Family Camping Part 2

Apparently some people have been on the edge of their seats (or balancing precariously on their exercise balls working on their core strength, perhaps) with excitement about how our camping holiday went – or didn’t.

So here is an update:

Family camping 2006–7 was an unmitigated success. Why?

1. Because putting up your tent in the middle of a storm after a long day’s drive is an incredibly bonding experience for all concerned, especially if it is dark and you run the car battery flat in the process.

2. Because being told to move your tent (tarp, cooking set up, wardrobe, etc) after 3 days because you’ve be given the wrong spot, just as you finish the last tweaking and tightening of ropes, and repositioned the cooking table to get the morning sun, the afternoon breeze and to stop people tripping over it on the way to the eskie (= ice-box) is a great exercise in self-restraint. If it is 35 degrees C +, it is also an excellent opportunity to shed pounds.

3. Because, if your son is going to be sick for a few days – as any 15-month old will be from time to time – camping is the right place to be. Explosions of bodily waste are simply rinsed off under the tap to fertilise the grass, there are no carpets to stain, few clothes to wash and a fresh sea breeze to prevent lingering odours.

4. Because inevitable pre-dawn wakings are a fabulous incentive to decamp to the beach – where we could pick sand out of our cereal and watch kestrels swoop down and fish for their breakfast.

5. Because endless nightly circles of the campsite pushing a sleepless child are a window on the customs and traditions of Australian campers. Caravan hoppings, twitching tent flaps, youthful exuberance and the mellow wallowing in seasonal excesses of the more mature campers provided deep cultural insight. I swear one young couple was frozen in an embrace from four am until after six one morning in the children’s playground. Motionless.

6. Because our inevitable ‘lively family dynamic’ proved a pretty effective contraceptive to the handsome and very in-love young couple camped next door. They’ll be no babies there this year, I predict - reducing pressure on world resources.

7. Because the thick layer of sand that the children deposited on my mattress each day for me to roll in at night means no expensive exfoliation treatments will be needed for at least six months.

All in all, the children loved it, we survived it and we will definitely be doing the same again next year. (Unless we get a better offer that involves beds, walls and yes, a nanny would be nice).