Australia Day Camping Expedition!
There is definitely a story in every experience we have and they all unearth some kind of emotion – especially after doing something you haven’t done for so many years – it takes you right back. Camping on the Australia Day week-end was such an experience and brought up so many thoughts, memories and feelings – none of which I was expecting!
It turned into a lot of soul searching, rationalising, visiting the boys early years in my mind, my own early years and it was tough for the first two days which kind of surprised me.
I guess I wasn’t prepared for all the time I had to reflect and what popped up! There was no internet which was fantastic …really…. but on the 3rd day we drove to the nearest town and voraciously devoured our phones, emails, made calls, drank a cappuccino, ate a home made cake and caught up with the world. Then back to our campsite.
Our campsite was truly amazing. There was loads of natural bush, lots of wildlife, no snakes …yah ……massive goannas, the most amazing bird life and a cooling waterhole which was our bath as there were no showers. There were lots of toilets, non-drinking water and it was at the end of a 5km rutted road.
The National Parks have done an amazing job creating this park amongst the bush and providing fire pits, flat slabs for tents or campers, walking tracks, and a safe water hole. There were some little fish but no eels were spotted and despite a report of a possible catfish nipping someone none were found by us – it was very cool and refreshing.
We realised we were simply but adequately equipped for our first trip of this century! We took a 4 man tent we bought for $15, a floor sheet, a BBQ we also bought 2nd hand, all our utensils bought at op shops, a huge air bed which was just a little bit posh, and a marquee we borrowed. Having read before we left that you need to protect your food from the creepies, we had plastic storage boxes for everything. Then two big eskys – one bought for the occasion from Bunnings for $160 for ice and drinks and the other a borrowed one for food and we were set. It worked out well and our other luxury was our reclining camping chairs – oh the decadence – mine was a birthday present last year and I will never tire of it.
There was just one little hiccup over the week-end…..the NOISE. It was absolutely mind blowing. You know when you imagine camping amongst nature and all you hear are the birds – well the park is family friendly – and there were at least 3000 kids there – or maybe that’s just what it sounded like. Our street turned into the MCG at 5.30 one morning with balls landing on our site and everyone in Australia I swear yelling and cheering the batsman as he whacked the ball to the far reaches of the grounds egged on by his over excited father whose voice trumped all. Every child in the world was invited to this game and the bellows although welcomed at sundown on Aussie Day were not greeted with as much enthusiasm on Saturday morning.
That night every man and woman under 30 from the neighbourhood converged on our top corner to celebrate a birthday with utes, guitars, flowing booze and a cacophony of shrieks from the women and a competition on who could yell the loudest from the men. At 3am the novelty wore off for us, and then at 6am they packed up and disappeared – like they had never been.
Anyone who knows me knows I am anything but a wowser – truly I’m quite naughty – but even I was amazed by the level of noise! Amazing! We were leaving that day and it was sad to see it so quiet again when we were leaving and the sun shining on a beautiful day.
So! A successful trip with lots learned, lots of pats on the back and plans for where to go next. We had to add a straw broom to our arsenal plus next time we will do a beach joint at either North Shore or Teewah Beach – both places we grew up spending our week-ends so it should be easier.
So the over riding take aways from the week-end for me were a whole heap of platitudes however I will list them as they applied to me:
1. Make work only ONE part of your life – not your whole life.
2. Take the chance when you can. We are going to be using all our week- ends to study for the next few years with mid semesters and the odd week-end the only down time – so we too, are going to have to make the most of every opportunity we get.
3. Prior planning leads to piss poor performance – or – if you fail to plan your plan will fail – write it down and be prepared and you’ll have fun – if you forget the matches or loo paper you won’t. We did ok with this so we were pretty chuffed.
4. Earplugs – don’t forget them.
5. Good lighting is imperative as are lashings of water
6. Don’t wait till you have all the gear. You don’t have to be the best dressed kids out there – it IS a bit of a competition for some to have the biggest and best rig and the most toys but if it’s not YOUR priority it shouldn’t be a problem.
7. Use the time to reacquaint yourself with a pen and paper – or paints – or photography – or leaf collecting and glue pictures – or cartoon drawing or crosswords – it sounds trite but it’s the perfect time to just have a shoebox of stuff to play with…..with no kids spoiling your fun -and it’s just what you feel like.
8. Bite your tongue during the set up so you can enjoy the drink after it…. With the person you set up with.
9. You cannot beat a log fire – even when it’s 32 degrees.
And 10. Try to clear your mind – if the family need you or there is an emergency – they can find you through the park rangers – just breathe.
I am SO very grateful for this opportunity which I COULD have done without my bestie by my side, but to be honest – it was so much easier to have a strong, generous, and bordering on OCD camping buddy with me – there is a lot of heavy stuff to move – all the time -and I have to admit to being grateful for his company and organising skills too! It just made it enjoyable without the struggle. It was $6 per person per night – affordable for anyone.
Love to hear YOUR camping stories and best spots! Cheers Lee x
