rkk

I have lived at Camp Mountain my whole life; all 21years of it; and find it a wonderful place to live. Our family is regrettably selling and downsizing land and house as my parents are "getting on in age" as Mum would put it.

As children would loved to explore our yard and the National Forest our land backed onto. We would build forts, play hide and seek, construct our own go-carts and go racing down our dirt driveway. All our friends (especially those who lived in the suburbs) would love coming over to play because of how much space we had and how we would always find something entertaining to do outside (which our parents also loved). We could ride our bikes on the street without fear of crazy traffic, or creepy men driving past looking for the right opportunity, in our area we all are friendly neighbours and keep a lookout for each other too. If we would get dirty as children Mum would just hose us off before we were allowed back inside and quite frankly we would make ourselves even dirtier just so we could get hosed, It was hilarious to us as children to run around screaming and laughing as Mum chased us with the hose.

We also loved doing yard work with Dad. We would hop in the trailer on the mower and get pulled around; he'd help us build the forts and have better ways to keep it more stable; and he even invented an ingenious way for our go-cart to have a brake instead of us just jumping off it once it got too fast!

My sister and I used to go down to our elderly neighbours house and have tea-parties on Saturdays; we'd ride our bikes to the various kids houses who lived down the street and around the corner; and my brother and his friend from up the road would practice skate boarding on an area we liked to call "the state" which was a new little estate bit built on the end of Nullamanna Road (it was new probably 10yrs ago). The area is friendly and we have even gone to Christmas parties in the neighbouring streets with various families in the area. We even baby-sitted the neighbours kids when the parents would want a Date night.

Another reason my parents loved raising us in Camp Mountain was as we grew into teens and "young adults" they didn't have to worry about us sneaking away to friends houses or dipping down to the local park to have a smoke as some other teens we knew were doing. Since there are no street lights it’s too scary to sneak away and if you’re not afraid of the dark the noises of the horses’ next door defiantly will give you a fright and send you scuttling home!

I am dreading moving to the suburbs because even now I love putting on my gum boots and trekking down to the creek behind our house that is flowing beautifully since the rain, and just sitting and enjoying the quiet and the scenic surrounds.

There is also abounds of different animals always showing up in our back yard too. We had had an echidna in an old tree trunk, multiple kangaroos and wallabies, flocks of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos, Rainbow Lorikeets and Galahs, carpet pythons (who as a family we actually love and are good at getting rid of rats) and fluffy spiders who eat all the flies and bugs. As a child I raised a baby bush turkey when its mother was eaten by a wild dog. We would feed possums apples on our back veranda and Dad would wake me up in the morning with the giant lizards (frill necks, and blue tongues) he decided to bring home and show us! Dad even would feed the little frill necks living up in his shed sultanas when he was having his smoko break. When I got my license Dad was quick to tell me to be careful of animals crossing the roads around our area and countless times I have stopped to scare snakes and lizards off the road that are basking in the sun; slowed down for ducky families crossing the roads; and driven slowly to avoid scaring people riding their horses. Everyone in the area just does it without even thinking, it’s just something you do to keep all the neighbours happy, local people or native animals.

It will be hard for us to move because when we have stayed in the suburbs with friends etc I hate how you can hear everything that is happening in your neighbours’ life, what they want for dinner, who’s not going to bed in time and all the petty arguments. Here in Camp Mountain you can run around and sing to your hearts delight and no one will know how off-key you are and I love it; and so does my Mum, she is a terrible singer!

But with us old farts moving out I'm sure there will be a beautiful young couple; just like my Mum and Dad were all those 25yrs ago; wanting so desperately to build their life and family together, who will just fall in love with the area just like Mum and Dad and all us kids did.