Every year during the Australia Day holiday, Bendeela Campground becomes a gathering point for campers coming with family or arriving to experience an Australian summer by the river. Over the long weekend, the site fills with temporary homes, shared meals, and familiar routines.
The area is known for evening sightings of wombats and kangaroos, which often move across the grass as the light fades. Campers create convivial spaces across the open ground, with carefully built setups and food playing a central role in camp life.
Braids and Jess, in front of their 4WD camper setup.
Yalchim and Seyhan, originally from Izmir, Turkey. They settled in Wollongong in the 1980s and return each year with their adult children over the Australia Day weekend.
Steve and Nicole, with their children, visiting from Shoalhaven.
Isabelle, Jack, Jane and Dan, from Dapto.
Oliver, standing beside the camper trailer he built himself, complete with a kitchen used for his YouTube cooking channel.