing weekend. We will be doing another one in March/April so keep your eyes peeled!

Did you find this blog useful? If you have any questions about the trip or recipes, just leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you! 

Carly x