I've realised I haven't really written much about myself or personal experiences on this blog. It usually is all about cooking, baking, decorating, painting or renovating and not a lot of those posts have a lot of depth to them. However Easter time evokes fond childhood memories for me and I thought I would share them with you.
By the picture you can probably guess what it is. Yes it's camping... not chocolate Easter eggs or bunnies- although they rate quite highly in my memory bank as I can't eat them now due to my dairy intolerance.... but I still have fond memories of many a chocolate bunny I ate.
My fondest memories are of camping in the bush. Generally in a forest reserve of some sort with a creek winding its way through the site and lots of dense trees. We use to camp a lot in the Kenilworth State Forest or Cedar Grove camp grounds. Thankfully these sites had toilets and showers of sorts (cold ones) - although I do recall having a "bucket" bath a few times.
We generally camped with my cousins, which was always so much more fun. I loved camping in the forest reserves as we were allowed to have open fires and this sometimes brought out the mischievous side of my older brother and cousins. One incident I do recall is when my older cousins and brother "accidentally" dropped a few soda bulbs (you put these in your soda fountains to make the cordial fizzy) into a fellow campers camp fire as they walked past (who was quite drunk at the time) and quickly sauntered off. These things are like little bombs when heated up and let's just say I do believe these campers got sober real quick when these things went off. Looking back at it now I can't say it was the safest thing to do or condone it now - but it was very funny to a kid at the time!
The camp fire always produced the best meals - albeit hashed concoctions but I loved them. Marshmallows and damper slathered in golden syrup were also a fond memories of these trips as well. The smell of camp fires early in the evening and morning always remind me of these days - although I'm sure my mum cursed the smell as it permeated into everything and would have to be washed later!
Our accommodation was quite basic with the usual canvas type tent (like the the first picture) (this was before the dome tent days) with lots of poles and it always smelt musty when you first put it up. I hated putting up and pulling down the tent. What kids likes doing these types of things.... we just couldn't wait to run off and play. We didn't bring a lot of gadgets just the basic cooking and cleaning equipment and camping style bunk beds. We roughed it and as a kid you don't mind doing it like this.
My favourite play time was romping through the rivers and creeks, exploring and going on bush walks, riding our bikes around the campsite and meeting other kids. I was a bit of a tom-boy when I was younger as my cousins were all boys and I was closest in age to my older brother.... plus boys always had more fun.
Camping now isn't so much fun anymore but maybe because we complicate it too much and try and bring all the comforts of home. I slept like a baby when I was a kid and didn't worry about the surrounding noises, things changed when I get older and sleeping became a problem somewhere around my teenage years. I like it quiet and a thin tent doesn't always bring the "quietness" you need to sleep.
One incident that I can recall that put me off camping for many years was a couple of years ago at Christmas time. I was in my early 20's and we went camping at the Sunshine Coast for a week during the christmas break. Temperatures soared while we were there - hitting 40 degrees celsius a few times and so humid. I hate the heat for one thing but this was only just one thing that put me off....... later that evening when we were out we had a HUGE storm come through and yes it cooled things down but we left our tent flaps up and all our bedding got saturated. NOT HAPPY JAN! To top the whole experience off I got Glandular Fever during this time and was very sick. So it has taken me a few years to get enthusiastic about camping again.
We've planned a small camping trip later this month to a local dam in our area. We are keeping things basic and hopefully the weather holds for that time we're away. We decided to forgo camping this Easter and have a quiet weekend at home preparing the nursery and pottering in the Garden.
What childhood Easter memories do you have?
Do you have anything special planned for the Easter break?
Have a safe and Happy Easter.........
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