Camping

When our offer to buy the land in Majors Creek was accepted we had to decide what we were going to do with it. As the Anzac Day long weekend approached, Peter suggested we go camping on the block – and I agreed! I am not a camper. Peter and the girls have been going camping for years. He started taking them to Folk Festivals when they were still in nappies! They all loved it and on the few occasions I went with them I was given strict instructions that camping was different to being at home and they had their own camp rules and I had to learn to live with their rules while at the campsite.

The first time I went along they took me to a caravan park down the coast. As we drove in I thought it looked quite nice and I would be happy there for a few days. There was lots of green grass, a pool, games room and kiosk for ice creams. We were then directed to our campsite in the area put aside for camping with dogs. Yes, our dog Madeline, loved going camping too and unfortunately for the family our campsite was not on the grass but in the dirt. I spent a lot of time with a glass of wine by the pool. Luckily the amenities block was clean.

I agreed to go with them to a folk festival near Wagga Wagga and Peter decided it was probably best if we stayed in a caravan in the caravan park. He didn’t think I would cope camping in the showgrounds where the festival was being held. Clever move I thought. The amenities block was close by and clean too. Being able to go home each night to a caravan was more my style than into a tent. It turned out to be a fairly uneventful weekend, the music was wonderful and we met some lovely people.

 

My next invitation was to a folk festival in Cobargo. ‘We would like you to come and you will enjoy the music.’ I agreed. We set off and were about an hour and a half from home when Peter quietly mumbles, ‘oh sh ... ’

‘What is it?’ I ask.

Car trouble flashed through my head; we were packed to the gills, had the dog, two young kids and were miles from anywhere. ‘I think I have left the tent poles home,’ Peter quietly told me.

‘You’ve left the tent poles home!’ I couldn’t believe it. ‘What are you going to do?’

‘Let’s keep going and we can buy some rope or maybe some poles in Bega.’

All I could think about was if we couldn’t camp it was a long drive home and we couldn’t go to a motel because we had the dog.

We arrived in Bega and couldn’t buy any tent poles but did buy some rope and Peter thought we could probably figure something out when we got there. We arrived at the showgrounds where the campers were and he was able to rig up the tent as we camped underneath a shelter. As soon as we arrived I opened the esky and a bottle of wine.  As I sat in the sun with my wine, the campers next door came back and commented on how early I was getting into the wine.

‘It has been a long day,’ was my icy response, and they left me alone after that. Peter rigged up the tent and it was fabulous. We had a great weekend, the views were beautiful, the music was great and a good time was had by all! Didn’t mean I was in a hurry to go again.

We did find a great camping ground at Wee Jasper and I did have some great experiences with them. We camped by a pretty creek, there were lots of trees and green grass and a fairly clean amenities block. I did enjoy the lifestyle at the camping ground. I was able to sleep in as long as I wanted, Peter did all the cooking and I helped wash up the few dishes we used. I took my coffee plunger and learnt how to use the camp stove to boil the kettle and enjoyed sitting under the trees drinking coffee, reading a book and eating the abundance of treats we took. There was no housework to do, the kids happily went off to explore or sat around reading or playing cards or other games they had packed. Peter and I were able to sit quietly outside with a glass of wine or two in the evening. I was getting used to the camping thing. We even went there twice and I enjoyed each time.

So back to the Anzac Day trip. When we arrived in Majors Creek the cows were roaming the land and we decided it would not be a good idea to camp with them. We set up camp at the local recreation ground - toilets, water and no cows.

We met some locals as we wandered around the village and there is certainly a mix of those who have historic ties and those who just fell in love with the place and never left. The camping didn’t go too badly either which Peter saw as a good sign although on the last night it was very cold and during the night I woke up freezing and very uncomfortable. The bloody air mattress had a hole in it and had deflated just on my side! I was sleeping on the ground and was freezing. It was drizzling with rain outside and was very dark because we were in the country and there were no suburban lights to help me find my way to the car where I thought I might sleep. I must admit I threw a tantrum and if I could have driven home there and then and left them all to it I would have. There was no way I was ever going camping again!

For the next year’s ‘Music at the Creek Folk Festival’, we decided to camp on the block. Yes camp! Peter purchased a proper camping toilet with a shower tent to put it in. It was certainly an interesting experience and the air mattress behaved itself. It was freezing at night and raining but Peter and the girls didn’t seem to notice as they created a bonfire down on the back paddock and toasted marshmallows on the campfire. I went back to the tent and tried to get dry and warm.

We camped again the following year but this time we camped in the house. It was nearly finished and much warmer than a tent.

I haven’t been camping since and don’t feel the need to as I have my house in the country and I am quite happy camping there!