April Camping report

Camping

Our family totally rocks. We have just arrived back from a weekend away camping. We had things happen that I know would have forced lesser folk to sleep in the car, throw their hands up in the air or just chuck it all in and go home. But not this little black ducks family.

Our last foray into the wilderness – at Lamington National Park welcomed us to the camping ground in heavily misting rain and huge puddles of mud. We had a brand new tent – and was unfamiliar with its construction. Despite the gusting winds and curious audience of poteroos, the tent was erected, we went on muddy walks and enjoyed ducking out of the sporadic rain falls. Strengthened by this experience, a few tweaks here and there and inclusions into our packing, we set off for Peach Trees – near Jimna – about a two hour drive from Brisbane. The universe gave me a few nudges as we were packing. We had a spare sleeping bag which I put in just in case someone got cold and I packed an extra track suit each for the kids.

The campsite was lush grass with a jungle backdrop – if you looked past that it was noxious weeds making up the thick vine infested jungle. There were large grey wallabies and some smaller kangaroos grazing happily within feet of our tent. At a nearby tree I walked the kids over to look at a 2 metre carpet snake catching some rays. It was so beautiful, gleaming in the sunlight. I had to stop myself from leaning over and stroking its body. There were 2 toilet blocks – but a long way from each other. The showers were coin fed and very small with the wind able to whistle up around you.. brrrr.. They were not lit at all – which was good for taking in the expansive night sky.

We went for a short walk along the creek and into the one of the gullys, having a snack on a hillside, watching the roos and cows graze together in the gully below. Morgan and Lilly were so keen to have walking sticks and backpacks on – even for short distances. Morgan carried a hydro pack and is very responsible for Lilly and her water intake. We have promised to buy them proper walking sticks for our next trip.

That evening, as the birds began to call out for all to go to sleep and our campfire ebbing to a hot glow, perfect for marshmallows, the Title of the Marshmellow King was waged. Perfect - gooey on the inside, a slight crisp burnt outside – marshmallows were produced. At the end of the packet of marshmallows, all faces sticky and tums full, it was agreed that the title would have to be shared between Morgan and Adrian. Morgan is so serious with things like this. He spent a good while picking his perfect marshmallow toasting stick and ensuring his spot on the fire was not too built up… makes my heart swell to see him so grown up now.

The kids in bed, Adrian and I settled into our camping chairs, staring at the fire, now built up again and sipping hot chocolate.( forgot to bring some port or wine… doh!) We had the glorious evening together to start to talk – something we just hadn’t done – truly, for a long time. So many distractions in everyday life to fill the words and the mind.

Distraction number one – I heard Lilly in the tent start to cough, and then the cough sounded liquid. Hummmm nice. Torchlight discovered she was still asleep – but in a pool of vomit – her sleeping bag and pillow completely gross. ( thank goodness it hadn’t seeped to my bedroll yet.) Quick team work action saw soiled gear out on the grass and Lilly awoken – protesting and crying that she was tired. Whose mad idea was it to have spaghetti for tea? Yuck. Coins in hand, I then made the trek up the slope to the darkened shower block, thankful I had packed an extra track suit for Lilly. It was cold and dark and the bush noises made Lilly very frightened. It was like trying to give a cat a bath – she clung to me with inhuman strength, screaming blue murder as I tried to wash the vomit out of her hair and clean what I could from my PJs and our bodies… ahhhh the role of the mother – who’d do it…..

Adrian had cleaned what he could from the tent floor and rolled out the extra sleeping bag for her when we returned. She snuggled up and was immediately asleep. We returned to our campfire and musing…. Then it started to spit. Adrian moved into the annex of the tent. I refused to move until the downpour started to put the fire out. We watched the fire splutter and flicker from the tent and agreed that it must be time to turn in…
After our hearty breakfast of the exploding porridge monster ( I had soaked our porridge in a pot and it had ‘blown’ out of the pot as it swelled much bigger than I had imagined….) We rugged up with all our gear to go for a ‘short’ walk before we had second breakfast. ( our children are hobbits…. When we go camping, we have a cooked breaky of sausages and eggs after we go for our morning walk)

The tracks we had explored so far had been pretty overgrown with weeds and unkept. We chose one that went up the side of the hill, following the creek and then down into the valley crossing the creek and following it back to the campsite. There was as sign at the start saying that parts might be closed for maintenance - so we took the chance it was all fine and started off. The climb up the hill was steady and there was evidence of other walkers and bicycles having passed recently. The air was crisp and it was looking to become another beautiful day for being outside. The track started to become tangled in cobblers pegs but the view was good, so we kept going.

We traversed a track width ledge overlooking the clifface and the creek about 40 mtrs below. The recent rain had washed most of the dirt away, exposing rock and making it quite slippery. The kids wer very careful and kept to the safe side as we walked along the track. A bit of a climb up some rocks and we were on clear ground again – still following the track. Then it became hairy. The lantana and cobblers pegs completely blocked the path. It was over all of our heads. Adrian took the front hacking the path clear. Lilly was not able to cope with the vegetation springing back and engulfing her – so Age took her on his shoulders. There was s stoic silence as we hacked our way through to another clearing. A short discussion resolved that it was too dangerous to go back along the rockface and down the rocks and that we must press on. Just as things got worse, there would be a clearing, enough to make us take hope that we were near to where we could turn around and down to the creek to get back to the camp. The kids were so great. Morgan only said one thing about it all –“ This is a bum bum walk mummy – I don’t think I want to choose to do this again.” ( Bum Bum is the naughtiest and worst word you can use BTW…) I tried not to laugh and said yes – I choose not to do this type of walk again. We lightened the mood up by talking about explorers and what they had to endure and pretending that we were explorers too. I was holding Morgans hand as he walked in front of me – steadying him and clearing the path with my walking stick as we went – Adrian doing the heavy clearing. We both wished we had brought our cane knives and joked about having knives in our walking sticks as an option. It was too hairy to stop to take out the camera to take photos – but I wished I had.
Fairly soon we reached the look out – overlooking the creek and a lagoon and the hillsides around us. A good break with snacks as we recovered. The climb down was not as overgrown, however when we reached the creek crossing, it was unclear which way to go as there were cattle tracks ( which looked like the track followed and other smaller tracks in all different directions.) Adrian went for a bit of a scout and made an educated guess using the sun as a guide. Although I felt I was pretty confident with my directions – I was unsure how far we had come and whether we needed to be doubling back or striking out around the hills to get back.. Just as well I kept my opinions to myself – we would still be out there wandering the hills…. In places it was hard to see where we were meant ot be going as the cow tracks were deep and convincing as person tracks aught to be.
The dense undergrowth near the creek had been lessened a little with the recent flooding – and it was a little alarming to see huge tree trunks suspended 6 feet in the air above us – a reminder of how high the creek had risen and what had washed up in its wake.

The creek itself was picturesque – a perfect spot for kingfishers and the occasional splash of fish coming up to grab a tasty morsel. As we went along – we saw what we would think a perfect spot for platypus – overgrown tree roots hanging higgly de piggledy over the water edge in a deep clear spot. Just to ensure the adrenaline was still high –we disturbed a huge ( over a metre and a half) shiny black snake in its morning sunbake – conveniently located along out path.

Poor little mites – their legs nearly warn to stumps, Morgan and lilly were cheered by the noise of the dirt road traffic. It was tempting to hack across the lantana toward the road – but we were unsure of the terrain between us and it and it seemed a safer idea to stick beside the creek banks.

We stumbled into camp nearly 3 hours after leaving for our short walk…. Egg and Bacon Second Breaky never tasted so good!

Astoundingly, on the way home in the car after packing up– when asked what her favourite part of the weekend was – she said the big long walk.

Camping Adventures - the Beginning

As a kid our family never went away for holidays – unless it was to visit an uncle or aunt who also lived on a far flung property – in order to help them with some task or chore like fencing or shearing. Dad had been in the army and maintained he had done enough camping for a lifetime. We had been on school camp to Lamington National Park on the Gold Coast hinterlands and been on day bushwalks as well as some exploration of family members back blocks of their properties. However, my sisters and I got a real taste for it whilst completing the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Mary-Jane – bless her cotton socks - organized all our horse expeditions where were would set off along dirt tracks, tether our horses and camp under the stars, Adrian on the other hand had been a cub, then a scout. His family had numerous weekends and holidays away camping or caravanning in remote national parks. He carried this love on through his teenage years and into adulthood but completing a number of solo throughwalks and bushwalking. Our camping experiences and styles are just a little different. Adrian still has his kit that he used for his hiking treks – cut down toothbrush, tiny containers and lightweight everything. As mine had been done mainly on horseback, I had no real concept of having to pack lightly or compactly.

I learnt quickly about packing the necessities whilst backpacking throughout Europe. This was reinforced without motorcycling holidays in the UK and Europe – some camping, some in youth hostels. However, it’s a whole new ball game when you are taking small children – one still in nappies – camping. AND there is so much STUFF you can now buy at camping stores. I feel like a recovering alcoholic passing a pub - if I go past one – it screams to me, sucking me in, tempting me with a gadget or item I don’t yet have.

We have now gone camping as a family three times this year and intend to choose a camping spot each month and head off into the wilderness. We have decided to do this for a few reasons.

• Adrian is really stressed at work and feels calmer away from technology and the internet.
• We want to encourage family time as fun and active.
• Last year really sucked for us being a family – we went our separate ways and had little common ground. The future is different.
• There are a lot of lessons to be learnt – especially on being resourceful – when you are camping. If I could gift my kids with one attribute, then I would wish them resourcefulness – with that you can obtain everything else.
• I want our family to be able to work together as a smooth unit and not end up some dysfunctional, detatched group of people who share a name.
• I feel alive and free looking up at the stars, surrounded by bush, in front of a crackling fire.
• One of my goals is to do the walk to Machu Pichu – a difficult 4 day trek in South America. It seems so big , so unobtainable at the moment, but I know with each walk we do, I am building stamina and endurance.
• Along our journey – before Machu Pichu – we will be walking the Cradle Mountains and the Milford Track.

So – there you go… watch and share our progress…

Letting go and going with the flow

its been a big week for all of us and a big process for me to say its ok not to stick to a diary and other stuff....…. The short of it is that Morgan - a normally vivacious healthy 4 year old developed breathing probs and we have been in hospital all week. I am so thankful I was able to have a bed beside him and be there the whole time – and blessed with Jodi, a wonderful friend who took my Lilly into her arms and home and loved her while I was not there and a fantastic husband who bent over backwards to help in all ways possible.

Synchronicity… I am not a stranger to this , nor of the abundance and blessing surrounding us everyday – available to each of us if we care to accept them…. I was reminded once again that its there if you ask for it. I am not sure if you have experienced going to an unknown doctors surgery hoping that they will see you as soon as a doctor is available… Because we are ‘healthy folk” we don’t have a doctor … never needed one. I was very reluctant to seek medical treatment, but its different when its your baby….Driving to the surgery located ina busy shopping centre, I just asked that I find a parking spot close to the door and that we would be seen in an speedy time. My Spot was waiting for me outside the surgery door and as soon as I pulled out ID and was filling in the application form, a nurse took Morgan into the treatment room, lay him down and put him on oxygen. After seeing the doc and some treatment, we were offered an Ambulance to the hospital – but I declined – they are for sick or injured people I reasoned and took my car. I also hesitated to which hospital I was going to go to. I had heard bad reports about the closest one – this is going to sound awful - but it was located in a very low socio- economic area and well…. I was concerned about the care that might be there….

Synchronicity ….I chose that close one….. thank goodness… reasons explained later - My heart sank as I looked at the jam packed hospital car park. I had forgotten that it was nearly impossible to find a park even close – so again I just let go and asked for a close park and that we would be seen soon by the medical staff. And there my spot was – a legal park right outside the emergency department doors. Synchronicity hits and we were the only ones in the waiting room ( that NEVER happens… well it did – to us) and we were seen immediately, a wheelchair whisking Morgan off to a room. I sobbed when told he would be admitted visioning his little body lying in a big hospital bed, all alone , frightened and me not allowed to visit as it was out of hours… Synchronicity – this hospital encourages parent involvement and had sofa beds set up beside the childrens bed so that you can stay with them the entire time….. I found out that there are not many of these types of facilities - and certianly not at one of the hosptials I nealry set off towards.... blessed..... so blessed.....

I fretted for about a day about all the things I aught to be doing…of missed meetings.. of emails I couldn’t get to and reading I aught to be doing…….then I watched cartoons with my son, giggling at Sponge Bob at 3 in the morning. We ate M & Ms in bed together watching kids movies till late ( he usually has a strict TV allowance and early bed time) and joy of joy – there was an electronic game box donated by a charity for kids to use – what a magical gift. – a Nintendo with age appropriate games, a huge selection of DVDs and computer games rolled into one machine. I played more electronic games ( mostly Mario Brothers) in those days than I have ever done in my entire life…and had a lot of fun with my 4 yr old.. made him safe and secure with the scary things that were happening.. and allowed myself to not be the ‘reliable one’ – I got over the fact I had no-ones mobile number to let them know I was not able to turn up at a meeting, I got over fretting about my emails and inbox. Nothing is more important that your family and their health and wellbeing.. nothing…

So – I didn’t do morning pages - one of my committments to my writing career for nearly a week…and I am getting over it and myself…..and just looking forward to next week....