Camping

Camping.  There is something about the word.  Camping.  Does it bring to mind bugs in your sleeping bag and possums in the food or does it bring thoughts of good times, marshmallows on the fire and good friends made?.  To me it brings all that and more.



The current beast !!

 Childhood camping.  Firstly I would like to say to my dear Dad,  I know you dislike the beach but I want to thank you for putting up with all that sand year after year to give us a holiday. I can still see you sitting in our tent brushing the sand away from your camera cursing it under your breath.  Thanks Dad.

Camping when I was a kid was always great.  We would meet our cousins who lived in our capital city for a week of fun and frolicking at one of the most beautiful beaches in Tasmania. We would spend time building sandcastles, swimming in the crystal clear waters and spotlighting all the little creatures who dared visit our camp site in the evening.

We would spend time in each others tents and just talk.  Ride in our inflatable boat and just soak up the rays of our beautiful summers.

Fishing for the evening meal or trying to catch the huge swimmer crabs that had a habit of pinching our toes under the water.  It was idyllic.

We had an old blue tent with a kitchen area and enclosed sleeping spot.  My sister and I would be in one side and mum and dad the other.  This worked just fine until my sister and I grew bigger so then poor dad was relegated to sleeping in the kitchen area.  I can still remember my father battling the possums that made their way into our tent at night to scrounge food.  They would be running around our little sleeping cocoon with their claws putting pin pricks in the fabric and my dad would be chasing them just as fast to get them out.  We thought it great fun.  I don't think much sleep was had on these trips.

The beach.  Crystal waters, beautiful granite formations, majestic mountains overseeing all that happens below. Swimming from sunrise to sunset. Playing and making new friends. Exploring the rock pools that were full of mysterious creatures of the sea.  Ants that bite a nasty bite. My sister was always the one to be bitten.  She just seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time on too may occasions.

Bush walks over the mountains to magnificent bays below.  The tracks back then were rough and difficult, not like today when they are so structured and accessible that anyone can attempt them.
Collecting the most dainty precious shells and hanging them off our earrings.  Sand so white and clean it squeaked when you walked on it. Four girls making sand angels in a row and running up and down sand dunes.  So much fun.

The animals. Wallaby's, possums, birds of all varieties visiting us to see what tasty morsel they could coax from our fingers. Poking into the pouches to see if a little surprise packages would peer back out at us.  Such delight if there was.  A tiny face inquisitive and innocent of fear.  These are just some of my camping memories.

Now we take our own ferals on the road to places unknown.  We do not have a tent but an old reliable ( except when it rains heavily...leaks ) caravan with an annex off the side.
The boys have bunk beds at one end and us at the other.
They pack everything they possibly can just in case..Just in case of what I ask?

The anticipation of going can be too much for them.  They will be set up in their beds even before we have finished packing any of the essentials.  They are always eager to fill the van but that eagerness disappears fast when it comes to unloading.

They have experienced going to bed covered in sand and dirt with big smiles on their sun kissed faces.  They have walked those same mountains I did as a child and have seen dolphins and whales swim past.  They have played with the wildlife and spent hours in the water soaking up the pure exhilarating of what it has to offer.

They have climbed and rock hopped over many bays in search of the perfect rock pool.  The one that has the most sea creatures you can imagine.  They have jumped off huge rocks into the embrace of the sea that is way out of their depth. They have snorkeled for hours following schools of brightly coloured fish.  It is possible to squeal with delight with a snorkel in ones mouth.

They have roasted marshmallows and made billy tea.
They have spent till midnight playing outside with new friends.  Games of hide and seek and chasing's that end up with them all falling into a deep slumber soothed by the waves washing up on the beach beside us.



Weed and friend made ..

  They have not watched TV or played with computer games.  They have only watched what surrounds them and it teaches far more.

I do hope they will remember these times.  These times of freedom, innocence and childhood imagination.  They are some of the best memories for me.

Camping may not be for everyone but it is something all should at least attempt at some stage.  Put it on your 'to do' list.  Get back to nature and if there are a few luxuries still thrown in that is fine as we all still need that from time to time.

So don't worry about the bugs in your bed or sand in your hair, just enjoy it for what it has to offer and don't forget to take a chair, sit back and watch the sun sizzle as it sets over the water.

Cheers Dilly xx