Cola Nut Mom
The Cola Nut family seems to really enjoy camping in Nantou. Whenever they look for a campsite, they often end up choosing Nantou. Actually, it’s because the weather in Kaohsiung is too hot, while Nantou is a city that stays cool all year round. As long as you don’t choose a place at too high an altitude, it won’t get too cold.
This time, Cola Nut Mom chose the Wusong Zhangjiabao Forest Plum Garden in Nantou as our home for three days and two nights. It’s a small campsite, but it has many plum trees and cherry blossoms. On the first day, we even had the place to ourselves, allowing us to enjoy a leisurely camping experience.
The GPS for the Wusong Zhangjiabao Forest Plum Garden campsite isn’t very reliable, but luckily we could always contact the owner by phone. The owner works in Taichung and only comes to Nantou at night.
We arrived at the campsite in the afternoon, and of course, the first thing was to set up the tent and claim our spot, hehe. But there was only one tent, so there wasn’t much to fight over for the best spot.
We took some photos of the fruits in the campsite—everyone can just enjoy the scenery here.
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Also sharing a few photos of the environment in our camp area on that day—clear blue skies, super comfortable.
This is the Cola Nut family’s egg roll table, dressed up with a tablecloth to add a bit of romance.
The kids helped set up the tent and move the tables and chairs. When you bring kids out camping, they should help out to lighten the parents’ load. Luckily, the Cola Nut siblings are quite sensible and quickly helped their dad set up the sleeping area for the night.
Nine-month-old Guoguo, who hasn’t got any strength yet, could only act as the little troublemaker for now.
Cola Nut Mom wants to recommend this Snow Peak tent stake—it’s super useful, even works well on hard ground and doesn’t bend easily. At the time, Cola Nut Dad bought one for 120 NT dollars, which isn’t cheap, but it really is worth every penny. Every time he uses it, he says it’s amazing.
Although we haven’t yet bought any Snow Peak tents or other gear, this tent stake is truly great value and very handy. Highly recommended.
After setting up the tent and the living tent, we put out the tables and chairs and started preparing lunch. (We didn’t have lunch until 3 PM that day!) Coco helped prepare lunch. When the Cola Nut family goes camping, meals are always pretty casual. For lunch that day, we had ham and meat floss toast with corn chowder. It was prepared by Coco and Cola Nut Dad.
The gravel ground means no dust flying everywhere. The Cola Nut family quite likes campsites with gravel—though it makes a bit of noise when walking at night, it’s way better than dust and mud. Plus, it’s perfect for kids to sit on, play, and collect stones. So photogenic too.
Too bad Cola Nut Mom’s photography skills are lacking—just casual shots, and even crooked ones, haha. But kids are cute no matter how you photograph them. Especially little Guozi, who kept picking up stones and licking them.
Once the home for the night was sorted, we felt a lot more at ease. The whole campsite had only our family, which felt amazing.
At night, Cola Nut Mom made hot pot. Yes, we often cook hot pot when camping, because the Cola Nut family absolutely loves the cozy feeling of having veggies and meat all in one warm pot.
Camping outside isn’t as convenient as your own kitchen, and Cola Nut Mom definitely doesn’t want to exhaust herself stir-frying or cooking rice with a small gas stove. Come on, she’s out camping to relax, not to host a full banquet and wear herself out. So, one pot of hot pot or maybe adding some noodles is enough to be full and simple.
With a living tent, when it’s cold, you can huddle inside to eat hot pot—the heart instantly feels warmed. Although camping is about “the sky as your blanket and the earth as your bed,” when it’s cold, don’t push your personal safety.
Camping in the mountains, the daytime temperature is quite cool, but at night it drops to just over ten degrees—it’s pretty cold. The temperature difference between day and night in the mountains is huge, so it’s important to dress warmly. Especially when bringing kids, you just worry about them catching a cold.
The kids were shivering from the cold and actually fell asleep on the chairs. Guoguo was wrapped up layer after layer by Cola Nut Mom, and before going into the tent to sleep, he temporarily napped in the stroller.
On Thursday night, the Cola Nut family had the whole tent to themselves. To be honest, although it was quiet and peaceful with just one tent, being deep in the mountains still felt a bit scary. (Sorry, Cola Nut Mom is a bit of a scaredy-cat.)
Thanks to the lamp that Cola Nut Dad made himself, it kept us company through the silent night. Having a light does make you feel a bit more secure.
The next morning, we decided to cook some plain congee, paired with pickled vegetables and meat floss. To be honest, we don’t usually eat these things at home, so having them while camping felt especially delicious.
Cola Nut Dad said, when camping or traveling, if you crave instant noodles or snacks, that’s your moment to relax—go ahead and eat something a bit less nutritious.
The morning in the mountains, the air is incredibly fresh, and everything feels alive with vitality and new hope. That moment made Cola Nut Mom really want to live in seclusion in the mountains. But the next second, the scaredy-cat and darkness-fearing Cola Nut Mom still decided to live in a bright, convenient city.
On the second day, more camping enthusiasts gradually arrived at the campsite, and the place slowly became livelier. In the evening, a group used a screen to play movies and cartoons, and there was also a lively campfire party. It had a different vibe from the quietness of the previous night, and this lively atmosphere was actually quite nice too.
The next day, our dinner consisted of a hot pot, as well as scallion pancakes and sausages cooked by Cola Dad. (The Cola siblings helped wash and pick the vegetables.) While I was busy taking care of Guoguo, I’m grateful that the rest of the family worked together and shared the responsibilities.
Thank you to all the fellow campers who joined us this time. We didn’t know each other, but everyone respected one another and followed basic etiquette, such as keeping noise levels down after dark.
While camping, I was also worried that my baby might cry at night and disturb others. Fortunately, so far, the kids from the Cola family haven’t cried through the night or caused any trouble for the other campers. Thanks to the Cola kids’ good behavior, their mom—me—felt confident enough to take them camping at such a young age.
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To be honest, the Wusong~Zhangjiabao Forest Plum Garden Campsite isn’t very large, but the toilet facilities are as comfortable as those at home. The Cola family hadn’t had a proper hot shower in a while, but this time, they even washed their hair.
The entire bathing area is enclosed with walls and a roof, so there’s no need to worry about the baby feeling cold during bath time. The shower uses a water heater, so there’s no shortage of hot water either. Recommended for fellow campers traveling with babies. However, there aren’t many bathrooms or sinks, so you may need to wait when it’s crowded.
The owner mentioned that they might develop the living quarters inside for camper accommodation in the future. Looking forward to seeing that promise come true—Up !
■ Wusong~Zhangjiabao Forest Plum Garden Facebook page
■ Address: Wusong~Zhangjiabao, Lumei Lane, Ziqiang Village, Xinyi Township, Nantou County
■ Phone: 0953656777
[Authorized reprint from Cocoa’s Thought World | Original article: "Nantou Wusong ‘Zhangjiabao Forest Plum Garden’ – A Three-Day, Two-Night Camping Trip"]