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Published: August 28th 2011
We have just arrived at Mission Beach, after being on the road bush camping for three days. We tumbled out of the car, hurriedly put all our electronic goods on to charge, and then gratefully leapt into the showers (admittedly the younger two more reluctantly, as they love not having to bath!). We now feel a bit more civilized and are looking forward to a few days exploring this part of Queensland. Already, we have seen quite some devastation from Cyclone Yasi earlier this year: trees uprooted, roofs blown off buildings, and roads full of pot holes. It is six months on, but one gets the impression that the memory of Yasi is still quite vivid.
I have been asked by a few people what we mean by bush camping. Well, this is something we hope to do more frequently, and essentially means we stop somewhere that is not a caravan park. We therefore do not have electricity, nor running water, but there is usually a public toilet, Australia being what it is. Our most recent stop was at Balgal Beach, which had an area right on the beach, totally dedicated to caravans and campers. There were toilets, BBQs and
covered picnic tables - we managed to get one right on the beach and set ourselves up for the day. Like living in paradise. And all at no charge. More often than not, bush camping is basically a carpark along a road, but we have stopped behind a pub, on a showground, and in Tasmania in particular we found some lovely secluded spots by dams and rivers (the type of places we hope to find more of here in Queensland and in NT). We are restricted to the number of days we can bush camp, as we can’t carry much water, and the battery which charges our lights loses power after 4 -5 days, but by then I am afraid, princess that I am, the call of a shower gets too strong for me to resist (and by then we are running out of clean clothes as well).
Seven months into the trip, and we feel we are now ready to embrace the longer car drives that lie in store. We have resisted the temptation of buying a car video system, but have recently bought an invertor so that Quinton can watch his DVD player in the back, and
the boys can watch DVDs on Paul’s computer, as well as do some maths and spelling. This is great news, as until now, long drives (of which there have been quite a few) have been quite challenging, as the boys could only watch something on the computer for as long as the batteries lasted (generally about three hours), Quinton had nothing except for the last remaining DS (the two others died) to keep him amused (as well as resorting to cutting his own hair!) - and even this led to some in-car fighting amongst the boys, as they too wanted to play (and to be fair, it is Oliver’s DS). Just the word DS drives Paul and me insane.
However, it has not all been bad. Paul has been reading to the boys, an activity we all enjoy. Already, Paul has read to us Louis de Berniere’s Red Dog (the movie of which has just been released and which the boys went to see while I was in hospital with Quinn), A.B. Facey’s A Fortunate Life (we are now watching the mini series as well), and most recently, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, which we all became so engrossed in
we were quite sad for it to finish. Paul is now tackling Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything, which, despite initial reservations by the boys, has, two chapters in, aroused their curiosity, and awoken their questioning minds (and personally, I think it is great, as I have tried to read this book twice, but despite being incredibly keen, kept losing impetus!) And when Paul’s voice gives out, we have audiobooks, and have chuckled listening to the Just William series in particular. We are also listening to the ABC’s A History of the World in 100 Objects, which has been fascinating. I must confess, I have been ignorant of many things (and so much else I have just taken for granted, without questioning why? or how?) that I am loving these surreptitious school lessons, because I myself am learning so much. And Paul being who he is, can pretty much answer any questions we may have, and does so with a lot of patience (though I am sure I can sense a suppressed laugh at some of my questions in particular, and even the occasional look of unable-to-be-masked surprise at other of my questions).
Perhaps the biggest frustrations
Paul and I have had with the boys is their refusal to write in their journal (something they eventually do but under major duress, with frazzled parents watching over their shoulders) and to read themselves. We have finally had to resort to bribery, and it works quite well. Until last week, the boys were getting $10 straight pocket money paid weekly. Now, they are getting $15, but broken down into $5 for book reading, $5 if their journal is up-to-date, and $5 for being helpful. There has now been quite a flurry of activity, particularly by William who is now down to his last 50c, having spent all his pocket money on various gems, opals, and precious stones and fossils. I must admit, Paul and I are only too happy to give them this extra money, as both boys are spending it, can you believe it, only on artefacts. Sweets and toy shops just don’t excite them anymore. Anyway, long may this last.
Evenings now are also often spent playing games. Card monopoly has been a big hit with the boys, and even Quinton has developed an obsession for the game (though he hasn’t quite got the hang of
collecting sets of streets, but prefers to amass as much money as he can, and as soon as he gets a Deal Breaker or Just Say No, he enthusiastically lets everybody know!). Oliver has taken Quinton under his wing to teach him how to play, and what cards to play, but the cards he encourages Quinton to play, while legitimate, do tend to favour Oliver’s hand! Up Words is also becoming popular with the boys (and we find, an easier way to do spelling with the boys than spelling tests) and Quinton, always wanting to be a part of the action, spends his time finding letters and spelling out words we have written out for him.
Anyway, I digressed from our journey. Last time I wrote we were ensconced at Airlie Beach. We spent a lovely few days there, though I did get totally chowed by sandflies at our campsite, which has not been pleasant at all. My legs burn at night, and trying not to scratch is almost impossible (in fact, they have become so numerous and some becoming infected that Paul is contemplating possibly abandoning the coast and heading inland. This would be a real shame, but
I am going to visit the chemist tomorrow and see what advice they give. Anybody with any tips, would more than appreciated!). We did go on a motor boat to the reefs one day, and we did some wonderful snorkelling. Oliver and William also braved the waters, which was great, but the water was quite cold. We had lunch on Whitsundays’ Whitehaven Beach. And it was just like the pictures: crystal clear waters and white white silica sand. It was beautiful. It was just a shame that we were still quite cold from the snorkelling, and it was also quite windy, that we didn’t go for a swim. Though Paul and Oliver did see a lemon shark in the clear waters! William was also mortified when he learnt that he could not take home any of the shells he found there as it was a World Heritage Area. He was crushed.
Another day we went into town and met Karl at the local Didgeridoo and Opal Shop. Karl gave us a lesson on how to play the didgeridoo, and Paul fell in love again with the instrument and bought himself a beautiful didge, and he has been playing
in in the evenings. He does have a knack for it and it does sound much more eloquent than the vuvuzela! It was at Karl’s shop that William parted with the last of his money (after much consideration), buying a garnet, zirconia and a ruby to add to his growing collection.
After Airlie Beach we headed to Balgal Beach and spent a lovely two nights there, with William in his element combing the beach for shells. He found some really nice ones. And so, here we are, at Mission Beach. Paul heads off tomorrow for a kayak trip to Dunk Island, and I am going to go exploring with the boys, hopefully to spot the rare Cassowary. Wish us luck!
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Robert Wilson
non-member comment
A reading suggestion which may assist with the Journal keeping
http://www.wimpykid.com Have you seen them before? Diary of a Wimpy Kid All the best, Robert PS. At the sign (1st bite) from a sand fly - move on - sometimes one hundred meters is enough but many kilometeres is better. And always ask around before you select your camp site.