Locked in. Any updates land in your calendar — this is your one-page cheat sheet. Tap the ❤️ on anything you refuse to miss.
Wednesday
9th Sept · Getting There
3:00 PM
Travel
Road trip to Bendigo. Shotgun rules apply. Driver picks the playlist. Wednesday's a work day, so aim to arrive around knock-off. Please carpool where you can — Pete needs to make sure he can park right outside his room.
5:00 PM
Check In — All Seasons Hotel
Your name is all you need. Rooms allocated randomly. Ash is not taking questions.
Disclosed location. Wear your team colours. Bring your competitive streak — and sensible shoes.
12:00 – 4:00 PM
Work · Sell · Site Stalk
Catch up on work, eyeball some sites, sell some shit. Whatever helps you sleep at night. Lunch is at 12:30. RSVP accordingly, or it's dry Weet-Bix with your hangover.
The teams are locked in. Find your name, tap your team to claim your colours, then start the trash talk on the Wall.
The only rule of Camp Gawk: don't talk about Camp Gawk.
There will be a scoreboard. Do not ask further questions. Cabins will be assigned. Every cabin will claim they were robbed.
Blue Tongues
"All mouth, no follow through."
AimeeKarenJamesLucyCharJoel
Tap to claim →
Red Backs
"Deadly & antisocial."
HeidiAsh CDan MPeteAlexIzzyDee
Tap to claim →
Green Cain Toads
"Unwanted, unstoppable, unbreakable."
PhilTazBrayStefMattyAnna VSam B
Tap to claim →
Pink Galahs
"Half brain. Full commitment."
ChrisZoeAsh TLukeAnna LDan H
Tap to claim →
Black Wombats
"Eats roots and leaves."
TaraSteveMitchLisaAmieGabby
Tap to claim →
Orange Drop Bears
"Not real. Still dangerous."
QuickyRubyHenryAndyJessieInese
Tap to claim →
White Cockatoos
"Loud, filly & protected by law."
Sam LGemKassCodyNath BJoe
Tap to claim →
⚠️ Wear your colours with pride at Camp Gawk. No colours, no mercy.
📝
Official Permission Slip — No Slip, No Camp
Get it signed by your partner, child, housemate or dog, and bring it with you. Points for best signature and most creative forgery. First team to get all their slips back earns bonus points towards the day.
Tick things off as you pack. The bar remembers, even if you don't after Thursday.
0% packed. Bold strategy.
👕 The Essentials
✓Your team colours (non-negotiable)
✓Clothes for 3 days incl. one decent pub outfit
✓Comfy shoes — Camp Gawk is not a heels event
✓Warm jacket (Bendigo in September is crisp)
✓Toiletries & any meds
💼 The Work Bit
✓Laptop + charger (Thu & Fri are still work days)
✓Phone charger — no excuses for going dark
✓ID for check-in and, well, the pubs
🏕️ The Camp Gawk Kit
✓Enclosed shoes
✓Sweat towel
✓A good FKN attitude
✓Supporter signs
✓Signed permission slip (no slip, no camp)
✓Anything to earn bonus points
🧠 The Smart Moves
✓Water bottle (see: Friday's agenda)
✓Panadol. Trust us.
✓Fresh banter — last quarter's jokes are retired
✓Sunnies, for style and for Friday morning
No Login. No Filter. No Regrets*
The Gawk Wall
A little chat for the trip — hype, carpool logistics, requests for the Wednesday playlist. Everyone sees everything, so keep it classy(ish). *Some regrets possible.
Loading the goss…
Pics Or It Didn't Happen
Trip Cam
Upload your best (and worst) shots from the trip. Photos are shrunk to travel size automatically, so upload straight from your phone.
No photos yet. The gallery awaits its first legend.
The Grand Finale · Site Stalk At Home
Spot Our Billboards
Ten Gawk faces across Bendigo, in driving order from the Calder to the Midland Highway. Follow the ute, drive the route, hit "Spotted" as you clock each one. Full sweep before Friday = eternal bragging rights.
0 / 9 spotted
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Kangaroo Flat
73 High Street — first Gawk face as you roll into town up the Calder.
Feeling ambitious on the drive up? We've also got faces in Castlemaine, Elmore, Goornong, Bridgewater, Dunolly, Maryborough and St Arnaud.
Required Reading · There Will Be A Quiz*
Bendigo 101
A brief and mostly accurate history of our host city, so you can sound cultured at the Courthouse. *There will not be a quiz. Probably.
🥊
The Name
Bendigo Creek was named after a local shepherd who boxed like the English bare-knuckle champion "Bendigo" Thompson. The city is literally named after a prizefighter's nickname. Camp Gawk energy since 1840.
⛏️
The Gold
Gold was found here in 1851 and it went ballistic — Bendigo became one of the richest goldfields on the planet, and the boom built all those outrageous Victorian buildings you'll be drinking near.
🕳️
The Tunnels
There are hundreds of kilometres of old mine workings under the city. The Central Deborah Gold Mine will take you 61 metres down one if Thursday's schedule mysteriously frees up.
🐉
The Dragons
Bendigo's Chinese community dates to the gold rush, and the Golden Dragon Museum keeps some of the longest imperial dragons in the world — they still parade at Easter and it's a genuinely huge deal.
🚋
The Trams
The vintage talking trams have been rattling around since 1890. A tram that gives you commentary — an audio out-of-home format, if you will. We respect it.
⛪
The Cathedral
Sacred Heart Cathedral is one of the biggest churches in Australia — a gold-rush flex that took nearly 80 years to finish. You will see the spire. It sees you too.
🏛️
The Culture
Bendigo Art Gallery is one of the oldest and best regional galleries in the country, and the whole town was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. Yes, the parma counts as gastronomy.
🪧
The Real History
Bendigo sits on Dja Dja Wurrung Country, home to the Djaara people for tens of thousands of years before anyone found a speck of gold. We acknowledge their elders past and present.
Live From The Bureau Of Vibes
Bendigo Weather
Straight from the satellites, updated every time you load the page. Trip-day forecasts appear automatically once we're within range (around 25 August).
Checking the skies over Bendigo…
Data: Open-Meteo · Bendigo, VIC · September average: 4°–15°. Pack the jacket. We told you in the packing list.
Asked & Answered
FAQs
Everything you were going to Teams Ash about anyway.
When and where exactly is this happening?
Wednesday 9 – Friday 11 September 2026, in beautiful Bendigo, VIC. We're staying at the All Seasons Hotel. Calendar invites are in your inbox — the calendar is the source of truth for any updates.
What's Camp Gawk and where is the "disclosed location"?
Thursday morning, 9:00–11:30. Team-based activities at a location that will be disclosed when it's disclosed. That's the whole point. Wear your team colours, bring shoes you can move in, and prepare for light-to-moderate glory.
How do the teams work?
Seven teams, and the allocations are out — find your name in the Camp Gawk section above and tap your team to claim it. Wear your colour on Thursday. Yes, it matters. No, you can't trade.
Do I have to come to the work sessions?
Yes. Thursday arvo is Work / Sell / Site Stalk (we're checking out the network in the wild), and Friday has the Lunar Meeting plus a work block. It's an away trip, not annual leave — nice try though.
Who am I rooming with?
Rooms are allocated randomly, per Ash's ironclad no-favouritism policy. Complaints can be lodged directly into the void.
What's the go with food and drinks?
Wednesday: pub grub at the McIvor Hotel. Thursday: lunch delivered to our workspace at 12:30pm. Friday: brekkie delivered, to eat while intently listening to Lunar and not secretly napping with your eyes open. Other meals — keep your receipts and check the usual travel policy, or ask Ash before you order the wagyu.
What if I'm driving / need transport?
Travel kicks off Wednesday arvo and we head back Friday at 1pm. Please carpool if you can. Saves cars, saves fuel and saves you from two hours alone with your own thoughts. Bendigo is roughly 2 hours from Melbourne up the Calder. Allow extra for the servo stop. There's always a servo stop.
What's the dress code?
If you don't know the camp dress code yet, you need to go to Specsavers.
Client event: look good = feel good. Make an effort.
Who got the best room?
Nathan Bonner. He started on September 1st. The random allocation gods have a sense of humour.
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