She hath wings

My family is holidaying at Wilson’s Promontory this week, camping amongst the local bird and wildlife. We are a very short walk from the beach and kookaburras can be heard in the morning and at dusk. Albatross soar overhead while rosellas and wrens can be found in nearby trees and shrubs.  Wombats are so accustomed to campers that they come right up to the tent. As we heated up our pumpkin soup and zucchini slice tonight, a wombat walked past Junior sitting in the stroller and he reached out to give it a pat! We are careful to store all our food in the car boot because we camped here years ago with a Coleman Lakeside 4 and a wombat squeezed under the side of the vestibule of the tent, helping itself to rice bubbles until we finally shooed it out!

Yesterday we made the most of the sun and took a walk down to the beach. The older two kids and hubby crossed Tidal river to climb on the rocks and I minded Junior on the sand, making a sand castle and collecting beach treasures to decorate it. Later on after lunch, we drove to Squeaky Beach and paddled in the cool water as the waves came in forcefully. The roar of the waves and the frigid water was too much for Junior so he went with Daddy to climb up onto a big rock and I looked after him later on, singing him to sleep for a little power nap to get him through to bedtime.

The thing I love most about camping here is sharing time with friends. I grew up enjoying holidays at Lakes Entrance with two other families and it is wonderful for my kids to have other kids to play with, all these years later. Also, it’s a chance to have conversations about the everyday, rather than just the big things that come up in our lives.

It’s a comfort to know that if we look after this beautiful piece of the world, it will be here for our children to bring their children back to and remember some happy times with us, connecting with their past as well as making their own fun memories in years to come.