There I was, lying down for a second on the mattress in the tent, listening to the rain thundering above, trying its hardest to penetrate the tent. I could have fallen asleep right there and then if was not for the fact that we had booked into a local hotel an hour before and the pull of sitting in a hot tub was way more appealing than a damp tent.

Yes, we bailed, but it was not just the rain. We woke up after a relatively good night’s sleep. I rolled over in my sleeping bag to find my daughter tucked between my wife and my self. Claire had taken her out of her travel crib and she had joined us on the mattress. As I wiggled my way out of the sleeping bag, my daughter had tripped and punched me in my ‘privates’, ahh, always a wonderful way to wake up. After the pain had subsided we had such fun using the inflatable mattress as a trampoline, Helena had such a good giggle time. As we moved out of the tent we realized that I had not put the top on the mouth wash on properly and it had spilled all over my wife’s washroom bag – oooooops (at least I did a good job cleaning everything which somewhat made up for my silliness).

We were doing well, we were in great spirits and none of the initial hiccup had dented our mood. Then we discovered the stove was leaking and we couldn’t use it, so we headed into the town of Harrison for breakfast.

Then came the rain.

Then it rained some more. Not talking about soft, lovely, nice rain, the type that makes spider webs glitter in the sun. We’re talking about the pouring down heavy rain that stings when it hits you. It was raining so much that the small hole next to our tent had now become our very own personal swimming pool.

It was when we were having breakfast that I suggested that we stayed in a hotel, the one with 6 pools that are filled with water from the hot springs. The hotel that had a spa. The hotel that wasn’t a tent. The hotel where our room would be inside and dry. As you may guess, it didn’t take too long for Claire to agree to the additional expense (even Helena thought it was a good idea).

So here I am, sitting in a living room area in front of a large stone fireplace (would be nicer if it was lit), but still I am inside, on a comfy sofa sipping organic mint tea – ahhh, now this is more like it.

It is rapidly dawning on us that we don’t like tents. Yes, camping is cheap, but when it is ‘BC’ing it down’ outside they basically ‘suck’. Looking ahead, we will not be able to afford to stay in expensive hotels every night on our global travels but maybe we look into youth hostels with private rooms or even a camper van. Dry is good. Very good indeed.

We stayed at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa. Except from my name on the room reading as ‘Natt Samyciawoo’ I have nothing to complain about during our one night stay at the resort. We had booked a campsite in Harison but due to torrential rain we abandoned that plan and went to the nicest hotel in town instead (a wise move if we say so ourselves). The room was small and a little cramped due to it being quite old plus we had lots of baby stuff including a crib forced into the room.

The room aside, the great service at reception aside, this hotel has six pools. Yes, six. And they all get their hot water from the natural hot springs. They differ in temperature which is great for the whole family. Some are inside and some out. Oh, did I mention the spa as well? My wife had a pedicure while my daughter and I bounced on the bed and watched nature programs with ‘monkeys’ and other recognizable animals to our two year old.

The room was $159 per night which is not cheap but rather than being damp or even wet in our tent we feel it was well worth the expense.

The true test of a hotel like this is does it feel like you have been away longer than one night and we have say a definite YES.

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